The Game Scripts are back! As a reminder, a Game Script is simply the average score of a game over each second of play during the game. And if you are like me, as you watched the Dolphins/Ravens game unfold, you were wondering what would the final Game Script be from that massive blowout.
The Ravens took a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, and that jumped to 14-0 before the 8-minute mark, 21-0 before the 11-minute mark, and 28-0 after just 16 minutes. Baltimore got the lead up to 42-10 at halftime, and scored three times in the second half to walk away with a 59-10 win. Over the course of the 3,600 seconds of this game, Baltimore’s average lead was 30.0 points.
That’s the best Game Script by a team since this Rams/Raiders blowout in 2014, a 52-0 win that registered a 30.9 Game Script.
Below are the Game Scripts from week 1:
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | @ | MIA | Boxscore | 59 | 10 | 49 | 30 | 27 | 46 | 37% | 35 | 12 | 74.5% |
| MIN | ATL | Boxscore | 28 | 12 | 16 | 17.5 | 11 | 38 | 22.4% | 50 | 17 | 74.6% | |
| NWE | PIT | Boxscore | 33 | 3 | 30 | 15.9 | 38 | 29 | 56.7% | 48 | 13 | 78.7% | |
| KAN | @ | JAX | Boxscore | 40 | 26 | 14 | 11.1 | 34 | 26 | 56.7% | 34 | 16 | 68% |
| DAL | NYG | Boxscore | 35 | 17 | 18 | 10.7 | 32 | 30 | 51.6% | 49 | 17 | 74.2% | |
| OAK | DEN | Boxscore | 24 | 16 | 8 | 8.9 | 26 | 28 | 48.1% | 34 | 23 | 59.6% | |
| DET | @ | ARI | Boxscore | 27 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 48 | 32 | 60% | 59 | 23 | 72% |
| TEN | @ | CLE | Boxscore | 43 | 13 | 30 | 6.7 | 28 | 28 | 50% | 43 | 20 | 68.3% |
| LAR | @ | CAR | Boxscore | 30 | 27 | 3 | 6.2 | 40 | 32 | 55.6% | 41 | 23 | 64.1% |
| LAC | IND | Boxscore | 30 | 24 | 6 | 5.2 | 38 | 21 | 64.4% | 29 | 33 | 46.8% | |
| SFO | @ | TAM | Boxscore | 31 | 17 | 14 | 3.9 | 28 | 32 | 46.7% | 38 | 26 | 59.4% |
| GNB | @ | CHI | Boxscore | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2.8 | 35 | 22 | 61.4% | 50 | 15 | 76.9% |
| SEA | CIN | Boxscore | 21 | 20 | 1 | -0.8 | 24 | 25 | 49% | 56 | 14 | 80% | |
| NOR | HOU | Boxscore | 30 | 28 | 2 | -2.6 | 44 | 21 | 67.7% | 36 | 23 | 61% | |
| PHI | WAS | Boxscore | 32 | 27 | 5 | -4 | 40 | 31 | 56.3% | 45 | 13 | 77.6% | |
| BUF | @ | NYJ | Boxscore | 17 | 16 | 1 | -6.9 | 38 | 25 | 60.3% | 45 | 21 | 68.2% |
Cincinnati and Washington stood out as the two most pass-happy teams of the week, according to Game Script. That’s pretty shocking, given that the Bengals were without A.J. Green and the Redskins were starting Case Keenum. Both teams had positive game scripts but still threw on over 75% of their plays!
On the other side, the Vikings and Colts were the two most run-heavy teams of week one. We already discussed how Minnesota was absurdly run-heavy against the Falcons, rushing on 78% of all plays. Indianapolis came out with a gameplan that you might have expected Cincinnati or Washington to follow, given the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck prior to the season. With Jacoby Brissett under center, Indianapolis — despite trailing most of the game — finished with more rushing plays than passing plays! Brissett was an efficient 21 of 29 for 190 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs and 2 sacks, but it was Marlon Mack who was the star of the game. The Colts running back gained 174 yards on 25 carries, actually averaging more yards per rush (6.96) than Brissett averaged per pass (6.55).
Finally, four times won with negative Game Scripts, and that included two large comebacks. The Eagles trailed the Redskins 20-7 at halftime, but dominated in the second half with 303 yards on just four drives. Meanwhile, the Bills were down 16-0 against the Jets, but scored the final 17 points to escape with a win.