In week 13, the Cowboys, Packers, and Jets were run-happy teams, finishing with the three most run-oriented play ratios of the week. After accounting for Game Script, the Jets were really run-heavy: New York finished with a negative Game Script but finished with 49 runs! The Jets finished tied for the most rushing attempts since 1983 in a game (excluding OT) where the opponent scored 30+ points. The other time? The remarkable Jerome Harrison/Josh Cribbs game against the Chiefs from 2009, which I wrote about at the time.
The Cowboys finished with 23 pass plays and 42 runs in a blowout win over the Redskins. Dallas led most of the way against Washington, and the Cowboys are happy to institute a run-heavy plan whenever the Game Script allows.
The Packers led early against the Bucs, but Tampa Bay took a 4th quarter lead and the game went deep into overtime. Brett Hundley had 24 dropbacks, while Packers running backs had 22 carries and Hundley himself had 7 carries. The main reason for the run-heavy game plan? Hundley was a disaster throwing the ball, gaining 77 net yards on those 24 dropbacks with an interception. Since 1979, the Packers have won just one other game with so few passing yards: this disaster of a game in 1991 against the 1-10 Colts.
The full week 13 Game Scripts below:
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX | IND | Boxscore | 30 | 10 | 20 | 11.4 | 36 | 27 | 57.1% | 40 | 26 | 60.6% | |
| MIA | DEN | Boxscore | 35 | 9 | 26 | 10 | 34 | 30 | 53.1% | 44 | 23 | 65.7% | |
| BAL | DET | Boxscore | 44 | 20 | 24 | 9.8 | 36 | 27 | 57.1% | 37 | 24 | 60.7% | |
| LAR | @ | ARI | Boxscore | 32 | 16 | 16 | 9.6 | 32 | 24 | 57.1% | 37 | 25 | 59.7% |
| NOR | CAR | Boxscore | 31 | 21 | 10 | 8.8 | 36 | 28 | 56.3% | 29 | 23 | 55.8% | |
| NWE | @ | BUF | Boxscore | 23 | 3 | 20 | 8.7 | 33 | 35 | 48.5% | 38 | 26 | 59.4% |
| SEA | PHI | Boxscore | 24 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 33 | 25 | 56.9% | 48 | 26 | 64.9% | |
| DAL | WAS | Boxscore | 38 | 14 | 24 | 7.9 | 23 | 42 | 35.4% | 41 | 19 | 68.3% | |
| LAC | CLE | Boxscore | 19 | 10 | 9 | 4.6 | 44 | 25 | 63.8% | 35 | 21 | 62.5% | |
| OAK | NYG | Boxscore | 24 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 37 | 28 | 56.9% | 37 | 24 | 60.7% | |
| GNB | TAM | Boxscore | 26 | 20 | 6 | 1.5 | 24 | 29 | 45.3% | 39 | 35 | 52.7% | |
| MIN | @ | ATL | Boxscore | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0.6 | 32 | 31 | 50.8% | 30 | 22 | 57.7% |
| TEN | HOU | Boxscore | 24 | 13 | 11 | -0.3 | 25 | 25 | 50% | 53 | 22 | 70.7% | |
| NYJ | KAN | Boxscore | 38 | 31 | 7 | -0.6 | 36 | 49 | 42.4% | 35 | 11 | 76.1% | |
| SFO | @ | CHI | Boxscore | 15 | 14 | 1 | -2.3 | 39 | 34 | 53.4% | 17 | 19 | 47.2% |
| PIT | @ | CIN | Boxscore | 23 | 20 | 3 | -7.3 | 41 | 22 | 65.1% | 38 | 22 | 63.3% |
Meanwhile, the Texans, Chiefs, and Bengals were very pass-happy. The ratio of runs by the Jets to runs by the Chiefs was also pretty weird. The Kansas City passing attack was lights out: in fact, the Chiefs set a franchise record for passer rating in a losing effort.
Cincinnati led most of the way against Pittsburgh, finishing with a +7.3 Game Script but in a losing effort. The running game was effective, with Cincinnati picking up 130 yards on 22 carries, but the passing game was pretty efficient, too.
Finally, Houston led the way in week 13 with 53 passing plays, which is hard to justify when Tom Savage is in charge.
What stands out to you?