In week 3, the Jaguars blew out the Ravens in London, 44-7, producing a Game Script of 22.6. That was the biggest Game script of the season, until week 15. On Sunday, the Rams destroyed the Seahawks, 42-7 in a game that was over at halftime. Los Angeles seven first half drives ended as follows: field goal, field goal, touchdown, interception, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. Seattle’s first half drives ended as follows: fumble, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, end of half.
The Rams recorded the biggest Game Script of the season at +23.4, but Los Angeles wasn’t alone. The third and fourth biggest Game Scripts of the season also came on Sunday. The Jaguars, again, were the big rollers: Jacksonville beat Houston 45-7 and recorded a Game Script of +21.7, thanks to jumping out to a 31-0 halftime lead. And Minnesota took a 24-0 lead into the locker room against Cincinnati, and a 34-0 lead before finally winning 34-7. The Vikings posted a Game Script of +20.9, one of just six games this year with a Game Script of +20.0.
The full Game Scripts from week 15, below:
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAR | @ | SEA | Boxscore | 42 | 7 | 35 | 23.4 | 25 | 43 | 36.8% | 37 | 17 | 68.5% |
| JAX | HOU | Boxscore | 45 | 7 | 38 | 21.7 | 30 | 38 | 44.1% | 35 | 21 | 62.5% | |
| MIN | CIN | Boxscore | 34 | 7 | 27 | 20.9 | 27 | 34 | 44.3% | 31 | 20 | 60.8% | |
| DET | CHI | Boxscore | 20 | 10 | 10 | 10.5 | 37 | 20 | 64.9% | 48 | 15 | 76.2% | |
| BUF | MIA | Boxscore | 24 | 16 | 8 | 9.9 | 31 | 30 | 50.8% | 52 | 21 | 71.2% | |
| BAL | @ | CLE | Boxscore | 27 | 10 | 17 | 7.4 | 43 | 31 | 58.1% | 39 | 19 | 67.2% |
| NOR | NYJ | Boxscore | 31 | 19 | 12 | 5.9 | 36 | 28 | 56.3% | 40 | 28 | 58.8% | |
| WAS | ARI | Boxscore | 20 | 15 | 5 | 5.2 | 27 | 19 | 58.7% | 46 | 34 | 57.5% | |
| ATL | @ | TAM | Boxscore | 24 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 35 | 47.8% | 37 | 18 | 67.3% |
| CAR | GNB | Boxscore | 31 | 24 | 7 | 4.9 | 32 | 38 | 45.7% | 48 | 19 | 71.6% | |
| DAL | @ | OAK | Boxscore | 20 | 17 | 3 | 4.5 | 29 | 30 | 49.2% | 38 | 23 | 62.3% |
| KAN | LAC | Boxscore | 30 | 13 | 17 | 4.3 | 31 | 32 | 49.2% | 38 | 22 | 63.3% | |
| SFO | TEN | Boxscore | 25 | 23 | 2 | 3.1 | 44 | 23 | 65.7% | 34 | 28 | 54.8% | |
| DEN | @ | IND | Boxscore | 25 | 13 | 12 | -0.6 | 29 | 45 | 39.2% | 31 | 22 | 58.5% |
| PHI | @ | NYG | Boxscore | 34 | 29 | 5 | -1.5 | 39 | 27 | 59.1% | 58 | 23 | 71.6% |
| NWE | @ | PIT | Boxscore | 27 | 24 | 3 | -2.5 | 36 | 19 | 65.5% | 32 | 31 | 50.8% |
In those blowouts, Cincinnati and Houston both came across as run-heavy: the Bengals passed on “only” 61% of plays, while Houston threw on just 62.5% of passes, despite both teams trailing by 20+ points throughout the second half.
The Broncos also came off as very run-heavy in a more traditional context. The Broncos actually won with a slightly negative Game Script, with C.J. Anderson recording 30 carries and Devontae Booker taking 11 carries. Part of the reason for the run-heavy game plan? Brock Osweiler was otherworldly efficient, throwing for 194 yards and 2 TDs on 17 passes.
Meanwhile, Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford led two of the most pass-happy attacks of the week. The Lions had the 4th best Game Script of the week (+10.5) but also the third most pass-heavy attack of any team with a positive Game Script (+64.9%). Stafford had 37 dropbacks, while Lions running backs had just 19 attempts for 92 rushing yards. Detroit led by double digits most of the game, but never really moved far away from the passing game.
The Giants had a whopping 58 dropbacks in a close game with the Eagles, which may have been a result of Giants running backs gaining only 61 rushing yards on 22 dropbacks. Manning’s two best game of the season by yards per attempt have now both come against the Eagles. He was over 7.5 Y/A in both games against Philadelphia, and under 7.5 in all other games this year.