Previously:
New England is at it again, rolling through the NFL in dominant fashion. For the third time in three games, the Patriots had a Game Script of over +14.0. The Patriots have outscored teams by 53 points at halftime and 73 points through three quarters; both are the best marks in the league. Here’s your money stat of the week: New England opponents have run 169 plays this year, and 120 of them (71%) have come with the Patriots leading by more than two touchdowns.
From a Game Scripts perspective, the most interesting thing about week 3 might have been that Tom Brady was still really pass-happy. The Patriots joined the rare 10/15/20/45 club: leading by at least 10, 15, and 20 points after the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters, respectively, and throwing 45+ times in the game. The last time it happened was so unusual I wrote about it in this column then, too.
The other team that was really pass-heavy was Philip Rivers and the Chargers. In a game where Los Angeles had a +2.4 Game Script, you’d expect a pretty average pass ratio. Instead, L.A. passed on 74% of plays, the most of all 32 teams in week 3. It is unusual that the team with the highest pass ratio in a week had a positive Game Script, but it’s hard to fault a team like the Chargers for passing a lot. Also worth noting: the two Chargers running backs, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson, caught 11 of 11 targets for 51 yards (and 3 first downs), which … well, I’m not quite sure what to think about that.
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | NYJ | Boxscore | 30 | 14 | 16 | 20.5 | 46 | 27 | 63% | 27 | 20 | 57.4% | |
| MIN | OAK | Boxscore | 34 | 14 | 20 | 15.5 | 21 | 38 | 35.6% | 38 | 20 | 65.5% | |
| CHI | @ | WAS | Boxscore | 31 | 15 | 16 | 13.5 | 34 | 24 | 58.6% | 47 | 21 | 69.1% |
| JAX | TEN | Boxscore | 20 | 7 | 13 | 12.9 | 30 | 20 | 60% | 49 | 26 | 65.3% | |
| DAL | MIA | Boxscore | 31 | 6 | 25 | 10.4 | 33 | 34 | 49.3% | 44 | 24 | 64.7% | |
| NOR | @ | SEA | Boxscore | 33 | 27 | 6 | 9.8 | 27 | 23 | 54% | 50 | 26 | 65.8% |
| IND | ATL | Boxscore | 27 | 24 | 3 | 7.8 | 38 | 24 | 61.3% | 34 | 20 | 63% | |
| GNB | DEN | Boxscore | 27 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 29 | 23 | 55.8% | 35 | 38 | 47.9% | |
| KAN | BAL | Boxscore | 33 | 28 | 5 | 6.9 | 38 | 26 | 59.4% | 46 | 32 | 59% | |
| BUF | CIN | Boxscore | 21 | 17 | 4 | 6.1 | 37 | 36 | 50.7% | 38 | 19 | 66.7% | |
| DET | @ | PHI | Boxscore | 27 | 24 | 3 | 4.9 | 32 | 28 | 53.3% | 39 | 30 | 56.5% |
| CAR | @ | ARI | Boxscore | 38 | 20 | 18 | 3.7 | 28 | 31 | 47.5% | 51 | 22 | 69.9% |
| LAR | @ | CLE | Boxscore | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1.4 | 40 | 24 | 62.5% | 39 | 24 | 61.9% |
| SFO | PIT | Boxscore | 24 | 20 | 4 | -2.2 | 33 | 40 | 45.2% | 29 | 22 | 56.9% | |
| HOU | @ | LAC | Boxscore | 27 | 20 | 7 | -2.4 | 36 | 19 | 65.5% | 51 | 18 | 73.9% |
| NYG | @ | TAM | Boxscore | 32 | 31 | 1 | -5.2 | 41 | 19 | 68.3% | 40 | 32 | 55.6% |
Meanwhile, a pair of losing teams came down with very rush-heavy numbers. For the Jets, with Le’Veon Bell at running back and third-stringer Luke Falk at quarterback, you can understand why a run-heavy approach might make sense: on the other hand, the Jets did not score a single point on offense, making a 27-pass play/20-rush play split pretty shocking.
Denver finished with more runs than passes in an 11-point loss to Green Bay. Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman rushed 36 times for 144 yards (4.0) while Joe Flacco averaged 3.31 ANY/A. Denver did have more passing first downs than rushing first downs, but the Broncos rushed on 1st-and-10 on 17 of 26 plays.
Finally, let’s keep an eye on San Francisco. The 49ers have been run-heavy for three weeks in a row, but were really reliant on the ground game in week 3. Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, and Jeff Wilson are decidedly not big names, but they combined to rush 34 times for 165 yards (4.85 YPC) with 2 TDs (Jimmy Garoppolo also had 6 carries, although two of them were fumbled snaps and a third was a kneel down). This, remember, was in a game where San Francisco had a negative Game Script. Garoppolo finished with 33 dropbacks, so the 49ers running backs had more carries than he had pass plays.
What stands out to you?