Previously:
I had some bugs in my week 6 data that led to a lengthy delay when it comes to posting the week 6 Game Scripts. But better late than never, and for posterity’s sake, I am still posting the data.
This week feels like a long time ago, but a couple of the teams with the most extreme pass/run splits were off in week seven, so that makes this still somewhat topical. Tampa Bay went wildly pass-happy in a blowout loss to Carolina in London. Anytime a team throws 60+ times, or throws on over 80% of its plays, that’s going to be considered a very pass-heavy game, even in a blowout. Jameis Winston had a rough game with 5 interceptions and one lost fumble to go with 7 sacks, but it’s not as though the Tampa Bay ground game (14 for 42) was all that effective. Winston has been extremely boom or bust this year, with 0 games with a passer rating of between 50 and 100.
The Kansas City Chiefs have (or should I say, had) lots of reasons to be pass-happy. In game script-neutral situations, you can argue that Kansas City should be the most pass-happy team in the league. In week 6 against Houston, Patrick Mahomes played pretty well, even if below his own lofty standards. The Chiefs finished with just 11 rushing plays (including one kneel by Mahomes), the fewest in over five years by a team that actually led after three quarters! Of course, it didn’t help that Houston really bled the clock in the second half, limiting Kansas City to just three drives.
The most run-happy team of the week was the Pittsburgh Steelers, without accounting for Game Script, was the Steelers. With Mason Rudolph banged up, Pittsburgh turned to Devlin Hodges as the team’s starting quarterback. Pittsburgh ran an extremely ball-controlled offense: just two of Hodges’s completions were 6 or more yards down the field, and none were more than ten yards from the line of scrimmage. The ground game was moderately effective, picking up 9 first downs on 36 carries, but this was a game that swung on early turnovers. The final score does not reflect the Game Script very well in this one.
The full week 6 Game Scripts data, below:
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | @ | LAC | Boxscore | 24 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 35.7% | 45 | 14 | 76.3% |
| CAR | @ | TAM | Boxscore | 37 | 26 | 11 | 10.4 | 34 | 29 | 54.0% | 61 | 14 | 81.3% |
| MIN | PHI | Boxscore | 38 | 20 | 18 | 9.9 | 30 | 35 | 46.2% | 43 | 22 | 66.2% | |
| NYJ | DAL | Boxscore | 24 | 22 | 2 | 7.6 | 34 | 20 | 63% | 41 | 34 | 54.7% | |
| DEN | TEN | Boxscore | 16 | 0 | 16 | 6.9 | 29 | 30 | 49.2% | 41 | 21 | 66.1% | |
| BAL | CIN | Boxscore | 23 | 17 | 6 | 6.8 | 34 | 43 | 44.2% | 41 | 14 | 74.5% | |
| NWE | NYG | Boxscore | 35 | 14 | 21 | 6.4 | 44 | 34 | 56.4% | 32 | 16 | 66.7% | |
| WAS | @ | MIA | Boxscore | 17 | 16 | 1 | 5.8 | 25 | 33 | 43.1% | 49 | 21 | 70% |
| ARI | ATL | Boxscore | 34 | 33 | 1 | 4.8 | 38 | 29 | 56.7% | 38 | 25 | 60.3% | |
| SFO | @ | LAR | Boxscore | 20 | 7 | 13 | 4.1 | 35 | 41 | 46.1% | 28 | 22 | 56% |
| NOR | @ | JAX | Boxscore | 13 | 6 | 7 | 2.3 | 39 | 26 | 60% | 31 | 24 | 56.4% |
| HOU | @ | KAN | Boxscore | 31 | 24 | 7 | -2.4 | 42 | 41 | 50.6% | 36 | 11 | 76.6% |
| SEA | @ | CLE | Boxscore | 32 | 28 | 4 | -3.1 | 36 | 38 | 48.6% | 37 | 24 | 60.7% |
| GNB | DET | Boxscore | 23 | 22 | 1 | -5.5 | 40 | 29 | 58% | 35 | 20 | 63.6% |
In a game marred by poor officiating, Aaron Rodgers completed one of the biggest comebacks of the year. In fact, it was the second-worst Game Script by a winning team all season, trailing only the Bills (-6.9) against the Jets back in week one. The Packers trailed most of the way and won with a -5.5 Game Script, and were down by 9 in the fourth quarter. The turning points were two Trey Flowers hands to the face penalties against David Bakhtiari that were both bad calls and wildly impactful ones.
What stands out to you?