Last Thursday, the Lions hosted the Packers, and jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. A field goal attempt midway through the 3rd made it 20-0, although the Packers then responded with two quick scores. With seven minutes left in the 4th, Detroit made it a 9-point game, and seemed to have this one locked up. In fact, when the clock hit triple zeroes, the Lions were ahead, 23-21.
Of course, a phantom face mask penalty meant the game was not yet over, and Green Bay won on the final play of the game. For the game, Green Bay had a Game Script of -10.1, which represents the average score in the game, from the Packers perspective, across the 3600 seconds of action. That’s the worst Game Script by a winning team since San Diego won in similarly remarkable fashion against the 49ers in week 16 of the 2014 season.
Below are the Game Scripts data for week 13:
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | @ | CLE | Boxscore | 37 | 3 | 34 | 17.5 | 23 | 33 | 41.1% | 41 | 19 | 68.3% |
| SEA | @ | MIN | Boxscore | 38 | 7 | 31 | 16 | 30 | 36 | 45.5% | 32 | 16 | 66.7% |
| DEN | @ | SDG | Boxscore | 17 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 40.9% | 39 | 23 | 62.9% |
| PIT | IND | Boxscore | 45 | 10 | 35 | 11.5 | 39 | 32 | 54.9% | 39 | 18 | 68.4% | |
| ARI | @ | STL | Boxscore | 27 | 3 | 24 | 11.2 | 43 | 36 | 54.4% | 35 | 15 | 70% |
| BUF | HOU | Boxscore | 30 | 21 | 9 | 5.3 | 22 | 36 | 37.9% | 45 | 26 | 63.4% | |
| TEN | JAX | Boxscore | 42 | 39 | 3 | 4.3 | 33 | 35 | 48.5% | 38 | 20 | 65.5% | |
| PHI | @ | NWE | Boxscore | 35 | 28 | 7 | 3.2 | 25 | 33 | 43.1% | 61 | 24 | 71.8% |
| MIA | BAL | Boxscore | 15 | 13 | 2 | 2.7 | 20 | 26 | 43.5% | 49 | 26 | 65.3% | |
| TAM | ATL | Boxscore | 23 | 19 | 4 | 0.7 | 28 | 37 | 43.1% | 48 | 18 | 72.7% | |
| DAL | @ | WAS | Boxscore | 19 | 16 | 3 | -0.5 | 30 | 24 | 55.6% | 34 | 25 | 57.6% |
| KAN | @ | OAK | Boxscore | 34 | 20 | 14 | -0.8 | 26 | 22 | 54.2% | 52 | 24 | 68.4% |
| SFO | @ | CHI | Boxscore | 26 | 20 | 6 | -1.5 | 36 | 23 | 61% | 32 | 42 | 43.2% |
| CAR | @ | NOR | Boxscore | 41 | 38 | 3 | -2.4 | 42 | 33 | 56% | 44 | 14 | 75.9% |
| NYJ | @ | NYG | Boxscore | 23 | 20 | 3 | -5.4 | 53 | 24 | 68.8% | 37 | 24 | 60.7% |
| GNB | @ | DET | Boxscore | 27 | 23 | 4 | -10.1 | 39 | 24 | 61.9% | 38 | 25 | 60.3% |
- Cincinnati and Seattle posted monster Game Scripts numbers in blowout victories. Denver won by 14 points over San Diego, but even that is a little misleading: the Game Script was +12.0, because Denver led 14-0 before the end of the first quarter, and 17-0 in the second quarter. Neither the Broncos nor Chargers scored in the second half, a feat that has occurred just three times since the start of the 2009 season.
- Buffalo continues its run-happy ways. The Bills were the only team this week to pass on fewer than 40% of all plays, in a relatively tight game. Philadelphia and Miami — yes, that says Miami — were also really run-heavy in competitive games, with each team passing on less than 44% of plays. And Tampa Bay and Chicago (in a losing effort, but with a positive Game Script) had similar numbers. After a really pass-happy week 12, a number of teams showed first commitments to the running game in competitive contests.
- One team that was decided not interested in establishing the run: New Orleans. The Saints actually had a positive Game Script in the loss to Carolina, but finished with 44 pass attempts and just 14 runs. The other team that stood out for its pass-happy ways last week was Atlanta: in a back-and-forth game with a neutral Game Script, the Falcons passed on 73% of plays, while Tampa Bay passed on just 43% of plays. That says a lot about the tendencies of both teams.
What stands out to you?