Previously:

• Week 1 Game Scripts
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10

Let’s begin with the week 11 Game Scripts. There were no notable blowouts or comebacks in week 11, but the Browns checked in as the most run-heavy team. Cleveland continues to be a run-heavy team and to an extreme degree when the Game Script is in their favor. In this win over the Eagles, Cleveland ran on over 60% of their plays, the third time they’ve done so this year; after 11 weeks, Minnesota had also three such games, and the rest of the NFL had only 9 games with a 60% run ratio.

The full week 11 Game Scripts, below.

The two Los Angeles teams stood out as the most pass-happy of the week. Both the Chargers and Rams won and still finished with over 50 passes. Justin Herbert and the Chargers couldn’t have been too concerned playing the Jets, but Herbert still dropped back to pass 54 times (49 passes, 3 sacks, 2 scrambles). Due to injuries, journeyman Kalen Ballage (who was actually on the Jets earlier this year) was the team’s primary running back. Ballage and the other Chargers running backs carried 23 times for 46 yards and 3 first downs; Herbert, meanwhile, gained 358 yards and 20 first downs on his 54 plays. Not every coach would do it, but you can see why the Chargers stuck with the passing game in an easy win over the hapless Jets.

For the Rams, facing the potent Bucs offense kept the pressure on Los Angeles all game. The Rams never trailed in the second half, but the game was tied for long stretches; Los Angeles running backs had 16 carries for just 40 yards, while Goff had 51 passes for 376 yards and didn’t take a sack.

Week 12

The week 12 Game Scripts are below. The most extreme team of the week was the Broncos, but we will deal with them in a moment. Let’s look at the most pass-heavy team of week 12, which is a team that had something in common with the most pass-heavy team of week 11. Facing the Bucs, the Chiefs also kept their foot on the gas pedal all game long. Of course, having Patrick Mahomes plays a part in that, too. Kansas City led by double digits after the second and third quarters and won the game but still threw 50 passes. That had only happened 11 times prior to Sunday, and in four of them, Tom Brady was the one throwing those passes. In this game, he was on the opposing sideline, and Mahomes was having his typical outstanding day.

Let us dig in to the stats on the Broncos/Saints game. Denver ran on 77% of their plays, a result of backup quarterback Jeff Driskel testing positive for Covid-19, and all of the other quarterbacks (including starter Drew Lock) being deemed a close contact of Driskel and ruled ineligible to play. That left practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton to (1) be promoted to the active roster, (2) as a quarterback, and (3) as the starting quarterback. It went about as well as you would expect.

Over the last 10 seasons, this was just the 5th game where a team ran on at least 76% of their plays in a game. But when you look at only games where a team was trailing after three quarters, there was only one other game in the last 35 years where a team ran on over 76% of their plays. And that game involved some pretty unusual circumstances, too.

The 49ers going with fourth string quarterback Cody Pickett against a Bears defense that would win the NFC North and lead the NFL in points allowed. And the winds reached up to 50 miles per hour that day, leading Chicago to avoid the forward pass as well. Pickett threw just two passes in the entire first half! San Francisco ran on 78% of their plays in the loss, but even this game was close: the 49ers only trailed 7-6 entering the 4th quarter!

Denver trailed by 21 points entering the final frame in week 12. If we look at only games where a team trailed by more than 16 points after three quarters and still rushed on 76% of their plays, then this was just the third game in the Super Bowl era to meet those criteria! The last time it happened before the Hinton Broncos was in the final week of the 1974 season in a Bengals loss to the Steelers.  That day, with starting QB Ken Anderson injured, the Bengals turned to backup Wayne Clark to lead the way against the Steel Curtain.  Head coach Paul Brown wasn’t trying to win: he was trying to avoid embarrassment.  The Bengals ran 41 times on 49 plays, and lost 27-3.  Clark was an 8th round pick who finished his career with 0 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions.

The only other time in the Super Bowl era a team was blown out and still avoided the pass came in 1972, and you won’t be surprised to learn that Bobby Douglass was the driver.  Douglass is arguably the most run-heavy quarterback in NFL history, and 1972 was his finest year as a runner.  In the opening game of the season, facing the Falcons, Douglas went 4-for-12 for 73 yards (with TD passes of 38 and 6 yards), and an interception and a sack, while also rushing 9 times for 68 yards.  Chicago ran on 43 out of 56 plays (77%) despite trailing 31-7 at halftime.

And that’s it: Hinton joins Clark and Douglass as a part of football history.