Yesterday, I looked at the NFL teams since 1970 that got the most (in terms of winning percentage) out of their passing games. These were teams that were dragged down by their passing offense. Today, the opposite: passing offenses that were dragged down by the rest of the team.
And let’s begin with Manning. Because no passing offense was ever let down more by the rest of his team than one of Manning’s dome teams. Of course, I am referring to Archie Manning and the 1980 Saints, who went 1-15 despite having an above-average passing offense. New Orleans finished 6th in completion percentage and 10th in ANY/A in 1980, but New Orleans allowed a then-record 6,218 yards of offense to opponents season. The Saints allowed 487 points, a mark that still ranks as the worst in franchise history.
Behind Manning, the Saints averaged 5.19 Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt, which was +0.33 better than league average. As a result, this means among all teams since 1970, the ’80 Saints were 0.28 standard deviations better than average at passing. However, with a 1-15 mark, those Saints were 2.27 standard deviations below average at winning. Using the methodology described yesterday, this means the 1980 Saints get a grade of -2.55, indicating an extreme lack of help for the passing offense. That is the worst result of any team since the merger.
The next 3 teams on the list are all 49ers teams. In 2000, Jeff Garcia, Terrell Owens, a 38-year-old Jerry Rice, and Charlie Garner powered one of the best offenses in the NFL. The 49ers ranked in the top 5 in yards per play and led the league in turnovers… and yet went 6-10, thanks to a defense and special teams that was just as bad as the 49ers offense was good. In 1982, the strike-shortened season, Joe Montana and Dwight Clark were a lethal combination, but the team won 3 games, blew 3 games in the 4th quarter, and lost another 3 games. Montana and the 49ers had the best passing attack in the NFC that season, but a defense that significantly regressed. And in 1979, in the first year of Bill Walsh, San Francisco had a similar situation: Steve DeBerg and the 49ers had an above-average passing offense, but the defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed, ranking in the bottom 3 in both ANY/A and points allowed.
The full results, below:
The next 3 seasons on the list are three of my personal favorites.
1) In 1997, Jeff George had a most unusual season. Playing under OC Ray Perkins with an in his prime Tim Brown, deep threat James Jett, and super athletic TE Rickey Dudley, the veteran quarterback led the NFL in both passing yards and sacks. George ranked 2nd in the NFL in yards per completion and coupled that with the 4th best INT rate in the league. George ranked 3rd in AY/A and 6th in ANY/A, and the Raiders went …. 4-12. That’s because the Raiders ranked last in the NFL in both yards per pass allowed, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and of course total yards allowed.
2) In 1996, while with the new Baltimore Ravens, Vinny Testaverde ranked 4th in the NFL in ANY/A and 2nd in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He was throwing to a pair of deep threats in Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander and played under a new head coach in Ted Marchibroda. But for the only time in Ravens history, the team coupled a great offense with an awful defense: Baltimore ranked in the bottom 3 in points allowed, yards allowed, and yards per attempt allowed, and finished 4-12.
3) The 2004 Colts went 12-4…. and rank super high on this list because the passing offense was a remarkable 3.42 standard deviations above average. The Colts lost games where they scored 24, 24, and 35 points and allowed 27, 27, and 45 points, in addition to a meaningless season finale. Peyton Manning had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history, and jacked up his team’s passing offense so much that a 12-4 record is an underachievement. He lost a game where he threw for 472 yards and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions and no sacks on 43 dropbacks until an interception on the final play of the game. It was a magical year for the Colts offense.
What stands out to you?
