Numbers Check: Around the League Edition
Josh Frey
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Normally, I use these ‘numbers check’ articles to give an immediate recap and analysis of Vikings games. But, since the Vikings didn’t play this week, I decided this week’s edition would be dedicated to highlighting a few of the matchups from around the NFL.
6
Washington’s defensive front dominated the Dallas offensive line in Sunday’s game, on their way to six sacks. Five of these sacks of Andy Dalton and Ben DiNucci were back-breakers on third down, including one that resulted in a safety. Dalton and DiNucci had no time to throw which resulted in some bad decisions. This play isn’t a sack, but just look at how quickly Chase Young gets into the backfield.
Because of how easily Young got to Dalton, Dalton was forced to throw up a prayer and overshot his receiver. This could have been a pivotal moment in the game had Dallas converted this fourth down, considering that they were only down six. But instead, Washington got the ball back on a short field and scored.
2
I’m applying this number to the Seattle/Arizona games to recognize the play of another defensive front. Throughout the entirety of regulation, Arizona had been unable to get pressure on Russell Wilson. They had zero sacks through 60 minutes of play and allowed Wilson to make plays like these at will.
Then, in the overtime period, things changed. While the secondaries of both teams looked exhausted, the Arizona D-line stepped up and made some huge plays. They got two sacks during OT, and this one was particularly important in stopping Seattle’s initial overtime drive.
The pressure that Arizona was able to put on Wilson throughout overtime undoubtedly was on his mind during the Seahawks second drive when an ill-advised throw was intercepted, leading to Arizona’s game winning field goal.
72.2
The reason Pittsburgh was in control for most of the game against Tennessee has a lot to do with their third down success rate. They converted 13 of their 18 attempts, a 72.2% rate. This allowed their offense to stay on the field longer, and it gave their defense time to rest and prepare to stop the freight train that is Derrick Henry. They had the ball for 36 minutes and 37 seconds which made it impossible for Tennessee to gain much momentum, especially early on.
Much of their success came on plays like this where Pittsburgh’s dynamic receivers ran a short curl or slant route, Roethlisberger dumped it off, and the receiver, in this case Diontae Johnson, would make a play with his legs.
The game got close by the end because Tennessee made a great play on another of these quick plays. Look how many Titans swarm to Johnson after he makes this catch.
This immediately led to a Tennessee touchdown, and then the Titans caught a break on Big Ben’s second interception, a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage.
Still, Pittsburgh then went on a seven and a half minute drive because they continued using their short passing scheme to their advantage, converting four third downs, all through the air. The only mistake made was when Roethlisberger threw deep in the end zone into double coverage.