Analysis
10/5/21
3 min read
Inside the Numbers: Week 4 Winners
Each week The 33rd Team reviews Sunday’s games by looking behind the box score to find the key statistics that affected the outcome of each game. Here, we will look at why these teams won:
Indianapolis Colts 27 – Miami Dolphins 17
Colts Key Stat: 3/11 Third Down Conversions Allowed
Facing Jacoby Brissett in his second career Dolphins start, the Colts didn’t manage any interceptions but instead consistently got the defense off the field. Through the first half, the only points allowed were off of a muffed punt with the Colts allowing only 59 total yards. Miami’s offense did manage to get going in garbage time but big games from Darius Leonard, Bobby Okereke, and Kemoko Turay set up Jonathan Taylor and the Colts offense to take home the win.
Dallas Cowboys 36 – Carolina Panthers 28
Cowboys Key Stat: 9 Pressures Allowed
With one of the league’s most dominant defenses on the docket, the Cowboys kept Dak Prescott clean and he responded with one of his most efficient games. Although Brian Burns got his with three pressures, no other Panther registered more than one with Dallas OL Tyler Biadasz and Zack Martin stopping all comers. This offensive line dominance extended to the run game as well, with Zeke in particular averaging 5.0 yards before contact. The Cowboys may not have scored the most points in the NFL this week, but it was an impressive showing nonetheless.
New York Giants 27 – New Orleans Saints 21
Giants Key Stat: 10.1 Passing Yards per Attempt
In his all-important third year, Daniel Jones has been tested. After averaging 6.6 YPA in each of his first two years, he’s been up around 7.5 YPA for each of the first three weeks but saw an explosion to 10.1 in Week 4. With prized offseason acquisitions in Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney starting to get on the same page with Jones, the offense finally showed some life against a tough New Orleans defense. Over half of Jones’ pass yardage came through the air as he pushed it downfield effectively and showed some of the promise that came with his high draft status.
Arizona Cardinals 37 – LA Rams 20
Cardinals Key Stat: 17 Points in the Second Quarter
Believe it or not, scoring in the second quarter is actually significantly more correlated with wins than scoring in any other quarter. The Cardinals have the top scoring offense through four weeks, notably including 12.0 points per game in the second quarter alone (2nd). With two TDs and a FG against LA in the second, Arizona gave themselves an 11-point lead and forced LAR to become one-dimensional in the second half. The Cardinals won this game early and remain unbeaten.
Washington Football Team 34 – Atlanta Falcons 30
Washington Key Stat: 147 Yards After the Catch
In Taylor Heinicke's third straight start, Washington’s receiving core benefitted from the return of Curtis Samuel and saw four different players reach at least 20 YAC. Through 7 broken tackles, Samuel joined the running backs in consistently producing on quick passes despite an average depth of target behind the line of scrimmage. Atlanta has the 8th-highest LB cap hit this season, so Washington will certainly be proud of this performance and look to build on this result moving forward.
