Analysis
11/2/20
5 min min read
Week 8 Statistical Review
Ravens vs. Steelers
Strength vs. Strength
- The Steelers came into Sunday’s game allowing the fewest rushing yards, the second-fewest yards/rush attempt and only 19 rushing first downs on 122 attempts (fewest rushing attempts against in the league)
- They allowed over 100 rushing yards only once (Week 2 vs. Broncos, 104 yards)
- They allowed 29 rush yards in two games this year (Weeks 1 and 3)
- The Ravens came into the game with the most rushing yards per game (164.3)
- Leading rusher Mark Ingram was out for this game due to injury
- The Ravens rushing attack outplayed the Steelers rushing defense in this matchup
- The Ravens rushed for 265 yards on 47 rush attempts (5.6 yards/rush)
- This includes the only 100-yard rusher the Steelers have allowed so far this season (rookie J.K. Dobbins rushed for 113 yards)
- 87 yards for Gus Edwards and 65 yards for Lamar Jackson
- The Steelers allowing 265 rushing yards is the most the franchise has allowed since Week 17 of 1993 against the Seahawks
Steelers Defense Found a Way to be Dominant
- The Steelers defense forced Lamar Jackson into four turnovers (2 INTs, 2 fumbles)
- The four turnovers is the most Jackson has produced in his NFL career
- Jackson has produced just 22 turnovers in his career -- 13 INTs and 9 fumbles
- Seven of those turnovers have happened in two games against the Steelers (5 INTs and 2 fumbles lost)
- Nearly 32% of his turnovers have come against the Steelers
- The four turnovers was due to the Steelers pressure on the QB
- Ravens franchise LT Ronnie Stanley had a “severe ankle injury” in the first quarter and will be out for the year
- During this game, the Steelers had 18 total pressures and 4 sacks (per PFF)
- They had a pass rush win rate of 50% while pressuring the QB on 37.5% of Jackson’s dropbacks
* The Ravens were extremely undisciplined in this matchup and ultimately it was the reason they weren’t able to win (9 penalties for 110 yards and losing turnover battle 4-1)*
Patriots vs. Bills
New Age Patriots
- The Patriots came into this came being the least penalized team in the NFL (15)
- Not only were they the least penalized this year, they were the least penalized team through six games of any team in 58 years (1962 Steelers had 13), per Andrew Siciliano
- This changed immediately, as the Patriots had a delay of game penalty in the first quarter, the Patriots’ first delay of game penalty since Week 1 of 2016 (Jimmy Garoppolo at QB), per Ben Volin
- The Patriots have yet to find their identity through seven games of the season, which has resulted in them being held scoreless in the first quarter in every game
- They are the only team that has yet to score a TD in the first quarter this season (per ESPN Stats Info)
- With injuries to Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry, the Patriots were left with Jakobi Meyers and Damiere Byrd as their top two WRs
- Meyers was the only Patriots WR that had caught a pass until nearly midway through the third quarter
- The Bills won their first game against the Patriots since 2016, ending an 8-game losing streak in the series
Running the Football
- The two teams combined for 378 rushing yards which was 54.9% of the total yardage gained in this matchup
- Every TD was scored on the ground
- Bills rookie RB Zack Moss rushed for 81 yards (5.8 ypc) and backfield partner Devin Singletary rushed for 86 yards (6.1 ypc)
- The leading rusher in this matchup was second-year RB Damien Harris (16 rushes, 102 yards, 54 yards after contact)
- His third-quarter rushing TD was the Patriots’ first offensive TD since Week 4 against the Chiefs
- Per ESPN Stats Info, the six-quarter scoreless streak from the Patriots was tied for the most consecutive quarters without a TD under Bill Belichick (2000 Weeks 12-13)
Chargers vs. Broncos
Young QB Matchup
- Justin Herbert has been incredible in his time as a starter in the NFL, including being the only QB with 1,500-plus passing yards and 100-plus passer rating through first five career games (per prosportoutlook)
- After this game, Herbert has now thrown at least 3 TD passes in four of six career games
- First QB to do this since at least 2001 (ESPN Stats & Info)
- Herbert joins Deshaun Watson as the only rookies in NFL history with 3 TD passes in four consecutive games
- With the 3 TDs today, Herbert has tied the record for the most TDs through a player’s first six career games in NFL history (per ESPN Stats & Info)
- Drew Lock has dealt with issues inside the pocket going into this matchup, including being pressured on 45% of his dropbacks this season (third-most in NFL) per CBS
- This includes being flushed out of the pocket in a panic on three plays on the Broncos’ first drive
- He has shown an inability to work the ball downfield so far this season without Courtland Sutton (NFL’s sixth-fewest yards per pass attempt)
- In the first half of this matchup, Lock averaged 3.9 yards/attempt
- Longest completion of the first half was 12 yards to Noah Fant
Herbert’s Comfort vs Lock’s Unfamiliarity
- Herbert has been able to get comfortable with his weapons in his first six games
- Keenan Allen ranks second in the league in highest percentage of team’s total targets at 30.5%, per CBS
- This is only behind DeAndre Hopkins at 30.9%
- Allen had a team-high 5 targets through the first three drives (8 receptions and 10 targets through three quarters)
- Lock has had a different leading receiver in six of his seven games so far this season with no main target in crucial situations
- Lock is without WR1 Courtland Sutton, who is out for the year
- Sutton had two times more yards last year than anyone else on the roster and has about one-third of the total receiving yards
- The offense got going when the Broncos were able to start picking up yards on the ground (Melvin Gordon had 4 yard through two quarters)
- Gordon and Phillip Lindsay ended with 109 total rushing yards
The End
- The Chargers were up 24-3 in the third quarter and 24-10 going into the fourth
- The Broncos scored 21 points to the Chargers’ six in the fourth quarter
- The Chargers are the first team in NFL history to blow four leads of 16-plus points in four straight games
- This is the fifth time in franchise history they have blown a lead of 21 or more (last time was vs. K.C. in 2016), per Joe Reedy and AP Sports
Other Notes
- Russell Wilson becomes third QB to have 250-plus TDs in first nine seasons
- Also broke the record for most wins for a QB through first nine seasons
- DK Metcalf is the third player since the merger to have 7 receiving TDs through seven games at age 22 or younger
- Alvin Kamara is the first Saints player since Deuce McAllister (2003) to have 100-plus scrimmage yards in six straight games
- Patrick Mahomes threw more TDs vs. the Jets (5) than the Jets have all season (4)
