20 quick hit NFL stats: week 5
By Andrew Long
Sep 28, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) takes a snap from center during the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Colts defeated the Titans 41-17. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The first 4 weeks of the 2014 NFL season are in the books and I thought it would be cool to dive into some of the statistics that the young season has provided us with. Some players are posting impressive numbers and others are, well…not. In this article, I’ll be looking at 20 different quick hit stats from the first quarter of the NFL season.
People always say that it’s a passing league, so let’s start out by looking at some passing stats.
1. After 4 weeks of action, the 32 NFL teams have combined to attempt 4,274 passes.
2. Of those 4,274 pass attempts, 2,750 of them were completed. That’s about 64%.
3. Those 2,750 completed passes combined to produce 29,516 yards.
4. 1,305 of those passing yards belong to Andrew Luck, who currently leads the NFL in that category.
5. The guy Luck plays this week, Joe Flacco, has 1,055 passing yards.
6. With 25 catches, 429 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, Steve Smith Sr. is accountable for about 40% of that production by Flacco.
7. Now that Steve Smith is dominating in Baltimore, Kelvin Benjamin is the man for the Carolina Panthers. The 6-5 rookie wideout has taken the league by storm and currently ranks ninth in receiving yards with 329.
8. Another rookie that has lived up to the hype is speedster, Brandin Cooks. The shifty receiver leads all rookies in receptions with 23.
9. His 23 receptions make up 20% of the 115 completions by Drew Brees this season. Brees has completed an impressive 71.4% of his passes thus far.
10. Philip Rivers, the QB that replaced Brees in San Diego nearly a decade ago, currently has his team at 3-1 with 9 touchdowns and only 1 interception.
11. The San Diego aerial attack may be thriving, but the same cannot be said about their run game. The Chargers are currently dead last in rushing with an abysmal 2.4 yards per carry.
12. The Chargers can’t be happy with the production of their backfield and the fact that they play the New York Jets this week doesn’t help. Having allowed only 253 yards on the ground, an average of 63.2 per game, the Jets lead the league in rushing defense.
13. The Jets have been awesome stopping the run, but their efforts against the pass have been lackluster. They have allowed 9 passing touchdowns, 3rd most in the league to this point.
14. Their passing defense is terrible and their passing offense hasn’t been much better. Geno Smith has underperformed and Rex Ryan has a full-fledged quarterback controversy on his hands. Smith is tied for most interceptions in the NFL with 5 (he only has 4 touchdown passes).
15. Eli Manning, a fellow New York quarterback, also has 5 interceptions.
16. It must be something in the water in New York because E.J. Manuel, the former starter in Buffalo, has tossed 3 interceptions this season. That’s 13 picks from the NY teams (spare me the “Jets & Giants play in Jersey” comments).
17. Those 13 interceptions equal the same amount thrown by the 3 Florida teams combined.
18. The rookie quarterback from Jacksonville, Blake Bortles, accounts for 4 of those interceptions. Bortles isn’t completely at fault, though. Thanks to poor defense, the young QB is constantly playing catch up and is forced to put the ball in the air.
19. Saying that Jacksonville has a poor defense is probably being too generous. The Jags have been absolutely dreadful on defense this season. How dreadful? The Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed 451.2 yards per game in 2014, that’s how dreadful.
20. Of the 29,516 passing yards accumulated by the 32 NFL teams so far this season, the Jacksonville defense has allowed 1,283 of those yards.
Welp, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading the article as much as I enjoyed writing it! Be sure to let me know what you think in the comment section below.
Until next time, keep it real!