If you have any feedback on this document, please email [email protected]

Hi everyone!

Welcome to this week’s Statpack. It’s our weekly look at leaderboards for our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, and some of the stats that our operations team charts throughout the season. Plus, we give you a look at how each matchup this week stacks up with head-to-head comparisons of the teams for their different units.

You can download the full set of stats above. You will get the most out of this e-mail if you download and study the PDFs linked above and read our commentary below.

Total Points Leaderboards

Highlights from the leaderboards in our flagship stat, Total Points, which attempts to measure everything that happens on the field (if you’re new to this, there’s a full primer here):

Think of this as a guide to who the most valuable players at each position are, as well as a power ranking as to which teams are faring best in different aspects of play.

Top 10 Teams Overall

Top 5 Offenses

Top 5 Defenses

Total Points Leaders: Quarterbacks

Total Points Leaders: Running Backs

Total Points Leaders: Wide Receivers

Total Points Leaders: Defensive Ends

Total Points Leaders: Linebackers

Total Points Leaders: Cornerbacks

Total Points Leaders: Safeties

Note: These rankings are based on unrounded totals which virtually eliminates ties between players or teams.

* The top seven teams are within 2 Total Points per 60 Plays of each other, an indication of the great parity in the NFL this season. All seven of those teams rank in the top 11 defensively. Six of them rank in the top 13 offensively with the Texans (22nd) being the lone exception.

* There’s a good chance at least one team ranked 20th or below makes the playoffs. In the NFC South, the division champ will be either the Buccaneers (23rd) or the Panthers (24th). In the AFC North, the Ravens rank 20th and will try to knock out the 12th-ranked Steelers on Sunday night.

* Bo Nix, Bijan Robinson, and Puka Nacua are all runaway leaders in Total Points at their respective positions. So too is Trey McBride of the Cardinals. In what has been a dismal season for the Cardinals, McBride leads the NFL with 119 receptions and also has 11 touchdowns. With 54 Total Points, he’s 17 better than current runner-up, Hunter Henry of the Patriots.

* Props to the Bears and Bills for the play of their offensive lines this season. The Bears have the Total Points leader at tackle (Darnell Wright) and guard (Joe Thuney) and have the No. 4 center. The Bills have the runner-up at both tackle (Dion Dawkins) and guard (David Edwards) and have the No. 3 center (Connor McGovern).

If you want to see the Total Points leaders among offensive linemen, defensive tackles, linebackers, kickers, and punters, download the PDF within the e-mail.

Charting Leaderboards

Leaderboards in various statistical categories based on video review by our staff, including long passes, yards after contact, pressures, and pressures above expectations.

Most Completions, Pass Attempts 20+ Yards Downfield

Most Receptions, Targets 20+ Yards Downfield

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba 13
2. CeeDee Lamb, Puka Nacua 12
4. Tee Higgins 11
5. Zay Flowers, Courtland Sutton 10

Most Yards After Contact (Rushing)

Most QB Pressures

Most Pressures Above Expectation

Lowest Completion Percentage (Cornerbacks)

Fewest Yards per Cover Snap (Cornerbacks)

* Matthew Stafford’s 35 completions on passes at least 20 yards downfield are the most by a quarterback since Tom Brady had 35 in 2020. The last quarterback with more than Stafford was Jameis Winston, who had 38 in 2019. In the 11 seasons we’ve tracked, the most in a season is 41 by Blake Bortles in 2015.

* Bijan Robinson’s 45 missed tackles are one shy of the most by anyone on rushes since we began tracking that in 2018. Lamar Jackson had 46 in 2019. Robinson ranks 4th in overall rushing yards this season, but he leads the NFL with 850 rushing yards and 612 rushing yards after contact since Week 10.

* Jeffrey Simmons is the runaway leader in Total Points among defensive tackles and as we’ve noted a couple of times this season, his No. 2 ranking in pressures above expectation illustrates why he’s been so good. Simmons ranks 11th in total pressures with 61 but that’s roughly 24 more than he was expected to get based on situation and alignment.

Matchups and Mismatches

When we look at matchups by unit and compare the teams playing a particular game, there are intriguing matchups and mismatches each week. The Total Points PDF has this for each game in the NFL in a given week.

You can also find much of this information at the SIS DataHub Pro.

Here are some things we noticed:

(All references to rankings are in the context of Total Points Per Play)

* In the Ravens-Steelers matchup to decide the AFC North, the Steelers do have one notable edge. They rank 1st in pass blocking against a Ravens team that has the 29th-ranked pass rush. Baltimore’s edge is on the ground. The Ravens rank 8th in rushing and 7th in run blocking against the Steelers 19th-ranked run defense.

* The Buccaneers need a win over the Panthers and some help to win the NFC South. The Buccaneers have some edges in this matchup, most notably in pass blocking, in which they rank 9th against a Panthers pass rush that ranks 32nd. Tampa Bay also ranks 6th in rushing on offense, and they could be primed for a big day against the Panthers run defense that ranks 29th.

* 49ers-Seahawks for the NFC West title and No. 1 seed in the conference should be a great game. The Seahawks rank among the top eight teams in rushing, receiving, pass blocking, run defense, and pass coverage. The 49ers are a top five team in passing and receiving and rank 10th in run blocking.

In terms of weaknesses, the Seahawks rank last in the NFL in run blocking (despite a 5th-ranked rushing offense). The 49ers rank next-to-last in rushing offense and fifth-worst in run defense.

If you have any feedback on this document, please email [email protected]

The Off The Charts Football Podcast features a blend of statistical insights, tactical analysis, and personal opinions, aimed at providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the week's key matchups and the intricacies of the sport.

Check out our new injury risk model, which projects which players are going to miss time over the next year, two years, and three years. We explain how we created the model and then look at the players who could be most impacted.