One fact for every NFL team. Some might say it's truly a great day to be great.

Special thanks to TruMedia, PFF, Pro Football Reference, and Next-Gen Stats for all referenced metrics.

Arizona Cardinals

  • Question: How good has the Cardinals' run game been?

Yes, Kyler Murray's passing numbers haven't been overwhelmingly great, Trey McBride leads the league with 60-scoreless targets, and Marvin Harrison Jr. is just the WR38 in PPR points per game behind Courtland Sutton (no offense, Courtland Sutton).

Also yes, the run game has been good. Like, really, really good:

Cardinals run game ranks:

  • Yards per carry: 5.3 (2nd)
  • Yards after contact per carry: 3.67 (2nd)
  • Missed tackles forced per carry: 25.3% (2nd)
  • Explosive runs per carry: 17% (2nd)
  • First downs per rush: 29.6% (1st)

Obviously, James Conner deserves a lot of credit; he's posted top-five marks in missed tackles forced (32%) and yards after contact per carry (3.64) this season. The man is a beast. Still, don't sleep on Kyler's impact on the ground: Nobody is averaging more yards per carry than Kyler (8.1) this season (min. 25 carries).

Atlanta Falcons

It seems like at least once per week Mooney rips off 15-20 yards courtesy of a smooth deep out or comeback route.

These sorts of routes sure seem to be right up Kirk Cousins' alley: Mooney (12 receptions, 165 yards) and teammate Drake London (14, 141) claim the top two spots in both receptions and yards on comebacks and outs this season.

Baltimore Ravens

  • Question: Is Justice Hill actually one of the league's better receiving RBs?

Most attention to the Ravens offense understandably goes to Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, but the third amigo of the backfield has actually been quite good when called upon this season–particularly as a receiver.

Hill among 43 RBs with 15-plus targets (pre Thursday night football):

  • PFF receiving grade: 91.6 (1st)
  • Yards per route run: 2.01 (2nd)
  • Yards per reception: 10.9 (2nd)
  • Yards per target: 9.7 (2nd)
  • Total PPR points from receiving: 64.2 (RB6)
  • PPR points per game from receiving: 7.1 (RB8)

Buffalo Bills

  • Question: Is Khalil Shakir the most sure-handed WR in the league?

While Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jared Goff's streak of 30 consecutive caught targets has made headlines this week, Khalil Shakir and Josh Allen actually share the more reliable connection during the course of the entire season.

Highest catch rate among 90 WRs with 25-plus targets this season:

  1. Khalil Shakir (93.3%)
  2. Rashee Rice (82.8%)
  3. Amon-Ra St. Brown (81.4%)
  4. Chris Godwin (80.6%)
  5. Ja'Marr Chase (78.6%)

Shakir's current 93.3% catch rate is good for the best single-season mark since targets began being tracked in 1992. And get this: If we push the qualifier up to 40 targets, 2024 Shakir and 2023 Shakir (86.7%) claim the top two spots. Madness.

Carolina Panthers

  • Question: Has Bryce Young improved considerably since returning from his benching?

He has!

It's hard to overstate just how low the bar was here after a disastrous first two weeks of the season, but Young's numbers have improved across the board following his "timeout":

  • Weeks 1-2: -0.514 EPA per dropback, -11% CPOE, 31.8 PFF pass grade, 44.1 passer rating, 4.4 YPA
  • Weeks 8-9: -0.022 EPA per dropback, +4% CPOE, 67.7 PFF pass grade, 77.1 passer rating, 6.3 YPA

Chicago Bears

Yes, it has. There have been flashes of truly solid play through nine weeks, but sadly Williams has regressed back to early-season form after briefly playing like one of the best QBs in football.

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Question: Is this Joe Burrow's most productive start to a season yet?

In terms of passing yards and TDs–pretty close!

Burrow passing yards and TDs during the first 10 games of the season:

  • 2020: 2,688 yards, 13 TD
  • 2021: 2,645, 21
  • 2022: 2,890, 22
  • 2023: 2,309, 15
  • 2024: 2,672, 24

Cleveland Browns

  • Question: Has any QB been more reckless than Jameis Winston through two starts?

Not really. The league leaders in dropped INTs are Matthew Stafford (6) and Jameis Winston (5), so realistically we're talking about an alternant simulation where Winston would already have eight INTs–tied for the fifth-highest mark in the NFL.

PFF's turnover-worthy play rate is a good tool to account for things like this, and yes: Drake Maye (5.3%), Winston (5.1%), and Anthony Richardson (5%) are the only three QBs with a TWP rate of at least five percent this season.

Dallas Cowboys

  • Question: Do the Cowboys have the most rushing yards UNDER expected on the season?

Sure do: Next-Gen Stats has the Cowboys (-120) and Rams (-101) as the clear bottom-two offenses in rush yards under expected this season. Their -0.7 rush yards under expected per carry is the worst single-season mark of the past five seasons. Not great!

Denver Broncos

  • Question: Do Bo Nix and Troy Franklin have the worst chemistry of any collegiate teammate QB/WR combo in the NFL?

It sure seems like it. The pair of Oregon Ducks have linked up on just 14 of their 27 targets (51.9% catch rate, 76th) this season–good for a brutal average of just five yards per target (81st among 90 qualified WRs).

While Franklin deserves his fair share of criticism–he's one of only three players to drop multiple passes thrown at least 30 yards downfield this season–Nix was the culprit during the team's Week 9 loss to the Ravens. Good luck against the Chiefs!

Detroit Lions

While my writing about it will inevitably jinx things, the Sun God deserves credit for catching a score in six consecutive games–the longest active streak in the league. In second place? Titans WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine with four!

St. Brown's streak is awesome and fun, but he's got a ways to go historically before making any sort of real noise: Jerry Rice (13), Randy Moss (10), and Carl Pickens (10) are the only players since 1970 to catch a TD in at least 10 consecutive games.

Green Bay Packers

  • Question: Have certain Packers WRs been better than others when it comes to contested catches this season?

Yup. This stat is pretty hilarious, not gonna lie.

Packers WR contested catch rates among 53 qualified WRs:

Nobody has more contested targets with *zero* contested receptions than Wicks (9).

Houston Texans

  • Question: Has this offensive line completely fallen apart in recent weeks?

Sure has. WR injuries leading to less separation leading to C.J. Stroud having to hold the ball longer than normal is certainly part of the equation, but either way: The team's pressure rate allowed by week has gotten ROUGH recently:

Indianapolis Colts

  • Question: Have some Colts WRs been better than others at getting open?

ESPN's Open Rating sure seems to think so:

Colts WR Open Ratings among 111 qualified WRs:

Mitchell would have at least four extra TDs in another simulation this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Question: Is LSU the real WRU?

You could argue that. Just look at the most efficient players on a per-target basis this season.

Most yards per target among 42 players with 50-plus targets this season:

  1. Justin Jefferson (11.3)
  2. Brian Thomas (11.2)
  3. Ja'Marr Chase (10.2)

Geaux Tigers!

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Question: Has this been the most CONSISTENT version of the Chiefs offense?

In some respects, chiefly "Success Rate" which considers a play to be successful if it gains at least 40% of yards required on 1st down, 60% on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd or 4th down.

Maybe Kansas City doesn't have quite as many explosive plays these days, but they've stayed on schedule nearly better than ever and certainly better than any other 2024 squad.

Chiefs offensive success rate and rank in the Mahomes era:

  • 2024: 50.7% (1st)
  • 2023: 43.8% (12th)
  • 2022: 50.7% (1st)
  • 2021: 51.1% (1st)
  • 2020: 50.2% (4th)
  • 2019: 47% (5th)
  • 2018: 50% (2nd)

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Question: How do Brock Bowers' first nine games stack up in NFL history?

Quite well! Since 1970:

Bowers' production and ranks among all TE's first nine career games:

  • Receptions: 57 (1st)
  • Receiving yards: 580 (2nd behind Kyle Pitts)
  • PPR points: 128.2 (1st)

Of course, Mike Ditka's *1961* season still holds the cake in terms of receiving yards (771) and PPR points (164.1). What a late-round steal he was for the fantasy OGs.

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Question: Has Quentin Johnston benefited more than most from blown coverages this year?

Yup! Shoutout to Fantasy Points' Ryan Heath: Johnston's 30.8 fantasy points on busted coverages this year are +53% more than any other player.

It truly has been amazing how little attention he's drawn from opposing secondaries on three of his four TDs this year.

Los Angeles Rams

  • Question: Is Cooper Kupp getting fed more targets than anyone?

Sure is. Nobody has more on a per-game basis this season.

Most targets per game in 2024:

  1. Cooper Kupp (12.3)
  2. Malik Nabers (12)
  3. CeeDee Lamb (10.5)
  4. Garrett Wilson (10.4)
  5. Nico Collins and Tee Higgins (9)

Honestly, even that number is short-changing Kupp: He's up to 14.3 targets per game if you remove his injured-shortened Week 2 from the equation.

Miami Dolphins

  • Question: Has De'Von Achane been back to his usual efficient self since the bye?

He has! Two key factors are in play here: 1.) Achane has seemingly been much healthier over the past three weeks after spending the first half of the season playing through a high-ankle injury, and 2.) The return of Tua Tagovailoa has done wonders for the general success of the offense as a whole.

Either way: Hell yeah! Among 37 qualified RBs before and after the Dolphins' Week 6 bye:

Minnesota Vikings

  • Question: Is Sam Darnold putting up legit elite numbers?

He sure is. Give Kevin O'Connell or Justin Jefferson all the credit if you want, but either way, Dick Darnold is cooking (his real first name is Richard):

Darnold among 35 QBs with 150-plus dropbacks:

  • EPA per dropback: +0.087 (No. 17)
  • Completion percentage over expected: +8.5% (No. 1)
  • Passer rating: 107.8 (No. 4)
  • PFF pass grade: 74.3 (No. 14)
  • Yards per attempt: 8.5 (No. 4)
  • Big-time throw rate: 5.7% (No. 4)

The turnover and sack totals haven't been ideal; just realize at a minimum Darnold looks a lot like a top-20 QB on the planet–which is quite the improvement from where he stood a few short months ago.

New England Patriots

  • Question: Just how lethal has Drake Maye been on the ground this year?

Literally only Lamar Jackson (56.1) and Jayden Daniels (51) have more rushing yards per game than Maye (41.8) among all QBs to start at least one game this season (sorry, Dorian Thompson-Robinson). Hell, Maye's average improves to 49.3 if you remove his mop-up duty performance against the Jets in Week 3.

Maye leads all QBs in total rushing yards (197) since getting the starting job. He even has more than Kenneth Walker (196) during that stretch in the same amount of games! The result has been three top-12 fantasy finishes–as many as C.J. Stroud and Patrick Mahomes have combined this season.

New Orleans Saints

  • Question: How good has Taysom Hill actually been as a rusher?

Quite good!

Hill among 73 RBs and TEs (just him obviously) with 20-plus carries:

  • Yards per carry: 5 (No. 12)
  • Yards after contact per carry: 3.78 (No. 5)
  • Missed tackles forced per carry: 34.8% (No. 11)
  • PFF rush grade: 82.9 (No. 12)

However, the most impressive stat: A league-high 52.2% of Hill's carries have gone for first downs or TDs this season–no other RB or TE (again, just Hill) is at even 35%.

New York Giants

ESPN's advanced receiver analytics team thinks so. They've only assigned five "99" ratings to their "Open Score" (meant to quantity separation ability) in their database.

Highest WR single-season "Open Ratings" since 2017:

New York Jets

Let's check the numbers!

Sauce Gardner receiving totals and passer rating allowed:

  • 2022: 33 receptions-361 yards-1 TD, 53.5 passer rating
  • 2023: 29-251-1, 76.5
  • 2024: 16-279-1, 99.6

Not as dominant indeed, but please do NOT blame Gardner's newfound golf obsession as the problem here. I will not stand for that.

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Question: Has this passing game made quite the leap in recent weeks?

It has! We can use Jalen Hurts' passer rating to quantify this. Passer rating isn't always the best metric to zero in on a QB's performance, but it does do a pretty good job of representing a team's passing game as a whole.

  • Week 1: 80.3 passer rating
  • Week 2: 88.6
  • Week 3: 88.8
  • Week 4: 85.1
  • Week 5: Bye
  • Week 6: 126.1
  • Week 7: 119.3
  • Week 8: 132.5
  • Week 9: 132.3

Overall, Hurts and the Eagles ranked just 21st among 33 qualified QBs during the first four weeks compared to third during the last month of action. Get your popcorn ready for more goodness ahead: Philly plays the Cowboys, Commanders, Rams, Ravens, Panthers, Steelers (okay that one's tough), Commanders, and Cowboys through fantasy championship Sunday.

Pittsburgh Steelers

It's a small sample. The sample is small. I can't stress enough how small the sample is. We are very much dealing with a small sample.

THAT SAID: Pickens has been AMAZING since the QB change despite a sheeshy Week 8 that could have been much bigger:

Pickens among 74 WRs with 10-plus targets in Weeks 7-9:

  • PFF receiving grade: 89.9 (No. 1)
  • Yards per route run: 3.19 (No. 4)
  • Yards per target: 13.2 (No. 10)
  • Passer rating when targeted: 131.5 (No. 15)

More good times could be ahead against the Commanders, Ravens, and Browns–three of the league's 11 teams that have already allowed double-digit receiving TDs to opposing WRs this season.

San Francisco 49ers

CMC has finished as a top-24 RB in all but two of his games with the 49ers over the past two seasons. Hell, even his relatively bad performances can be explained away by limited usage.

McCaffrey's relative dominance at the position was unmatched in 2023:

The difference in total PPR fantasy points between No. 1 and No. 2 overall scorers in 2023:

  • QB: 13.4
  • RB: 122.6
  • WR: 12.5
  • TE: 6

Seattle Seahawks

  • Question: How miserable has this offensive line been this season?

I put together the below chart to denote each QB's pressure rate *with* their average time to pressure, since we can theoretically put more blame on a QB when they hold the ball too long. Other factors like the play-call and receivers getting open matter, but this is probably a better tool than simply listing the raw pressure rate. Cool? Cool.

 

While Smith has indeed been under a lot of pressure, his average time to pressure is the fourth-fastest rate in the league, making it tough to overly blame him for the issues (unlike, say the Bears and Eagles).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Question: Is Cade Otton the most productive pass-catcher in the NFL?

He has been over the last three weeks:

Cade Otton among all pass-catchers in Weeks 7-9:

  • Receptions: 25 (No. 2)
  • Receiving yards: 258 (No. 3)
  • Touchdowns: 3 (tied for No. 2)
  • PPR points: 68.8 (No. 3)

Reminder: That's among ALL pass-catchers, not just TEs. Literally only Saquon Barkley (71.7) and De'Von Achane (69.3) scored more PPR points than Otton in Weeks 7-9. That's it! Not too shabby!

Tennessee Titans

  • Question: How effective has Tony Pollard been as a rusher this season?

Very, particularly when considering the Titans rank 31st in rush yards BEFORE contact per carry. This hasn't led to many gaping holes for Pollard, but he's made the most of his opportunities anyway: Only Tank Bigsby (4.4) and Tyler Allgeier (3.96) have averaged more rush yards AFTER contact per carry than Pollard (3.8) this season.

Washington Commanders

  • Question: Is Jayden Daniels having one of the best fantasy rookie seasons ever?

Sure is!

Most fantasy points per game by a rookie QB in NFL history (min. 8 starts):

  1. Cam Newton (23.1)
  2. Justin Herbert (22.2)
  3. Robert Griffin (21.2)
  4. Jayden Daniels (20.2)

Absolute king shit.