It’s never too early to start looking at the stats.
Sure, the 2015 NFL season is just three weeks young, but already some intriguing trends have begun to emerge throughout the league. Some, like Tom Brady’s dominant three-game performance, are plain to see, while others, such as a startling turnover streak that started in 2014 and has continued to hamper the Chargers in 2015, are a little less obvious.
And while some fans may think it’s premature to begin analyzing the percentages, early-season numbers often have late-season consequences: 75 percent of teams that have started 3-0 since 1990 made the playoffs. Conversely, just two percent of 0-3 teams in that same time have booked trips to the post-season.
The latest edition of the Sportsnet NFL Power Rankings breaks down some telling numbers as September comes to a close.
Rank | Team | Previous | |
1 | 31 — The amount of times the Patriots have scored 40 points with Tom Brady as starter, the most in NFL history. |
1 | |
2 | 486 — The number of consecutive passes Aaron Rodgers has thrown at home without an interception, dating back to Dec. 2, 2012. In that span, he’s thrown 43 TDs at Lambeau Field, including the five he tossed Monday versus the Chiefs. |
2 | |
3 | 126 — The amount of points the Cardinals have scored, which leads the league. Thanks to resurgences from Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald and Chris Johnson (not to mention three interceptions returned for TDs), Arizona is averaging a whopping 42 points per game |
3 | |
4 | 777 — The total number of yards the Broncos’ much-improved defence has allowed thus far. What Denver’s offence is lacking in punch, Wade Phillips’s stout, opportunistic defence has made up for as the unit has been knocking out opponents. They rank in the top 10 of most major defensive categories, and have allowed just one receiving TD. |
4 | |
5 | 570 — The amount of receiving yards A.J. Green has racked up in his last four games against the Ravens, along with five touchdowns. |
5 | |
6 | 34 — Julio Jones’s total receptions this season, an NFL record through three games. |
6 | |
7 | 88 — Jimmy Graham (No. 88) had seven receptions, 62 yards and a touchdown heading into the home opener. The Seahawks finally got their prized acquisition involved Sunday: He had seven catches for 83 yards and a score against the Bears. |
9 | |
8 | 116.1 — Tyrod Taylor’s passer rating. The biggest question mark for the Bills coming into the season was at quarterback, and No. 5 has answered it in September. Behind Taylor, Buffalo owns the NFL’s third-best scoring offence, averaging more than 33 points a game. That’s 10 more points per game than any Jets offence under Rex Ryan. |
12 | |
9 | 26 — Cam Newton’s age, which, according to Ed Hochuli via Newton, isn’t old enough to get a “roughing the passer” call. It is, however, old enough to carry a team on your back to 3-0. |
13 | |
10 | 5 — The number of times the Cowboys ran the ball in the second half Sunday against the Falcons, after rushing it 16 times in the first half with a lot of success. Dallas won’t win without Romo if they don’t run the ball. |
8 | |
11 | 659 — The number of days between touchdown passes caught by a Chiefs wide receiver, a drought that started on Dec. 8, 2013 and ended Monday night in Green Bay with Jeremy Maclin’s first score with Kansas City. |
10 | |
12 | 4 — Four of the Jets’ final nine drives Sunday ended in turnovers. Only one of those led to points by the opposition. The Eagles handed New York multiple opportunities to come back from a 24–0 deficit, and the Jets kept giving the ball back. |
11 | |
13 | 90 — The percentage of games Ben Roethlisberger has started for the Steelers since the beginning of the 2004 season. Big Ben has played in 162 of Pittsburgh’s last 179 games, winning 67 percent of his starts. The Steelers are 10-7 since 2004 without Roethlisberger under centre. |
7 | |
14 | 16 — Adrian Peterson touchdown runs of at least 40 yards, the second most in NFL history. Only Barry Sanders (20) has more. |
19 | |
15 | 458.5 — The amount of yards the Raiders’ pass offence has averaged over the past two weeks. Before Weeks 2 and 3 of this season, Oakland had not racked up 440-plus yards in back-to-back games since Weeks 14 and 15 of the 2010 season, led by Jason Campbell at quarterback. |
21 | |
16 | 26.5 — The percentage of Colts drives that have ended with turnovers. Indianapolis’s offence has coughed the ball up to opposing defences 10 times—more than any other team—with seven of those coming via Andrew Luck interceptions, which also leads the league. |
15 | |
17 | 22 — The number of times the Chargers offence has turned the ball over since Week 12 of last season. Through the first 11 weeks of 2014, San Diego had just nine turnovers, including five games with none at all. From Weeks 12 through 17 they turned it over 14 times, ultimately missing the post-season. That trend has continued into 2015 with eight through three games, tied for second-most. |
14 | |
18 | 783 — How many more passing yards than rushing yards the Giants defence has given up this season. New York is the NFL’s second-best run-stopping team (224 yards), but have given up more yards to opposing quarterbacks than any other team (1,007). |
26 | |
19 | 29 — The Rams’ ranking in both passing and rushing yards, resulting in an offence that is dead-last in the NFL as September comes to a close. Nick Foles, averaging just 214 yards per game, has done nothing to ignite an offence that has scored just a single touchdown since beating Seattle in Week 1. |
16 | |
20 | 31 — The ranking of Chip Kelly’s offence (in yards gained) three games into the season. After finishing top-four in that category both of the last two seasons, Philadelphia’s offence has been horrific with an average of just over 285 yards a game. The Eagles had fewer than 285 yards just four times in 32 regular-season games under Kelly before 2015. |
25 | |
21 | 824 — Yards surrendered by Miami in the last two games, both losses. After playing sieve defence against the Jags in Week 2, the Dolphins were equally leaky in a horrible performance in their home opener against the Bills. |
17 | |
22 | 9/19, 47.37, 67, 0, 4 — Colin Kaepernick’s stat line from his atrocious performance in Arizona on Sunday. Just to clarify, that’s: 47.37 completion percentage, 67 passing yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions. After taking a big step week two, No. 7 took a whole bunch backward. |
18 | |
23 | 832 — Yards allowed. After a rocky off-season dominated yet again by RG3, Washington has quietly gotten the season off to a solid start defensively, ranking second overall in yards allowed. In fact the Redskins are in the top 10 in most defensive categories. Unfortunately, the offence continues to shoot Washington in the foot. |
20 | |
24 | 158 — Average rushing yards the Browns’ last-ranked run defence is giving up to opponents so far this season. It won’t matter who’s playing quarterback if Cleveland continues to get trampled in the ground game. |
23 | |
25 | 247 — The number of offensive plays the Texans have run this season, more than any other team by a margin of 30. Houston has attempted more passes than any other team, dropping back 144 times. Why does this matter? Well, despite running the most plays, the Texans offence remains incredibly pedestrian. They only complete 53.5 percent of passes (31st), time of possession per drive is just 2:07 (31st), they average just 26.4 yards per drive (seventh worst), and score 1.36 points per drive (fifth worst). |
28 | |
26 | 11 — Percentage of dropbacks on which Marcus Mariota has been sacked. Only Alex Smith has gone down more often. Despite being sacked 12 times this season, the No. 2 overall pick ranks fourth in passing TDs, seventh in passer rating and eighth in passing yards. Imagine if Mariota had protection. |
29 | |
27 | 36 — The amount of rushing yards the Ravens managed against the Bengals on Sunday, just the third time Baltimore has rushed for less than 40 yards in a regular-season game since John Harbaugh took over as coach more than seven years ago. A team that made a living off running the football in 2014, the Ravens are ranked 27th in this young season. |
22 | |
28 | 135 — The Lions’ total rushing yards through three games. That equals out to 45 yards a game and a measly 2.6 yards per carry. Detroit does a lot of things poorly, but this is most definitely the worst. |
24 | |
29 | 159:13 — The amount of football the Jaguars have played without its defence forcing a turnover. Jacksonville intercepted Cam Newton at 9:13 of the second quarter of a Week 1 loss, the team’s only turnover of the season. |
27 | |
30 | 52.2 — The league’s lowest completion percentage. Only five teams have thrown the ball less often than the Bucs, but all of those teams complete at least 57.6 percent (Bears). Choosing not to throw the ball a lot isn’t a problem—it’s the fact Jameis Winston and his targets aren’t connecting 47.8 per cent of the time. |
30 | |
31 | 10 — The Bears had 10 possessions in Sunday’s shutout loss to the Seahawks, punting it away every time. |
31 | |
32 | 2 — The Saints have scored just a pair of passing touchdowns in 2015, one by Drew Brees in each of the two games he’s played. It’s almost hard to watch New Orleans struggle so badly, a far cry from the record-breaking teams we saw not so long ago. |
32 |
All statistics via Pro-Football-Reference.com.