PFF Grades and Data: Key insights for every NFL Week 2 game

Posted by Admin September 12, 2024 Football

• The Bills are letting Josh Allen do his thing: Since Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator, 62% of Josh Allen’s rush attempts have been by design, compared to 42% in Weeks 1-10 of the 2023 season under Ken Dorsey. In Week 18 last year against Miami, excluding kneel-downs, Allen tied a season-high with eight designed rushing attempts.

• Tua has no problem against the blitz: Tua Tagovailoa’s 117.0 passer rating against the blitz is the highest in the NFL since Mike McDaniel became Miami’s head coach. In their most recent matchup, Buffalo blitzed on just 6.7 percent of Miami’s dropbacks, their lowest rate for a single game in the 2023 season.

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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

For 17 years, PFF has built the most detailed football database in the world, analyzing every player on every play across the NFL, college football and beyond. Trusted by all 32 NFL teams and countless others, PFF provides the data that helps uncover the real story behind every game.

Ahead of NFL Week 2, our media team has dived deep into the numbers to deliver key insights for every NFL matchup, highlighting the hidden storylines and standout performances that shape each game.

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Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins

Since Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator, 62% of Josh Allen’s rush attempts have been by design, compared to 42% in Weeks 1-10 of the 2023 season under Ken Dorsey. In Week 18 last year against Miami, excluding kneel-downs, Allen tied a season-high with eight designed rushing attempts.

Tua Tagovailoa’s 117.0 passer rating against the blitz is the highest in the NFL since Mike McDaniel became Miami’s head coach. In their most recent matchup, Buffalo blitzed on just 6.7 percent of Miami’s dropbacks, their lowest rate for a single game in the 2023 season.

San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings

Under new defensive coordinator Nick Sorenson, the 49ers focused more on coverage than sending the blitz against the Jets. On Monday night, San Francisco blitzed Aaron Rodgers on just 9% of his dropbacks, the second-lowest rate in Week 1 and only slightly higher than Houston’s 8% blitz rate.

Minnesota’s pass protection was “bend but don’t break” in their season opener. Between their offensive line and blockers in the box, the Vikings allowed the highest pressure rate of the week at 50%. Despite that, they managed to keep Sam Darnold mostly upright, allowing only one sack and one hit.

New York Jets @ Tennessee Titans

The Jets’ defense uncharacteristically gave up big yardage to the 49ers’ run game last week. Of San Francisco’s 36 designed rushing attempts, New York stacked the box on 23 of those plays (64%) but still allowed 5.1 yards per carry — a significant drop from the 3.1 average allowed with eight or more defenders in the box last year.

Will Levis has consistently performed better when getting rid of the ball quickly rather than holding onto it and risking mistakes. On throws of 2.5 seconds or less, Levis has thrown just one interception on 134 pass attempts, with a 2.9% turnover-worthy play rate. However, on throws of 2.6 seconds or longer, he has thrown five interceptions on 151 attempts, with a 5.8% turnover-worthy play rate.

Los Angeles Chargers @ Carolina Panthers

Khalil Mack continues to show no signs of slowing down. After posting a top-10 pressure rate among edge defenders in 2023, Mack delivered five total pressures for Los Angeles against his former team last week. His 17% pressure rate led the Chargers’ pass rush in their win over the Raiders.

The season opener was one to forget for Bryce Young and the Panthers. Under pressure, Young completed just 20% of his passes (2/10) and was sacked four times, finishing with a 4.6 passer rating. Throughout his career, when kept clean, Young has posted an 86.1 passer rating with a 69% completion rate.

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Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots

The Seahawks’ passing attack focused on quickly getting the ball out of Geno Smith’s hands in their Week 1 win over the Broncos. The strategy paid off, with Smith posting the fourth-fastest average time to throw at 2.44 seconds while completing 72% of his passes.

Rhamondre Stevenson ran freely last week in Cincinnati, largely due to his own efforts. Stevenson gained 98.3% of his yards after contact, the third-highest percentage for a running back with 100 or more rushing yards since the start of the 2023 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions

Mike Evans continues to rack up contested catches for Tampa Bay. His touchdown grab early in the second quarter last week against Washington marked his 112th contested catch since 2017 — the most in the NFL.

Carlton Davis III will likely line up against his former teammate, Mike Evans, on several plays this week. Davis ranks second among all defensive players with 81 forced incompletions since being drafted in 2018.

New York Giants @ Washington Commanders

Dexter Lawrence delivered one of the most dominant performances of his career as a pass rusher last week against Minnesota. In his 80 regular-season games with at least 10 pass-rush attempts, Lawrence’s 50% win rate last week now stands as his best ever. His previous high was 40%, set last season against Green Bay.

Indianapolis Colts @ Green Bay Packers

Anthony Richardson’s 17.3-yard average depth of target last week ranks as the third-highest in a regular-season game over the past five seasons among quarterbacks with at least 15 attempts. Richardson completed two of four passes on throws 30-plus yards downfield, including a touchdown to Alec Pierce. For context, the Colts had a total of eight completions on attempts of 30 or more yards in 2023 — six by Gardner Minshew and two by Richardson.

Jayden Reed’s 791 receiving yards from the slot since entering the league last season are second only to CeeDee Lamb’s 929. However, Indianapolis has been one of the top coverage units against slot receivers, allowing the second-fewest total yards (961) since the start of the 2023 season.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Baltimore Ravens

Isaiah Likely led all tight ends with 72 yards after the catch in Week 1. Since 2023, his 7.5 yards after catch per reception ranks second among tight ends with at least 30 receptions. Only the Giants have allowed more yards after catch per reception than the Raiders’ 6.1 since 2023.

Davante Adams leads the NFL with 58 intermediate targets (10-19 yards downfield) since 2023, turning those into 34 receptions for 529 yards and one touchdown. The Ravens’ defense has been tough in this area, allowing just a 45% completion rate on intermediate targets since 2023, the second-best mark in the league.

New Orleans Saints @ Dallas Cowboys

All eight of Rashid Shaheed’s career touchdown receptions have come on targets 20-plus yards downfield. Since his rookie season in 2022, Shaheed has amassed 817 receiving yards on such deep passes, ranking eighth in the NFL.

Dallas leads the league in pressure rate at 44% in the regular season, dating back to Week 1 of 2023. Meanwhile, Derek Carr was the least pressured quarterback in Week 1 last week, with only 12% of his dropbacks facing pressure.

Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Myles Garrett was in dominant form for the Browns to open the season, taking full advantage of his matchup against Cowboys’ first-round pick Tyler Guyton. In 13 pass-blocking matchups, Garrett posted a 46% win rate and a 15% pressure rate, which included a sack.

Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona Cardinals

The Rams lead the NFL with 197 rushing attempts, 786 yards, and 10 touchdowns on man/duo runs since 2023. On the other side, the Cardinals defense has struggled against such plays, ranking third worst in the league with 0.13 EPA per play allowed against man/duo runs during the same period.

Trey McBride has excelled in contested catch situations, securing 13 of 18 contested targets since 2023, tying him with Sam LaPorta for the most contested catches among tight ends. The Rams defense has allowed the fourth-most contested catches in the NFL since 2023, with 45, twelve of which have come from opposing tight ends.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs

Since Patrick Mahomes entered the NFL, he boasts the lowest pressure-to-sack rate among all qualifying quarterbacks at 11%. On the other side, Trey Hendrickson has been a consistent force against Mahomes, ranking third among all NFL defenders with 4.5 sacks and 31 total pressures when facing him, including the playoffs.

Trent McDuffie has matched up well against the Bengals’ top receivers since entering the NFL. In 121 coverage snaps against Cincinnati’s offense, including the playoffs, McDuffie has limited Ja’Marr Chase to five catches on seven targets for 31 yards and no touchdowns. Against Tee Higgins, he has allowed just one catch on one target for nine yards and no scores.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos

The Steelers completed eight of their 17 third-down plays in Week 1, achieving a 47% conversion rate that ranked ninth in the NFL. This is notable, as the Steelers reached eight third-down conversions in a single game only once last season. Meanwhile, the Broncos defense has allowed just a 34% conversion rate on third down since 2023, the second-best mark in the league.

Bo Nix was knocked down nine times in Week 1, more than in any of the 61 games he played at Oregon and Auburn. On the defensive side, T.J. Watt’s 205 QB knockdowns since entering the NFL in 2017 lead all players by a margin of 23. Watt added three more knockdowns in Week 1 against the Falcons.

Chicago Bears @ Houston Texans

In Week 1, the Texans led the NFL with 23 runs to the left of center, amassing 127 rushing yards, the second-highest total on those carries. The Bears defense struggled against similar plays, allowing 99 rushing yards (fourth most) and five explosive runs, the most in the league on runs to the left of center.

Since 2023, D.J. Moore is tied for second in the NFL with 16 catches on targets of 20 or more yards downfield, scoring five TDs on those plays. The Texans’ defense has given up the most receptions (37) on deep targets during the same span.

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have converted 66 QB sneaks for a first down or touchdown since 2022—double the total of the next-highest team. During that same period, the Falcons have allowed 21 conversions on QB sneaks, tied for the third most in the NFL.

Since 2023, Kirk Cousins’ 93.0 PFF passing grade on throws inside the numbers ranks second-best, and his 116.0 NFL passer rating is the highest among 32 qualifying quarterbacks. The Eagles defense, however, has only allowed 6.9 yards per attempt on throws inside the numbers, ranking third-best in the NFL.