When New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers walked off the sphere after the Jets’ 24-3 win in opposition to the New England Patriots on Thursday evening, he did so after undertaking one thing he hadn’t since his last recreation with the Inexperienced Bay Packers two seasons in the past: throwing for greater than 200 yards.
Rodgers’ passing totals within the first two weeks of this yr had been 167 and 176 yards, properly under his profession common of roughly 255 yards per recreation.
He wasn’t alone with the meager numbers, nonetheless.
By way of the primary two weeks (and one recreation) of the NFL season, offensive output, significantly passing, has taken a substantial dip, and the reasons for why are all around the board.
The numbers are fairly stark.
The present per-game passing yard common by means of one recreation of Week 3 is 192.7, per Professional Soccer Reference. If that quantity holds, it will be the bottom passing yards per recreation quantity since 1992, when the typical was 187.6. The leaguewide variety of passing makes an attempt per recreation — 30.3 — would even be its lowest since ‘92.
Extra NFL Information from NBC Information
Total, NFL groups are at present averaging 21.4 factors per recreation, the fifth straight yr the scoring common has decreased, and the bottom factors per recreation whole since 2006. From 2020 to this season, the identical interval scoring has steadily declined, the typical passing yards per recreation has dipped by nearly 50 yards from 240.2 (the third-highest mark ever.)
Final season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 yards, the bottom whole for a passing yards chief since 2017. In 2011, when Rodgers gained his first MVP, 5 gamers threw for greater than 4,624 yards regardless of there being one much less common season recreation on the schedule. And three even threw for a minimum of 5,000.
So what occurred? Did each NFL workforce lastly begin listening to the one who walks in on Monday morning whose foremost contribution to the soccer dialog is “My workforce must run the ball extra?”
It’s difficult.
There are a number of theories as to why the passing recreation has been muted and scoring numbers have decreased.
There’s Yahoo”s Nate Tice — who wrote in regards to the lower in offense final season — who believes an total decline in offensive line play is limiting how groups can assault defenses.
ESPN’s Invoice Barnwell supplied his personal concept, which partially says defenses have caught as much as offenses when it comes to disguising their intentions and attacking weaknesses.
One other widespread line of thought is that defenses are taking away the deep move by enjoying extra “two excessive,” protection (also referred to as Cowl 2) by which two safeties are far off the road of scrimmage and masking half the sphere to remove any massive performs excessive.
As ESPN’s Mina Kimes explains, the speed of defenses enjoying the two-high security look is way increased than it was 5 years in the past — when passing and scoring had been up.
Nevertheless it’s not solely that groups are enjoying extra Cowl 2, the issue may be that fashionable NFL groups are worse at attacking what isn’t a novel idea. As CBS Sports activities’ Jared Dubin outlined, knowledge exhibits groups are merely worse at working successfully as a complete, regardless of defenses inviting them to take action.
One other concept is that, properly, possibly the quarterbacks are simply worse.
Clearly, there may be removed from any consensus on why precisely NFL offenses have slowed down. And it’s controversial if the slowdown is even an issue. The leaguewide scoring common elevated by almost 4 factors per recreation from the flip of the millennium to 2020, and over that point many followers and gamers alike (particularly defensive gamers) lamented the lack of defenses to struggle again in opposition to offenses. Not solely did coaches understand the facility of the move, the league seemingly capitulated to offenses with rule adjustments that made shifting the ball downfield simpler.
This season, defenses are lastly getting some measure of revenge. Possibly that is merely a late summer time blip — some individuals assume the lack of preseason is the offender — or possibly this can be a signal that it’s time for offenses to innovate as soon as once more.
Whether or not or not that is the brand new regular, or why that is all taking place, the lower can positively be felt. Whereas Rodgers walked off with 281 yards and 24 factors Thursday evening, the Patriots solely managed three factors.
Their two quarterbacks mixed for under 120 yards.
