The 10 Most Important Stats From Week 4 in the NFL
By Jason McIntyre
0: Amazingly, this was the second week in a row the Falcons had 0 turnovers and over 400 yards of total offense and 36+ points at home … and lost. The Falcons were 11-of-15 on 3rd down vs Cincinnati, had 495 yards of offense, averaged 7.5 yards per play, and they were 3-for-5 in the red zone … and still lost because their defense just can’t stop anybody. Since 1940, teams scoring 36+ points at home with 0 turnovers are 402-4, and the Falcons have two of those losses.
3: Turnovers by Josh Allen in an ugly 22-0 loss to the Packers. After Allen didn’t look terrible in Minnesota, he went back to the Midwest, was intercepted twice, fumbled once, and completed less than 50 percent of his passes (16-of-33). The Packers came into the game with six sacks; they sacked Allen seven times.
4: Consecutive games with a sack and forced fumble for Khalil Mack. The best pass rusher in the NFL now has five sacks; the team that traded him, Oakland, has five sacks.
6: Touchdown passes by Mitch Trubisky. For a week, the jackals will stay off his back. How do fans not understand that he got a new head coach, new offensive system, new tight end, and three new receivers? It’s the fourth game, and he got untracked: 19-of-26 for 354 yards, the six TDs, and he also rushed for 53 yards.
7: Times Deshaun Watson was sacked in Houston’s lucky 37-34 overtime win over Indianapolis. Watson has now been sacked a staggering 17 times in four games, second only to Josh Allen (18). The Texans probably have the worst offensive line in the NFL.
12: It’s only been four weeks, but there have already been 12 games this season in which a QB has passed for 400+ yards. There were five alone this week (Goff, Cousins, Luck, Carr, Ryan). Just how much of a passing league has the NFL become? A decade ago, there were just eight 400+ yard passing games the entire season.
134: Alvin Kamara set a career high with 19 carries, and also a career high with 134 rushing yards in the 33-18 win over the Giants. In the final game before workhorse Mark Ingram returns from suspension, Kamara also scored three TDs and on a day when Drew Brees was under some duress, Kamara delivered on the ground, averaging 7.1 ypc.
139: If you’re wondering how the Tennessee Titans are 3-1, it isn’t because of their running game. Running back Derrick Henry has a total of 139 rushing yards through four games. He’s had 46 carries, and the former Alabama star is averaging a whopping 3.0 ypc. He hasn’t scored, either.
240: In a performance everyone saw coming, Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 152 yards, and caught 88 yards worth of passes in a 26-24 win over Detroit. But the Cowboys had to sweat it out because of back-to-back buffoonery from Jason Garrett in the 4th quarter. Leading by three with six minutes left and facing 2nd a goal from the four, Garrett decided to pass. When your running back is dominating, that’s a curious call. But then Garrett did it again on 3rd down. Again failure. Garrett is lucky Dak Prescott got hot on the final drive, or Garrett wouldn’t have slept Sunday night.
388: You’re not good until you’re consistent, so what does that mean for Blake Bortles, who passed for 388 yards and two TDs in an easy 31-12 win over the Jets? Bortles threw for 176 yards in a narrow win over the Giants; then 376 yards in a rout of the Patriots. Then he dropped back to 155 yards in a ghastly loss to Tennessee. Is he consistent enough to get the Jaguars to a Super Bowl?