Week 6 Quick Reads

October 14, 2019, 9:24 pm ET

Jameis Winston

Photo: USA Today Sports Images

by Vincent Verhei

Sometimes just picking a topic for this column is the hardest part of my job. And sometimes people do the hardest part of my job for me.

Jameis Winston is the third QB in our database to have a game where he got sacked 7 times and picked off 5 times pic.twitter.com/Yv0JxD7Dgw

— ProFootballReference (@pfref) October 14, 2019

Yes, it's very rare that we see this many bad plays from one quarterback in one game. The tragedies for Winston jump out at you in the play-by-play data. He was sacked on back-to-back plays in the first quarter, and then topped that with consecutive sack-fumbles in the second quarter. In between he was sacked on second-and-9 before throwing an interception on third-and-12. By the time Winston's final pass of the game was reeled in by Carolina cornerback James Bradberry, he had thrown more interceptions in four quarters than eight different quarterbacks have thrown in six starts this year. The seven sacks are only slightly less egregious -- that's as many sacks as Dak Prescott has taken in his half-dozen starts in 2019.

How rare is it to see a dozen combined sacks and interceptions (SKINTs?) in one game? The last player to do it was Cam Newton in 2014, in a game against Philadelphia that we talked about last week. Terrelle Pryor did it against Kansas City the year before. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 1998, the Donald Hollas game referenced in the Pro Football Reference Tweet that started this discussion. The single-game record for SKINTs since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 belongs to Warren Moon, who threw four interceptions and suffered a dozen sacks against the Cowboys in 1985. (Pro Football Reference actually has sack data for earlier seasons, but to keep things simple I am restricting this to official sack numbers.)

(UPDATE: Due to an error in my research, I had overlooked some low-interception, mega-high-sack games in that timespan. You can see lists of those games here, here, and here.)

We could also publish the single-season and career leaders in SKINTs, but those lists are not very interesting. In larger sample sizes, sacks are much more frequent than interceptions, so the SKINT leaderboards are just slightly shuffled versions of the sack leaderboards. We can account for this by measuring the geometric mean of the two statistics. You can read more about geometric means here but in a nutshell, they are useful for analyzing groups of numbers on different scales, such as sacks and interceptions. The math is simple to use: simply multiply the two numbers together, then find the square root of the product. Using Winston's game as an example, we would multiply his five interceptions by his seven sacks to get a product of 35. The square root of 35 is 5.92, so that's the geometric mean of Winston's sacks and interceptions. As it turns out, that's a very high number for a single game -- seventh-highest on record, and the highest since the Hollas game in 1998. Hollas and Moon share the geometric mean record at 6.93 for the two games we have already discussed.

Highest Single-Game Geometric Mean Between Sacks and Interceptions, 1982-2019
Year	Player	Team	Week	Opp	INT	Sk	GM
1985	Warren Moon	HOU	4	DAL	4	12	6.93
1998	Donald Hollas	OAK	14	MIA	6	8	6.93
1983	Ron Jaworski	PHI	16	STL	4	11	6.63
1984	Paul McDonald	CLE	5	KC	4	11	6.63
1983	Eric Hipple	DET	4	MIN	5	8	6.32
1989	Tom Tupa	PHX	6	PHI	6	6	6.00
2019	Jameis Winston	TB	6	CAR	5	7	5.92
1991	Troy Aikman	DAL	3	PHI	3	11	5.74
1986	Randall Cunningham	PHI	11	DET	3	10	5.48
2013	EJ Manuel	BUF	14	TB	4	7	5.29
2012	Jay Cutler	CHI	2	GB	4	7	5.29
2002	Patrick Ramsey	WAS	6	NO	4	7	5.29
1993	Bobby Hebert	ATL	16	WAS	4	7	5.29
1993	Rodney Peete	DET	14	MIN	4	7	5.29
1992	Hugh Millen	NE	2	LARM	4	7	5.29
1987	Tony Adams	MIN	6	TB	4	7	5.29
1982	Archie Manning	HOU	15	PHI	4	7	5.29
2013	Terrelle Pryor	OAK	6	KC	3	9	5.20
2014	Cam Newton	CAR	10	PHI	3	9	5.20
2007	Kurt Warner	ARI	14	SEA	5	5	5.00
1987	Jeff Rutledge	NYG	11	NO	5	5	5.00

The good news for Winston is that this game is out of his system and he's not likely to do it again -- nobody has ever had a game like this twice in their career. Three Hall of Famers (Moon, Troy Aikman, Kurt Warner) have done it, as have three first-overall draft picks (Aikman, Newton, and Winston). Other players here enjoyed long, notable careers -- including Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham, and Archie Manning -- but most of the rest are either draft busts or anonymous footnotes.

Going into Monday Night Football, Winston had thrown 10 interceptions and taken 25 sacks this season, for a league-high geometric mean of 15.8. He's followed by Baker Mayfield (11 interceptions, 16 sacks, 13.3 geometric mean), Andy Dalton (5, 22, 10.5), Matt Ryan (7, 14, 9.9), and Josh Allen (7, 13, 9.5, in only five games).

The single-season leaderboard in this category reads like the inaugural class in the Hall of Very Good Quarterbacks (though some on the FO staff argue it's more like the Hall of Kinda Good Quarterbacks):

Highest Single-Season Geometric Mean Between Sacks and Interceptions, 1982-2019
Year	Player	Team	INT	Sk	GM
2006	Jon Kitna	DET	22	63	37.2
1984	Paul McDonald	CLE1	23	53	34.9
1983	Lynn Dickey	GB	29	40	34.1
1999	Drew Bledsoe	NE	21	55	34.0
1988	Vinny Testaverde	TB	35	33	34.0
2002	David Carr	HOU	15	76	33.8
2000	Steve Beuerlein	CAR	18	62	33.4
1995	Dave Krieg	ARI	21	53	33.4
2001	Aaron Brooks	NO	22	50	33.2
1983	Richard Todd	NYJ	26	42	33.0
2002	Daunte Culpepper	MIN	23	47	32.9
2001	Tim Couch	CLE	21	51	32.7
1983	Cliff Stoudt	PIT	21	51	32.7
1986	Warren Moon	HOIL	26	41	32.6
2006	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	23	46	32.5
2013	Joe Flacco	BAL	22	48	32.5
2013	Eli Manning	NYG	27	39	32.4
1985	Phil Simms	NYG	20	52	32.2
1985	Dave Krieg	SEA	20	52	32.2
2007	Jon Kitna	DET	20	51	31.9

Warren Moon is in the Hall of Fame and Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning will at least receive votes for enshrinement. The other names here will largely be recognized by most knowledgeable football fans, and at the same time will never get into Canton without a ticket.

In 2006, Detroit's Jon Kitna led the NFL with 63 sacks taken while also throwing 22 interceptions, second-most behind the 23 of Ben Roethlisberger. That's a geometric mean of 37.2, the most since 1982 by quite a bit. (Second-place Paul McDonald is closer to Moon in 14th than he is to Kitna.) Kitna would return as Detroit's starter in 2007, and though he would cut his numbers to 51 sacks and 20 interceptions, he still became the only player over to lead the league in both categories, and also qualified for our leaderboards here. Dave Krieg is the only other player to show up twice, for his 1985 season in Seattle and 1995 season in Arizona.

The most unkown players here are likely Paul McDonald, a one-year starter for the old Cleveland Browns in between the Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar eras, and Cliff Stoudt, who filled the same role for Pittsburgh after Terry Bradshaw but before Mark Malone. Richard Todd, the Jets' first-round draft pick in 1976, makes the list for his 1983 season, but that may not have been his worst mark. He led the NFL with 30 interceptions in 1980, and PFR lists him with 42 sacks that same year. That would be a geometric mean of 35.5, which would be higher than almost anything listed here.

The career leaders in these numbers are all good players. Vinny Testaverde, Dave Krieg, and Carson Palmer each played in multiple Pro Bowls; each of the others is a Hall of Famer and/or played in at least one Super Bowl. You've gotta produce a lot of yards and touchdowns if you're going to last long enough to rack up sacks and interceptions.

Highest Career Geometric Mean Between Sacks and Interceptions, 1982-2019
Player	INT	Sk	GM
Brett Favre	336	525	420.0
John Elway	226	516	341.5
Vinny Testaverde	267	417	333.7
Warren Moon	233	458	326.7
Eli Manning	241	408	313.6
Drew Bledsoe	206	467	310.2
Ben Roethlisberger	191	503	310.0
Dave Krieg	194	482	305.8
Drew Brees	235	396	305.1
Tom Brady	174	483	289.9
Philip Rivers	184	423	279.0
Peyton Manning	251	303	275.8
Dan Marino	252	270	260.8
Kerry Collins	196	337	257.0
Randall Cunningham	134	484	254.7
Carson Palmer	187	340	252.2
Boomer Esiason	184	318	241.9
Jim Kelly	175	323	237.7
Chris Chandler	146	380	235.5
Matt Hasselbeck	153	360	234.7

It's more intriguing to look at the per-game leaderboard, limiting our list to players with at least 48 starts (theoretically, three full seasons).

Highest Geometric Mean Between Sacks and Interceptions Per Game, 1982-2019
Player	INT	Sk	GM	G	GS	GM/G
Lynn Dickey	79	127	100.2	52	50	1.93
Neil Lomax	80	330	162.5	94	94	1.73
Tim Couch	67	166	105.5	62	59	1.70
Daunte Culpepper	106	298	177.7	105	100	1.69
Danny White	88	173	123.4	74	60	1.67
Joe Theismann	49	149	85.4	52	52	1.64
Jon Kitna	165	323	230.9	141	124	1.64
Jameis Winston	68	147	100.0	62	60	1.61
Blake Bortles	75	195	120.9	75	73	1.61
Marc Bulger	93	254	153.7	96	95	1.60
Drew Bledsoe	206	467	310.2	194	193	1.60
Phil Simms	115	364	204.6	129	125	1.59
Randall Cunningham	134	484	254.7	161	135	1.58
Aaron Brooks	92	235	147.0	93	90	1.58
Dan Fouts	100	118	108.6	69	66	1.57
Warren Moon	233	458	326.7	208	203	1.57
Mark Sanchez	89	168	122.3	79	73	1.55
Ryan Tannehill	76	252	138.4	90	88	1.54
Rick Mirer	76	199	123.0	80	68	1.54
Jeff George	113	358	201.1	131	124	1.54
Minimum 48 starts.

Now that looks more like a list of quarterbacks where you could count on things going wrong at the worst possible time -- and yes, Jameis Winston is among them. Blake Bortles and Ryan Tannehill are the other active passers who qualify. Joe Theismann and Phil Simms won Super Bowls, and Drew Bledsoe played in one. The others often put up impressive numbers, but for one reason or another were never able to perform on football's ultimate stage.

Quarterbacks
Rk	Player	Team	CP/AT	Yds	TD	INT	Sacks	Total DYAR	Pass DYAR	Rush DYAR	Opp
1.	Kirk Cousins	MIN	22/29	333	4	1	1	181	185	-5	PHI
The Vikings jumped out to a 24-3 lead on Sunday before the Eagles rallied to make it 24-17. And then Cousins put an end to that -- from that point to the end of the game he went 10-of-12 for 124 yards and a touchdown, plus a 13th throw that resulted in a 9-yard DPI. Weirdly, he also went 10-of-12 with a touchdown and a DPI on throws to his left, gaining a total of 189 yards.
2.	Russell Wilson	SEA	23/33	295	2	0	3	166	164	2	CLE
Wilson was lights-out on midrange passes that traveled between 5 and 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, going ... wait for it ... 10-of-12 with a DPI. Each of those completions gained at least 8 yards and a first down, and those 13 throws gained a total of 141 yards. On throws to his right, he went 9-of-10 for 123 yards; eight of those completions resulted in first downs, including a touchdown.
3.	Kyler Murray	ARI	27/36	340	3	0	0	158	145	13	ATL
All three of Murray's touchdowns came on throws to his left, where he went 11-of-14 for 166 yards. Murray loses 51 DYAR due to opponent adjustments.
4.	Matt Ryan	ATL	30/36	356	4	0	2	150	154	-4	ARI
Too little, too late department: From the time the Falcons fell behind 27-10 to the end of the game, Ryan went 19-of-23 for 258 yards and three touchdowns. (Come to think of it, the Falcons did tie this game and had the ball with a chance to take the lead, so I guess it wasn't too late, just too little.) Ryan loses 59 DYAR due to opponent adjustments.
5.	Dak Prescott	DAL	28/40	277	0	0	1	123	122	1	NYJ
Prescott was also too-little-but-not-too-late as the Cowboys came within a two-point conversion of tying the game. Regardless, he was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he went 11-of-15 for 94 yards with one sack and three (THREE!) DPIs for 50 more yards.
6.	Deshaun Watson	HOU	30/42	280	1	2	0	107	93	14	KC
There are more weapons in Watson's arsenal then his game-breaking wide receivers. Watson completed nine of ten throws to tight ends Darren Fells and Jordan Akins, gaining 108 yards.
7.	Carson Wentz	PHI	26/40	306	2	1	2	92	80	12	MIN
Wentz threw a lot of deep balls against Minnesota, going 6-of-11 for 163 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
8.	Patrick Mahomes	KC	19/35	273	3	1	1	86	86	0	HOU
Mahomes did have a 46-yard touchdown on third-and-21 to Tyreek Hill, but none of his other six throws on deep balls were completed, while one was intercepted.
9.	Lamar Jackson	BAL	21/32	236	0	0	1	72	40	32	CIN
Not counting kneeldowns, Jackson had 16 carries for 155 yards against Cincinnati, including a 21-yard touchdown. That includes three scrambles for 53 yards. Officially, he averaged 17.0 rushes per game in his seven starts as a rookie. This year that average is down to 11.5, but as we saw on Sunday, he'll still run all day when given the opportunity. Jackson loses 57 DYAR due to opponent adjustments.
10.	Ryan Fitzpatrick	MIA	12/17	132	1	0	0	60	58	1	WAS
Fitzpatrick came into the game with Miami down by 14 points in the fourth quarter and would have rallied them to victory if his receiver had not dropped a screen pass on a potentially game-winning two-point conversion attempt.
11.	Sam Darnold	NYJ	23/32	338	2	1	2	46	48	-2	DAL
For all that Darnold did right on Sunday, he had a terrible day on third downs, going 1-of-6 with an interception. At least that one completion did pick up 24 yards on third-and-4.
12.	Teddy Bridgewater	NO	24/36	240	1	0	3	41	44	-3	JAX
With or without Jalen Ramsey, the Jaguars stifled Bridgewater on throws to his right, limiting him to five completions in eight attempts for just 41 yards.
Rk	Player	Team	CP/AT	Yds	TD	INT	Sacks	Total DYAR	Pass DYAR	Rush DYAR	Opp
13.	Aaron Rodgers	GB	24/39	285	2	1	1	40	32	7	DET
14.	Kyle Allen	CAR	20/32	227	2	0	2	36	48	-12	TB
Funny, random splits: In his first five and last five pass attempts in this game, Allen went 2-of-10 for 3 yards. Obviously, he was a lot better in between.
15.	Philip Rivers	LAC	27/44	320	2	2	1	33	33	0	PIT
Rivers picked apart the middle of the Steelers defense, going 13-of-18 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
16.	Matthew Stafford	DET	18/32	265	0	0	3	24	19	5	GB
17.	Tom Brady	NE	31/41	334	0	1	3	19	13	6	NYG
Brady went 17-for-22 in Giants territory, which sounds good, but those 17 completions gained only 138 yards, and none of them resulted in touchdowns. Meanwhile, he was sacked twice, fumbling on one (the ball was returned for a New York touchdown), and also threw an interception.
18.	Devlin Hodges	PIT	15/20	132	1	1	0	13	17	-4	LAC
Third-down passing: 8-of-9 for 76 yards and a touchdown, though only four of those completions picked up a first down.
19.	Ryan Tannehill	TEN	13/16	144	0	1	4	11	9	1	DEN
Tannehill came into this game with Tennessee down by 13 points in the third quarter. He had an *awful* day in the red zone, going 1-of-3 for 8 yards with no touchdowns, two sacks, and an interception.
20.	Joe Flacco	DEN	18/28	177	0	1	1	-5	-2	-2	TEN
Third-down passing: 5-of-10 for 43 yards with two conversions, one interception, and one sack.
21.	Andy Dalton	CIN	21/39	235	0	1	2	-26	-32	7	BAL
Dalton was best on throws to his left, going 8-of-11 for 95 yards.
22.	Jimmy Garoppolo	SF	24/33	243	0	1	2	-32	-39	7	LAR
Red zone passing: 2-of-5 for 20 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
Rk	Player	Team	CP/AT	Yds	TD	INT	Sacks	Total DYAR	Pass DYAR	Rush DYAR	Opp
23.	Case Keenum	WAS	13/25	166	2	0	0	-39	-16	-23	MIA
Keenum was phenomenal in scoring range, going 5-of-7 for 82 yards and two touchdowns inside the Miami 40. The fact that he's still way down here in the tables should tell you how ineffective he was over the rest of the field. He loses 60 DYAR due to opponent adjustments, most of any quarterback this week -- in only 25 dropbacks!
24.	Baker Mayfield	CLE	22/37	249	1	3	0	-42	-65	23	SEA
Take out second downs and Mayfield was a top-ten passer this week. On second downs, Mayfield went 10-of-17 for only 76 yards and all three of his interceptions.
25.	Gardner Minshew	JAX	14/29	163	0	1	2	-49	-45	-3	NO
Minshew struggled in short-yardage against New Orleans. With 4 yards or less to go for a first down, he went 1-of-4 with a sack. That one completion was a 23-yard gain on third-and-1 at least.
26.	Jared Goff	LAR	13/24	78	0	0	4	-81	-65	-16	SF
Goff only picked up one first down in this game, and it came with the Rams down by 13 points with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter. In San Francisco territory, he went 4-of-7 for 12 yards and no first downs. On third and fourth downs, he went 2-of-8 for 3 yards with two sacks and no first downs. On throws to his left, he went 6-of-10 for 26 yards and no first downs. On throws that traveled at least 10 yards downfield, he went oh-for-five ... and no first downs. He would rank even lower, but he gets a big boost in opponent adjustments (63 DYAR) for playing San Francisco, and he did at least manage to avoid interceptions.
27.	Daniel Jones	NYG	15/31	162	1	3	1	-82	-85	3	NE
Jones gets a league-high 73-DYAR boost due to opponent adjustments. Take away his last throw of the first half (a 64-yard touchdown to Golden Tate) and what he did in the third quarter, and he was horrific over the rest of this game: 9-of-22 for 45 yards with two interceptions and a sack. On third and fourth downs, he went 4-of-11 for 18 yards with only two conversions.
28.	Marcus Mariota	TEN	7/18	63	0	2	3	-98	-100	2	DEN
Mariota did not have a successful dropback that started any deeper than his own 32-yard line (and even that was a DPI, not a completion). Outside that point -- as in, over the other two-thirds of the field -- Mariota went 2-of-7 for 11 yards with an interception and two sacks.
29.	Jameis Winston	TB	30/54	400	1	5	7	-177	-168	-9	CAR
We wrote over a thousand words about what a terrible day Jameis Winston had and he wasn't even the worst quarterback of the week. This is partly because he gained 70 DYAR due to opponent adjustments (the Panthers aren't as good as the Patriots or 49ers, but opponent adjustments add up, and Winston had 61 dropbacks), and partly because the Dolphins are just ruining the whole season for everybody.
30.	Josh Rosen	MIA	15/25	85	0	2	5	-216	-216	0	WAS
Rosen only threw for two more first downs than Jared Goff. He did not convert a single third down against Washington, going 3-of-6 for 24 yards with an interception and two sacks. (He did convert his one fourth-down throw with a completion to Nick O'Leary, but even there the Dolphins were fortunate to recover O'Leary's fumble, because OH MY GOD MIAMI.) He did not have a single dropback in the red zone; in Washington territory, he went 4-of-9 for 22 yards with an interception.

Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Total)
Rk	Player	Team	Runs	Rush Yds	Rush TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD	Total DYAR	Rush DYAR	Rec DYAR	Opp
1.	Devonta Freeman	ATL	19	93	0	3/3	30	2	53	19	34	ARI
Freeman rushed for six first downs, including three runs of 10 yards or more, while only being stuffed three times. Two of his catches went for touchdowns; the other was an 11-yard gain on first-and-10.
2.	Miles Sanders	PHI	3	6	0	3/3	86	1	49	-2	51	MIN
Sanders is here because of two plays: a 32-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter and a 45-yard gain in the third. Both were caught more than 20 yards downfield. Sanders was barely a "running" back at all this week.
3.	Jamaal Williams	GB	14	104	0	4/5	32	1	49	33	16	DET
4.	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	28	105	1	4/7	47	0	48	11	37	NYJ
Elliott had five first downs on the ground, the longest a 13-yarder, while being stuffed five times. Four of his catches resulted in first downs, and he also gained 24 yards and another first down on a DPI.
5.	Chase Edmonds	ARI	5	34	0	2/2	33	1	42	16	27	ATL
All five of Edmonds' carries gained at least 2 yards. His two catches were a 2-yard touchdown on third-and-goal and a 31-yard gain, both in the second quarter.

Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Rushing)
Rk	Player	Team	Runs	Rush Yds	Rush TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD	Total DYAR	Rush DYAR	Rec DYAR	Opp
1.	Jamaal Williams	GB	14	104	0	4/5	32	1	49	33	16	DET
2.	Chris Carson	SEA	24	124	1	4/4	35	0	35	21	14	CLE
This is the third week in a row that Carson has been a top-five running back after finishing last against the Saints in Week 3. He was only stuffed three times against Cleveland while running for six first downs, including gains of 23 and 25 yards.
3.	Devonta Freeman	ATL	19	93	0	3/3	30	2	53	19	34	ARI
4.	Brandon Bolden	NE	3	23	1	2/2	22	0	28	18	10	NYG
Bolden's three carries: a 21-yard gain on first-and-10; a 1-yard gain on first-and-goal from the 2; and a 1-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. It, uh, it wasn't a big week for running backs.
5.	Dalvin Cook	MIN	16	41	1	2/2	13	0	20	17	3	PHI
Cook is only here because of opponent adjustments -- without them, he was barely above replacement level. He had five first downs on the ground, the longest a 14-yarder, while being stuffed five times.

Worst Running Back by DYAR (Total)
Rk	Player	Team	Runs	Rush Yds	Rush TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD	Total DYAR	Rush DYAR	Rec DYAR	Opp
1.	Derrick Henry	TEN	15	28	0	1/3	5	0	-48	-33	-14	DEN
Henry's only catch was a 5-yard gain on second-and-10.

Worst Running Back by DYAR (Rushing)
Rk	Player	Team	Runs	Rush Yds	Rush TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD	Total DYAR	Rush DYAR	Rec DYAR	Opp
1.	Derrick Henry	TEN	15	28	0	1/3	5	0	-48	-33	-14	DEN
Henry did not run for a single first down against Denver, while getting stuffed five times. His longest run gained only 6 yards.

Five Best Wide Receivers and Tight Ends by DYAR
Rk	Player	Team	Rec	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Total DYAR	Opp
1.	Stefon Diggs	MIN	7	11	167	23.9	3	98	PHI
Diggs' totals include 79 DYAR receiving, 18 DYAR rushing for his two carries for 18 yards. His three touchdowns went for 62, 51, and 11 yards.
2.	Chris Godwin	TB	10	12	151	15.1	0	66	CAR
This is the fourth time in six weeks that Godwin has made the top five receivers. Each of his 10 catches gained at least 9 yards, and eight gained first downs.
3.	Hunter Henry	LAC	8	9	100	12.5	2	48	PIT
Henry had six first downs against Pittsburgh, including a pair of red zone touchdowns. His longest catch gained 21 yards.
4.	Austin Hooper	ATL	8	8	117	14.6	1	41	ARI
Each of Hooper's catches gained at least 6 yards, the longest a 30-yarder.
5.	Curtis Samuel	CAR	4	6	70	17.5	1	40	TB
Samuel's totals include 22 DYAR receiving, 18 DYAR rushing for his 8-yard touchdown run. His receptions included a 13-yard touchdown and 21- and 30-yard gains.

Worst Wide Receiver or Tight End by DYAR
Rk	Player	Team	Rec	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Total DYAR	Opp
1.	Tyler Boyd	CIN	3	7	10	3.3	0	-40	BAL
None of Boyd's catches gained more than 5 yards or led to a first down. His one successful catch was a 5-yard gain on first-and-10.

Comments

62 comments, Last at 16 Oct 2019, 8:30pm

#1 by Mountain Time … // Oct 15, 2019 - 4:28am

Richard Todd. Ryan Leaf. JaMarcus Russell.

Never draft a QB with two first names in the first round.

#10 by RickD // Oct 15, 2019 - 9:46am

He did OK.

#12 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:04am

As did Otto Graham, Clarence Parker, Bobby Layne, and Norm Van Brocklin!

#13 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:05am

All counterbalanced by the monumentally insufferable Jeff George!

#16 by Independent George // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:46am

Also: Kurt Warner and Doug Williams.

#28 by Dan // Oct 15, 2019 - 12:17pm

He wouldn't have been nearly as good if he was only one Doug William. (See also: Aaron Rodger.)

#25 by RoninX // Oct 15, 2019 - 12:01pm

is quite the first name.

#29 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 12:17pm

Van is a great first name!

#32 by D // Oct 15, 2019 - 1:15pm

And Thomas Brady.

#33 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 1:35pm

How the hell did I miss that one?

#36 by RoninX // Oct 15, 2019 - 1:56pm

Does Russell Wilson have two first names or two last names?

#37 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:02pm

Does every qb have two first names?

#45 by InTheBoilerRoom // Oct 15, 2019 - 3:17pm

No, Blake Bortles has one first name and one onomatopoeia name.

#46 by Independent George // Oct 15, 2019 - 3:34pm

Jeez, how did we miss Matt Ryan?

#47 by theslothook // Oct 15, 2019 - 3:36pm

Kyle Allen and Josh Allen

#50 by LyleNM // Oct 15, 2019 - 5:54pm

Nobody noticed Cam Newton?

#60 by theTDC // Oct 16, 2019 - 1:54am

Andy Dalton

Lamar Jackson

Kyler Murray

Chase Daniel

Philip Rivers, hey we've got a Rivers on the staff!

Daniel Jones

And Jameis Winston.

Now I want some real analysis of what percentage of last names double as first names.

Edit: No idea why I included Daniel Jones. It feels like a first name, but it's... not.

#51 by D // Oct 15, 2019 - 6:27pm

Yes.

#39 by Aaron Brooks G… // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:45pm

User name checks out.

#52 by Bobman // Oct 15, 2019 - 6:46pm

Did I miss something about the two first name thing?

I been around the block a few times and never met nor heard of a Leaf.

Aaah, Leif... generally pronounced Lafe, but I get it now.

#56 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 8:36pm

What'smatter? You hate Gwyneth Paltrow or sumthin'? Word is she's gonna adopt a baby and name it Twig or Root or somesuch....

#2 by ammek // Oct 15, 2019 - 5:46am

I'm surprised to see Neil Lomax at the top of the career list, as he was well-known for his low interception rate. In the days when only Joe Montana threw picks at a rate we would, in 2019, consider reasonable, Lomax was sometimes a distant but clear second. He had a below average pick rate in every season except his rookie year, which is not included in this survey. Granted, he took a shedload of sacks, apparently enough to cancel out the interceptions. But he was one of my favorite QBs, and in his defense I'd note that he played in a division with LT, Dexter Manley, Too Tall Jones/Jim Jeffcoat, and briefly Reggie White.

#3 by Raiderfan // Oct 15, 2019 - 5:50am

With a first name of Leaf?

#4 by TGT // Oct 15, 2019 - 7:15am

Maybe they were thinking of Leif.

#5 by nat // Oct 15, 2019 - 7:46am

Different guy. Leif played for the Vikings.

#7 by FizzDude // Oct 15, 2019 - 7:57am

+1. Well played.

#11 by RickD // Oct 15, 2019 - 9:48am

Younger brother of River.

Known as Joaquin these days.

Speaking of which, is "The Joker" worth seeing?

#27 by RevBackjoy // Oct 15, 2019 - 12:13pm

Yes it is! Quite compelling. The Unibomber does a great job with the role.

#53 by Bobman // Oct 15, 2019 - 6:53pm

Completely off-topic, but a buddy went to an advance screening in NYC a couple weeks ago. Found it compelling, grueling, emotionally wrenching, and hard to process without a few beers afterwards. So of course as the lights come up in the theater, in walk two dudes in hoodies. He recognizes one as the director (they were classmates at NYU) and the other must be Phoenix (they were filming one of the late night talk shows and stopped in for impromptu audience feedback). Best my friend could come up with was, "uh, it was intense." He knew he was falling far short of what they wanted, but in the moment, said he was just gut-punched by the movie and couldn't link two cohesive thoughts. Then my friend added that it seemed to capture 1970s NYC better than movies actually shot in the 70's, to which the director basically said "so what?"

Though he recommended it.

#57 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 8:52pm

Ah, my first solo trip to the then Wormy Apple came in 1980, as a high school grad looking for a little bit of a transgressive tourist experience, so I didn't quite see absolute primetime feral dissolution, but it was still close enough. Walked all over the trash-ridden place, at all hours, with a length of rebar slipped up my jacket sleeve.Made friends and influenced people, and others did the same to me. Strange what I considered fun back in the day, and I think I'll wait until my little terrorists are about 35 before I tell them about those good ol' days. Think I'll slip the movie.

#6 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 7:52am

Diggs' and Cousins' numbers easily could have been better. Diggs dropped 3, iirc, including one that was then intercepted, and Cousins barely overthrew Diggs, who was 4-5 yards clear, 60 yards downfield, crossing into the end zone.

If my dog could get fitted with pads, he might get a job as a db with the Eagles....

#14 by jmaron // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:30am

Cousins also put a little too much air under a throw to Thielen that kept him from getting both feet down for another TD. On top of that on one of Diggs long TDs in which he was 5 yards clear, another receiver was even more open 40 yards deep on the other side of the field. That was some really horrid db play by the Eagles

#15 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:45am

That play also had a Vikings receiver who was pretty much uncovered in the middle of the field, about 20 yards deep. It isn't often that you have, on the same play, three receivers who are wide open, more than 20 yards downfield. Reminded me of the 2011 Vikings defense which made Tim Tebow look like Dan Marino one fine Sunday afternoon.

#17 by Independent George // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:48am

Personal foul, unnecessary roughness. Defender humped the receiver's leg then urinated on him.

EDIT: shoot, I replied to the wrong comment.

#19 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:01am

Yeah, the defender has to get closer than 10 yards to hump the receiver's leg! My dog would just jump up and lick Diggs' face, however, which would be better defense than what any Eagles db provided!

#30 by Pat // Oct 15, 2019 - 12:36pm

To be clear, if we're referencing the 51-yard TD:

"It isn't often that you have, on the same play, three receivers who are wide open, more than 20 yards downfield."

that's not exactly true (yay, all 22 view). The base problem in my opinion is that the linebackers, safety near the line, and the other corner all bit hard on the play action. I'm pretty sure the coverage is cover-3, meaning the 3 linebackers and the safety all have underneath coverage. The safety (McLeod) isn't really out of position, but Bradham (53) and Zach Brown are *badly* out of position and have no hope of covering the crossing linebacker. You can see both Bradham and Brown wheel around when they see it's a pass and start chasing the receiver, but *way* behind. That's screwup #1. (Gerry, the third linebacker, is also *way* out of position but his reaction time's so bad that he's practically behind the line when he realizes it's not a run).

The corner *also* is convinced it's a run and holds up a moment - still looking at Cook - before turning to chase Johnson. That slight holdup is screwup #2.

Jenkins (the initial deep safety, who's supposed to have the middle of the field) closes on the crossing receiver instead of dropping deep. That's screwup #3, but it does mean the underneath receiver isn't really "open" - Jenkins would've closed on him if he hadn't remembered "oh crap, I'm a deep safety on this play." So it's a screwup but it's a screwup because he saw somebody else's giant screwup.

Jenkins took responsibility on that play but I'm not sure I buy that. He made a mistake, sure, but if he *had* done his job and gone deep to help with Diggs, Cousins would've hit the wide-open underneath receiver and possibly gotten a TD there because Brown was sooo badly beaten. *Or* he would've hit Bisi because Sidney Jones (the other CB) bit so hard on the run action.

Basically, the whole problem is due to 3-4 guys never believing that the play would be a pass, and so completely abandoning their coverage responsibilities. So it's not terribly surprising that the coverage looks like a disaster.

#31 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 1:07pm

I'd pay an extra thousand a year for a rule that required miked up players to give Faulkner-like stream of consciousness commentary during plays. A saftey screaming "oh crap i'm a deep safety on this play!" might only be topped by Blake Bortles blurting out "squirrel!" just before throwing it to a linebacker.

#54 by Bobman // Oct 15, 2019 - 6:58pm

If memory serves, the Faulkner-like stream of consciousness would have to go on for a solid 2-5 minutes without a period. Would denigrate half of the opposing team with racial slurs and the speaker's paranoid victim complex, then contemplate some pointless act to "show them all."

Or, if you're thinking of the opening scene of The Sound and The Fury, basically sound like Chris Collinsworth.

#58 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 8:55pm

Damnit, I had some perfectly good whisky in my mouth!

#59 by Aaron Brooks G… // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:02pm

That’s Hemingway, not Faulkner.

but also Faulkner

#8 by Travis // Oct 15, 2019 - 9:29am

Donovan McNabb got sacked 12 times in the Winston Justice Game in 2007.

#18 by Independent George // Oct 15, 2019 - 10:49am

Good times.

#20 by theslothook // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:20am

Iirc, they kept leaving Winston on an island the entire game. It was as if Andy Reid kept telling himself... He's giving up this many already, you can't possibly give up any more can he??

I remember watching that game and thinking... This has become some kind of weird science experiment or modern Art exhibition with all of these sacks.

#9 by Travis // Oct 15, 2019 - 9:32am

The single-game record for SKINTs since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 belongs to Warren Moon, who threw four interceptions and suffered a dozen sacks against the Cowboys in 1985. (Pro Football Reference actually has sack data for earlier seasons, but to keep things simple I am restricting this to official sack numbers.)

Sacks became an official stat for individual defensive players in 1982, but has been an official sack for quarterbacks since 1963.

#21 by theslothook // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:24am

It seems like jameis Winston is The heir apparent to the great and seemingly till now incomparable Ryan Fitzpatrick. Perhaps not coincidentally a former teammate of his.

Unfortunately for jameis, Fitzpatrick as a starter tops out as a borderline playoff team in a season where the ball mostly bounces his way.

At least no game is dull when either quarterback is playing, unless they are playing for the dolphins.

#22 by xMRNUTTYx // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:33am

"Other players here enjoyed long, notable careers -- including Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham, and Archie Manning -- but most of the rest are either draft busts or anonymous footnotes."

I mean... Jay's right there, Vince.

#23 by theslothook // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:35am

I was pretty happy for Kirk cousins and laughed even harder Zac Brown got cut the following day. I'm glad the media made him eat crow. Don't run your mouth like that next time.

For some reason the media chooses a favorite whipping boy. They did this with Jay Cutler because apparently his facial expressions kind of sort of maybe showed he didnt care about football.

I have always said, don't blame Kirk cousins that he got paid... Blame the team. no player should ever apologize for trying to make as much money as they can in a violent sport where the career is finite.

#26 by Will Allen // Oct 15, 2019 - 12:03pm

I won't speak for the media, but I excoriated Cutler because he had supreme physical gifts, significantly better than Cousins', above average intelligence, wedded to a horsehit work ethic, resulting in a guy who, throughout his career made the same undisciplined mistakes, often due to poor throwing mechanics, often without regard to protection. I've ripped Cousins, but never due to any evidence that he isn't giving all that he has.

#34 by BJR // Oct 15, 2019 - 1:43pm

The MS media and fans seem to have black spot when it comes to players who are probably overpaid, but still do an ok job. The way Cousins was being addressed 3/4 weeks into this season you would have thought we were talking about Blake Bortles, rather than a QB with a solid track record of above average play who happened to have had a couple of bad games. C'est la vie.

#38 by theslothook // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:24pm

People seem to have a hard time wrapping their mind around the fact that there exists a giant middle ground between Patrick mahomes and someone like Blake Bortles.

Kirk cousins is a good but flawed quarterback, he's just a lot more high-variance than a typical quarterback. I don't know if you can name 10 quarterbacks that are definitively better than he is.

#24 by Thomas_beardown // Oct 15, 2019 - 11:40am

I'm mostly surprised Aaron Brooks didn't get a 12 SKINT game

#40 by Aaron Brooks G… // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:47pm

Me, too.

#41 by Aaron Brooks G… // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:47pm

Me, too.

#35 by Sixknots // Oct 15, 2019 - 1:48pm

Opponent adjustments

Winston +70 DYAR
Jones +73
Goff +63

Keenum -60
Ryan -59
Murray -51
Jackson -57

Good grief! What would these have been with full adjustments? Or are week 6 partials only for DVOA?

#42 by Perfundle // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:49pm

Bit surprising that Chubb's 20-122 (6.1 YPA) and 2 TDs against a league-average rush defense isn't on the Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Rushing) list (he did have a fumble, but as a receiver), but it makes more sense looking through his runs. He had a 52-yarder and a 21-yarder, the two short touchdowns, and no other first downs. Still, I imagine he's sixth or seventh on the list.

#43 by RevBackjoy // Oct 15, 2019 - 2:59pm

Rosen with -413 DYAR through 125 dropbacks. At this rate, if he ends up with as many snaps as last year (-1145 DYAR with 439 dropbacks, the worst season in FO history), he'll accumulate... -1514 DYAR!

I know he's been put in the worst conceivable situations, but he's about a third-string QB at this point.

#44 by theslothook // Oct 15, 2019 - 3:07pm

That raises the fascinating chicken and egg question - did the environment wreck him or was he destined to be what he is? No doubt, the situations have made him look awful, but i think we all agree, Bortles or Gabbert aren't going to move the needle even with all start talent around them. Is Josh Rosen worth taking a flyer on at this point?

#62 by Independent George // Oct 16, 2019 - 8:30pm

I dunno. PTSD is a thing...

#48 by Vincent Verhei // Oct 15, 2019 - 4:07pm

Indeed. He was in the top six in lowest interception rate seven times, but in the top six in sacks taken eight times.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LomaNe00.htm

Remember my QB Styles column in Week 2? Lomax would have landed more or less in between Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers in the first graph. He was quite an outlier.

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick-reads/2019/week-2-quick-reads

Donovan McNabb got sacked 12 times in the Winston Justice Game in 2007.

That's an error in my research where I overlooked low-INT, mega-sack games like that one. I've noted a correction. Thanks for pointing that out.

Sacks became an official stat for individual defensive players in 1982, but has been an official sack for quarterbacks since 1963.

Really? I didn't know that. Interesting. Thanks!

"Other players here enjoyed long, notable careers -- including Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham, and Archie Manning -- but most of the rest are either draft busts or anonymous footnotes."

I mean... Jay's right there, Vince.

Right. Which is why I said "most" of the rest and not "all."

Good grief! What would these have been with full adjustments? Or are week 6 partials only for DVOA?

No, opponent adjustments are still only at partial strength -- 50%, I believe. The gap between the best and worst defenses is just staggering this year. We'll get into this down the road.

I'm mostly surprised Aaron Brooks didn't get a 12 SKINT game

His high was nine -- two interceptions and seven sacks against Atlanta in 2003. Fun fact: the Saints won that day! This was the year Michael Vick broke his leg and Kurt Kittner went 8-of-27 for 80 yards in his place.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200311160nor.htm

Actually, he was only 10th among RBs in rushing DYAR. Only the four first downs, as you noted, and he's dinged heavily for failures to convert on three runs with 2 yards or less to go for a first down.

#49 by rpwong // Oct 15, 2019 - 5:39pm

"Fitzpatrick came into the game with Miami down by 14 points in the fourth quarter and would have rallied them to victory if his receiver had not dropped a screen pass on a potentially game-winning two-point conversion attempt."

Lots of people have said this, but I think that play was doomed even before Kenyan Drake dropped the pass. There were at least two defenders between him and the goal line, and his blocker was already on the ground.

It's also not hard to believe that he was quietly told by coaches, "no one will hold it against you if you drop the pass." I mean, why not?

#55 by Lost Ti-Cats Fan // Oct 15, 2019 - 8:07pm

"It's also not hard to believe that he was quietly told by coaches, "no one will hold it against you if you drop the pass." I mean, why not?"

I still can't believe Brian Flores and his staff want to lose every game. Buying into this being a re-building year is one thing, but throwing away their careers being associated with an 0-16 team is something else entirely. He's a rookie head coach. I can't believe he'll willingly go into the record book as the worst rookie head coach ever.

And for evidence, if tanking was the strategy, no way Rosen gets pulled. Because based on the stats, it seems Rosen was working the tank like a mad man.

#61 by rpwong // Oct 16, 2019 - 4:51pm

I'm not saying that was definitely the case, but it's certainly a possibility. You might not want to lose every game (I certainly wouldn't), but you also don't want to lose the first-overall pick to Washington on tiebreakers.

Rosen benching aside, the Dolphins could have kicked a PAT to tie the game and try for overtime. Instead they went for two (which I generally agree with)...then threw a relatively easy pass that got dropped.

I think you're probably right that they were trying to win the game, but I have reasonable doubt that they weren't.

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