Stat Analysis

Our look at play-action pass in 2017 flips to the defensive side of the ball. Carolina was historically good, Houston was historically bad, and a long-standing question about year-to-year correlation gets cleared up.

Party like it's 2012! Play-action came roaring back to the forefront of the league last season. From traditional play fakes to RPO shenanigans, play-action was the hot sensation sweeping the nation.

Our annual look at defensive success against multiple-back formations sees Seattle struggling to stop fullbacks, Indianapolis begging teams to use fullbacks, and Arizona trying to remember what a fullback even is.

Our annual look at two-back rushing attempts features Chip Kelly's legacy in Philadelphia (but not San Francisco), Green Bay's fading memories of John Kuhn, and a Super Bowl matchup between two teams with very different philosophies.

The Eagles' path to the Super Bowl was paved by a home-field advantage earned in part because they got an MVP-caliber season from a quarterback on his rookie contract. In Baltimore, meanwhile, Joe Flacco got paid a lot of money for little production.

Our conclusion to 2017's pressure study breaks down pass rushing by the number of rushers. Which defenses were the most blitz-happy or the most passive? We also found that one division loved the defensive back blitz more than any other.

Florida was home to 2017's most impressive, most terrible, and most disappointing pass rush. And the best pass rush outside of Florida came from a surprising place: Washington D.C.

2017 saw a massive improvement for Jared Goff, optimism for Jimmy Garoppolo and Deshaun Watson, and the first time two players had positive DVOA under pressure. Also: will Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson ever change their style the way Ben Roethlisberger has?

What does a player's status on the injury report really mean? To a large extent, that depends on which team he plays for, and what he does in practice during the week.

Defenses have taken a wide variety of responses to the rise of 11 personnel. Is any one system better than another? And how has the rise of the "moneybacker" changed defensive philosophy?