Stat Analysis

The New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers had the best defenses in 2019, and as you might expect, pass pressure played a big role in the success of both teams ... but for very different reasons. The Dolphins, meanwhile, were bad.

Jimmy Garoppolo led the league in throwing to the slot, Dak Prescott lapped the field going out wide, and Matt Ryan had bizarre splits as our look at slot versus wide performance in the passing game continues.

Our annual look at receiving performance in and of the slot kicks off with the receivers. Tyler Lockett excelled in the slot, Amari Cooper earned a big new deal with his performance out wide, and Michael Thomas is just really good at everything.

What's the one thing Andy Dalton did better than anyone else last year? What made Lamar Jackson (and, for entirely different reasons, Dwayne Haskins) so special? How are quarterbacks in the NFL changing? And why are these results getting harder and harder to predict?

Despite having one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks have not been to their conference championship game in half a decade. We look back at 35 years of DYAR history in search of Drew Brees and other quarterbacks who played so well with so few victories in the postseason.

Well, not quite Three True Outcomes, but the closest thing we've got in football. Guest columnist Matt Weston explains why the touchdown, the interception, and the sack are the Three True Outcomes of football, and puts Jameis Winston's historic season into perspective.

Last year was not the first time that a man named Watt made the most defensive plays in the NFL, but it was the first time that it was younger brother T.J. instead of elder brother J.J. And T.J. was joined by many of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates in the leaderboards.

Nickel remains the true base defense in the NFL, but 2019 saw dime packages continue their growth. Also, we learn why the 2019 Seahawks weren't as bad as the 2017 Browns.

Guest columnist Ajit Kirpekar looks at the Saints' pressure rate with Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater, the effects of the Laremy Tunsil trade on Miami and Houston, and the opponent adjustments for the New England defense that might not be as strong as you'd expect.

Three-wide sets still rule the NFL but, at the 11th hour, some teams rediscovered the use of fullbacks and tight ends in 2019.