Stat Analysis

By almost any measure, Matt Ryan was the NFL's best passers last year, but Dak Prescott was nearly as effective despite being paid about 2 percent as much. Guest columnist Kevin Kolbe looks at the best values among quarterbacks in the last five years.

Which players were truly best last year at gaining yards after the catch? Featuring surprising wide receivers and a dominant Gronk. Also: why does Bill O'Brien's Houston offense fail to produce YAC no matter which quarterback he starts?

Antonio Brown did not lead the NFL in receiving plus-minus for the third year in a row, so which wide receiver took his spot? Also: Dak to Dez, Gronk's unique season, the horrific Rams, and the running back with hands of stone.

Sam Bradford broke Drew Brees' record for completion percentage, but did he beat Brees to the best passing plus-minus? Also: a down year for the 2004 draft class, and an MVP falls to the bottom of the league.

The quarterback class of 2004 had wildly different results when it came to would-be interceptions that were dropped by defenders. Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning were very lucky. Philip Rivers? Not so much.

After a disastrous rookie campaign, is there hope the Rams quarterback can turn his career around? Guest columnist Damon Gulczynski pores through the FO database in search of other passers who struggled out of the gate before finding success down the line.

The Saints were 2016's oldest team, and the Rams were once again the youngest. Are more rookies starting than ever before in the NFL? 2016 was the youngest season we have tracked yet.

Which head coaches have had the most injured rosters since 2002? The healthiest? We look at 15 years of adjusted games lost data to find the answer, and to see if injuries really are a good explanation for a bad season.

Guest writer Brett Lieblich asks if we can we make Pythagorean wins more accurate by removing garbage-time scores. The results suggest a little less optimism for the Steelers in 2017, and a bit more for the Seahawks.

Breaking down adjusted games lost by unit shows a rough year for Kansas City's front seven, and the Vikings battled with the Bears for the title of "This Century's Most Injured Offense."