The Teams Picking in the Top 20 by the Numbers
The only numbers that really matter are wins and losses. How you get wins doesn’t matter it’s just that you get the wins. Having said that underlying numbers can tell a story and so here’s a look at some of the underlying numbers for those teams picking in the top 20.
#1- Oakland Raiders
Total Offense- 31st (245.7)
Pass Offense- 31st (159.
Rush Offense- 29th (85.9)
Scoring Offense- 31st (15.1)
3rd Down %- 32nd (25%)
Turnover +/- - 27th (-10)
Points +/- - 32nd (-220)
#2- Green Bay Packers
Total Offense- 30th (258.9)
Pass Offense- 29th (173.4)
Rush Offense- 30th (85.5)
Scoring Offense- 32nd (13.4)
3rd Down %- 29th (27%)
Turnover +/- - 30th (-12)
Points +/- - 31st (-171)
#3- Chicago Bears
Total Offense- 18th (325.4)
Pass Offense- 17th (218.7)
Rush Offense- 15th (106.
Scoring Offense- 28th (17.0)
3rd Down %- 20th (33%)
Turnover +/- - 27th (-10)
Points +/- - 30th (-143)
#4- Cleveland Browns
Total Offense- 26th (295.5)
Pass Offense- 22nd (204.4)
Rush Offense- 24th (91.1)
Scoring Offense- 25th (19.3)
3rd Down %- 27th (29%)
Turnover +/- - 15th (+1)
Points +/- - 29th (-141)
#5- New Orleans Saints
Total Offense- 19th (323.6)
Pass Offense- 14th (235.1)
Rush Offense- 27th (88.5)
Scoring Offense- 29th (16.6)
3rd Down %- 26th (32%)
Turnover +/- - 29th (-12)
Points +/- - 28th (-116)
#6- New York Giants
Total Offense- 29th (271.1)
Pass Offense- 25th (197.5)
Rush Offense- 31st (73.6)
Scoring Offense- 26th (18.
3rd Down %- 30th (27%)
Turnover +/- - 10th (+3)
Points +/- - 21st (-65)
#7 Carolina Panthers
Total Offense- 28th (273.9)
Pass Offense- 28th (183.6)
Rush Offense- 25th (90.3)
Scoring Offense- 30th (16.4)
3rd Down %- 28th (27%)
Turnover +/- - 26th (-
Points +/- - 27th (-95)
#8- Houston Texans
Total Offense- 17th (327.7)
Pass Offense- 15th (231.3)
Rush Offense- 21st (96.4)
Scoring Offense- 20th (21.
3rd Down %- 15th (35%)
Turnover +/- - 25th (-6)
Points +/- - 18th (-34)
#9- Miami Dolphins
Total Offense- 27th (287.2)
Pass Offense- 30th (163.6)
Rush Offense- 4th (123.6)
Scoring Offense- 24th (19.6)
3rd Down %- 31st (26%)
Turnover +/- - 24th (-4)
Points +/- - 23rd (-71)
#10- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Total Offense- 32nd (242.3)
Pass Offense- 32nd (141.4)
Rush Offense- 17th (100.9)
Scoring Offense- 27th (17.6)
3rd Down %- 22nd (33%)
Turnover +/- - 6th (+5)
Points +/- - 21st (-65)
#11- Cincinnati Bengals
Total Offense- 24th (304.1)
Pass Offense- 19th (211.1)
Rush Offense- 23rd (93.1)
Scoring Offense- 21st (21.4)
3rd Down %- 21st (33%)
Turnover +/- - 14th (+2)
Points +/- - 26th (-94)
#12- Arizona Cardinals
Total Offense- 13th (343.
Pass Offense- 7th (272.6)
Rush Offense- 32nd (71.1)
Scoring Offense- 19th (22.3)
3rd Down %- 10th (39%)
Turnover +/- - 30th (-12)
Points +/- - 24th (-73)
#13- Kansas City Chiefs
Total Offense- 22nd (313.
Pass Offense- 16th (224.3)
Rush Offense- 26th (89.5)
Scoring Offense- 17th (22.6)
3rd Down %- 25th (32%)
Turnover +/- - 15th (+1)
Points +/- - 17th (-17)
#14- New York Jets
Total Offense- 20th (318.6)
Pass Offense- 20th (210.9)
Rush Offense- 14th (107.6)
Scoring Offense- 23rd (20.4)
3rd Down %- 14th (35%)
Turnover +/- - 15th (+1)
Points +/- - 25th (-79)
#15- Baltimore Ravens
Total Offense- 23rd (308.1)
Pass Offense- 26th (191.9)
Rush Offense- 7th (116.2)
Scoring Offense- 16th (23.0)
3rd Down %- 6th (41%)
Turnover +/- - 30th (-12)
Points +/- - 20th (-51)
#16- Jacksonville Jaguars
Total Offense- 25th (295.7)
Pass Offense- 27th (184.4)
Rush Offense- 12th (111.3)
Scoring Offense- 22nd (20.9)
3rd Down %- 18th (34%)
Turnover +/- - 10th (+3)
Points +/- - 19th (-35)
#17- San Francisco 49ers
Total Offense- 10th (365.6)
Pass Offense- 8th (269.
Rush Offense- 22nd (95.
Scoring Offense- 14th (24.3)
3rd Down %- 16th (35%)
Turnover +/- - 19th (Even)
Points +/- - 13th (+30)
#18- San Diego Chargers
Total Offense- 11th (363.9)
Pass Offense- 13th (243.3)
Rush Offense- 5th (120.6)
Scoring Offense- 8th (26.6)
3rd Down %- 9th (40%)
Turnover +/- - 5th (+6)
Points +/- - 10th (+79)
#19- Washington Redskins
Total Offense- 21st (313.
Pass Offense- 23rd (203.2)
Rush Offense- 13th (110.6)
Scoring Offense- 18th (22.3)
3rd Down %- 19th (34%)
Turnover +/- - 10th (+3)
Points +/- - 14th (+2)
#20- Dallas Cowboys
Total Offense- 8th (372.
Pass Offense- 5th (275.
Rush Offense- 20th (97.0)
Scoring Offense- 12th (25.4)
3rd Down %- 8th (40%)
Turnover +/- - 15th (+1)
Points +/- - 9th (+80)
Random Observations
Only three teams had a regular season turnover differential of +10 or more. Those three teams? Lions +13, Broncos +16, and Titans +17. There is a two-way tie for fourth. Those two teams? The Chargers and the Seahawks at +6. 3 out of the top 4 turnover differential teams made the conference championships and all 4 conference championship participants were in the top 10 or better. The top team in turnover differential also made it to the divisional round. Turnover differential absolutely matters. There are exceptions, but this is a very important stat to win in Madden.
Generally speaking running the ball well and 3rd down conversions go hand-in-hand. For example, despite all the challenges the Ravens faced this season they were 7th in rushing and 6th in 3rd down conversions. This is an expected statistical correlation. The Chargers similarly were 5th in rushing and 9th in 3rd down conversions. Another expected connection. Two teams bucked this statistical trend, however. The Miami Dolphins were 4th overall in rushing but 31st in 3rd down conversions. And conversely, the Dallas Cowboys were 20th overall in rushing and yet were 8th in 3rd down conversions.
In the six statistical categories mentioned above, only two teams failed to crack the top 25 in any of the categories. They are the Raiders and the Packers. The Panthers finished 25th in rushing. If not for that, they would have been a 3rd team in this list. The common thread with all three of these teams? (and I would argue many other teams in this list too) Low AWR/young QB’s. Ty Branyon with the Raiders, Matt Leinart with the Packers, and Andrew Walter with the Panthers. If you expand out further you can add in more young QB’s with lower AWR too.
One more fact not directly related to this article, though three of the four teams appear here. The NFC South (the division, I’m in) is commonly referred to as being an easy division. I am here to tell you though, that this division is the biggest reason, I am currently on the hot seat. Notice how the record breaks down: The Buccaneers are 34-30 overall (.531)- 15-9 (.625) within the division and 19-21 (.475) outside the division. The Falcons are 32-32 overall (.500)- 16-8 (.667) within the division and 16-24 (.400) outside the division. The Panthers are 23-41 overall (.359)- 10-14 (.417) within the division and 13-27 (.325) outside the division. The Saints are 24-40 overall (.375)- 7-17 (.292) within the division and 17-23 (.425) outside the division. For me, it’s plenty hard, noticeably harder than playing opponents outside the division. Now a valid explanation could just be division games are always harder, but the win percentage contrast is pretty stark.
So there’s a little by the numbers with the teams currently drafted in the top 20 of this year’s draft.
