2018 Division Leaders Through Week 5! pic.twitter.com/mMKhG4jNFQ
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2018
What if, through four games, you were able to look at each team’s defining unit?
I took a stab at it, as it took until Monday night for each team to put four games in:
MIA – 2nd in passer rating allowed
NE – 13th in passer rating allowed
NYJ – 28th in passer rating
BUF – 32nd in passer rating
BAL – 1st in passer rating allowed
CIN – T-5th in TD passes
CLE – 27th in FG%
PIT – 23rd in passer rating allowed
TEN – T-1st in rush TD allowed
JAX – T-1st in pass TD allowed
HOU – 30th in passer rating allowed
IND – 28th in rushing yards per attempt
KC – 1st in passer rating
LAC – 25th in passer rating allowed
DEN – 29th in passer rating
OAK – T-26th in rush TD allowed
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Running back Todd Gurley #30 of the Los Angeles Rams scores a touchdown avoiding defensive back Patrick Peterson #21 of the Arizona Cardinals in the second quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
WAS – T-29th in pass TD
DAL – 26th in passer rating
PHI – T-7th in rush TD allowed
NYG – T-23rd in pass TD
CHI – 1st in sacks
GB – 11th in passer rating allowed
MIN – 28th in passer rating allowed
DET – 30th in rushing yards allowed per attempt
NO – 2nd in rush TD
CAR – T-11th in rush TD
TB – 32nd in passer rating allowed
ATL – 31st in rush TD allowed
LA – 2nd in passer rating
SEA – 4th in passer rating allowed
SF – 26th in passer rating allowed
ARI – 31st in passer rating
Teams of the Week:
NE, CIN, HOU, KC
WAS, DET, NO, LA
Winning units:
NE offensive line (QB Tom Brady)
BUF run defense (OLB Matt Milano)
CAR special teams (K Graham Gano)
CIN pass offense (RB Joe Mixon)
CLE pass defense (CB Denzel Ward)
DET special teams (K Matt Prater)
KC offensive line (QB Patrick Mahomes)
NYJ run offense (RB Isaiah Crowell)
PIT run offense (RB James Conner)
LAC pass offense (RB Melvin Gordon)
MIN pass defense (FS Harrison Smith)
ARI offensive line (QB Josh Rosen)
LA pass offense (WR Robert Woods)
HOU pass defense (SS Kareem Jackson)
NO pass offense (WR Tre’Quan Smith)
Looking ahead to Week 6
Open Dates – Detroit, New Orleans:
The Lions are weird. Their two wins have come against teams quarterbacked by Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, keeping both teams under 24 points. The problem is that they were lit up by teams quarterbacked by rookie Sam Darnold, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Dak Prescott. Jury is still out on how much Detroit’s defense can be expected to improve. The only running back making a bigger impact in the league than Saints RB Alvin Kamara is Rams RB Todd Gurley. We’ll see if that keeps up now that RB Mark Ingram is back from suspension.
Eagles at New York Giants: Philadelphia is about to be an uncomfortable place to be for the rest of the month. The NFC East is still garbage. Moving on!
Steelers at Cincinnati: HARD PASS. Can’t trust the Bengals, ever.
Ravens at Tennessee: The Ravens followed up a big win in primetime over the Steelers by losing in overtime in Cleveland. The Titans followed up a big overtime win over the Eagles by losing in Buffalo. Don’t overreact to either of these teams.
Chiefs at New England: If Alex Smith can do it… right, RIGHT?! (Cue the Patriots are undead narrative.)
49ers at Green Bay: Mason Crosby missed five kicks last week. He’s still Green Bay’s kicker.