The game of football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Many like watching the game, but others also enjoy talking about stats.
Many consider stats to be the main focus in sports. They can help see team strengths and weaknesses.
What is the most overlooked statistic in the National Football League?
Many know about Quarterback Ratings, which is the quarterback’s passing efficiency. An outstanding number for this stat is anything above 100. To put it into perspective, Tom Brady had a 97.2 passer rating throughout his career.
Recently, teams throughout the NFL have been focusing heavily on the point differential against opponents.
It is essentially a team’s cumulative margin of victory or defeat in each game divided by the number of games played.
How important is a field goal percentage?
Well, although the main focus of football is not anything to do with kickers, they are a big part of the game and the outcome of the score. A field goal percentage is the percentage of field goals made by a kicker. The best kicker in the 2022 season was Justin Tucker, with an 86.0 field goal percentage rating.
Another stat that has been growing in the NFL is the yards after catch. Yards after catch (YAC) is the yards gained after possessing the football. This stat has been growing throughout the league because more and more football teams are becoming pass-first teams.
The most important statistic to winning a game is the time of possession, which is how long a team can hold onto the ball and score. The average time a team spent with the ball in the 2021-2022 season was 2:39. The longest time of possession a team had with the ball was the Houston Oilers, who held onto the football for 48:34 in 1991.
The most important stat for defense is the points allowed per game. This stat measures how many points a team’s defense has allowed per game. The most points ever allowed per game in a season was 38.8 per the St. Louis Rams.
Now, the game of football is so much more than just statistics. In the long run, the team that is most prepared and has the least problems has the best chance to win the game.
There are many phenomenally gifted and incredible athletes in the NFL, and sometimes, they cannot be judged based on their statistics. Many players have become stars, and their stats did not reflect on them before.
There is a lot more that also goes into the game of football. Film study is a big part of the game. Understanding your opponent and what their tendencies are, their strengths and weaknesses. On average, an NFL team spends 20 hours per week watching films on their opponent.
Whether looking at stats or not, all that matters in the end is the team that has more points than the other team. Though stats can help see players’ strengths and weaknesses, there is a lot more to it than just that.
