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Next Gen Stats: Compelling figures that could shape Week 3
In this week's edition of the Next Gen Stats Photo Essay, NFL Research's Zach Feldman dives deep into the numbers behind the most intriguing storylines heading into Week 3.
NOTE: All stats and rankings were current heading into Thursday night of Week 3.

Cam Newton is showing the world that he is still one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL. The Patriots have had no problem changing their scheme to fit Newton's strengths. He has 12 rushes for 68 yards and two touchdowns when running into a light box (six or fewer defenders), ranking second in the league in each category among QBs with at least eight such rushes. On top of his rushing production, Newton went 4-of-4 for 128 yards on deep passes (20-plus air yards) in Week 2 against Seattle. The four deep completions are tied for his second-most in a game in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016). Newton also boasts a completion percentage over expected (CPOE) of +21.9 on passes of 10-plus air yards, which is the second-best mark in the league among QBs with more than one attempt. Newton's unique size and skill set has been a perfect pairing with the genius of Bill Belichick through Week 2.

Finally unleashed early in games, Russell Wilson has been on fire to start the 2020 season. His +14.5 CPOE in the first quarter is the third-best mark in the NFL among QBs with more than two first-quarter attempts. Wilson's dominant ways aren't limited to the first quarter, though. His 0.48 expected points added per dropback and +13.9 CPOE are both tops in the NFL this season. Wilson has also been surgical on deep balls this season. He went 3-of-4 for 110 yards and three touchdowns on deep passes against the Patriots in Week 2. His 38-yard touchdown pass to David Moore in the third quarter had just a 6.3 percent completion probability. Wilson now has thrown the NFL's two least-probable TD passes since 2017. Look for Russ to continue cooking in Week 3 against Dallas.

After a dazzling 2019 season that earned Lamar Jackson the MVP award, we're seeing the 23-year-old QB continue to improve in 2020. His performance on passes of 10-plus air yards improved last season, and it's trending way up in 2020. His passer rating on passes of 10-plus air yards was 77.2 in 2018 and 126.0 in 2019, but it is up to 156.3 so far in 2020. His completion percentage above expectation on passes of 10-plus air yards rose from -4.5 in 2018 to +2.6 in 2019, and it's up to +24.3 in 2020, which is the best mark in the league among QBs with more than one attempt. Jackson does have a tough matchup in Week 3 against Kansas City, though. The Chiefs have yielded a passer rating of just 65.3 on throws of 10-plus air yards since 2019, which ranks third in the NFL.

Josh Allen is one of the more polarizing QBs in the NFL, thanks to his aggressive playing style and bouts with inaccuracy. But Allen has shown signs of maturation in 2020. He's thrown to open receivers (a receiver with 3-plus yards of separation) on 49.4 percent of pass attempts in 2020, compared with 41.1 percent in 2019 and 39.7 percent in 2018. He's also going downfield at a lower rate, as his deep-pass percentage continues to decrease after he led the league in the category as a rookie (2018: 18.1%; 2019: 13.7%; 2020: 9.9%). When he does go deep, Allen is showing better accuracy, completing 75 percent of such passes (fourth among QBs with at least four deep attempts), compared to 22.2 percent in 2019 (last in the league among QBs with more than 20 deep attempts). Allen's already completed six deep passes this season after completing just 14 over the entire 2019 campaign.

Patrick Mahomes has a 20:1 TD-to-INT ratio and 117.4 passer rating against blitzes since 2018. Considering his ability to pick apart blitzing defenses, it's no surprise he's been blitzed at the lowest rate among qualified QBs in that span (20.4%). The Ravens have blitzed QBs on 50.3 percent of dropbacks since 2019, the highest rate in the NFL by 9.1 percentage points. Baltimore is effective on its blitzes, too. The Ravens have allowed the lowest completion percentage (49.5%), fewest yards per attempt (5.5) and lowest passer rating (62.5) in the league when blitzing since 2019. In two meetings against the Chiefs since Mahomes became Kansas City's starter in 2018, the Ravens blitzed Mahomes on 33 percent of his dropbacks. But Mahomes proved the Ravens' efforts to be futile, as he completed 60 percent of his passes (18 of 30) vs. the blitz for 177 yards and three TDs, leading the Chiefs to victory in both games.

There were some questions as to how new head coach Kevin Stefanski would use running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt this season, but the early returns have certainly put any concerns to rest. Both guys have been superb through two weeks. Hunt leads NFL running backs with +72 rush yards over expectation, while Chubb is tied for third with +64 RYOE. The two running backs' ability to gain extra yards and move the chains has provided a major boost to Cleveland's offense. Browns running backs rank second in the NFL with 6.2 yards per rush despite ranking 25th in the league with 3.83 expected yards per rush. This strong ground game will face a stout run defense in Week 3 when it plays Washington on Sunday. The Football Team has allowed -0.94 RYOE per rush.