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Next Gen Stats
Next Gen Stats: Week 1 Preview
Find out what one team's biggest weakness was last season. See who it was, and more in this week's Next Gen stats.
Though Tom Brady dominated the league last year, he did so without one of his greatest weapons, tight end Rob Gronkowski. Brady's passer rating suffers nearly 20 points without Gronkowski dropping from 122.8 to 103.4.
In 2016, the Kansas City Chief's Tyreek Hill was nearly unstoppable and uncatchable with the ball in his hands. He was one of the fastest players in the league, reaching a top speed of 23.24 miles per hour on a kick return last year.
Although not known for their mobility, Sam Bradford and Drew Brees both boast effective passer ratings when outside the pocket. Bradford posted the highest passer rating outside the pocket last year with 126.3 while Brees had a 102.8 passer rating.
Led by star cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the Minnesota Viking defense excelled at defending opposing WRs lined up out wide, allowing a passer rating of only 71.1 last season.
Last season, Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. displayed a great ability to create separation from defenders, leading the league in average separation when pressed at the line of scrimmage with 2.6 yards.
With both Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota coming off season-ending injuries from 2016, pass protection is a key in this week's matchup. The Titans and Raiders have two of the best offensive lines in the league, taking the top spots in quarterback pressure percentage in the pocket at 15.9% and 10.7% respectively.
The Oakland Raiders have a solid pass rushing defense led by a prolific Khalil Mack. In 2016 Mack posted 11.0 sacks, the most on his team, while only taking an average of 3.66 seconds to do so.
Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins was sensational on deep passes last season, posting a league-leading 37 completions and 1,309 yards while coming up second in passer rating (121.9).
The Philadelphia Eagles should worry about Kirk Cousins on deep passes; they have one of the worst deep pass defenses in the league. They gave up a league-high 1,282 passing yards on deep passes last season including the 2nd-worst passer rating (116.0 vs 79.3 league average).
While Green Bay's secondary is stacked with great playmakers, the team's biggest weakness is their deep defense. Last season the Packers allowed 13 touchdowns and 1,001 yards on deep passes of 20 yards or more.
One of the most iconic aspects of these two team's quarterbacks is their proclivity to pass outside the pocket. Aaron Rodgers attempted 17.4% of his passes outside the pocket while Russell Wilson attempted 16.4%.
