The Week That Was -- review of last week's NFL outcomes

THE WEEK THAT WAS / NFL WEEK EIGHT
With commentary by Tim

Hot off the presses, the early edition TMW play-by-play ratings for your perusal from the most recent week of this festive NFL season. For those new to the numbers read the following:

PSR: Play Success Rate - every play is graded as either a success or failure
Big: percentage of plays that went for big gains...10+ yards for a run, 20+ for a pass
Yds: adjusted yards per play, including penalties and excluding non-plays
EFR: Effectiveness rating. One number overall summary.
Stats Score: This is the projected score the TMW computer would have spit out if the stats for the game were the numbers coming in. This column lets us know who "should" have won.

NY Giants at Minnesota

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
NY Giants	56%	8%	4.3	100	43%	10%	4.6	93	25
Minnesota	60%	10%	4.6	100	45%	10%	6.4	85	24

Stats score is much closer than the real deal. That must be a consolation to those sore-butted Vikings!

Baltimore at Philadelphia

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Baltimore	32%	11%	3.6	60	39%	7%	5.5	75	6
Philadelphia	52%	14%	4.7	90	43%	8%	6.4	118	39

Likewise, this one was close in reality, but not according to the stats.

Green Bay at Washington

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Green Bay	41%	10%	2.7	65	51%	17%	8.6	100	22
Washington	68%	5%	4.2	100	39%	4%	3.9	70	19

Then this here is the opposite deal: the game was a comfy win for the Packers, but the 'Skins could have had 'em on the ropes (yes there was that TD called back that would have tied the score...)

Jacksonville at Houston

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Jacksonville	41%	8%	3.2	75	54%	5%	5.4	81	10
Houston	38%	3%	2.5	58	55%	11%	8.0	141	41

Houston fans unite! This team is GOOD! This team is GREAT! This team is, dare I say it, PLAYOFF BOUND!!!

Arizona at Buffalo

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Arizona	40%	8%	2.8	70	35%	7%	3.2	67	13
Buffalo	27%	8%	3.2	52	33%	6%	4.4	66	10

Wait a second here, varmits, the WRONG TEAM WON! I knew those rascally Bills were nothing but a bunch of rascally BILLS! I mean, really, how do you win a game when your QB doesn't even pass for one hundred measly yards?

Detroit at Dallas

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Detroit	50%	7%	2.4	78	52%	12%	7.3	120	26
Dallas	39%	5%	3.0	65	71%	18%	10.8	142	37

Thanks to Vinny, the Cowboys can win now and then. If they could only figure out how to run the ball they would have a good offense.

Cincinnati at Tennessee

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Cincinnati	35%	12%	3.3	82	41%	5%	5.6	68	11
Tennessee	41%	17%	4.3	83	51%	3%	5.7	94	28

Bengalis back to normal. Although they did try hard.

Indianapolis at Kansas City

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Indianapolis	54%	0%	2.8	72	48%	23%	10.4	155	31
Kansas City	56%	23%	5.0	107	66%	19%	10.8	200	64

Whoopee! Ya like points, don't ya? Then this here was a good one for you my friend. Can Kansas City climb back into the playoffs?

Atlanta at Denver

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Atlanta	48%	16%	5.1	102	55%	19%	10.2	155	47
Denver	40%	5%	2.9	60	51%	12%	8.3	113	20

Dum, dee dum dum. [Deep Voice} As the NFL turns...one week you are the jam doughnut, the next you are the jam. Falcons fool the foolish.

Carolina at Seattle

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Carolina	40%	15%	4.7	70	44%	6%	6.8	97	16
Seattle	44%	13%	6.3	89	60%	12%	6.5	115	35

Yawn. Boy did Carolina's season go ker-plonk quick. Like the first week when they got creamed on Monday night. The curse of the Super Bowl loser continues.

New England at Pittsburgh

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
New England	16%	0%	0.8	16	43%	2%	4.7	83	7
Pittsburgh	60%	11%	4.6	102	43%	12%	7.4	135	40

And then the streak came to an end. Some are saying it's not such a bad thing for New England since it will get all the noise about the streak to go away and then they can focus on the bigger prize. Steelers? That Ben what's-his-name could be MVP at this rate.

Oakland at San Diego

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Oakland	27%	9%	2.4	45	42%	5%	5.9	83	21
San Diego	48%	14%	4.7	97	78%	18%	10.1	225	54

You do see that right, a 225 passing EFR, which is the all time high that I can remember. 78% play success rate, 10.1 yards per attempt. Um, Oakland, ever hear that newfangled word De-fense? Boy the Raiders are bad. Zeroes on the NFL landscape. New slogan: "Raiders, a commitment to allowing easy scores."

San Francisco at Chicago

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
San Francisco	34%	4%	2.6	56	27%	3%	2.7	37	8
Chicago	37%	13%	3.5	56	21%	9%	4.0	43	15

The Sunday nighter was ignored by virtually everyone, and rightly so.

Miami at NY Jets

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Miami	37%	19%	4.8	87	36%	9%	4.2	61	17
NY Jets	60%	29%	6.7	136	52%	24%	9.3	166	50

The monday nighter should have been ignored by everyone. Um, Miami, football games have two halves!

Also see:
Week That Was, Week 7
Week That Was, Week 6
Week That Was, Week 5
Week That Was, Week 4
Week That Was, Week 3
Week That Was, Week 2
Week That Was, Week 1

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