by Vincent Verhei

The tables in Quick Reads show you where each quarterback ranks in a given week, and the individual comments help tell you why. Sometimes quarterbacks played especially well (or poorly) in the red zone, or on third downs, or in the fourth quarter, and those radical results can drastically alter the overall rankings in a given week. In the grand scheme of things, though, these comments are somewhat meaningless. If it's foolish to evaluate any player on the results of a single game, then it's just about nonsensical to judge them on a subset of that game. When you're looking at 10 or 12 passes, one big play or two can skew results pretty drastically.

What if we looked at some of these splits over the course of the season -- or, more specifically, over the two-thirds of the season that has been played so far? Here are the best and worst passers, runners, and receivers by individual DYAR in a variety of scenarios this season. You'll notice a handful of names popping up repeatedly -- which isn't always good news.

Red Zone

It's great to pile up massive yardage totals, but if you don't finish drives, you're going to have trouble winning games. Here are the best and worst players inside the opponents' 20-yard line this year:

Certainly no surprises in the top two quarterbacks. As for Alex Smith, you may have heard that no Chiefs wide receiver has caught a touchdown pass this season, but that doesn't mean they have been a bad passing team in the red zone. It just means that Smith has been relying on Travis Kelce (four red-zone touchdowns), Anthony Fasano (three), and Jamaal Charles and Joe McKnight (two each). (On a surprising note, Kirk Cousins is fourth in red-zone passing DYAR, and Derek Carr is sixth.) On the other end of the stick, Nick Foles had 220 red-zone passing DYAR in 2013, fifth-best in the league. Things change. Josh McCown's presence on the worst passers list is most notable because he only has 18 red-zone plays, 11 less than Blake Bortles and 21 less than Foles. McCown has four red-zone touchdowns this year, with two interceptions, four sacks (including three against Chicago this week), and one fumble.

You're all familiar with Marshawn Lynch and Jamaal Charles, I'm sure. Isaiah Crowell's success has been a bit of small sample size run amok. He has only 11 red-zone carries this year (Lynch, for comparison, has 47), but he has scored six times, three of them from outside the 10.

Julius Thomas leads the league in receiving touchdowns, so it's no surprise to see him in this category, but only seven of his 12 touchdowns have come inside the 20. Still, seven touchdowns and three other first downs on only 13 targets is remarkable. It is interesting that the Dolphins have one of the best receivers in the end zone in Mike Wallace, and one of the worst in Charles Clay. They have been targeted 16 times apiece inside the 20. Wallace has turned seven of those targets into scores, but Clay has only done so twice. Rueben Randle also has but two red-zone scores, in 18 targets. Brent Celek's decline is no doubt related to that of his quarterback.

And then there is the strange case of Ahmad Bradshaw. He has 19 runs inside the 20, with more fumbles (three) than touchdowns (two). But he has caught six touchdowns in 14 targets, three of them on third or fourth down.

Third/Fourth Downs

Who have been the best players at keeping drives alive, and who have been responsible for bringing the punter onto the field?

The next best passers after Matt Stafford: Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger. In other words, the league's best quarterbacks are often at their best on third downs. Cam Newton, though, has been trapped behind an offensive line that can't protect him in obvious passing situations, getting sacked 14 times (with four fumbles) in 112 third-down dropbacks. Brian Hoyer leads the league in yards per completion, so he and the Browns have produced quite the boom-and-bust offense.

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The best third-down rushers have a pretty obvious connection, don't they? This is a little gimmicky, because it's probably not fair to compare running backs to quarterbacks to whatever the hell Percy Harvin is these days, and also because Harvin has only four third-down carries this year (one with Seattle, a 51-yard touchdown; and three with the Jets, gains of 6, 7, and 9 yards on third-and-2 or less). Russell Wilson is in the middle of one of the best rushing seasons a quarterback has ever had. He has 10 conversions on 14 third-down runs; those 10 conversions have come with an average of 6.3 yards to go, including three conversions on third-and-10 or more. Lynch has been nearly automatic in short-yardage, converting 11-of-14 runs in on third or fourth down with less than 3 yards to go. If you want to eliminate Harvin because he's a receiver, than Cam Newton makes the list; if you want to limit this list to running backs, then Lynch is followed by Jamaal Charles and Matt Forte.

Jonathan Stewart, playing behind the same line that is getting Cam Newton killed routinely, has two third-down conversions on the season, while getting stuffed for no gain or a loss five times. Andrew Luck's third down conversion rate is improving; he went 0-for-5 in the first five weeks of the year, but 5-of-8 (with a fumble) since then. Hyde's third-down numbers this year: six carries, 5 yards, no conversions. If you want to limit this list to running backs, you could remove Luck and add Ben Tate, formerly of Cleveland, now with Minnesota.

Randall Cobb and Rob Gronkowski are two of the best players in football, so we'd expect to see them here. Golden Tate has 19 third-down conversions this year; the Seahawks' wide receivers have a total of 24, including four by the now-departed Percy Harvin. Think Tate is missed in Seattle? Mychal Rivera and Jordan Cameron are saddled with inefficient quarterbacks. Rueben Randle doesn't really have that excuse, and he's showing up in this essary for the wrong reasons all too often. He has six third-down conversions all season, in a whopping (take a drink!) 25 targets.

Game-Winning Situations (Tied or Trailing by 8 Points or Less, Fourth Quarter/Overtime)

These are the players who have done the best and worst job of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

It was an up-and-down half-season for Nick Foles, but he did get credit for three game-winning drives (against Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Washington) in eight starts. Most of Mike Glennon's production came in the win over Pittsburgh, but he also threw a late go-ahead touchdown against Minnesota. (Someone please explain to us why Tampa bay is starting Josh McCown, again?) Andy Dalton hasn't had a ton of comeback opportunities, but he has been explosive in those situations, going 18-of-24 for 323 yards (13.5 yards per pass!) (!!!) with two touchdowns, one interception, and one sack. Austin Davis, meanwhile, has had 31 "comeback" plays, and has thrown three touchdowns -- all to the wrong team. No offensive touchdowns and five picks? That's bad. Kirk Cousins has been woefully inept, going 4-of-13 for 70 yards with no touchdowns and two picks. So Davis and Cousins have been benched for good reason, but what's up with Colin Kaepernick? He has not thrown a game-tying or go-ahead score in the fourth quarter or overtime this year, going 25-of-44 for 302 yards with one interception and seven sacks in comeback/game-winning opportunities.

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A look at the lead runners shows again that this year's Seahawks, though flawed, are a pretty special team. Wilson has averaged 11.8 yards on 13 "comeback" carries, while Lynch has averaged 4.7 yards on 25 runs. Mark Ingram is averaging 4.5 yards on 17 runs. The next running back is Miami's Lamar Miller, who has averaged 6.3 yards on nine "comeback" carries. Most of the "worst" runners are victims of small sample sizes. Bell is averaging 2.3 yards on 13 carries; Kaepernick, 5.0 yards on four (with a fumble); Williams, 0.8 on nine. In fact, 32 the 35 runners who have accumulated -5 DYAR or worse in "comeback" situations have done so in less than ten carries.

Jeremy Maclin scored touchdowns on all three of Nick Foles' game-winning drives. John Brown has scored go-ahead fourth-quarter scores against San Diego, Philadelphia, and St. Louis this season, and those three touchdowns have averaged 45.3 yards apiece. Steve Smith would probably be first in this category if his 80-yard touchdown against Cincinnati had not been negated by his own pass interference penalty. Each of Jeremy Kerley's 15 "comeback" targets was thrown by Geno Smith. They produced exactly one touchdown, and that was scored by Denver on a pick-six. Jermaine Kearse has been thrown 10 "comeback" passes, catching four of them for 23 yards (none longer than 7 yards) with zero first downs. Megatron's presence here is a shocker, but he has caught only four of his 12 "comeback" targets, for 54 yards and no touchdowns.

Protecting A Late Lead (Ahead by 1 to 8 points, Fourth Quarter)

Think of this as the "all-four-minute-drill team." These players have been best at hanging on to the ball and preventing comeback attempts by the other team, or adding insurance scores to secure leads.

The list of best passers isn't too surprising, but my goodness, that list of worst passers. First of all, what on earth is going on with Colin Kaepernick late in close games this year? He has been lousy trying to rally his team, and lousy trying to protect leads as well. And yes, he's having a down season overall, but he's still in the top 20 for overall DYAR. Foles only had six passes protecting a late-and-close lead this year, completing two of them, one to his own receivers, one to the opponents. And Romo, for all his good qualities, has once again struggled to close out wins.

The lists of runners and receivers here are mostly meaningless. Only 16 players have double-digit carries late with a close lead, and only four have double-digit targets. Ellington, though, has a league-high 34 carries late with a close lead, so his struggles there are something to worry about for Arizona going forward.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Peyton Manning DEN 28/35 257 4 0 210 210 0 On third downs, Manning went 9-of-11 for 99 yards with one sack and eight conversions, including two touchdowns. 2. Drew Brees NO 35/44 420 3 1 153 151 2 3. Tony Romo DAL 18/25 275 4 0 153 153 0 Romo was about as close to perfect as you can get on first down, completing all ten of his passes for 135 yards. Nine of those completions were successful, including six first downs. His only "failed" first-down play was a 4-yard completion on first-and-10. 4. Tom Brady NE 38/53 349 2 1 132 132 0 Brady was the best passer in the first half this week. On New England's first two drives, he went just 3-of-5 for 12 yards. From that point to the end of the second quarter, though, he went 18-of-22 for 221 yards with 15 first downs, including two touchdowns. 5. Ryan Tannehill MIA 26/36 228 3 1 127 116 11 Tannehill had a big day in the red zone, going 5-of-7 for 29 yards with three touchdowns and another first down. 6. Aaron Rodgers GB 19/29 209 2 0 121 105 16 Rodgers struggled to move the ball on his own side of the 50, going 11-of-20 for 109 yards with four first downs and one sack. 7. Joe Flacco BAL 18/24 243 1 0 96 95 2 8. Kyle Orton BUF 24/32 230 2 0 80 76 4 9. Eli Manning NYG 30/40 338 3 1 71 71 0 Manning fared best on midrange and deeper passes. Throwing to receivers at least 7 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, he went 10-of-13 for 172 yards, with every catch going for a first down or touchdown. 10. Andy Dalton CIN 24/35 233 1 1 69 93 -25 Dalton's first 11 passes were all thrown to receivers within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. He only threw two deep passes (16-plus yards downfield) all day, both incomplete, both in the fourth quarter. 11. Russell Wilson SEA 17/22 211 1 0 62 43 19 The Cardinals sacked Wilson seven times. In one stretch over the second and third quarters, he was sacked six times in ten dropbacks. He also gained 75 yards and four first downs on eight non-kneeldown runs, so it wasn't all bad when he scrambled. 12. Mark Sanchez PHI 30/43 307 1 2 59 60 -2 The Eagles could have scored even more points if Sanchez had played better in the red zone. He went 4-of-8 for 38 yards with two sacks and only one touchdown. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Philip Rivers SD 29/34 291 1 1 52 52 0 Things were either very bad for Rivers and the Chargers on third down, or very good, with very little in-between. He threw a pick-six and was sacked twice, and on one play he hit Keenan Allen for a 35-yard gain, but then Allen fumbled the ball away. Otherwise, though, Rivers went 5-of-5 for 53 yards and four first downs. 14. Matt Ryan ATL 27/43 273 2 1 41 42 -1 Ryan tore apart the middle of the Cleveland defense, going 10-of-10 for 129 yards with two touchdowns and five other first downs. 15. Colin Kaepernick SF 20/29 256 1 1 34 48 -14 Less than 10 yards to go for a first down: 11-of-13 for 153 yards with nine first downs, including a touchdown. 10 or more yards to go: 9-of-16 for 103 yards with only one first down, one interception, and two sacks. 16. Derek Carr OAK 18/35 174 1 0 15 6 9 Throwing to his left, Carr went 5-of-10 for 17 yards (not a typo) and only one first down. 17. Geno Smith NYJ 10/12 89 0 0 -8 -2 -6 18. Teddy Bridgewater MIN 22/37 210 2 1 -9 -11 3 Bridgewater spent a decent chunk of time trying to dig himself and the Vikings out of deep holes. On plays with at least 18 yards to go for a first down, he went 4-of-4 for 44 yards, and though he didn't pick up any first downs, three of those completions were successful plays that led to makeable third downs. 19. Alex Smith KC 20/36 234 2 0 -20 -16 -4 The Chiefs were down by 14 in the third quarter until Smith threw a pair of touchdowns to take the lead. After his second score, though, he finished up going 4-of-9 for 39 yards and a sack, with no first downs in his last nine dropbacks. 20. Ryan Mallett HOU 21/43 189 0 1 -32 -35 3 On Cincinnati's side of the field, Mallett went 7-of-17 for 63 yards with only three first downs, and no touchdowns. 21. Zach Mettenberger TEN 20/39 345 2 1 -36 -36 0 On third downs, Mettenberger went 4-of-8 for 62 yards with only two first downs, with three sacks and a fumble. 22. Drew Stanton ARI 14/26 151 0 1 -40 -45 5 On third downs, Stanton went 2-of-8 for 4 yards (not a typo) with just one first down and two sacks. Counting the sacks, that works out to -0.4 net yards per play. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Matthew Stafford DET 18/46 264 0 1 -58 -59 1 Inside the New England 40-yard line, Stafford went 1-of-14 for 13 yards. That one completion came with the Lions down by 18 points in the fourth quarter. 24. Andrew Luck IND 21/32 254 1 0 -59 -81 22 Inside the Jacksonville 40-yard line, Luck went 5-of-7 for 48 yards with one first down, one sack-fumble, and one botched snap. 25. Robert Griffin WAS 11/19 106 0 0 -80 -67 -13 Griffin only threw for four first downs, and they all came in an eight-play stretch over the second and third quarters. Otherwise, he went 6-of-12 for 27 yards with four sacks and a fumble. 26. Brian Hoyer CLE 23/39 322 0 3 -82 -85 2 In case you thought the Browns might try to ease Josh Gordon back into the offense -- yeah, no. Gordon was the target on 16 passes, only the 12th time this year one receiver has seen so many passes in a game. Two of those passes were intercepted in the fourth quarter, but Hoyer came back to Gordon for a 24-yard gain to set up the winning field goal. 27. Jay Cutler CHI 17/27 130 1 0 -100 -100 0 Cutler did not throw a single deep ball against Green Bay. You'll recall that Cutler plays with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, who have won a jump ball or two in their day. And of the four passes Cutler did throw that traveled at least 10 yards downfield, two were completed for 41 yards and a pair of first downs. 28. Michael Vick NYJ 7/19 76 0 1 -130 -123 -7 29. Shaun Hill STL 18/35 198 1 2 -135 -118 -16 On first downs, Hill went 3-of-9 for 20 yards and no first downs. 30. Blake Bortles JAC 15/27 146 0 1 -149 -159 11 Bortles only threw for five first downs, and four of them came with Jacksonville down by 20 points in the fourth quarter. Before Indianapolis took that lead, Bortles had gone 6-of-15 for 39 yards with an interception, two sacks, and a fumble. 31. Josh McCown TB 25/48 341 1 2 -155 -149 -6 Five sacks and two fumbles on top of a pair of interceptions will do this to a guy. So will opponent adjustments -- only Eli Manning took a bigger hit this week. McCown had 21 plays with a lead against Chicago. He went 6-of-18 for 108 yards with three sacks and two fumbles.

Five most valuable running backs (Total) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. C.J. Anderson DEN 27 167 1 4/4 28 0 92 76 15 C.J. who? Anderson averaged 5.7 yards per rush in two years at Cal, but was never the leading rusher on the Golden Bears. He went undrafted in 2013 and played sparingly for Denver over the next year and a half. Then came Sunday, when Anderson produced the most valuable game for any running back thus far in 2014. He had three 20-yard runs against Miami, two other runs of 10 yards or more, and three shorter first downs, and he was stuffed for no gain or a loss just twice. Each of his four receptions gained between 5 and 9 yards, including a conversion on third-and-6. 2. Eddie Lacy GB 25 125 1 2/2 13 1 55 41 14 Lacy had four 10-yard runs and nine total first downs on the day, with only two runs for a loss. 3. Justin Forsett BAL 22 182 2 2/2 8 0 51 53 -2 4. Alfred Morris WAS 21 125 1 1/1 5 0 49 47 3 A 30-yard run, a 22-yard run, three other 10-yard runs, and seven first downs on the ground. 5. Ryan Mathews SD 12 105 1 2/2 8 0 42 42 -1 Mathews had four 10-yard runs, capped off by a 32-yard go-ahead touchdown. He failed to gain positive yardage just once.

Five most valuable running backs (Rushing) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. C.J. Anderson DEN 27 167 1 4/4 28 0 92 76 15 2. Justin Forsett BAL 22 182 2 2/2 8 0 51 53 -2 3. Alfred Morris WAS 21 125 1 1/1 5 0 49 47 3 4. Ryan Mathews SD 12 105 1 2/2 8 0 42 42 -1 5. Eddie Lacy GB 25 125 1 2/2 13 1 55 41 14

Least valuable running back (Total) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Denard Robinson JAC 14 26 0 4/5 47 0 -44 -51 7 Robinson's only first down was a 2-yard gain on third-and-1, and he had no 10-yard carries. He was stuffed for no gain or a loss a half-dozen times, and also fumbled once.

Least valuable running back (Rushing) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Denard Robinson JAC 14 26 0 4/5 47 0 -44 -51 7

Five most valuable wide receivers and tight ends Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR 1. Odell Beckham NYG 10 11 146 14.6 2 70 In addition to his two scores, Beckham picked up a half-dozen other first downs. He had six targets on third downs. Five were conversions, including a 3-yard touchdown. The sixth was a 9-yard gain on third-and-11. 2. Anquan Boldin SF 9 12 137 15.2 1 50 Boldin had seven first downs, including a 3-for-4 success rate on third downs. 3. Marques Colston NO 4 4 82 20.5 1 50 4. Demaryius Thomas DEN 10 13 87 8.7 3 47 Thomas didn't have a lot of "chunk" plays -- his longest catch gained just 21 yards -- but he picked up a half-dozen first downs, including a trio of red-zone scores. 5. Dez Bryant DAL 7 9 86 12.3 2 47 Bryant only had four first downs, but he had two other successful completions. His only failed completion was a 4-yard gain on first down.