by Vince Verhei

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-29 on Sunday, but it was something of a Pyrrhic victory for the AFC North leaders. Though they are now 5-1 and tied with Houston for the best record in the conference, they lost a pair of defenders to injury. Linebacker Ray Lewis left the game with a triceps injury, and though he's not close to the player he was a decade ago, the Ravens will struggle to replace the intangibles he brings to the field. For tangible on-field skills, though, cornerback Lardarius Webb, who is believed to be out for the year with a torn ACL, will be a much bigger loss.

A third-round draft pick out of Nicholls State in 2009, Webb played sparingly as a rookie, then saw regular action in nickel and dime sets in 2010 before graduating to a starting role in 2011. This year, he had graduated again, from the average to the elite.

We can measure Webb's progress using some statistics from Football Outsiders' game charting project. We use two statistics to measure cornerbacks' pass coverage. The first, yards per pass, is pretty straightforward: the total yards that cornerback allowed in coverage (including both receptions and defensive pass interference penalties) divided by the number of times that cornerback was targeted. The second statistic, Success Rate, is slightly more complicated. Each cornerback is given a success for every incomplete pass thrown in his direction. Additionally, each cornerback is credited with a success if he surrenders a completion that fails to gain meaningful yardage towards a new set of downs. If a cornerback surrenders a 3-yard completion on third-and-10, we consider that a successful play for the defender. Success Rate is simply the percentage of each corner's targets that results in a success.

Webb ranked about 30th in both statistics as a nickelback in 2010, then finished in the 40s in both numbers the next season. On the surface, that looks like regression, but remember that Webb was promoted to the starting lineup in 2011, which means the caliber of receiver he was facing jumped up a level as well. Webb was really a pretty average starter last year.

With the help of ESPN expert K.C. Joyner, we've collected data on Webb's performance in 2011, and the results are jarring. Webb gave up 7.7 yards per pass in 2011, but this season that number has fallen to 4.7. And while we don't have his precise Success Rate (FO tracks that, but Joyner doesn't), we do know that only 37 percent of passes thrown in Webb's direction have been complete. That means Webb's Success Rate this year is, at minimum, 64 percent. Realistically, when you account for short completions, it's probably somewhere in the 75 percent range. Either way, it's an enormous improvement from the 53 percent rate Webb posted in 2011.

For more perspective, let's compare Webb's numbers this season to what Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets has done recently. Revis is generally considered the NFL's top cornerback, but in 2011 his Success Rate was 62 percent, and he allowed 5.5 yards per pass. In prior seasons, Revis' yards per pass dipped as low as 3.5, but his Success Rate never went higher than 72 percent.

Teams didn't have much luck throwing to Webb's man this season, and further, they didn't try all that often. In the first five weeks of the season, Webb saw less than half as many targets as his fellow starter, Cary Williams. In short, teams rarely threw at Webb, and when they did, it rarely worked. Sad fact is, Webb was well on his way to an All-Pro caliber season before he got hurt.

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Can the Ravens get by in Webb's absence? They still have Williams at one corner spot. A seventh-round draftee in 2008, Williams spent several season bouncing on and off practice squads in Tennessee and Baltimore before winning a starting job with the Ravens last season. Like Webb, he ranked about 40th in 2011 in both Success Rate and yards per pass. His yards per pass is up slighty this year (from 7.2 to 7.7). He's allowing opponents to complete more than 70 percent of their passes, though. That translates to a Success Rate of about 40 percent, much lower than the 52 percent rate he enjoyed last year.

Stepping into Webb's spot in the starting lineup will be Jimmy Smith, the Ravens' 2011 first-round pick out of Colorado. In a very small sample size (only 30 targets), Smith had a 68 percent Success Rate and gave up 6.1 yards per pass. This year, his Success Rate is about 10 percent lower, and he's giving up another yard per pass on average. And that's as a nickelback – we should expect decline as Smith steps into a frontline position. It usually takes three or four seasons for cornerbacks to come into their own, and Smith still has a lot to learn. It will be nearly impossible for Smith to match what Webb did this year.

If there's a silver lining to the Ravens defense, it could come in the form of Terrell Suggs. Out since April with a torn Achilles tendon, the linebacker is hoping to return sometime in November, or perhaps even sooner. The Ravens' pass rush could soon get much better – which is good news, because their secondary has almost certainly gotten much worse.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Aaron Rodgers GB 24/37 338 6 0 267 256 12 He threw six touchdowns. Do you really need any more specific data? OK, fine. Rodgers was particularly deadly throwing to his right: 13-of-18 for 188 yards and 10 first downs, including five of his touchdowns. 2. Peyton Manning DEN 24/30 309 3 1 131 131 0 DYAR by quarter: 3, -15, 76, 67. 3. Tony Romo DAL 25/36 261 2 1 108 108 0 The Cowboys had all kinds of luck running agains Baltimore, but Romo took advantage when he got to throw on first down, going 9-of-10 for 75 yards, plus a 20-yard DPI, for five total first downs, including two scores. 4. Joe Flacco BAL 17/26 234 1 0 107 102 5 Between the Baltimore 40 and the Dallas goal-line, Flacco went 10-of-12 for 130 yards and six first downs, including a touchdown. 5. Robert Griffin WAS 17/22 182 1 1 102 36 66 You can see Griffin's passing totals up there. What you can't see is the stretch between the first and third quarters where he went 12-of-13 for 142 yards and nine first downs, including a touchdown. More importantly, you can't see his rushing totals: 11 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Only two quarterbacks have had more DYAR rushing in a game. In Week 1 of 2000, Daunte Culpepper had 68 DYAR, gaining 81 yards on eight carries, each of them a first down, including three touchdowns. Topping the list is Michael Vick's game against Minnesota in 2002, when he rushed nine times for 173 yards, two touchdowns, 82 DYAR, and one great animated .gif. In 22 years of DVOA data, quarterbacks have only gone over 50 rushing DYAR in five other games: Vick in 2006 and in 2010, Joe Webb in 2011, Steve McNair in 2001, and Culpepper in 2001. (When looking at these box scores, remember that the official numbers include kneeldowns, but FO's numbers don't.) 6. Sam Bradford STL 26/39 315 0 0 94 66 29 He's not RG3, but each of Bradford's four runs was a successful play, including a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal sneak and a 21-yard gain on third-and-8. His third-down passing splits, though, were brutal: 3-of-9 for 34 yards and only two first downs, plus three sacks. 7. Matt Stafford DET 22/45 311 1 1 84 76 8 Stafford's first four passes were incomplete, and he had another streak of seven straight incompletions between the second and third quarters. In the fourth quarter and overtime, he went 15-of-24 for 220 yards, plus a 5-yard DPI, for 11 first downs, including a touchdown. 8. Carson Palmer OAK 23/33 353 1 1 84 84 0 A very good day except for two very bad mistakes. Take away his pick-six and his sack-fumble, and he finishes second behind Rodgers. Inside the Atlanta 40, though, he went 3-of-6 for 38 yards with one touchdown, one other first down, one pick-six, and one sack. 9. Eli Manning NYG 15/28 193 1 0 83 86 -2 Last week, we noted that Manning played lousy with a big lead in the fourth quarter. He took that to another level against San Francisco. His first pass of the second half was a 9-yard gain on second-and-3. He then threw seven incompletions in a row (five of them in the red zone), then an 8-yard gain on first-and-10, and then one more incompletion to end his day. One first down in a half is positively Gabbert-ian. Fortunately he was more Manning-ish in the first half. 10. Ryan Tannehill MIA 21/29 185 2 0 80 92 -12 It was a streaky game for the rookie passer, who started off 8-of-10, but for 61 yards and only one first down, with two sacks for good measure. Then he got hot, going 11-of-14 (including a DPI as a completion) for 111 yards and eight first downs, including two scores. His final six dropbacks resulted in three incompletions and three catches for 24 yards and no first downs. 11. Russell Wilson SEA 16/27 293 3 0 75 71 4 First quarter: 7-of-8 for 131 yards and five first downs (including a touchdown). Fourth quarter: 5-of-9 for 116 yards and three first downs, including two touchdowns. Second and third quarters: 4-of-10 for 46 yards, three first downs, two sacks, one fumble. Finally, we have Wilson's performance to the deep middle and right: 6-of-7 for 222 yards and two touchdowns. (He was 0-for-3 to the deep left.) 12. Tom Brady NE 38/58 395 2 2 64 64 0 In a one-point loss, Brady went 6-of-11 in the red zone for 24 yards, one touchdown, no other first downs, one intentional grounding, and one interception. You'd be mad too, bro. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Josh Freeman TB 15/26 328 3 1 47 46 1 On first down, Freeman went 6-of-9 for 158 yards with five first downs, including all three touchdowns. 14. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 24/40 363 1 1 39 34 5 Red zone passing: 1-of-5, with his only completion a 4-yard gain on third-and-7, plus a 10-yard DPI. 15. Andy Dalton CIN 31/44 381 3 3 38 42 -4 Feast or famine for Dalton on third downs. He had touchdowns of 55 and 57 yards, but otherwise went 3-of-9 for 15 yards with one first down and one interception. His last interception is considered a Hail Mary and treated as an incompletion in DVOA/DYAR. 16. Mark Sanchez NYJ 11/18 82 2 0 34 34 0 Welcome to the new Jets offense, where Sanchez throws passes only as a last result. He had only four dropbacks on first down (and none of those after halftime), seven on second down, and eight on third down. Also, say goodbye to the deep ball. Only two of Sanchez's passes traveled more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, and neither of those was complete. 17. Michael Vick PHI 28/45 311 2 2 24 6 19 Maybe the Eagles should try avoiding the first-down pass too. Vick went 10-of-20 for 86 yards on first down, plus a DPI, for four total first downs. Both of his interceptions and his fumbled snap came on first down. Meanwhile, on third downs, he went 9-of-14 for 140 yards with one touchdown, six other first downs, and only one sack. He also has seven carries for 59 yards and three first downs on the day. 18. Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF 18/31 153 0 0 16 25 -8 Fitzpatrick has thrown 33 passes to receivers behind the line of scrimmage this year, fifth-most in the league. (Christian Ponder leads the league with 43.) He threw eight such passes against Arizona, completing all of them, for 44 yards and two first downs. Two of the plays lost yards, but none gained more than 12. 19. Matt Schaub HOU 20/33 232 0 2 -21 -21 0 At one point in the second quarter Schaub was 9-of-12 for 108 yards, with two sacks and a 26-yard DPI, and had picked up first downs in seven straight dropbacks. Then he fumbled a snap, and though Houston recovered, it was all downhill for Schaub from then on. From then on he went 13-of-26 for 147 yards with only eight first downs, three interceptions, and one sack. 20. Christian Ponder MIN 35/52 352 2 2 -23 -26 3 Ponder was very good in the middle of the field, but he threw a pick-six inside his own 20, and had lots of problems in the red zone. Inside the Washington 20, he went 9-of-15 for 48 yards with two touchdowns, one other first down, and an interception. 21. Brandon Weeden CLE 17/29 231 2 1 -36 -33 -3 The Browns started the third quarter trailing 14-7. Weeden proceeded to throw six straight incompletions. Inside the red zone, he had a 9-yard gain on second-and-10, but then took a sack on third down that led to a field goal. And then Weeden went nuts completing seven passes in a row for 83 yards and six first downs, including a touchdown that put Cleveland up by 10. He had one more pass, an incompletion, but that hardly mattered. 22. John Skelton ARI 2/9 45 0 1 -51 -51 0 Skelton's completions gained 17 and 28 yards and two first downs, but, well, that's all he did. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Matt Ryan ATL 24/37 249 1 3 -54 -61 7 Atlanta's current quarterback had some of the same problems their old quarterback did in Philadelphia. On first down, Ryan went 11-of-16 for 113 yards, but only three first downs with three interceptions and a sack. 24. Matt Hasselbeck TEN 25/44 284 1 1 -56 -53 -2 On his first seven third-down plays, Hasselbeck went 3-of-6 for 50 yards with two first downs and a sack. On his last nine third-down plays, he went 8-of-8 for 102 yards and seven first downs, including a touchdown, with one sack-fumble (Tennessee recovered). 25. Andrew Luck IND 23/44 280 0 2 -60 -60 0 Inside the Jets' 40, Luck went 4-of-13 for 48 yards, plus a 12-yard DPI, for three total first downs, no touchdowns, with one interception and one sack. 26. Brady Quinn KC 22/38 180 0 2 -67 -71 4 On Tampa Bay's half of the field, Quinn went 7-of-14 for 47 yards, with as many first downs (two) as interceptions. One of those picks was returned for a touchdown. 27. Kevin Kolb ARI 14/26 128 1 1 -74 -94 20 Second down: The bane of Kevin Kolb's existence. He did throw a 9-yard touchdown to Larry Fitzgerald, but that was his only first-down play on second down. Otherwise he went 3-of-10 for 21 yards with four sacks (including a safety). 28. Philip Rivers SD 25/41 242 2 4 -82 -82 0 DYAR by quarter: 50, 29, -40, -120. 29. Alex Smith SF 19/30 200 0 3 -121 -116 -5 Smith's first three third-down plays were all completed for exactly 7 yards each and three first downs. His last eight third-down plays resulted in a 6-yard gain on third-and-21, two incomplete passes, two interceptions, and three sacks. By the way, does anyone know why the 49ers had 20 passes and only 10 runs in the first half?

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. C.J. Spiller BUF 88 1 22 0 44 46 -2 Seven of Spiller's 12 carries gained 5 yards or more, and three gained 10 or more, capped off by a 33-yarder. He also caught four of the five passes thrown his way for 22 yards, including a 2-yard loss on third-and-12 and an 11-yard gain on third-and-21. 2. Felix Jones DAL 92 1 13 0 44 36 8 Jones was stuffed for a loss just once in 18 carries, but he rushed for six first downs, including a 22-yard touchdown run and two other 10-yard gains. He also caught the only pass thrown his way for 13 yards. 3. Ahmad Bradshaw NYG 116 1 4 0 41 39 3 Bradshaw had a number of bad plays — eight of his 27 carries resulted in no gain or a loss — but he also had five gains of 10 or more yards, and he gets a lot of DYAR for a 1-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. 4. Ray Rice BAL 63 2 43 0 39 43 -4 Each of Rice's 18 carries gained at least 1 yard, and two of those 1-yard runs were touchdowns. Though his longest run was just 12 yards, he had four other first downs, including a pair of third-and-1 conversions. He only caught one of the four balls thrown his way, but that one catch was a 43-yard gain on third-and-7. 5. Isaac Redman PIT 14 0 105 0 38 -2 41 Redman ran five times against Tennessee for 14 yards, which might have you wondering what he's doing here amongst the top running backs. As negligible as Redman was as a runner, he made quite an impact in the passing game. He only caught four passes in five targets, but those four catches totaled 105 yards, including gains of 13, 33, and 55 yards.

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Darren McFadden OAK 79 1 28 0 -43 -47 5 McFadden was stuffed for a loss six times in 27 carries, and one of those stuffs resulted in a lost fumble. He had only four first downs on the day (one of those a touchdown), only six gains of more than 4 yards, and just one 10-yard gain. He did catch three of four passes for 28 yards, including a 20-yard gain on third-and-3. OTHER BACKS OF LITTLE VALUE: Trent Richardson, CLE (14 carries, 37 yards, one fumble; two catches in three targets for 17 yards); LaRod Stephens-Howling, ARI (11 carries, 22 yards; no catches in two targets); LeSean McCoy, PHI (14 carries, 22 yards; seven catches in eight yards for 26 yards and a touchdown, but only one other first down).

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

DYAR 1. Jordy Nelson GB 9 12 121 13.4 3 74 Three touchdowns, three incompletions. Seven of his nine receptions gained first downs. The other two were a 1-yard gain on second-and-2 and a 9-yard gain on third-and-10. 2. Jeremy Maclin PHI 6 10 130 21.7 1 52 Maclin's first four third-down targets resulted in a 17-yard gain for a first down; a 15-yard gain for a first down; a 7-yard gain for a first-down; and a 70-yard touchdown. His last third-down target fell incomplete. 3. A.J. Green CIN 7 11 135 19.3 2 48 In addition to touchdowns of 4 and 55 yards, Green had four other first downs. He was the target on two interceptions, but in DVOA and DYAR the blame for those goes on the quarterback, not the receiver. (One of those was a Hail Mary, so the blam goes to nobody.) 4. Derek Hagan OAK 4 4 85 21.2 0 40 All of Hagan's targets came in the second half, three in the fourth quarter. His worst play was a 9-yard gain on second-20. Each of his other catches gained a first down, on gains of 17, 21, and 38 yards. 5. Josh Gordon CLE 3 4 99 33.0 1 40 Gordon played second banana to Kendall Wright at Baylor in 2010. He left that school after multiple drug-related incidents, spent some time at Utah without ever seeing the field, and wound up in the supplemental draft this year, where Cleveland grabbed him in exchange for their 2013 second-rounder. A tantalizing athlete with questionable reliability, his game against the Giants in Week 5 seemed to exemplify Gordon as a football player: He had touchdowns of 62 and 20 yards, but the other six passes thrown in his direction were all incomplete. Gordon maintained the explosiveness this week against Cincinnati, but mixed in some singles with his home run. He had a 71-yard touchdown, a pair of 14-yard gains on first-and-10, and only one incompletion.