by Vincent Verhei

The subject of this week's essay does not appear in any of the best-of or worst-of lists you see below. In fact, he has appeared only once in Quick Reads all season, in Week 4. He was not one of the best players in Week 14, and he has not been one of the best players in 2015. But he is having one of the most unusual campaigns in NFL history.

Tavon Austin had a big day running the ball in the Rams' 21-14 win over Detroit, with 40 yards on only four carries. In the first quarter alone, he had a 20-yard gain on first-and-10 and ran for a first down on second-and-13. His receiving numbers were more modest, with three catches in five targets for only 19 yards and just one successful play (a 14-yard gain on third-and-5). That kind of dichotomy has been typical for Austin this season, as the Rams have done everything they can in an attempt to exploit his rare athletic gifts:

He is second on the team in rushing, with 39 carries for 358 yards and three touchdowns. He has led the team in rushing twice.

He leads the Rams with 69 targets, 41 catches, and four receiving touchdowns, and he is third on the team with 386 receiving yards. He has led the team in receiving three times.

He is also St. Louis' primary punt returner, with 234 yards and a touchdown on 30 returns.

None of those yardage totals are particularly impressive, and even collectively they are unusual, but hardly unique. He's the only player in the 300/300/200 club right now, but Darren Sproles (275/296/434) and Dexter McCluster (247/260/217) are close, and there have been 37 other such seasons since 1960. (If Sproles does it again this year, it will be his fourth time in the club. Eric Metcalf is the only other player to have done it three times.)

So no, it's not the total production that sets Austin apart from everyone else, it's the extremes of his efficiency. Simply put, Austin is putting together rushing numbers the likes of which we have never seen before. If he gets one more carry this season, and that carry gains at least 2 yards, he will be the first player we have on record in the NFL, AFL, or AAFC to average 9 yards per carry with at least 40 rushes. And most of the players who have come close are quarterbacks, who get something of an unfair edge here because their "bad runs" will usually get marked down as sacks. To find a non-quarterback to average even 8.0 yards per carry on so many rushes, you have to go back to Hugh McElhenny in 1954.

Wide receiver rushing records are dicey, because you run into players like Denard Robinson, Eric Metcalf, and Lenny Moore who played both receiver and running back, sometimes switching positions midseason. Based on our records, though, the single-season record for rushing yards by a wide receiver is 383 by Josh Cribbs in 2009, while the rushing DYAR record of 183 was set by Percy Harvin in 2011. Austin will likely hold both records by the time the season ends.

Austin's rushing numbers are so absurd, they warrant some specific breakdowns:

No, he has not been unstoppable. He has been hit for no gain or a loss seven times. That's 18 percent of his total carries, a rate that is barely better than the league average of 20 percent.

But that does not mean he hasn't been reliable. His success rate of 62 percent blows away the league average of 41 percent.

Nineteen of those carries (49 percent) have gained first downs, compared to a league average rate of 23 percent.

Eighteen (46 percent) have gained 10 yards or more. League average rate: 11 percent.

Five (13 percent) have gained 20 yards or more. League average rate: 3 percent.

Eighteen other players also have five or more 20-plus-yard runs this season. One is a quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, who has 59 carries. The others are all running backs, with carry totals ranging from 89 (Ryan Mathews) to 268 (Adrian Peterson). Austin, we will remind you, has 39 carries . Jonathan Stewart, in 242 carries this year, has only four 20-plus-yard runs. Frank Gore has four in 210.

. Jonathan Stewart, in 242 carries this year, has only four 20-plus-yard runs. Frank Gore has four in 210. Even in small sample sizes, Austin's production has been remarkably consistent. He had no runs against Pittsburgh, but he has gotten at least one carry in every other game this year -- and he has at least one 10-plus-yard run in each of those games.

Austin has three red zone carries this year and scored on all three of them, with touchdowns of 16, 5, and 2 yards.

While 27 of his runs (69 percent) have come on first down, Austin has had success in his limited short-yardage work. He has carried the ball five times with 3 yards or less to go for a first down and converted three times, including two goal-line touchdowns and a 60-yard gain on second-and-3.

We don't have full data on where Austin has lined up on these carries, but it's not surprising that most of his success has come on runs to the outside. He has run eight times to the left end and 21 times to right end, for an average of 10.7 yards per run. That's 311 yards on runs to either end, a total surpassed by only four players (Doug Martin, Russell Wilson, Darren McFadden, and Devonta Freeman). Meanwhile, he has averaged 5.8 yards per carry on five off-tackle runs, and 3.6 yards per carry on five runs between the tackles.

[ad placeholder 3]

So, that's all the good news. The bad news? As tremendous as Austin has been rushing the ball, he has been dreadful as a receiver. Among wide receivers with at least 50 targets going into Monday Night Football, he was dead last in both DYAR and DVOA. While his catch rate of 59 percent was in the middle of the pack, his average reception of 9.5 yards was in the bottom three. Austin and Davante Adams are the only wideouts this year with catch rates below 60 percent and average receptions of less than 10 yards. Only 34 wide receivers in our records have managed that feat, and none since 2013.

What seems to be Austin's problem? He's done very well on screens. He has been targeted 23 times behind the line of scrimmage, third among wideouts behind Golden Tate and Jarvis Landry, and his catch rate and yards after catch per reception on those throws have been much better than the average wideout's on similar passes. At any other distance, though, he has been well below average in catch rate, and usually in YAC per catch as well. He has been particularly useless as a deep threat, surprising given his straight-line speed:

Tavon Austin Passes by Distance, 2015 Distance Austin Average WR Targets Catch Rate YAC/Catch Catch Rate YAC/Catch Behind LOS 23 96% 11.4 87% 8.1 0-5 yards 17 53% 3.7 69% 4.1 6-15 yards 23 52% 4.3 59% 3.7 16-25 yards* 6 17% -1.0 45% 4.3 26-plus yards 7 14% 4.0 32% 6.7 Austin's only reception in this range was fumbled and recovered by San Francisco.

Austin has been especially dreadful in the past five weeks. Since the Week 10 game against Chicago, he has caught 13 of 23 passes (a catch rate of 57 percent) for 86 yards (6.6 yards per catch) and only two first downs. That's with Nick Foles and Case Keenum rotating at quarterback, so you can't blame one or the other for his recent struggles. (You could certainly blame both, of course, for his overall terrible numbers.)

Put all this together and you're left with this tidbit: Austin could be just the second player in NFL history with 300 yards both rushing and receiving, whose average run actually gained more yards than his average reception. (The other: Kansas City fullback Kimble Anders, who pulled it off in 1995.)

The advanced stats are even more shocking. We usually use a minimum number of plays to eliminate small sample size freaks like Austin, but for the sake of this essay let's put those aside for the moment. With no such restrictions, we find that Austin leads all players this season with 213 rushing DYAR. The second-place rusher? Thomas Rawls, now out for the season with a broken ankle. Third-place rusher Le'veon Bell is also out for the year with torn knee ligaments. That leaves Giovani Bernard, currently in fourth place by a considerable margin, the closest healthy contender to Austin's mythical rushing DYAR crown. And that means Austin is almost certain to finish atop the heap here unless he starts fumbling all over the place.

(Remember that even though Austin will sometimes line up in the backfield, for DVOA/DYAR purposes he is considered a wide receiver, and his numbers are compared to the average baselines at that position. That usually means reverses and end-arounds. The average running back carry this year has gained 4.09 yards, with a 39 percent success rate; for wide receivers, those averages are 6.44 yards and 60 percent. So if we did consider Austin a running back, his DYAR would be even higher. Also, these rushing numbers include plays like backwards passes that we will list as receptions after the season.)



[ad placeholder 4]

While Austin may be the NFL's best active runner, though, he might also be its worst active receiver. As mentioned, he is last among qualifying wide receivers in DYAR. If we remove all limits based on position or target minimums, we find just one other player with worse DYAR: Austin's teammate, Brian Quick, who has minus-102 DYAR to Austin's minus-101. Quick has only seven catches for 73 yards on 26 targets this season (seriously, just look at this game log and try to keep your lunch down), but he's still an active part of the Rams' offense, with 18 targets in their last five games. In other words, the numbers for Austin and Quick have plenty of room for change in the next three weeks.

(Obviously, the presence of two Rams at the very bottom of the pile is an indictment of the St. Louis offense as a whole as much as an attack on these two men, but the numbers of the team's other key receivers -- wideouts Kenny Britt and Stedman Bailey, plus tight ends Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks -- are much better than those of Austin and Quick.)

The bottom line though, is this: The Rams have a guy who could be the NFL's best runner and also its worst receiver, and yet he is leading the team in targets. The best scenario for all involved here would be to use Austin exclusively on screens and reverses, and never ask him to run a pattern past the line of scrimmage again.

While we're here, we can touch on Austin's punt return numbers quickly. He's averaging 7.8 yards per return, 20th in the league, and that's with his 75-yard touchdown against Seattle in Week 1. Since Week 2, that average has dropped to 5.5 yards per return. He's certainly not afraid to give up ground in search of a big play -- he leads the league with six returns that have actually lost yardage. Over the course of the season, though, the Rams are about average in our punt return rankings. That touchdown does count, after all.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Sacks Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR Opp 1. Eli Manning NYG 27/31 337 4 0 0 203 215 -12 MIA Manning completed his first eight passes against Miami, gaining 78 yards and four first downs in the process. Then he threw one incompletion, and then his next 17 passes included one incompletion, one DPI, and 15 completions, for 164 more yards and another nine first downs, including three touchdowns. At no point did he throw two incompletions in a row, and only twice did he even have two failed dropbacks in a row. 2. Russell Wilson SEA 23/32 292 5 0 0 201 198 3 BAL Wilson is second in Quick Reads for the fourth week in a row, and he was sixth the week before that. Over those five weeks he has 164 more passing DYAR than any other quarterback. He was just average in the eight weeks before that (a little worse than average, actually), but for the past month he has been the NFL's best quarterback. Against Baltimore, Wilson was better throwing to his right (14-of-15, 186 yards, ten first downs) than to his left (4-of-8, 45 yards, one first down), but his best asset was his ability to finish drives. On Baltimore's half of the field, he went 9-of-12 for 157 yards with eight first downs, including all five touchdowns. 3. Teddy Bridgewater MIN 25/36 335 1 0 3 153 153 1 ARI Bridgewater did a great job of moving the Vikings into scoring position, but he struggled to put points on the board. Seven of Minnesota's nine drives crossed the Arizona 40-yard line, but from that point on the field forward, he went 7-of-15 for 64 yards with only three first downs (including a touchdown), two sacks, and a lost fumble. He had 14 first downs over the rest of the field. It helped when the Vikings were able to put him in short-yardage situations. With 7 yards or less to go for a first down, he went 11-of-12 for 163 yards, with every completion going for a first down. 4. Carson Palmer ARI 25/35 310 2 0 2 117 112 5 MIN Bridgewater's Thursday night counterpart played a similar game. Inside his own 35, Palmer went 9-of-10 for 154 yards and seven first downs, including a touchdown. Inside the Minnesota 35, he went 4-of-6 for zero yards (not a typo) and no first downs, with two sacks. 5. Cam Newton CAR 15/21 265 3 0 2 113 119 -6 ATL Go deep, young man. Newton threw four passes that traveled at least 20 yards past the line of scrimmage and completed all four, for 170 total yards and two touchdowns. 6. Kirk Cousins WAS 24/31 300 1 1 3 108 100 8 CHI We don't think of Kirk Cousins as a long bomber, but he was tremendous on longer passes against Chicago. On passes that traveled at least 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, he went 8-of-10 for 153 yards with one interception; an 11th pass resulted in a 32-yard DPI. 7. Drew Brees NO 31/41 312 2 0 2 107 105 2 TB Brees had a great day on third downs, going 12-of-13 for 149 yards with nine first downs and one sack. That includes conversions with 11, 13, and 21 yards to go. 8. Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ 21/36 263 3 0 1 102 96 6 TEN 9. Tom Brady NE 22/30 226 2 0 3 81 76 6 HOU Brady's last pass of the first half was a 1-yard touchdown to Rob Gronkowski that put the Patriots ahead 17-6. And then he basically took the rest of the night off. In the second half, he went 9-of-12 for 101 yards with three sacks and only three first downs. 10. Tyrod Taylor BUF 19/36 268 1 1 1 81 69 11 PHI 11. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 31/41 284 0 1 2 75 70 6 CIN A perfect start: Roethlisberger completed each of his nine passes in the first quarter, picking up 103 yards and six first downs in the process. He had only 181 yards and seven first downs in the rest of the game. 12. Jay Cutler CHI 19/31 315 2 0 3 72 67 5 WAS Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Sacks Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR Opp 13. Aaron Rodgers GB 22/35 218 2 0 2 61 62 -1 DAL Rodgers had a day similar to Brady: Get your team ahead at halftime, then take it easy. In the second half, he went 5-of-11 for 47 yards and only two first downs, with a sack. 14. Johnny Manziel CLE 21/31 270 1 1 2 33 33 1 SF Manziel lit up the 49ers' secondary with deep passes, going 4-of-5 for 111 yards. 15. Jimmy Clausen BAL 23/40 274 0 1 1 31 31 0 SEA 16. Blake Bortles JAC 16/30 250 3 0 3 18 12 6 IND This may have been the biggest second-half turnaround of the year. In the first two quarters, Bortles went 7-of-17 for 104 yards with only four first downs, plus three sacks and three fumbles, once on a botched snap that was returned for a touchdown. By DYAR, the only player worse in the first half than Jacksonville's current quarterback was their old quarterback, Blaine Gabbert. Then, in the second half, Bortles went 9-of-13 for 146 yards with eight first downs, including three touchdowns, plus a 14th throw that resulted in a DPI and 34 more yards. And that made him the best quarterback in the second half this week. 17. A.J. McCarron CIN 22/32 280 2 2 3 17 13 4 PIT McCarron had an 18-yard gain on third-and-9, but that was his only third-down conversion of the day. Otherwise, he had three incompletions, one sack, and a 1-yard gain on third-and-3. 18. Matt Ryan ATL 22/34 224 0 1 3 11 11 0 CAR Ryan fumbled twice on sacks, and his receivers fumbled on two completions. Those latter two plays have no effect on his DYAR, but they do show how dysfunctional the Falcons' passing game was against Carolina. 19. Alex Smith KC 15/23 191 1 1 2 0 0 0 SD What was up with quarterbacks in the second half this week? Smith's first four passes of the second half were all incomplete, and it took him 22 minutes after halftime to get a first down, one of two he had in the fourth quarter. All told, in the second half, he went 7-of-12 for 53 yards with two sacks. 20. Derek Carr OAK 12/29 135 2 0 3 -5 -5 0 DEN Oh god, THIS game. In the first half, in four drives, he failed to pick up a single first down, going 2-of-8 for 7 yards with two sacks and a fumble. Then he completed all five his passes on his first drive of the second half, gaining 77 yards and four first downs (one of them a touchdown) in the process. And then for the rest of the game, he went 5-of-16 for 51 yards and only two more first downs (one another touchdown), with a sack. 21. Sam Bradford PHI 23/38 247 1 1 1 -10 -8 -2 BUF 22. Ryan Tannehill MIA 25/41 235 1 0 1 -12 -26 14 NYG Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Sacks Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR Opp 23. Philip Rivers SD 24/43 263 0 1 5 -13 -12 -1 KC 24. Matthew Stafford DET 31/46 245 2 1 4 -16 -21 6 STL 25. Jameis Winston TB 18/31 182 1 0 1 -42 -44 2 NO That's 5.7 yards per pass, just one touchdown, and a passer rating of 83.1, all the worst marks of any starting quarterback against the Saints defense this year, and his 56 percent completion rate was worse than anyone against Andrew Luck. 26. Marcus Mariota TEN 21/39 274 0 1 5 -44 -66 -9 NYJ On the Jets' half of the field, Mariota went 3-of-8 for 18 yards and only one first down, with with three sacks. That's minus-10 net yards in 11 dropbacks. His total DYAR includes 31 receiving DYAR for his 41-yard reception. 27. Brock Osweiler DEN 35/51 308 0 0 5 -45 -47 3 OAK Another second-half disaster. After halftime, Osweiler went 13-of-22 for 109 yards with only two first downs. Meanwhile, he was sacked five times, fumbling once, resulting in an Oakland safety. None of those second-half passes came from any deeper than the Raiders' 34-yard line. 28. Case Keenum STL 14/22 124 0 1 1 -59 -59 -1 DET 29. Matt Hasselbeck IND 18/35 252 0 0 3 -75 -80 6 JAC 30. Charlie Whitehurst IND 2/8 8 0 1 0 -82 -85 3 JAC Whitehurst made the absolute worst of a bad situation. He threw one pass in the third quarter, an incompletion, then re-entered the game with the Colts down by 21 points in the fourth. He failed to pick up a single first down: his two completions were a 1-yard gain on first-and-10 and a 7-yard gain on second-and-9. 31. Brian Hoyer HOU 11/22 155 0 0 5 -88 -88 0 NE Hoyer was sacked on his first dropback, then went 18 dropbacks in a row without getting sacked. Then his last eight dropbacks went like this: sack-fumble, 5-yard gain on second-and-11, sack, sack-fumble, incomplete, 40-yard gain, incomplete, sack. He only threw for four first downs all day. 32. Blaine Gabbert SF 18/28 194 1 0 9 -113 -117 3 CLE Really, Gabbert's performance was even worse than the numbers here say, because he did some serious stat-padding at the end of the game. On San Francisco's last drive, he went 5-of-5 for 72 yards, with every completion going for a first down, including his one score. That's five first downs on that drive, and only four the rest of the game. He actually led the league with 59 DYAR in the last three minutes of the game. That drive was also just the second time in the game he managed to go five dropbacks in a row without getting sacked. He was also pretty good on first downs, but his numbers on other downs look like an 8-year-old tried All-Madden mode when they weren't ready. On second, third, and fourth downs, he went 10-of-16 for 102 yards with only two first downs, while getting sacked seven times and fumbling once. No quarterback was worse on second down, and only one was worse on third and fourth downs. 33. Matt Cassel DAL 13/29 114 0 1 2 -129 -123 -6 GB Third/fourth downs: 5-of-11 for 41 yards and only one conversion, with one interception and a sack. His first three passes came in the red zone, and the last of those was intercepted; he didn't throw another pass on Green Bay's half of the field. In fact, he didn't throw another pass outside the Dallas 40. With 5 yards or less to go for a first down, he went 1-of-6 for 6 yards with one conversion, one sack, and one interception. He only threw for five first downs all day.

Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Total) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR Opp 1. Todd Gurley STL 16 140 2 1/2 7 0 67 67 0 DET Gurley has been a strong second-half runner all year. He has actually been below replacement level in the first half this year, but he leads all players in rushing DYAR in the second half and overtime. It was no different against Detroit. In the first half, he had seven carries for 13 yards and only one first down. In the second half, he had nine carries for 127 yards, including touchdowns of 5 and 15 yards, and gains of 45, 25, and 21 yards. 2. Lamar Miller MIA 12 89 2 0/0 0 0 42 42 0 NYG All of Miller's carries gained at least 1 yard, and he had four first downs on the ground, including touchdowns of 14 and 38 yards. 3. Tim Hightower NO 28 85 1 1/1 10 0 40 32 8 TB OK, this is one of the best stories of the 2015 NFL season. The former Cardinals starter tore his ACL with Washington in 2011 and spent the next three seasons out of the league dealing with post-surgery infections. The Saints signed him last January, then he was released, re-signed, and released again in a four-day stretch in September. They re-signed him in November after Khiry Robinson went down, and then named him starter after Mark Ingram hurt his shoulder. And in his first NFL start in 50 months, the 29-year-old had a slow and steady day against Tampa Bay. His longest run, a 12-yarder, was his only 10-yard run of the day. He was hit for no gain or a loss six times, but he also had six first downs, and 17 carries of 3 yards or less. No, it wasn't the most explosive day a runner has ever had, but don't forget that it came against Tampa Bay, which came into the weekend second in run defense DVOA. 4. Bilal Powell NYJ 3 36 0 5/5 46 1 39 14 26 TEN Powell's three carries included gains of 24 and 11 yards. Four of his targets came on third-and-long, and he converted two of them with a 16-yard touchdown on third-and-11 and a 13-yard gain on third-and-8. 5. Eddie Lacy GB 24 124 1 1/1 24 0 38 27 11 DAL Lacy had five runs of 10 yards or more, three of them in the fourth quarter. He was hit for no gain or a loss six times, but made up for it with nine first downs, including a 1-yard touchdown.

Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Rushing) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR Opp 1. Todd Gurley STL 16 140 2 1/2 7 0 67 67 0 DET 2. Lamar Miller MIA 12 89 2 0/0 0 0 42 42 0 NYG 3. Tim Hightower NO 28 85 1 1/1 10 0 40 32 8 TB 4. Robert Turbin DAL 7 51 1 0/0 0 0 29 29 0 GB Six of Turbin's carries gained 5 yards or more, including a 7-yard touchdown and a 22-yard gain. 5. Doug Martin TB 11 81 1 1/3 5 0 12 27 -15 NO Martin was hit for no gain just once, while had a 14-yard touchdown run plus gains of 22 and 24 yards.

Worst Running Back by DYAR (Total) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR Opp 1. Ronnie Hillman DEN 12 20 0 7/9 41 0 -55 -31 -24 OAK Hillman's first carry went for 11 yards and a first down. That was his longest run of the day, and the only time he picked up a first down on the ground. He was hit for no gain or a loss five times, and failed to convert on five carries with 6 yards or less to go for a first down, including stuffs on second- and third-and-1. He did have two first downs as a receiver, but lost 5 yards and fumbled on another catch.

Worst Running Back by DYAR (Rushing) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR Opp 1. Ronnie Hillman DEN 12 20 0 7/9 41 0 -55 -31 -24 OAK

Five Best Wide Receivers and Tight Ends by DYAR Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR Opp 1. Odell Beckham NYG 7 9 166 23.7 2 73 MIA Beckham tied the game with a 6-yard touchdown in the third quarter, then put the Giants ahead with an 84-yard score in the fourth. He also had five other first downs, including two third-down conversions and a 14-yard DPI. All of his catches counted as successful plays. 2. Tyler Lockett SEA 6 7 104 17.3 2 62 BAL Lockett had touchdowns of 8 and 49 yards. He also converted all four of his third-down targets, including a 26-yard gain on third-and-5. 3. Ted Ginn CAR 2 3 120 60.0 2 61 ATL Ginn's DYAR totals include 57 DYAR receiving, 4 rushing for his only carry, a 5-yard gain. But mostly he is here because he had touchdowns of 74 and 48 yards, the latter a third-down conversion. 4. Jordan Reed WAS 9 9 120 13.3 1 60 CHI Six of Reed's receptions went for first downs, including a 5-yard touchdown and gains of 17, 28, and 32 yards. 5. Doug Baldwin SEA 6 9 82 13.7 3 50 BAL All of Baldwin's receptions went for first downs, including three third-down conversions. Not surprisingly, Baldwin and Lockett have benefited from Russell Wilson's recent surge, ranking first and second in receiving DYAR over the past four weeks.