by Vincent Verhei

Let's take a moment to relive some of the most exciting plays of Week 13:

As you have probably guessed, the common thread among all these plays is that they were quarterback runs. And we're not even considering the quarterback with the highest rushing DYAR this week, Russell Wilson, who ran nine times for 51 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota.

Yes, it was a big week in what has been another big year for quarterback runs. All told, quarterbacks across the NFL ran 80 times for 548 yards in Week 13, an average of 18.3 yards per offense. (None of the numbers in this essay include the Dallas-Washington Monday nighter; Matt Cassel did not, in fact, run for a 50-yarder and throw everything out of whack.) Quarterbacks are now on pace for 7,070 rushing yards this season, slightly more than last year (when they totaled 7,008), but less than the year before that (7,815). In the nearly 26 years of our database, only two seasons have produced more quarterback rushing yards than that: 2002 (7,138) and 2000 (8,043). That the record was set in 2000 and remains unbroken is surprising for a few reasons. That was before Michael Vick, the all-time quarterback rushing leader, hit the league, and there were only 31 teams that season in the days before the Houston Texans existed. Donovan McNabb led all quarterbacks that year with 647 rushing yards, while five others (Rich Gannon, Daunte Culpepper, Kordell Stewart, Jeff Garcia, and Steve McNair) topped the 400-yard threshold. For perspective's sake, Newton leads all quarterbacks this year with 487 rushing yards, followed by Wilson at 463. Only three others have a reasonable shot at hitting 400 yards: Alex Smith (who currently has 337), Tyrod Taylor (331, despite missing two games) and Aaron Rodgers (296).

None of these quarterbacks are doing anything unprecedented in the world of advanced statistics, either. Newton has 128 rushing DYAR, holding a narrow lead over Wilson (116). Nobody else has more than 100, though Rodgers (92) will probably get there, and Jay Cutler (72) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (70) are within shouting distance. Still, nobody is going to match Wilson's 2014 mark of 269 rushing DYAR, or the all-time mark of 297 set by Randall Cunningham in 1990.

[And here I must issue a mea culpa. When last year was done, I announced that Wilson had set a single-season record for quarterback rushing DYAR. Only recently did I realize that the leaderboard I had been looking at was outdated, and did not include Cunningham's monster season. Does that automatically mean, though, that Cunningham had the better rushing year? After all, DYAR works by comparing each quarterback to his contemporaries in a given season. So while Wilson had to outshine fellow dynamos like Kaepernick and Newton and Blake Bortles (no, really), Cunningham only had one remote competitor for the title of NFL's best rushing quarterback: Timm Rosenbach, who ran for 470 yards in his only full season as an NFL starter. So there's no question that Cunningham stood out from his peers more than Wilson has, but there is also no question that Cunningham's peers were a whole lot slower.]

What about the other side of the ball -- which defenses this year have shut running quarterbacks down, and which have let them run free? We could just total rushing yards or YAR (we couldn't use DYAR, because we would be adjusting defenses for themselves, which would cause a circular logic nightmare) allowed to opposing quarterbacks, but the results there might be skewed by schedule. There are 18 teams this year with fewer than 26 quarterback runs; the quarterbacks on those 18 teams have 226 total runs. Meanwhile, the quarterbacks in Carolina, Seattle, and Buffalo alone have 230. A game or two against one of those teams could drastically alter a defense's numbers.

So we have to adjust these numbers for schedule, and the fastest, simplest way to do that is to compile the quarterback rushing numbers for each team, and then see which defenses held their opponents below their averages, and which didn't. Yes, this means Mariota and Zach Mettenberger are being lumped together in one bucket reading "TITANS," and yes, that is ridiculous. For now, though, this should do a reasonable job of telling us which defenses have faced a high number of running quarterbacks, and which have faced, say, the Manning brothers.

The following table lists what each defense has done this season:

Defense Per Game Against Quarterback Rushing, 2015 DEF QB Runs Rk QB YAR Rk QB Yards Rk Opp. Avg. YAR Rk Opp. Avg Yds Rk YAR +/- Rk Yds +/- Rk PIT 1.9 10 -0.9 3 9.3 4 2.5 7 14.0 17 -3.4 3 -4.7 1 NYG 1.9 10 -1.5 1 8.4 2 3.1 15 12.1 9 -4.6 1 -3.7 2 CLE 1.5 4 1.6 7 4.7 1 1.0 1 8.3 1 0.6 16 -3.6 3 SD 1.9 10 2.0 11 10.5 7 2.6 8 13.8 16 -0.6 13 -3.3 4 CIN 2.1 14 -0.1 6 11.1 10 2.1 4 13.8 14 -2.2 6 -2.7 5 SEA 3.0 27 2.4 13 15.3 24 4.2 30 17.8 30 -1.8 7 -2.5 6 ATL 1.4 2 4.3 24 10.2 6 3.3 21 12.3 10 1.0 21 -2.1 7 SF 1.8 8 1.8 10 11.6 11 3.1 17 13.7 13 -1.3 9 -2.1 8 TB 1.5 4 1.6 7 9.9 5 2.6 9 11.9 7 -1.0 11 -2.0 9 HOU 3.0 27 6.8 31 16.8 26 4.4 32 18.6 32 2.4 29 -1.8 10 MIA 2.2 18 2.8 14 13.3 18 3.7 26 15.1 23 -1.0 12 -1.7 11 OAK 1.4 2 4.3 24 11.6 11 2.4 6 13.3 12 2.0 27 -1.7 12 NE 2.1 14 3.8 19 12.4 14 2.9 13 14.1 18 0.9 20 -1.7 13 MIN 2.3 19 6.2 29 13.5 19 3.6 25 15.1 24 2.5 30 -1.6 14 WAS 1.4 1 -0.1 5 9.0 3 2.8 12 10.2 2 -2.9 5 -1.2 15 KC 1.8 7 3.0 15 11.0 9 2.3 5 11.7 6 0.7 18 -0.7 16 DEF QB Runs Rk QB YAR Rk QB Yards Rk Opp. Avg. YAR Rk Opp. Avg Yds Rk YAR +/- Rk Yds +/- Rk PHI 1.9 10 4.2 22 10.8 8 3.1 16 11.4 5 1.0 22 -0.6 17 TEN 2.5 23 3.7 17 15.2 23 3.5 22 15.7 27 0.2 15 -0.6 18 NO 2.8 26 2.0 11 14.0 20 3.3 20 14.4 20 -1.3 10 -0.4 19 STL 2.4 22 4.4 26 14.7 21 2.8 11 14.8 21 1.6 24 -0.1 20 BUF 1.7 6 3.8 19 12.8 17 3.2 18 12.8 11 0.7 19 0.0 21 IND 2.5 23 -0.3 4 15.3 24 3.8 27 15.2 26 -4.0 2 0.1 22 DAL 2.4 21 3.7 18 12.2 13 2.7 10 12.0 8 1.0 23 0.2 23 DEN 1.8 8 5.0 27 15.1 22 3.2 19 14.3 19 1.8 26 0.8 24 BAL 2.1 14 3.4 16 12.5 16 1.1 2 11.1 4 2.3 28 1.4 25 NYJ 2.3 20 -1.3 2 12.4 14 1.9 3 10.7 3 -3.2 4 1.7 26 DET 2.1 14 6.8 30 17.5 28 3.5 23 14.8 22 3.2 31 2.7 27 CAR 3.0 27 4.2 22 17.4 27 3.5 24 13.8 15 0.6 17 3.7 28 ARI 3.2 30 1.7 9 18.9 29 3.0 14 15.2 25 -1.4 8 3.7 29 CHI 2.5 23 5.9 28 21.8 30 4.1 29 15.9 29 1.8 25 5.8 30 JAC 4.1 31 3.9 21 24.4 31 3.9 28 15.9 28 0.0 14 8.5 31 GB 4.1 31 8.6 32 27.8 32 4.4 31 18.0 31 4.2 32 9.9 32

Here is how to read that table. Quarterbacks playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers have averaged 1.9 carries per game this season. (This includes scrambles, options, sneaks, and other designed runs, but not kneeldowns.) Those runs have averaged -0.9 YAR and 9.3 yards per game. The ranks for these categories are also given, with lower numbers resulting in a better ranking. Those same quarterbacks (or, more accurately, the quarterbacks on the offenses that the Steelers have played this year) have averaged 2.5 rushing YAR and 14.0 rushing yards per game. Lower numbers here result in a lower schedule ranking, from the easiest (Cleveland) to the most difficult (Houston). So the Steelers have held the quarterbacks on those offenses to 3.4 rushing YAR per game below their seasonal average, which is third-best among all defenses, and 4.7 rushing yards below their seasonal average, which is best in the league. Teams are sorted by rushing yards allowed vs. rushing yards expected, and lower is better.

And after all that math, it looks like schedule strength doesn't make much difference after all. Seven of the top 10 in fewest rushing yards allowed are also in the top ten in yardage differential, and six of the bottom ten teams in rushing yards allowed are also in the bottom ten in yardage differential.



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There are five teams in the top ten for both yardage and YAR differential (Pittsburgh, the Giants, Cincinnati, Seattle, and San Francisco), and those teams came into the weekend ranked 16th, 27th, eighth, seventh, and 31st in total defensive DVOA. Meanwhile, the six teams in the bottom ten in both categories (Dallas, Denver, Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, and Green Bay) were ranked 22nd, first, 26th, 18th, 25th, and 10th. So there seems to be barely any correlation between a defense's vulnerability to quarterback runs and its overall quality.

A look at the rankings shows lots of discrepancy between rushing yards allowed and rushing YAR allowed. Generally, teams that are good at preventing yards but bad at preventing YAR have given up an excessive number of first downs. Cleveland, for example, gave up only 2 yards to Joe Flacco in Week 5, but those yards came on two 1-yard touchdowns. This week, they held Andy Dalton to 11 yards on four carries, but that included a 3-yard touchdown and a fourth-and-1 conversion. The Texans haven't given up many long quarterback runs this year, but they have faced ten such plays with 6 yards or less to go for a first down, and they have allowed quarterbacks to move the chains nine times.

The Colts are the opposite. They have given up lots of long runs, but they have also forced a pair of fumbles and allowed only three conversions on eight quarterback runs with 1 or 2 yards to go. The Jets rank so well in YAR mainly because they have forced three fumbles on quarterback runs. That's not the most in the league, though. The Cardinals, who live by the big play on both sides of the ball, have forced five fumbles on quarterback runs, two more than any other team.

And then there's Green Bay. Poor Green Bay. Nearly three years after Colin Kaepernick almost single-handedly knocked them out of the playoff race with a quarterback-record 181 rushing yards, the Packers still seem clueless when opposing passers get outside the pocket. It's one thing to give up to give up 192 yards to the trio of Wilson, Kaepernick, and Newton -- lots of teams have given up big rushing totals to those players. Even allowing 33 yards to Alex Smith is forgiveable. But 22 yards to Matthew Stafford? 31 yards to Jay Cutler? 43 yards to Teddy Bridgewater, the most of his young career? (Bridgewater's prior single-game high of 32 yards came last year... against Green Bay.) You can basically count on the Packers giving up one or two big quarterback runs each week, no matter who they're playing.



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To put that in perspective, let's look at some of the Steelers' big games. Seahawks quarterbacks are averaging 38.6 rushing yards per game this year, but they only ran three times for 12 yards against Pittsburgh. The Steelers also had good success against Kansas City (28.1 quarterback rushing yards per game this year, one carry for 7 yards against Pittsburgh) and Cincinnati (12.4 yards per game overall, two carries for 6 yards against Pittsburgh). Of course, it's also worth noting that the Steelers lost all three of those games, giving up an average of 26.0 points in the process.

It's certainly nice to limit what running quarterbacks can do (as any Packers fan will tell you, it sure beats the alternative), but it looks to be a very small part of what goes into a winning defense.

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

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR Opp 1. Carson Palmer ARI 26/39 356 2 0 2 213 213 0 STL Between Palmer's good day and Tom Brady's bad one, the Cardinals quarterback has taken over first place in both DYAR and DVOA in the 2015 season. And as has so often been the case for Palmer, his success against the Rams was built on the deep ball. He went 4-of-9 for 141 yards and a touchdown on passes that traveled more than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage, and a tenth deep pass resulted in a 32-yard DPI. That DPI came on first down, one of many big plays Palmer had early in drives. On his other first-down throws, he went 9-of-12 for 106 yards and seven first downs. 2. Russell Wilson SEA 21/27 274 3 0 1 191 166 25 MIN The loss of Jimmy Graham means that Seattle's offense will be limited to sideline routes, right? Yeah, no. Throwing up the middle, Wilson went 5-of-5 for 104 yards. Two of those throws went for touchdowns of 20 and 53 yards; two others went for first downs; and the fifth was a 9-yard gain on second-and-10. Wilson also ran nine times for 51 yards. That includes a 6-yard loss on a botched read-option, but it also includes gains of 14 and 10 yards on second-and-short, a 2-yard gain on fourth-and-1, and an 8-yard touchdown on third-and-7. 3. Drew Brees NO 24/41 282 3 1 2 175 167 8 CAR An interesting fact about this matchup: Brees received a boost of 77 DYAR this week in opponent adjustments, the biggest bump of the week. Meanwhile, his opponent on Sunday, Cam Newton, lost 95 DYAR due to opponent adjustments, the biggest drop of the week, and nearly double the drop of anyone else, because the Saints' defense is just an apocalyptic disaster. We'll get to Newton later, but as for Brees, he struggled in long-yardage downs; with more than 10 yards to go, he went 6-of-7 for just 25 yards and no first downs, one successful play, and one interception. In short-yardage situations, though, he was great, going 6-of-10 for 88 yards with every completion going for a first down, including touchdowns of 14 and 24 yards. An 11th short-yardage pass picked up 37 yards and a DPI. 4. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 24/39 364 4 0 0 170 165 5 IND 5. Blake Bortles JAC 24/36 322 5 0 2 158 158 0 TEN Is Bortles the NFL's best goal-line passer, or does he just get the most goal-line opportunities. Inside the 10 in this game, he went 5-of-8 for 27 yards, with all five completions going for touchdowns. Over the course of the season, he has 39 attempts inside the 10, which is the most in the league, but not by a wide margin; Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are tied for second with 37. Bortles' DVOA on those throws (8.2%) is much better than Brady's (-24.6%) and much worse than Rodgers (84.1%). Bortles leads the NFL with 16 touchdowns inside the 10, followed by Rodgers with 15, then Brady, Carson Palmer, and Matt Stafford, who each have 13. 6. Brian Hoyer HOU 26/43 299 3 1 2 122 116 6 BUF 7. Tyrod Taylor BUF 11/21 211 3 0 1 117 103 13 HOU On the one hand, Taylor only threw for seven first downs on Sunday. On the other hand, the average gain on those seven first downs was 25.7 yards, most of any starter this week, and that's even with a pair of touchdowns inside the 3. For the season, the average gain on Taylor's touchdowns has been 18.8 yards, more than any qualified passer except Ben Roethlisberger, Blaine Gabbert (!), and Nick Foles (!!!!). Taylor also ran seven times against the Jets, and though he only gained 28 yards on those runs, he had two third-down conversions, plus a touchdown. 8. Andy Dalton CIN 14/19 220 2 0 1 98 91 7 CLE A perfect day on long balls. Dalton completed all five of his deep passes against Cleveland (four of them to A.J. Green) for 143 yards and two touchdowns. 9. Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ 36/50 390 2 0 3 95 97 -1 NYG The Jets might not have needed overtime if Fitzpatrick had played better in the red zone, where he went 4-of-9 for 11 yards. One of those completions was a 9-yard touchdown, but the other three went for a 6-yard loss, a 1-yard gain on first-and-goal from the 7, and a 9-yard gain on third-and-11. 10. Jameis Winston TB 18/27 227 1 1 1 54 35 19 ATL 11. Sam Bradford PHI 14/24 120 2 0 1 52 52 0 NE Officially, Bradford only threw one deep pass against New England, a 19-yard throw to somebody named Jonathan Krause on third-and-12 that fell incomplete in the first quarter. He had a pretty horrible day throwing over the middle, going 3-for-8 for 15 yards and only one first down, though that one first down was a 5-yard touchdown on third-and-4. 12. Marcus Mariota TEN 20/29 268 3 1 4 48 24 24 JAC Mariota had a perfect day throwing in the red zone, where his five attempts resulted in four completions for 42 yards and four first downs (including two touchdowns), plus a DPI on the end zone for a new set of downs on fourth-and-goal from the 1. He destroyed the Jaguars up the middle, where he went 9-of-10 for 141 yards and eight first downs, including all three touchdowns. Mariota had seven carries for 113 yards, but only two of those went for first downs: his 87-yarder, and an 11-yard gain in the third. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Sacks Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR Opp 13. Tom Brady NE 29/55 312 3 2 4 44 12 12 PHI Not that anyone noticed with everything else going on, but between five carries for 18 yards (including a 1-yard touchdown and two conversions on third-and-1) and his one catch for 36 yards (which was worth 21 DYAR, by the way), Brady set a career high with 54 yards from scrimmage. The Eagles' key to limiting him was containing the damage done on first downs, when Brady went 6-of-19 for 64 yards with only three first downs (including a touchdown), two sacks, and one interception. 14. Alex Smith KC 16/22 164 2 0 4 38 25 14 OAK 15. Matthew Stafford DET 23/35 220 2 0 3 36 25 11 GB So, you've probably heard about how this game ended, but let's not overlook Stafford's part in letting the Lions' lead vanish. Midway through the third quarter, the Lions began a drive at their own 20, up 20-7. That drive lasted one play, as Stafford was sacked and fumbled, setting up a Green Bay touchdown. From that point forward, he went 7-of-12 for 60 yards, with only two first downs. We don't think of Stafford as a big runner, but his two carries against the Packers were a 12-yard gain on first-and-10 and a 10-yard gain on third-and-9. 16. Cam Newton CAR 28/41 332 5 1 1 23 25 -2 NO So let's talk opponent adjustments and just how horrible the Saints are this year. Newton completed 68 percent of his passes on Sunday. That sounds good, but it's the worst mark of any quarterback against New Orleans since Halloween. He averaged 8.1 yards per pass, which also sounds good, but seven of the quarterbacks who have played the Saints this year have done better than that. There's no need to apologize for five touchdown passes in a game, but they also came with an interception. Consider that over their prior four games, the Saints had allowed sixteen passing touchdowns and gathered just one interception. The Saints have now given up 35 touchdown passes this season. That is already one of the 15 highest totals of all time, and each of those other 15 teams had at least seven interceptions. The Saints only have six. The all-time record of 40, held by the 1963 Denver Broncos, is in serious jeopardy with four games to go. Have we made our point yet? That's why Newton's game ranks so low even though he was phenomenal in scoring range. Inside the Saints' 40, he went 9-of-9 for 97 yards with seven first downs (including four touchdowns) and one sack. Oh, and he also ran eight times for 51 yards, including gains of 30 and 11. 17. Kirk Cousins WAS 22/31 219 1 0 3 21 19 2 DAL Cousins did not throw a single pass in the red zone against Dallas. His first nine passes in what we call the "front zone" (opposing 20 to 40) resulted in five completions, 26 yards, and no first downs. His tenth front zone pass was a 28-yard game-tying touchdown to DeSean Jackson. 18. Matt Cassel DAL 16/29 222 0 0 1 18 39 -21 WAS 19. Aaron Rodgers GB 25/36 297 2 1 3 17 -8 24 DET The Hail Mary was worth 42 DYAR, but that's not the real story. The real story is how much trouble Rodgers had connecting with his wide receivers, going 10-of-19 for only 69 yards and three first downs, plus a DPI for 13 yards. Oh, and his three carries were all successful too, including a 17-yard touchdown on third-and-11. 20. Eli Manning NYG 18/34 297 1 1 3 14 17 -3 NYJ Though Manning's interception on fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter drew most of the attention after the game, it wasn't like he did much afterwards to help New York either. After the pick, he went 2-of-7 for 29 yards and only one first down. 21. Brock Osweiler DEN 16/26 166 1 1 1 -2 6 -8 SD 22. Charlie Whitehurst IND 4/8 51 0 0 3 -20 -20 0 PIT Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Sacks Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR Opp 23. Ryan Tannehill MIA 9/19 86 1 0 1 -32 -39 7 BAL An 11-yard gain on third-and-6; a 38-yard touchdown; and a 14-yard gain on third-and-7. Those were the only first downs Tannehill gained through the air all day. Tannehill's only run was an 11-yard gain on first-and-10. 24. Philip Rivers SD 19/35 202 0 1 4 -32 -32 0 DEN The Chargers only trailed 17-3 at halftime, and it's not as if Brock Osweiler did much to extend that lead. Rivers, though, could do barely anything against the Denver defense, going 10-of-17 for 98 yards in the second half, with two sacks, one intentional grounding, and only two first downs. 25. Nick Foles STL 15/35 146 0 1 0 -35 -35 0 ARI Foles only had six first downs against Arizona, and three of those came with the Rams down by 21 points in the fourth quarter. On one stretch, over four drives, he threw incomplete on eight passes in a row. On third downs, he went 1-of-11 for 9 yards. Hey, at least that one completion went for a first down. Throwing to his right, he went 5-of-15 for 46 yards and one first down, and that one first down came down 21 points in the fourth quarter. 26. Blaine Gabbert SF 18/32 196 1 0 4 -35 -56 21 CHI If you never watched Gabbert play in Jacksonville, you might say that he has regressed to his days in a Jaguars uniform. But make no mistake, as largely ineffectual as he was against Chicago, he was still much better than he was in his worst days in Jacksonville. In 36 dropbacks against the Bears, he threw for only six first downs, but had no fumbles or interceptions. Now consider the following games, all from 2012: Week 2, 22 dropbacks, two first downs; Week 3, 24 dropbacks, five first downs, one fumble; Week 5, 36 dropbacks, five first downs, two pick-sixes, one fumble. That's three games in a single month that were way, way worse than anything Gabbert has done in a San Francisco uniform. And in keeping with the theme of this story: including his 44-yarder, Gabbert had six carries for 75 yards and three first downs. 27. Derek Carr OAK 31/48 283 2 3 4 -36 -36 0 KC 28. Matt Ryan ATL 31/45 269 1 1 3 -49 -53 4 TB 29. Jay Cutler CHI 18/31 202 0 1 1 -61 -62 1 SF 30. Austin Davis CLE 27/38 230 0 1 3 -68 -47 -21 CIN Davis did not throw a single pass in the red zone. On Cincinnati's half of the field, he went 5-of-11 for 33 yards with as many first downs (two) as sacks. 31. Matt Schaub BAL 32/46 308 1 2 3 -87 -79 -8 MIA Inside the Miami 40-yard line, Schaub went 3-of-8 for 9 yards. Hard to score that way. His pick-six was batted up and backwards by Derrick Shelby, then caught 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage and run in 22 yards for the score. So it goes down, officially, as -15 air yards, which is the shortest pass this season. 32. Teddy Bridgewater MIN 17/28 118 0 1 4 -92 -90 -2 SEA Bridgewater did not attempt a pass inside Seattle's red zone. Or their front zone. In the mid zone, the area of the field between the 40s, he went 2-of-6 for 7 yards with zero first downs. What success he did have in this game all came when throwing to his left. Up the middle and to his right, he went 8-of-11 for 37 yards and two first downs. None of those completions gained more than 8 yards, and they included meaningless plays like a 3-yard gain on third-and-16 and a 4-yard gain on second-and-34. 33. Matt Hasselbeck IND 16/26 169 1 2 2 -108 -104 -4 PIT Yes, Hasselbeck had one good play in the red zone, a 9-yard touchdown to Frank Gore. His other five red zone plays, though, turned into a sack-fumble (recovered by Pittsburgh), an interception, and three incompletions. And that's really the only reason he's this low in the tables. In the other 80 percent of the field, he was 15th among all quarterbacks in passing DYAR this week.

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. James White NE 2 4 0 10/13 115 1 55 -9 64 PHI Five of White's receptions gained at least 11 yards and a first down, with a long gain of 25, including conversions on third-and-2, second-and-10 (twice), fourth-and-12, and third-and-10. That's all in addition to his 4-yard touchdown. 2. T.J. Yeldon JAC 15 57 1 4/4 79 0 42 11 31 TEN Yeldon's big receptions were a 3-yard gain to convert a third-and-1, and a 67-yard catch-and-run in the fourth. None of his carries gained even 10 yards, and he had only two first downs on the ground, but he was hit for no gain just twice. 3. Antonio Andrews TEN 13 58 1 1/1 10 0 32 26 7 JAC Andrews' big runs were gains of 16 and 22, and he also converted a second-and-1 and scored a goal-line touchdown, while getting hit for no gain or a loss three times. His loan completion was a 10-yard gain on third-and-5. 4. David Johnson ARI 22 99 0 2/3 21 1 31 9 22 STL Johnson's receptions produced two first downs, including a 10-yard touchdown on third-and-8. Four of his carries gained at least 9 yards and a first down, capped off by a 23-yarder. He was hit for no gain or a loss five times, though, and also fumbled on one carry. 5. Charles Sims TB 7 56 0 2/3 21 0 25 24 1 ATL All of Sims' carries gained at least 1 yard, including a 10-yard gain on third-and-1 and a 25-yarder on first-and-10. His longest reception was an 18-yard gain on second-and-10.

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. Antonio Andrews TEN 13 58 1 1/1 10 0 32 26 7 JAC 2. Charles Sims TB 7 56 0 2/3 21 0 25 24 1 ATL 3. Kerwynn Williams ARI 6 59 1 0/0 0 0 23 23 0 STL How's this for a boom-and-bust day? Sims first three carries gained 15, 15, and 35 yards, the latter going for a touchdown. His next three carries went for minus-2, zero, and minus-4 yards, and that was that. 4. Isaiah Crowell CLE 11 62 0 1/1 2 0 20 23 -3 CIN Only one of Crowell's carries failed to gain positive yardage. Meanwhile, he had four first downs, including gains of 12 and 23 yards. 5. DeAngelo Williams PIT 26 134 0 5/6 31 0 21 19 2 IND Quite an unusual day for Williams. You won't often see a runner with five stuffs and two fumbles in these tables. But Williams also ran for six first downs, including five gains of 10 or more, and, well, there weren't many good running backs this week.

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 19 56 0 0/1 0 0 -34 -28 -5 SD Hillman takes a big hit from playing San Diego's terrible defense. His longest runs gained 11, 10, and 7 yards, but none of his other carries gained more than 4, and he was hit for no gain or a loss three times.

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. James Starks GB 9 15 0 5/7 69 0 -25 -45 19 DET Starks' longest carry gained only 6 yards (hey, at least it went for a first down), he was hit for no gain or a loss four times, and he had two fumbles, all in just nine carries. He actually had a good day as a receiver, with gains of 32 and 25 yards.

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

DYAR Opp 1. Richard Rodgers GB 8 8 162 20.2 1 68 DET The Hail Mary was worth 29 DYAR, but Rodgers had a big day before that. He finished with seven total first downs, including a 40-yard gain on a DPI to convert a second-and-21. 2. Allen Robinson JAC 10 15 153 15.3 3 61 TEN Robinson's eight first downs included touchdowns of 8 yards or less, but he also had big plays, with catches of 26, 31, and 44 yards. He converted five of his seven third-down targets. 3. A.J. Green CIN 5 6 128 25.6 1 57 CLE Green's catches included gains of 20, 22, and 57 yards, plus a 23-yard touchdown. 4. Dorial Green-Beckham TEN 5 6 119 23.8 1 57 JAC Green-Beckham's catches included gains of 20 and 26 yards, plus a 47-yard touchdown. 5. Antonio Brown PIT 8 11 118 14.8 2 56 IND Brown had seven first downs, including two red zone touchdowns, plus gains of 16, 26, and 48 yards.