Week 2 ended with a bang, and a very good night for us Colts fans. It was a night of superlatives, and one for the history books. Here is what Elias had to say after the game (via ESPN):
- A Time of Possession of 14:53 is the lowest amount for a winning team since the NFL starting tracking the stat in the 1970's.
- Dallas Clark's 183 yards receiving is the 3rd highest by a WR in a game from Peyton Manning. The two guys you'd expect to head this list (Harrison & Wayne) are first and second.
- As BBS pointed out already, 3 teams (Cowboys, Titans, Dolphins) lost while rushing for over 200 yards. It's only happened once where 3 teams lost while rushing for over 200 yards in one week, which was Week 16 of 1978. Last season, teams who rushed for 200 yards were 36-2.
- The Dolphins had 15 third-down conversions on Monday, the most by any team since the Colts had 15 in a game against the Broncos in 2002.
This was also the 37th Game Winning drive for Manning. He was so good at it, it only took 32 seconds. This also was win #119 for Manning, passing Johnny Unitas for most in franchise history for a QB. I'm not nearly old enough to know just how good Unitas was, but I'm rather biased with who I think is better. Most others I heard this morning agree with me.
The most amazing stat, in my opinion, from Monday night was that the Colts averaged 10.2 Yards / Play on Monday night, which is the best in the NFL at least since 1996. Let that sink in for a second... The Colts averaged a First Down on EVERY PLAY. The previous high? 10.02 by the Packers in 1997, in a game they lost to the Colts.
After the jump you'll see both last week's stats and rankings, but a season total, with ranks. I'll just say Adjusted Net Passing Yards / Attempt is a pretty good indication of winning so far. You can also sort the Win % total in the season table, to see which stats are the best so far this season.
Here's how it looked on Monday Night...
| Statistic | Offense | Rank | Defense | Rank | Off/Def Above | Off/Def Below | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSR | 77.3% | 8 | 82.9% | 31 | N | N | 5-2 |
| ANPY/A | 13.958 | 1 | 3.400 | 4 | Y | N | 8-0 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | N | N | 8-1 |
| Yds/Drive | 44.50 | 4 | 50.38 | 31 | N | N | 4-1 |
| ToP/Drive | 1:51.6 | 32 | 5:38.4 | 32 | N | Y | 5-3 |
| Yds/Play | 10.171 | 1 | 4.798 | 8 | Y | N | 6-2 |
| First Downs/Drive | 1.75 | 17 | 3.38 | 32 | N | N | 4-3 |
| 3rd/4th Down | 42.9% | 15 | 72.7% | 32 | N | N | 1-3 |
| Avg Start Pos | 23.4 | 30 | 23.8 | 4 | N | N | 9-0 |
| 3 and Outs | 2 | 9 | 0 | 30 | N | N | 3-3 |
| RZ Eff | 100.0% | 1 | 100.0% | 24 | N | N | 3-3 |
| Plays/Drive | 4.375 | 32 | 10.500 | 32 | N | Y | 2-5 |
| Penalty Yds / Play | 0.571 | 6 | 0.238 | 31 | N | N | 9-6 |
| RB Success | 50.0% | 11 | 57.1% | 26 | N | N | 5-6 |
| Yds/Carry | 5.55 | 7 | 4.88 | 23 | N | N | 5-7 |
| Net Punts Yds/Game | 45.67 | 7 | 42.00 | 15 | N | N | 6-1 |
Here's what stands out to me:
- In terms of ANPY/A, this was the 5th best game of Manning's regular season career (Both Playoff games against Denver were higher). His record is 16.48, against the Eagles in 2002.
- The defense was 4th best in terms of ANPY/A, which is probably because the Dolphins didn't really try to pass that much.
- Once again, teams that were Above Average for both Offense and Defense in ANPY/A did not lose, going 8-0. Who's going to be the first team to lose?
- I mentioned the Yards / Play above. I'll mention it here again as it was so great. 10.2 Yards / Play. Unbelievable.
- The defense was bad. You don't need stats to tell you that.
The Season stats so far...
| Statistic | Offense | Rank | Defense | Rank | Record | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSR | 76.9% | 4 | 75.0% | 24 | 12-2 | 0.857 |
| ANPY/A | 9.587 | 2 | 3.641 | 6 | 17-0 | 1.000 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 14-3 | 0.824 |
| Yds/Drive | 42.41 | 1 | 37.12 | 27 | 10-1 | 0.909 |
| ToP/Drive | 2:52.3 | 10 | 4:11.2 | 32 | 13-6 | 0.684 |
| Yds/Play | 6.867 | 3 | 4.540 | 7 | 12-4 | 0.750 |
| First Downs/Drive | 2.06 | 7 | 2.29 | 31 | 11-3 | 0.786 |
| 3rd/4th Down | 47.8% | 7 | 59.0% | 32 | 7-4 | 0.636 |
| Avg Start Pos | 28.4 | 20 | 25.9 | 7 | 13-1 | 0.929 |
| 3 and Outs | 5 | 2 | 4 | 29 | 7-5 | 0.583 |
| RZ Eff | 66.7% | 13 | 85.7% | 29 | 8-5 | 0.615 |
| Plays/Drive | 6.176 | 6 | 8.176 | 32 | 7-7 | 0.500 |
| Penalty Yds / Play | 0.352 | 2 | 0.317 | 32 | 14-11 | 0.560 |
| RB Success | 43.9% | 17 | 60.8% | 31 | 10-10 | 0.500 |
| Yds/Carry | 3.14 | 27 | 4.71 | 24 | 9-11 | 0.450 |
| Net Punts Yds/Game | 45.00 | 6 | 37.67 | 7 | 7-4 | 0.636 |
Couple things here too:
- Of the top 6 stats, the Colts offense are in the Top 5 in 5 of them, which is a fantastic start to the season. They are leading in Yards / Drive, which is pretty customary for the Colts. The Colts offense also is 2nd in the league in 3 and Outs, with only 5.
- Like I mentioned above, teams are 17-0 when both the Offense and Defense are Above Average in ANPY/A. Need any more evidence about how important Passing and defending the Pass are?
- On the flip side, the only stat that is under .500 is Yards / Carry. Pretty true to form over the past 8 years.
- The Colts' defense is ranked dead last in 4 categories, including Time of Possession / Drive (shocking, huh?) Let's start the turn around this weekend.