With Week 3 come and gone, trends and patterns are beginning to emerge across the NFL. Here are three troubling quarterback stats that speak to significant structural flaws that could doom Super Bowl aspirations for their teams.
The Matt Ryan era is off to an inauspicious start for the Indianapolis Colts. 1-1-1 through three weeks, the team is probably a lot worse than their mediocre record implies. They rank 32nd in scoring, and that's in large part due to the inept play of Ryan. The Colts expected Ryan to provide a steadier hand than last year's starter Carson Wentz, but Ryan has been an absolute roller coaster ride so far this season. Perhaps most alarming of his many, many negatives stats is his league-leading seven fumbles, two more than any player in the league. It's a staggering number through only three games, particularly considering his career-high for a whole season is a modest 12. If he can't operate with more confidence and awareness, the Colts' season could quickly unravel.
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| Photo Credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports |
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, 5.1 Intended Air Yards Per Attempt
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is trying to build chemistry with a receiving corps full of new faces, and evidently, the trust is not there. Rodgers ranks dead last in the league through three games with a minuscule 5.1 Intended Air Yards Per Attempt, 0.9 yards less than the next lowest quarterback. No other passer is coming even close to consistently throwing the ball near the line of scrimmage as Rodgers, who is proving obsessed with dump-offs and check-downs. If the Packers want to improve on their 27th ranking in points scored, Rodgers will likely need to learn to push the ball down the field more consistently.
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| Photo Credit: © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK |
Joe Flacco, New York Jets, 155 Pass Attempts
Things are not going as planned for the New York Jets. 1-2 to start the season and with their second-year quarterback Zach Wilson still recuperating from a preseason knee injury, the Jets have turned to Joe Flacco to steer the ship. One would think a backup quarterback on the field would lead the Jets to a conservative, run-heavy approach, but the opposite has proven true. Flacco leads the league with a massive 155 pass attempts, and his 901 pass yards rank fifth. That the team is so dependent on their 37-year-old passer's arm speaks very poorly to their surrounding roster, and the stats confirm it: the Jets ranks 26th in points allowed and rush yards. If the Jets can't help Flacco, it's not likely they'll be able to help Wilson much either, and that could mean another lost year for the young quarterback.
Photo Credit: © Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
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