sara.ziegler (Sara Ziegler, sports editor): Well, that was quite a weekend. For a hot second on Sunday, it looked like we would lose both of the FiveThirtyEight Super Bowl favorites in one round … but the Chiefs came roaring back, so we only lost our one overwhelming favorite. Welp. So let’s start with the most […]
Now that the NFL’s wild-card weekend is complete, the top seeds in each conference — including Lamar Jackson and our Super Bowl favorites, the Baltimore Ravens — will be in action for the divisional round. Ahead of the games, we’ve broken down each matchup using our Elo ratings — which track each team’s form, with […]
A strong passing attack is crucial to NFL success. Seven of the top 10 teams this season in passing EPA per play are competing in the divisional round this weekend. That makes stopping the pass equally critical, of course. But quantifying pass defense in football has proven difficult. Our current metrics for measuring defensive performance […]
On Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys fired head coach Jason Garrett after years of failing to win in the postseason despite having a quality quarterback, offensive line and skill-position talent for most of his tenure. On Tuesday, the Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy. The former Green Bay Packers head coach has an impressive resume: Nine playoff […]
For the first time since 1970, the top four passing teams by yards missed the playoffs, while the top four rushing teams made it. On Saturday in the wild-card round, the Tennessee Titans needed barely any passing game whatsoever to knock out Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, becoming just the fourth […]