Sports – FiveThirtyEight — Passing Defense RSS



What The NFL’s New Pass-Defense Metric Can — And Can’t — Tell Us

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 […]

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Daniel Jones Hasn’t Figured Out Zone Coverage Yet

In Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones dropped back to pass on third and 13 from his own 35-yard line. Faced with a four-man rush and seven defenders in coverage, Jones waited patiently — perhaps too patiently — for his receivers to complete their routes past the first-down marker. […]

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