Net Yards per Play Report After NFL Week 2 (Are the Saints Elite?)

Based on the metric Net Yards per Play, the Saints may be an elite team in the NFL this season

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Carl Granderson (96) reacts during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

For every week of the NFL that passes, we get more data and a better idea of which teams are legitimate contenders and which are frauds.

One of my favorite stats to use to sort through what we know so far is Net Yards per Play, which is a metric that takes the average yards gained per play on offense and subtracts the average yards given up per play on defense.

Check out the Week 3 edition of the "Road to 272 Bets" to find out my best bet for every game this week.

Net Yards per Play isn't the only metric you should use when evaluating teams. It doesn't take into account things like turnovers, third down conversion rate, red zone percentage, or penalties, but it is a good starting point for the process of figuring out which teams to bet on any given week.

Let's take a look at where each team ranks after Week 2 action:

Net Yards per Play Standings After Week 2

Rank	Team	Net Yards per Play
1	Saints	2.4
2	Vikings	2.1
3	Chargers	1.3
4	Seahawks	1.3
5	Bills	1.2
6	Colts	1.1
7	Falcons	1
8	Cardinals	0.8
9	Lions	0.7
10	Titans	0.7
11	Texans	0.6
12	Ravens	0.5
13	Packers	0.5
14	Bengals	0.3
15	Chiefs	0.2
16	Jaguars	0.2
17	Buccaneers	0.1
18	Dolphins	0
19	Jets	-0.3
20	Cowboys	-0.4
21	Commanders	-0.4
22	Broncos	-0.5
23	Patriots	-0.5
24	Steelers	-0.7
25	49ers	-0.7
26	Browns	-1.2
27	Raiders	-1.3
28	Eagles	-1.4
29	Bears	-1.5
30	Giants	-1.5
31	Rams	-1.9
32	Panthers	-2.2

The Saints Might Be Elite

Through the first two weeks of the NFL season, the Saints lead the NFL in Net Yards per Play at +2.4. That shouldn't come as s surprise considering they've dominated their two opponents, scoring over 40 points in each game.

With that being said, let's be a bit cautious with New Orleans. Their Week 1 win came against the Panthers, arguably the worst team in the NFL and if you look at the top teams in this metric, the teams atop the rest are those who have had at least one game against a bottom five opponent. The Saints and Chargers played the Panthers, the Vikings played the Giants, and the Seahawks played the Broncos.

Still, it's a promising sign for fans of the Saints, especially after they disposed of the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. We'll see if they can sustain this level of success as they face increasingly tough challenges as the season progresses.

Push the Panic Button in Philadelphia

The usual suspects are at the bottom of the list, teams like the Panthers, Giants, Bears, and the banged-up Rams, but there's one team that may come as a surprise. The Philadelphia Eagles are 28th in Net Yards per Play at -1.4. Despite beating the Packers in Week 1 and narrowly losing to the Falcons in Week 2, the Eagles have been significantly outgained in both games when it comes to yards per play.

The defense has been a real problem for Philly, allowing 6.9 yards per snap, the second most in the NFL. They need to wake up and tighten up their defense or else they're going to find themselves being a basement dweller all season long.

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