Net Yards per Play Report for NFL Week 7 (Cowboys and Saints Are in Serious Trouble)

Breaking down the latest Net Yards per Play rankings ahead of Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season.

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele (78) and New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (90) and New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) go for a fumble during the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Records can be deceiving in professional football. A few bad bounces here and there and all of a sudden a team can find themselves with a losing record. Instead, we should be using stats and metrics to measure just how good teams are.

My favorite stat to use to begin my evaluation process each week 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 7 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 6 action:

Rank	Team	Net Yards per Play
1	Ravens	1.3
2	Lions	1.1
3	49ers	1.1
4	Falcons	0.9
5	Texans	0.9
6	Packers	0.8
7	Bengals	0.7
8	Vikings	0.7
9	Buccaneers	0.7
10	Chiefs	0.4
11	Jets	0.3
12	Broncos	0.3
13	Seahawks	0.2
14	Titans	0.1
15	Colts	0.1
16	Commanders	0.1
17	Bills	0
18	Cardinals	-0.1
19	Eagles	-0.1
20	Steelers	-0.2
21	Bears	-0.3
22	Chargers	-0.3
23	Cowboys	-0.5
24	Jaguars	-0.5
25	Raiders	-0.5
26	Dolphins	-0.5
27	Giants	-0.7
28	Saints	-0.8
29	Panthers	-0.9
30	Rams	-1.1
31	Patriots	-1.4
32	Browns	-1.6

You can find some more in-depth splits in my tweet below.

Net Yards per Play standings ahead of Week 7:

-Ravens, Lions, 49ers lead NFL

-Cowboys are abysmal at home (-2.5)

-Saints and Bills trending in wrong direction pic.twitter.com/0UxN8fqm81

— Iain MacMillan (@IainMacBets) October 15, 2024

49ers Climb Rankings in Net Yards per Play

The San Francisco 49ers stumbled a bit out of the gates this season, but they've quickly corrected course and are re-establishing themselves as one of the elite teams in the NFL. Not only are they third in Net Yards per Play this season at +1.1, behind only the Lions and Ravens, but they lead the NFL in that stats over their last three games at +2.2.

The 49ers have been a Net Yards per Play constant over the last couple of seasons, including leading the NFL in that stat at the end of the season last year. They have a chance to be kings of Net Yards per Play once again in 2024.

Saints and Bills Stumbling in Recent Weeks

Through each team's last three games, you may be surprised to find out that the Saints and Bills rank last in the league in Net Yards per Play. Even worse than the likes of the Patriots, Browns, and Dolphins.

The Saints got off to a hot 2-0 start to the season, but have lost four straight games now, largely due to their defense imploding. The Bills have gone 1-2 in their last three games, but even in their most recent win against the Jets, they were largely outplayed but were benefactors of two missed field goals by New York.

Thankfully for the Bills, they received help in acquiring Amari Cooper on Tuesday which should boost their metrics in the weeks to come. Unfortunately, the same thing can't be said for the Saints, who may continue to fall down the season-long rankings in this stat with Derek Carr expected to miss at least a few more weeks.

Cowboys Are Abysmal at Home

It's not just the final scores on their home field that have been bad this season, it's been their Net Yards per Play as well, which currently sits at -2.5 on their home field. Meanwhile, they have the second-best mark in the league in that stat when playing on the road at +1.4, a difference of 3.9 Net Yards per Play.

To be fair to the Cowboys, their two toughest opponents this season have both been home games against the Ravens and Lions. Meanwhile, their easy opponents like the Giants and Browns, occurred on the road.

It'll be fascinating to see if these home vs. away splits continue on this trajectory for the Cowboys as the season rolls along.