Net Yards per Play Report for NFL Week 1 (Vikings, Saints, Seahawks Top Opening Week Numbers)

Iain MacMillan | Sep 11, 2024

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) celebrates his interception return for a touchdown against the New York Giants during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The NFL season is officially here which means it's time to bring back the weekly Net Yards per Play Report!

If you aren't familiar, Net Yards per Play is my favorite stat to use to start my handicapping process each week. It's a relatively straight forward statistic, it simply takes the average yards a team gains per play on offense and subtracts the average yards a team gives up per play on defense.

Check out the Week 2 edition of the "Road to 272 Bets" to find out my best bet for every game this week.

It goes without saying 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 1 action:

Net Yards per Play Rankings Week 1

Rank	Team	Net Yards per Play
1	Vikings	2.6
2	Saints	2.6
3	Seahawks	1.8
4	Bills	1.6
5	Packers	1.6
6	Colts	1.5
7	Titans	1.2
8	Cowboys	1.1
9	Buccaneers	1.1
10	Chiefs	1
11	Chargers	0.9
12	Dolphins	0.9
13	Lions	0.8
14	Falcons	0.4
15	49ers	0.3
16	Bengals	0.2
17	Patriots	-0.2
18	Jets	-0.3
19	Steelers	-0.4
20	Rams	-0.8
21	Jaguars	-0.9
22	Raiders	-0.9
23	Ravens	-1
24	Browns	-1.1
25	Commanders	-1.1
26	Bears	-1.2
27	Texans	-1.5
28	Cardinals	-1.6
29	Eagles	-1.6
30	Broncos	-1.8
31	Panthers	-2.6
32	Giants	-2.6

Vikings, Saints Most Dominant Week 1 Wins

The final scores in the Vikings vs. Giants and Saints vs. Panthers games were no illusion. Minnesota and New Orleans had the most dominating opening week performances, sporting a Net Yards per Play of +2.6.

Not many people had high expectations for these two teams heading into the season, and while Week 1 was impressive, it's possible the results were simply due to their competition. The Panthers and Giants were two of the worst teams in the NFL last season and that may hold true again in 2024.

We'll see as the season goes on if the Vikings and Saints can keep performing at this high of a level.

Packers, Colts, Titans Post Strong Performances Despite Losses

It's tough to get much out of Week 1 results due to it being such a small sample size, but it's interesting to see which teams had strong performances despite losing. The three teams that top that list are the Packers, Colts, and Titans. Green Bay had a Net Yards per Play of +1.6, Indianapolis posted a mark of +1.5, and Tennessee finished their game at +1.2.

The strong statistical performance for the Packers means little since Malik Willis will be their starting quarterback for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Colts and Titans fans can take solace in knowing that wins will come their way if they keep posting these strong of performances.

In Tennessee's case, simply not allowing their opponent to score two touchdowns on defense and special teams will go a long way in winning these games where they largely outperform their opponents.

Two of those three teams, the Packers and Colts, will face-off in Week 2. The Colts are set as 3.5-point road favorites.

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