Ken Walker
Below is a look at the league’s most extreme run funnel and pass funnel defenses through Week 17 — teams being consistently attacked on the ground or through the air regardless of game script.
Having an understanding of which defenses are being bludgeoned via the rush or pass should help us identify matchups that may be better than we think in Week 18. All of these matchups are, of course, subject to wonky game script that could nullify any trends in how a defense is being best exploited.
Run Funnel Defenses
Indianapolis Colts
One more Colts blurb for the road: Indy, as funnel defense enthusiasts surely know, is and has been among the NFL’s most pronounced run funnels. Almost every Colts opponent has deployed a run-first approach, especially when they grab a lead against Shane Steichen’s crew. Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise considering Pro Football Focus grades the Colts as the league’s ninth worst run defense.
Indianapolis opponents this year have a 45 percent rush rate in neutral game script (when the game is within seven points either way), the third highest in the league. Teams playing the Colts have run the ball at a 50 percent rate when they have the lead. Last week, despite falling behind by multiple scores, the Raiders were 2 percent below their expected drop back rate against the Colts.
What it means for Week 18: We can expect a balanced attack from the Texans in their crucial Week 18 matchup with the Colts. Houston was just 1 percent above its expected drop back rate when these teams clashed in Week 2, and the Texans have been (almost) perfectly balanced in their three games without Tank Dell.
The puzzle pieces aren’t tough to figure out here. Devin Singletary, who has 25 of the team’s 35 running back rushes over the past two weeks while running a route on around half of Houston’s drop backs, is (likely) set up for a solid workload against Indy. It might not hurt that Singletary will hit a $250,000 contract incentive if he…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/funnel-defense-report-week-18-032344720.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-01-05 03:23:44
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