• Here comes the blitz: The Buccaneers led the league in blitz rate this season at 54.4%, the third-highest mark for a defense through the first four games of 2020.
• Can Garrett Wilson Going to London? in spite of Aaron Rodgers As his quarterback in 2024, the Jets receiver Garrett Wilson Slowest start of his career. His 191 receiving yards through the first four games are the fewest he’s posted since 2021, and his 1.26 yards per route run is also a career-low for the season.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ membership: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including Weekly ranking, WR/CB Matchup Chart, Weekly estimatesthe Start-seat optimizer and more Sign up now!
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
For 17 years, PFF has built the most detailed football database in the world, analyzing every player in every sport in the NFL, college football and beyond. Trusted by all 32 NFL teams and countless others, PFF provides data that helps uncover real The story behind each game.
Ahead of NFL Week 5, our media team dived deep into the numbers to provide key insights for each NFL matchup, highlighting the hidden storylines and standout performances that shaped each game.
For more insight into NFL and college games, Sign up for PFF+ and dive in Premium Stats 2.0.
Click here to jump into a game
TB@ATL | NYJ@MIN | BUF@HOU | Not my @ | IND@JAX | BAL@CIN CAR@CHI | CLE@WAS | LV@DEN | ARI@SF | NYG@SEA | GB@LAR | Dal@PIT | NO@KC
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS VS Atlanta Falcons
The Buccaneers led the league in blitz rate this season at 54.4%, the third-highest mark for a defense through the first four games of 2020.
Kirk Cousins Enters the week ranked 25th in passer rating against the blitz (71.1) and posted the seventh-highest turnover-eligible play rate (5.1%) on the same plays.
New York Jets VS Minnesota Vikings
in spite of Aaron Rodgers As his quarterback in 2024, the Jets receiver Garrett Wilson Slowest start of his career. His 191 receiving yards through the first four games are the fewest he’s posted since 2021, and his 1.26 yards per route run is also a career-low for the season.
Since the start of the 2023 season, no defensive back has been rushed more often than a passer. Josh Metellus (136 snaps) and Harrison Smith (115). Metellus leads all defensive backs with 30 total pressures on those pass-rush snaps.
Aaron Rodgers: Pressured passing reports
Carolina Panthers VS Chicago Bears
Deontay Johnsonof 25 targets in single coverage lead all wide receivers in 2024, thanks largely to turnovers Andy Dalton In the past two weeks alone at quarterback, Johnson has seen 17 targets in single coverage with two touchdown receptions.
DJ Moore Single season at low speed Average depth of target (8.4 yards) and yards per reception (8.4). His 1.20 yards per route run is also currently on track to be a career-worst mark, down from his 1.74 from 2022.
Baltimore Ravens VS Cincinnati Bengals
Derrick Henry Continues to excel in generating yards after contact, currently ranks second among running backs with 267 yards after contact — a total that would rank him 14th in rushing yards for the position.
Among the 49 running backs with at least 25 rushing attempts this season, Chase Brown Leads the Pack with an impressive 4.5 yards after contact per attempt.
Buffalo Bill VS Houston Texans
Christian Benford Allowing a league-best 14.6 passer rating when targeted this season. Besides giving up 25 yards on four receptions in the Buffaloes’ Week 2 game against Miami, Benford has surrendered just one catch on five targets in his other three games.
Nico Collins PFF’s highest-graded wide receiver (91.2) through the first four weeks of the 2024 season. He leads the league with 17 touchdown receptions — the only pass-catcher in the NFL with double digits in that category.
Indianapolis Colts VS Jacksonville Jaguars
Easy speed Leads NFL in defensive stops with 21 this season. He was the last Colts defender to finish in the top five in this category Anthony Walkerwho recorded 53 stops in 2019
A bright spot for Jacksonville this season has been the rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jrwho ranks second in yards per route run (2.35) among all receivers from the 2024 draft class.
Miami Dolphins VS New England Patriots
Since entering the NFL in 2020, Jordyn Brooks Collected 185 defensive stops, 10th among linebackers in that span. His 13 stops led the way this season miami the dolphin.
Keon White Has emerged as a standout for New England this season, displaying elite pass-rushing ability. White improved dramatically after finishing last season with a 52.3 pass-rush grade, ranking 104th among 114 qualifying edge rushers. Through four games in 2024, he boasts a 90.0 pass-rush grade, fifth-best at the position. Of White’s team-leading 17 total sacks, 14 were classified as “quick sacks”, recorded in 2.5 seconds or less.
Cleveland Browns VS Washington commanders
Jayden Daniels Has had an impressive start to his NFL career, leading the league with an 82% completion rate through four weeks. His performance on intermediate throws (10-19 yards downfield) is even more remarkable, where his completion percentage jumps to a league-best 83%, along with a third-ranked 91.9 PFF passing grade. However, he faced a tough test against a Browns defense, which excelled at stopping intermediate throws, allowing just seven completions for 92 yards and a league-leading 29% completion rate.
On the other side of the ball, there will be a key battle between two struggling units on third down. The Browns’ offense finished third in the NFL with a 23% conversion rate, while the Commander’s defense allowed a league-worst 55% conversion rate, making third downs a significant factor in this matchup.
Las Vegas Raiders VS Denver Broncos
D Bo Nix The experience has certainly been a roller coaster, but one area where he has excelled is avoiding sacks under pressure.
Knicks’ 7% pressure-to-sack rate ranks first among 32 qualifying quarterbacks, and his five scrambling conversions against pressure rank second only to fellow rookies. Jayden Daniels. He’ll face a challenge this week against a Raiders defense that generates unblockable pressures on 12% of snaps (fifth-best in the league) and has recorded six sacks on such plays (tied for most).
The Raiders didn’t see much red-zone Action this season, just 27 total red-zone plays (ahead of only the Browns). However, they have been efficient, scoring touchdown 7 out of 10 of them red-zone Drive (70%), fifth-best in NFL.
The Broncos defense has been equally impressive red zoneOnly 25 total allowed red-zone plays (fifth-fewest) and held opponents to a 29% touchdown rate (third-best).
Arizona Cardinals VS San Francisco 49ers
Kyler Murray His total of deep touchdown passes (20-plus yards) since 2023 has already been matched by three this season. His six big-time throws over that distance are tied for the most in the NFL in 2024.
Brock Purdy Currently ranks second among quarterbacks with 74.6% air-yard percentage, a significant jump from his 14th-place finish last season (54.4%). Since Kyle Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers, the team’s highest single-season air yardage percentage in 2017 was 55.6%.
Green Bay Packers VS Los Angeles Rams
The Packers have dominated on the ground this season, racking up 464 rushing yards after contact (second-most in the league) and 27 missed tackles (tied for fifth-most). The Rams defense has struggled in this area, allowing 353 yards after contact (fourth-worst) and missing 30 tackles (second-worst).
Matthew Stafford Has struggled with downfield throws this season, posting a 44.3 PFF passing grade on passes of 15-plus yards, third-worst among qualifying quarterbacks. His five turnover-worthy plays on those throws are tied for the second most in a game in the league. Including the Packers safety Xavier McKinneywho leads the league with four barrier On downfield passes, in the secondary, Stafford has to be extra careful.
New York Giants VS Seattle Seahawks
Malik Nabers Has quickly made a name for himself as one of the NFL’s top young receivers, and his separation skills are a major reason. He ranks tenth among wide receivers this season with a 68% separation rate according to PFF’s new metric, and his 24 open targets lead the league. Possible matchups between Nabers and Seahawks cornerbacks Tariq Woolen That will be worth watching, as Woolen has yet to allow an open target in 136 coverage snaps this season – a stat no other defender with 100+ coverage snaps has matched.
Geno Smith Has dealt with more blitzes than any other quarterback this season with 73 blitzed snaps, yet he handles the pressure impressively. Among qualifying quarterbacks, Smith ranks fifth in completion percentage (75%) and fourth in blitzed first down or touchdown rate (47%). He’ll likely see more of the same against a Giants defense that ranks tenth in blitz rate (34%) and third in blitzes off sacks with nine.
Dallas Cowboys VS Pittsburgh Steelers
Steeler center Jack Frazier Made an impact quickly, as his 80.1 run-blocking grade led all rookie offensive linemen. The Steelers have made him a focal point of their run game, as they have managed 34 carries to the right or left side of center, fifth in the NFL.
On the other hand, the big question for the Cowboys is which version of their interior run defense will show up. In Weeks 1-3, their defensive line ranked last in the league with a 25.7 PFF run-defense grade. The group bounced back in Week 4, earning a 72.3 grade against the Giants.
CeeDee Lamb Has been able to make explosive plays on the outside this season. Four of his five explosive plays (15-plus yards) came on outside targets, while his 200 receiving yards tied for fourth in the NFL. However, he faced a stiff challenge this week against a Steelers defense that allowed just 205 total receiving yards to outside targets, a league-best mark by far.
New Orleans Saints VS Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Kelce Saw just 22 targets through the first four weeks, marking the lowest total of his career this season. However, receivers are leading with the Chiefs Rashi the rice Out, Kelce has a prime opportunity to reclaim his role as the focal point of the passing game. He will face a favorable matchup against a Saints defense that has allowed a league-high 12.8 yards per catch to tight ends.
On the ground, the Saints have relied heavily on zone runs under new offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak. They lead the NFL with 89 attempts, 406 rushing yards and five touchdown From zone scheme. They will face a challenge this week against a Chiefs defense that has been stout against zone runs, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry, the fourth-best mark in the league.
Leave a comment