2018 Is The Most Offensive-Powered Final Four Ever
The table below shows where each of the final four teams rank in points, yards, points allowed, and yards allowed, along with each team’s average rank of the two offensive categories and average rank of the two defensive categories. The final column shows the difference between the team’s offensive and defensive ranks, as a way of describing whether a team is offensive-powered or defensive-powered.
<table id="tablepress-3189" class="tablepress tablepress-id-3189 dataTable no-footer" role="grid"><thead> <tr class="row-1 odd" role="row"><th class="column-1 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 48px;" aria-label="Year: activate to sort column ascending">Year</th><th class="column-2 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 54px;" aria-label="Team: activate to sort column ascending">Team</th><th class="column-3 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 57px;" aria-label="PF Rk: activate to sort column ascending">PF Rk</th><th class="column-4 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 58px;" aria-label="Yd Rk: activate to sort column ascending">Yd Rk</th><th class="column-5 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 59px;" aria-label="PA Rk: activate to sort column ascending">PA Rk</th><th class="column-6 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 59px;" aria-label="YA Rk: activate to sort column ascending">YA Rk</th><th class="column-7 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 94px;" aria-label="Avg Off Rk: activate to sort column ascending">Avg Off Rk</th><th class="column-8 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 97px;" aria-label="Avg Def Rk: activate to sort column ascending">Avg Def Rk</th><th class="column-9 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3189" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 88px;" aria-label="Off Heavy: activate to sort column ascending">Off Heavy</th></tr> </thead> <tbody class="row-hover"> <tr class="row-2 even" role="row"> <td class="column-1">2018</td><td class="column-2">
NOR</td><td class="column-3">3</td><td class="column-4">8</td><td class="column-5">14</td><td class="column-6">14</td><td class="column-7">5.5</td><td class="column-8">14</td><td class="column-9">8.5</td> </tr><tr class="row-3 odd" role="row"> <td class="column-1">2018</td><td class="column-2">
NWE</td><td class="column-3">4</td><td class="column-4">5</td><td class="column-5">7</td><td class="column-6">21</td><td class="column-7">4.5</td><td class="column-8">14</td><td class="column-9">9.5</td> </tr><tr class="row-4 even" role="row"> <td class="column-1">2018</td><td class="column-2">
LAR</td><td class="column-3">2</td><td class="column-4">2</td><td class="column-5">20</td><td class="column-6">19</td><td class="column-7">2</td><td class="column-8">19.5</td><td class="column-9">17.5</td> </tr><tr class="row-5 odd" role="row"> <td class="column-1">2018</td><td class="column-2">
KAN</td><td class="column-3">1</td><td class="column-4">1</td><td class="column-5">24</td><td class="column-6">31</td><td class="column-7">1</td><td class="column-8">27.5</td><td class="column-9">26.5</td></tr></tbody></table>
This year, the final four teams have offenses that, on average, rank 15.5 slots higher than their defenses. The 2016 final four is the only year that comes close, but the offenses are better in 2018 while the defenses are worse. Make no mistake:
this is the most unbalanced set of final four teams we have ever seen.<label>Search:<input type="search" class="" placeholder="" aria-controls="tablepress-3190"></label>
<table id="tablepress-3190" class="tablepress tablepress-id-3190 dataTable no-footer" role="grid"><thead> <tr class="row-1 odd" role="row"><th class="column-1 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 55px;" aria-label="Year: activate to sort column ascending">Year</th><th class="column-2 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 66px;" aria-label="PF Rk: activate to sort column ascending">PF Rk</th><th class="column-3 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 67px;" aria-label="PA Rk: activate to sort column ascending">PA Rk</th><th class="column-4 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 66px;" aria-label="Yd Rk: activate to sort column ascending">Yd Rk</th><th class="column-5 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 68px;" aria-label="YA Rk: activate to sort column ascending">YA Rk</th><th class="column-6 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 106px;" aria-label="Avg Off Rk: activate to sort column ascending">Avg Off Rk</th><th class="column-7 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 109px;" aria-label="Avg Def Rk: activate to sort column ascending">Avg Def Rk</th><th class="column-8 sorting" tabindex="0" aria-controls="tablepress-3190" rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="width: 100px;" aria-label="Off Heavy: activate to sort column ascending">Off Heavy</th></tr> </thead> <tbody class="row-hover"> <tr class="row-2 even" role="row"> <td class="column-1">2018</td><td class="column-2">2.5</td><td class="column-3">16.25</td><td class="column-4">4</td><td class="column-5">21.25</td><td class="column-6">3.25</td><td class="column-7">18.75</td><td class="column-8">15.5</td> </tr><tr class="row-3 odd" role="row"> <td class="column-1">2016</td><td class="column-2">4.5</td><td class="column-3">14.75</td><td class="column-4">5.25</td><td class="column-5">16.75</td><td class="column-6">4.875</td><td class="column-7">15.75</td><td class="column-8">10.875</td> </tr><tr class="row-4 even" role="row"> <td class="column-1">1981</td><td class="column-2">4.25</td><td class="column-3">11.75</td><td class="column-4">5.25</td><td class="column-5">15.25</td><td class="column-6">4.75</td><td class="column-7">13.5</td><td class="column-8">8.75</td></tr></tbody></table>
It’s also the worst set of defensive teams we have ever seen. By way of comparison, in 2010, the final four teams had an average rank of 4.75 in yards allowed and 3.25 in points allowed.
The 2018 Chiefs have dethroned the ’81 Chargers and now stand out as the most one-sided final four team in favor of offense ever.
Since 2000 the highest scoring team in the league has only won 1 SB despite playing in 7 SBs; the 2009 Saints scored 510 and defeated the Colts.
http://www.footballperspective.com/the-highest-scoring-team-has-won-just-one-super-bowl-since-2000/
I left out a lot of tables and graphs in favor of the bottom line.
Absolute conclusions can't be made until the games play out but it's obvious (to me anyway) that the Chiefs have a huge historical nut to crack to win the SB with such disparity in offensive and defensive rankings. Saints and Patriots looking pretty good, btw.