Fantasy Index

Factoid

Pass happy Falcons

Passed the ball on almost 69 percent of plays

Playing around the numbers, I notice that Atlanta passed the ball more often last year than any team in NFL history. Not total pass attempts. A few teams beat the Falcons in that category.

But pass FREQUENCY. Atlanta attempted to pass the ball on almost 69 percent of its plays last year. That supplants the 2006 Lions for the most in NFL history.

Two other 2013 teams show up in the top 25 on this list: Cleveland and Miami.

Generally, passing the ball a bunch hasn’t tended to result in a lot of success. I found 26 teams in NFL history that passed the ball on at least 65 percent of their plays. Only five of those teams (with black dots below) finished with winning records. One made it to the Super Bowl – when the 2008 Cardinals got the hot hand in the playoffs.

In the table below pass plays includes both pass attempts and sacks.

TEAMS PASSING ON 65% OF PLAYS
YearTeamWinRunPassPct
2013Atlanta4-1232170368.7%
2006Detroit3-1330465968.4%
2013Cleveland4-1234873067.7%
1991• Oilers11-533169167.6%
1990• Oilers9-732867867.4%
1994Atlanta7-933066666.9%
2005Arizona5-1136071566.5%
2002St. Louis7-934368166.5%
2007Detroit7-932464166.4%
1989Atlanta3-1331862966.4%
2011• Detroit10-635670266.4%
2012Detroit4-1239176966.3%
2012Dallas8-835569466.2%
1996Atlanta3-1332964266.1%
2008• Arizona9-734065865.9%
2001Detroit2-1435167565.8%
1995• Atlanta9-733764665.7%
2010Arizona5-1132061165.6%
1986Miami8-834966265.5%
2012Arizona5-1135266665.4%
1981Minnesota7-939173865.4%
2012New Orleans7-937069765.3%
1988Miami6-1033562865.2%
2004Oakland5-1132761265.2%
2013Miami8-834965265.1%
2010Washington6-1035165165.0%

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index