I’m trying to check in on the weekends with some of the more custom-type stats we track. These aren’t official numbers supplied by the Elias Sports Bureau, but instead some numbers we tabulate on our own, by logging plays around the goal line and in key situations.
Last week I looked at goal-line passing and receiving.
This time I’m looking at running in money situations.
For these, we’re looking only at rushing plays where a team needs either 1-2 yards for a touchdown or to keep a drive alive on third or fourth down. If they get said yardage, the play is called a success.
Thru the first four weeks, the best teams on these kind of plays have been the Falcons and Cowboys, who have each gone 8 out of 9. Dallas is no surprise. But Atlanta is, with three of its offensive line starters on injured reserve. It will be a surprise if the Falcons are still in the top 10 at the end of the season, I think.
Tied for last are two of the teams that have been among the best in short yardage in recent years, San Francisco and Carolina (both at just 40 percent).
| SHORT YARDAGE RUSHING | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Att | Good | Pct |
| 1. | Atlanta | 9 | 8 | 89% |
| 2. | Dallas | 9 | 8 | 89% |
| 3. | Denver | 7 | 6 | 86% |
| 4. | Pittsburgh | 7 | 6 | 86% |
| 5. | San Diego | 7 | 6 | 86% |
| 6. | NY Jets | 11 | 9 | 82% |
| 7. | Tennessee | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| 8. | Chicago | 9 | 7 | 78% |
| 9. | Cincinnati | 9 | 7 | 78% |
| 10. | Minnesota | 8 | 6 | 75% |
| 11. | Philadelphia | 8 | 6 | 75% |
| 12. | Tampa Bay | 8 | 6 | 75% |
| 13. | New Orleans | 11 | 8 | 73% |
| 14. | St. Louis | 7 | 5 | 71% |
| 15. | Kansas City | 10 | 7 | 70% |
| 16. | Washington | 10 | 7 | 70% |
| 17. | Buffalo | 6 | 4 | 67% |
| 18. | Seattle | 6 | 4 | 67% |
| 19. | Cleveland | 8 | 5 | 63% |
| 20. | New England | 17 | 10 | 59% |
| 21. | Detroit | 7 | 4 | 57% |
| 22. | Arizona | 6 | 3 | 50% |
| 23. | Green Bay | 6 | 3 | 50% |
| 24. | Houston | 14 | 7 | 50% |
| 25. | Indianapolis | 8 | 4 | 50% |
| 26. | Miami | 12 | 6 | 50% |
| 27. | Oakland | 6 | 3 | 50% |
| 28. | Baltimore | 19 | 9 | 47% |
| 29. | NY Giants | 17 | 8 | 47% |
| 30. | Carolina | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| 31. | Jacksonville | 10 | 4 | 40% |
| 32. | San Francisco | 5 | 2 | 40% |
Here are the individual numbers for all players with at least 3 attempts. Best have been Matt Asiata, who’s 5-for-5, and Montee Ball, who’s gone 4-for-4.
| SHORT-YARDAGE RUSHING (INDIVIDUALS) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | Player | Att | Good | Pct |
| 1. | MIN | M.Asiata | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| 2. | DEN | M.Ball | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| 3. | PIT | L.Bell | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| 4. | NO | A.Johnson | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| 5. | CLV | T.West | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| 6. | DAL | D.Murray | 9 | 8 | 89% |
| 7. | NYJ | C.Ivory | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| 8. | CIN | G.Bernard | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 9. | ATL | S.Jackson | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 10. | TB | B.Rainey | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 11. | CIN | A.Dalton | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 12. | NYJ | G.Smith | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 13. | PHI | L.McCoy | 4 | 3 | 75% |
| 14. | CHI | M.Forte | 7 | 5 | 71% |
| 15. | IND | A.Bradshaw | 3 | 2 | 67% |
| 16. | PHI | D.Sproles | 3 | 2 | 67% |
| 17. | HST | R.Fitzpatrick | 3 | 2 | 67% |
| 18. | MIA | L.Miller | 8 | 5 | 63% |
| 19. | BLT | J.Flacco | 8 | 5 | 63% |
| 20. | NE | S.Ridley | 8 | 5 | 63% |
| 21. | NO | K.Robinson | 5 | 3 | 60% |
| 22. | KC | K.Davis | 5 | 3 | 60% |
| 23. | BLT | L.Taliaferro | 5 | 3 | 60% |
| 24. | SEA | M.Lynch | 5 | 3 | 60% |
| 25. | NYG | R.Jennings | 11 | 6 | 55% |
| 26. | JAX | T.Gerhart | 6 | 3 | 50% |
| 27. | WAS | A.Morris | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| 28. | IND | T.Richardson | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| 29. | STL | Z.Stacy | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| 30. | HST | A.Blue | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| 31. | HST | A.Foster | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| 32. | NE | S.Vereen | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| 33. | SF | F.Gore | 3 | 1 | 33% |
| 34. | ARZ | J.Dwyer | 3 | 1 | 33% |
| 35. | BLT | J.Forsett | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| 36. | NYG | A.Williams | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| 37. | GB | E.Lacy | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| 38. | CAR | M.Tolbert | 3 | 0 | 0% |
—Ian Allan