I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but teams are passing more now. Way more. That’s how they’re gaining their yards, and that’s how they’re scoring their touchdowns.
I remember back in the ‘70s, when a 200-yard passing game was considered an achievement. Nowadays, the 200-yard passing day has become the 300. And if you put up 400 in a game, that’s what a 300-yard day was like way back in the day.
This year the NFL average is 260 passing yards per game. So when you see a rookie quarterback like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota putting up 240 yards, don’t compare those guys to quarterbacks who played 10 years ago. Back then, 240 yards was 20 yards better than the league average; now it’s 20 yards under.
YARDS PASSING VS. RUSHING | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Pass | Run | Diff |
1990 | 211 | 114 | 98 |
1991 | 215 | 108 | 107 |
1992 | 205 | 111 | 95 |
1993 | 215 | 110 | 105 |
1994 | 227 | 104 | 123 |
1995 | 236 | 108 | 127 |
1996 | 222 | 109 | 113 |
1997 | 219 | 113 | 106 |
1998 | 221 | 113 | 108 |
1999 | 228 | 106 | 122 |
2000 | 222 | 113 | 109 |
2001 | 221 | 112 | 109 |
2002 | 227 | 116 | 111 |
2003 | 214 | 118 | 96 |
2004 | 225 | 117 | 109 |
2005 | 218 | 112 | 106 |
2006 | 219 | 117 | 102 |
2007 | 228 | 111 | 117 |
2008 | 224 | 116 | 108 |
2009 | 232 | 117 | 116 |
2010 | 236 | 114 | 122 |
2011 | 245 | 117 | 128 |
2012 | 246 | 116 | 130 |
2013 | 252 | 113 | 139 |
2014 | 237 | 111 | 125 |
2015 | 260 | 109 | 152 |
It’s the same with touchdowns. Rushing production has declined just a bit, while passing numbers continue to climb. The entire league this year might average 27 TD passes this year. (That’s per 16-game season; the yards numbers I went with per-game.).
That’s a big step forward, considering it was just the last two years that we nudged back 25.
TOUCHDOWNS PASSING VS. RUSHING | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Pass | Run | Diff |
1990 | 20.5 | 13.5 | 7.1 |
1991 | 18.3 | 12.8 | 5.5 |
1992 | 18.4 | 11.9 | 6.5 |
1993 | 18.5 | 10.9 | 7.6 |
1994 | 20.8 | 12.1 | 8.7 |
1995 | 22.1 | 12.8 | 9.3 |
1996 | 20.9 | 12.1 | 8.7 |
1997 | 20.6 | 12.8 | 7.8 |
1998 | 21.9 | 12.6 | 9.3 |
1999 | 21.5 | 11.7 | 9.7 |
2000 | 20.5 | 13.3 | 7.2 |
2001 | 20.5 | 11.8 | 8.7 |
2002 | 21.7 | 14.4 | 7.3 |
2003 | 20.4 | 13.3 | 7.1 |
2004 | 22.9 | 13.0 | 9.9 |
2005 | 20.1 | 13.5 | 6.7 |
2006 | 20.3 | 13.3 | 7.0 |
2007 | 22.5 | 12.1 | 10.4 |
2008 | 20.2 | 14.9 | 5.3 |
2009 | 22.2 | 13.4 | 8.8 |
2010 | 23.5 | 12.5 | 11.0 |
2011 | 23.3 | 12.5 | 10.8 |
2012 | 23.7 | 12.5 | 11.1 |
2013 | 25.1 | 12.8 | 12.3 |
2014 | 25.2 | 11.9 | 13.3 |
2015 | 26.9 | 11.3 | 15.6 |
—Ian Allan