The Colts were going to fix their offensive line. Andrew Luck was going to get rid of the ball faster. That was the plan. But it didn’t happen. He got clobbered like he always does – even more than usual, in fact.
The league has the stat where they track not only sacks but also quarterback hits. And the Colts allowed their quarterback to be hit on 20 percent of their pass plays last year. That’s the 4th-highest total of the last five years.
The Browns finished last in these metric last year – way worse than anyone else in the last five years.
For the 2012-16 seasons, there are 160 teams, and five other clubs from the 2016 season show up in the bottom 20. That includes Atlanta, most surprisingly, and pass protection ended up being a problem in the Super Bowl.
QUARTERBACKS GETTING HIT (2012-16) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Sacks | Hits | Plays | Pct |
2016 | Cleveland | 66 | 140 | 633 | 22.1% |
2015 | Seattle | 46 | 114 | 535 | 21.3% |
2014 | Tampa Bay | 52 | 124 | 583 | 21.3% |
2016 | Indianapolis | 44 | 128 | 628 | 20.4% |
2013 | Seattle | 44 | 94 | 464 | 20.3% |
2015 | Tampa Bay | 27 | 109 | 562 | 19.4% |
2015 | St. Louis | 18 | 95 | 491 | 19.3% |
2015 | Minnesota | 45 | 96 | 499 | 19.2% |
2013 | Buffalo | 48 | 108 | 570 | 18.9% |
2014 | Jacksonville | 71 | 118 | 628 | 18.8% |
2014 | Washington | 58 | 113 | 605 | 18.7% |
2013 | NY Jets | 47 | 98 | 527 | 18.6% |
2015 | Cleveland | 53 | 123 | 662 | 18.6% |
2016 | Arizona | 41 | 127 | 687 | 18.5% |
2016 | Atlanta | 37 | 106 | 574 | 18.5% |
2014 | Seattle | 42 | 91 | 496 | 18.3% |
2016 | Miami | 30 | 93 | 507 | 18.3% |
2016 | Seattle | 42 | 111 | 609 | 18.2% |
2015 | Indianapolis | 37 | 118 | 656 | 18.0% |
2016 | Tampa Bay | 35 | 109 | 613 | 17.8% |
2013 | Indianapolis | 32 | 109 | 614 | 17.8% |
2012 | Philadelphia | 48 | 118 | 666 | 17.7% |
2014 | NY Jets | 47 | 96 | 545 | 17.6% |
2015 | Arizona | 27 | 103 | 589 | 17.5% |
2015 | Tennessee | 54 | 105 | 605 | 17.4% |
At the other end of the scale, the Raiders last year did a really good job keeping Derek Carr out of harm’s way. They allowed the fewst quarterback hits of any team in the last five years. So they were particularly unlucky that Carr ended up getting hurt in Week 16.
QUARTERBACKS GETTING HIT (2012-16) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Sacks | Hits | Plays | Pct |
2016 | Oakland | 18 | 41 | 614 | 6.7% |
2014 | Denver | 17 | 42 | 624 | 6.7% |
2012 | Denver | 21 | 46 | 609 | 7.6% |
2013 | Cincinnati | 29 | 47 | 616 | 7.6% |
2013 | Denver | 20 | 54 | 695 | 7.8% |
2012 | New Orleans | 26 | 59 | 697 | 8.5% |
2014 | Oakland | 28 | 56 | 657 | 8.5% |
2013 | Dallas | 35 | 54 | 621 | 8.7% |
2016 | Pittsburgh | 21 | 56 | 617 | 9.1% |
2014 | Cincinnati | 23 | 48 | 526 | 9.1% |
2012 | NY Giants | 20 | 53 | 559 | 9.5% |
2016 | Tennessee | 28 | 51 | 532 | 9.6% |
2012 | Oakland | 27 | 63 | 656 | 9.6% |
2014 | Pittsburgh | 33 | 62 | 645 | 9.6% |
2015 | Pittsburgh | 33 | 60 | 623 | 9.6% |
2014 | Baltimore | 19 | 56 | 573 | 9.8% |
2014 | Philadelphia | 32 | 64 | 653 | 9.8% |
2016 | New Orleans | 27 | 70 | 701 | 10.0% |
2012 | New England | 27 | 67 | 668 | 10.0% |
2015 | Oakland | 33 | 64 | 638 | 10.0% |
2016 | NY Giants | 22 | 64 | 620 | 10.3% |
2013 | Detroit | 23 | 68 | 657 | 10.4% |
2012 | Detroit | 29 | 80 | 769 | 10.4% |
2013 | San Diego | 30 | 60 | 574 | 10.5% |
2014 | Dallas | 30 | 53 | 506 | 10.5% |
—Ian Allan