Cam Newton played poorly last week in Pittsburgh (particularly on the Pick Six throw) but I think he’ll bounce back. He’s in a better offensive system this year, and he’s having a great year.
With the numbers in front of me, in fact, I see that he so far has been arguably the league’s best passer inside the 10. In that part of the field, he’s completed 11 of 15 passes, with 6 TDs and 2 successful 2-point plays. He’s the only quarterback who’s successfully put the ball in the end zone on half of his plays in that area.
I realize 2-point conversions aren’t actually considered official plays, but this is a home-cooked stat chart, so I can use my own rules.
Other quarterbacks who’s done a good job of successfully getting the ball in the end zone: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers. All have produced touchdowns on at least 45 percent of their pass plays (including sacks and incompletions).
Only three quarterbacks have completed over 70 percent of their passes inside the 10: Newton, Drew Brees and Carson Wentz.
When it comes to struggling inside the 10, Case Keenum is the headliner. He’s completed 8 of 22 in that part of the field, with only 4 TDs. Marcus Mariota and Blake Bortles have posted similar numbers.
Derek Carr also has struggled, but with a different playing style. He’s completed 18 of 28 passes, which seems good, but too many of those completions resulted in the player being stopped short of the goal line – just 5 TDs and a 2-point conversion.
Here are the numbers for all quarterbacks with at least 10 plays inside the 10. I’m not listing interceptions and sacks (I didn’t want the chart to get too cluttered) but I notice that the three quarterbacks who’ve taken 3 sacks in that part of the field are all notable guys – Mahomes, Ryan, Brady.
| END ZONE PERCENTAGE INSIDE THE 10 (individuals) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Plays | Att | Com | Pct | TD | 2pt | Pct |
| C.Newton, CAR | 16 | 15 | 11 | 73% | 6 | 2 | 50% |
| R.Fitzpatrick, TB | 19 | 18 | 9 | 50% | 8 | 1 | 47% |
| A.Luck, IND | 32 | 31 | 21 | 68% | 13 | 2 | 47% |
| Roethlisberger, PIT | 22 | 22 | 15 | 68% | 8 | 2 | 45% |
| A.Rodgers, GB | 20 | 20 | 10 | 50% | 8 | 1 | 45% |
| D.Brees, NO | 31 | 31 | 23 | 74% | 12 | 1 | 42% |
| C.Wentz, PHI | 15 | 14 | 10 | 71% | 6 | 0 | 40% |
| R.Wilson, SEA | 20 | 19 | 11 | 58% | 8 | 0 | 40% |
| A.Dalton, CIN | 20 | 19 | 11 | 58% | 8 | 0 | 40% |
| B.Osweiler, MIA | 10 | 10 | 5 | 50% | 3 | 1 | 40% |
| J.Goff, LAR | 33 | 33 | 19 | 58% | 10 | 3 | 39% |
| K.Cousins, MIN | 21 | 21 | 10 | 48% | 6 | 2 | 38% |
| A.Smith, WAS | 16 | 14 | 7 | 50% | 6 | 0 | 38% |
| M.Trubisky, CHI | 27 | 27 | 16 | 59% | 9 | 1 | 37% |
| M.Ryan, ATL | 30 | 27 | 15 | 56% | 9 | 2 | 37% |
| E.Manning, NYG | 23 | 21 | 11 | 52% | 6 | 2 | 35% |
| P.Mahomes, KC | 29 | 26 | 13 | 50% | 10 | 0 | 34% |
| D.Prescott, DAL | 18 | 17 | 9 | 53% | 6 | 0 | 33% |
| P.Rivers, LAC | 26 | 25 | 13 | 52% | 6 | 2 | 31% |
| J.Rosen, ARI | 13 | 13 | 5 | 38% | 3 | 1 | 31% |
| D.Watson, HOU | 33 | 31 | 15 | 48% | 10 | 0 | 30% |
| T.Brady, NE | 31 | 28 | 11 | 39% | 9 | 0 | 29% |
| C.Beathard, SF | 14 | 14 | 6 | 43% | 4 | 0 | 29% |
| J.Flacco, BAL | 25 | 25 | 11 | 44% | 6 | 0 | 24% |
| M.Stafford, DET | 26 | 24 | 8 | 33% | 6 | 0 | 23% |
| B.Mayfield, CLE | 22 | 20 | 7 | 35% | 4 | 1 | 23% |
| D.Carr, OAK | 28 | 28 | 18 | 64% | 5 | 1 | 21% |
| B.Bortles, JAC | 19 | 19 | 6 | 32% | 4 | 0 | 21% |
| M.Mariota, TEN | 20 | 20 | 7 | 35% | 4 | 0 | 20% |
| C.Keenum, DEN | 22 | 22 | 8 | 36% | 4 | 0 | 18% |
Here are the same numbers, but showing teams rather than individuals.
| END ZONE PERCENTAGE INSIDE THE 10 (team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Plays | Com | Att | Pct | TD | 2pt | Pct |
| Carolina | 16 | 11 | 15 | 73% | 6 | 2 | 50% |
| Indianapolis | 32 | 21 | 31 | 68% | 13 | 2 | 47% |
| Pittsburgh | 22 | 15 | 22 | 68% | 8 | 2 | 45% |
| Tampa Bay | 27 | 12 | 26 | 46% | 11 | 1 | 44% |
| Green Bay | 22 | 11 | 21 | 52% | 8 | 1 | 41% |
| Cincinnati | 20 | 11 | 19 | 58% | 8 | 0 | 40% |
| Seattle | 20 | 11 | 19 | 58% | 8 | 0 | 40% |
| LA Rams | 33 | 19 | 33 | 58% | 10 | 3 | 39% |
| Philadelphia | 18 | 12 | 17 | 71% | 7 | 0 | 39% |
| New Orleans | 34 | 24 | 34 | 71% | 12 | 1 | 38% |
| Minnesota | 21 | 10 | 21 | 48% | 6 | 2 | 38% |
| Washington | 16 | 7 | 14 | 50% | 6 | 0 | 38% |
| Chicago | 27 | 16 | 27 | 59% | 9 | 1 | 37% |
| Atlanta | 30 | 15 | 27 | 56% | 9 | 2 | 37% |
| Miami | 11 | 5 | 11 | 45% | 3 | 1 | 36% |
| NY Giants | 23 | 11 | 21 | 52% | 6 | 2 | 35% |
| San Francisco | 23 | 11 | 21 | 52% | 7 | 1 | 35% |
| Kansas City | 29 | 13 | 26 | 50% | 10 | 0 | 34% |
| Dallas | 18 | 9 | 17 | 53% | 6 | 0 | 33% |
| LA Chargers | 26 | 13 | 25 | 52% | 6 | 2 | 31% |
| Houston | 33 | 15 | 31 | 48% | 10 | 0 | 30% |
| New England | 31 | 11 | 28 | 39% | 9 | 0 | 29% |
| NY Jets | 7 | 3 | 6 | 50% | 2 | 0 | 29% |
| Cleveland | 24 | 8 | 21 | 38% | 4 | 2 | 25% |
| Baltimore | 25 | 11 | 25 | 44% | 6 | 0 | 24% |
| Buffalo | 13 | 5 | 11 | 45% | 3 | 0 | 23% |
| Detroit | 26 | 8 | 24 | 33% | 6 | 0 | 23% |
| Jacksonville | 22 | 8 | 22 | 36% | 5 | 0 | 23% |
| Oakland | 28 | 18 | 28 | 64% | 5 | 1 | 21% |
| Arizona | 20 | 8 | 20 | 40% | 3 | 1 | 20% |
| Tennessee | 20 | 7 | 20 | 35% | 4 | 0 | 20% |
| Denver | 22 | 8 | 22 | 36% | 4 | 0 | 18% |
—Ian Allan