With four weeks of drive data available, Athlon Sports’ exclusive Drive Dominance Rankings are starting to have some relevance. The Detroit Lions were road favorites against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 — despite the fact that Carolina’s overall Drive Dominance Ranking was 11th in the league and Detroit’s was nine spots lower at No. 20. So what happened? Carolina won the time of possession battle and came away with enough points on their offensive drives to capture a 32-26 victory.
With the win, the Panthers moved up one spot to 10th in the current Drive Dominance Rankings, while the Lions dropped to 25th.
As for the top of the rankings, we have a new No. 1 in the Chicago Bears — not much of a surprise after they had more first downs than the New York Jets had total plays in Sunday’s 23-12 victory. The Bears are the only team in the NFL that ranks in the top 10 for both offense and defense in DDR.
A few other takeaways from the current Drive Dominance Rankings:
- The Bears moved up from No. 5 to No. 1, and they’ve got the best balance. Chicago is ranked third in both offense and defense.
- The San Francisco 49ers, who were No. 1 last week, dropped to No. 2. They have yet to allow a sack, which is a major reason why they rank first in offensive DDR, but the defense is just middle of the pack at No. 14.
- The Los Angeles Rams climbed two spots, from No. 8 to No. 6 overall, on the heels of their defense. Even with Myles Garrett injured, the Rams rank fourth in defensive DDR.
- Are the 3-1 New York Giants for real? They’ve certainly benefitted from playing the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans the last two weeks, but credit the defense for moving up 11 spots, from 22nd to 11th in defensive DDR. Worth watching this unit to see if they stay hot.
- Interesting DDR matchup of the week: The New England Patriots are 4.5-point favorites at home Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Drive Dominance Rankings would question that line: The Raiders are fourth in overall DDR; the Patriots are 14th. We’ll see what happens there.
Here’s a comprehensive look at the Week 5 Drive Dominance Rankings:
Drive stats courtesy of Jim Armstrong.
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