This is the Pace of Play Report for Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season. We return once more to delve into the world of the pace of play! This is our weekly look at the speed by which teams snap off their offensive plays. Here we cast an approving glance at the teams who look to get two or more plays a minute run. All the while glaring at teams for whom this small demand is too much to achieve.
The Leaderboard
The Pace of Play Leader Board Through Week 16
Is Everyone Who We Thought They Were?
The last week of NFL action didn’t see any major changes in the speed rankings. At least none that can’t be explained away by the Week 16 game situations. The Denver Broncos are up to a season-high No. 8 place, which is a long way from the No. 28 spot they occupied after Week 1. But they were getting absolutely obliterated by the Los Angeles Rams junior varsity roster, so a fair amount of haste was probably to be expected. Even with this turbo boost, the Broncos still only had 61 plays against the Rams. They’ve averaged 64 over the course of the 2022 campaign.
The Philadelphia Eagles also rose by three spots, and they sit at No. 24 after Week 16. They were down at No. 27 after Week 15, but taking on the Dallas Cowboys forced the Eagles to go faster than they had in previous weeks. The Eagles were ranked between No. 3 and No. 15 for much of the season, so their Week 16 “explosion” was itself nothing too major.
The Kansas City Chiefs dropped out of the top ten for the first time since Week 6. The less than clement weather, allied to a poor outing from the Seattle Seahawks offense, likely allowed them to drag their feet a little more than usual. They only ran 51 offensive plays against the Seahawks. This is way down from their season average of 67.
The Week Ahead
The most eye-popping game on the Week 17 slate, from a pace perspective, is the Geno Smith Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets. The Seahawks have sat at No. 10 for the last two weeks, while the lowest the Jets have been all season is No. 8. The return of Mike White is good news for established players like Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore. It also should make Tyler Conklin a viable streaming option.
The clash between the Chiefs and the Broncos would warrant our attention on most occasions for a number of reasons. The pace at which both teams operate on offense would certainly be one of them. But the Broncos’ offense is, for want of a better word, broken. There is just as much chance of the Chiefs enjoying a similar game script this week as they did against Russell Wilson‘s former employers than there is of this one turning into a barnstormer.
Onward and upward.
