NFL Team RODS Rankings: Week 15

The RODS rankings are my self-developed statistical analysis of NFL team performance, looking at all three phases of the game. The ratings are based purely on what happens on the field, taking into consideration no outside factors (such as strength of schedule and home/road games). Additionally I have taken the standard fantasy point scoring from ESPN and aggregated each team’s total fantasy output so we are able to compare actual performance with their fantasy output. For a further breakdown of how the ratings are derived, you can find the full breakdown of the RODS rankings here.

RODS Rankings Week 15

The Jaguars it seems, go from strength to strength. A week after hitting top spot in the RODS rankings, they turned in a performance and a RODS rating, the likes of which has only been seen once this season and only 8 times since 2010 (nearly 2000 games) as they produced a perfect 100% rating as they battered the Texans 45-7. They were by the top rated offense of the week of +90% as Blake Bortles continues his late season renaissance. Bortles delivered a career game for the third consecutive week, dicing the Texans up for 326 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Its the first time in Bortles' career he's played three consecutive weeks without throwing an interception.

Below the Jags, the shuffle between second, third and fourth happened again with the Rams leapfrogging the Saints and Eagles for second. With the Vikings holding firm in fifth after beat down of the Bengals, the top five teams in 2017 are all sitting with a higher season-long rating than the top rated team from 12 months ago (Patriots +20%), showing both the higher quality play this year but also the strength within the NFC, who boast four of the top five teams.

Overall it was a strong set of performances from the teams sat in or around the playoff places, with twelve of the top thirteen team ratings from week 15 coming from teams with their sights firmly set on the post-season.

The game of the week between the Steelers and Patriots broke a record from the eight seasons I’ve analysed with the RODS ratings. Both the Steelers’ +35.7% rating and the Patriots’ -31.4% ratings are respectively the best rating by a losing team and the worst rating by a winning team I’ve ever seen. That the game ended in controversial (if correctly ruled) circumstances, shouldn’t detract from the Steelers’ dominance and yet failure to secure the vital victory. That now means, of the 192 games so far in 2017, 35 teams have now won while posting a negative grade (18%).

The bottom of the RODS table remains stable, with the bottom six teams staying where they were after all losing in week 15. The Texans fall six places to 26th after their -100% rating in losing to the Jaguars, with the 49ers the only team in the bottom 10 to secure a victory this week.

In fantasy terms, the Jaguars’ posted the 4th highest team fantasy total of 2017 with 128.44 fantasy points. The Eagles still lead the way in total fantasy output with a points per game of 93.65, slightly ahead of the Patriots’ 91.55.