With six weeks of the 2015 NFL season now in the books, now is when I really like to start paying attention to the league-wide ANY/A differential stats. Why? Because to me it’s the perfect way to come up with power rankings that are not easily affected by week-to-week wins and losses.
While the stat does have its flaws, it is very effective when you look back at previous NFL seasons because of the importance of the passing game.
Despite losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals remain the top team in the league when it comes to ANY/A differential. Heading into Sunday’s game, the Cardinals boasted an eye-popping 4.83 differential, so they were bound to start coming back to Earth soon.
The Steelers now have the eighth-best differential in the league and if you would have told me that was going to be the case right after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down injured, there’s no way I would have believed you. Obviously, you would like to see the Steelers defensive ANY/A go down some. However, the Cincinnati Bengals have proven that a plus 6.0 number is just fine as long as your offense can deliver.
This coming Sunday the Steelers will play a Kansas City Chiefs team that is struggling. Look at how many sacks their offense has allowed versus the amount of touchdown passes thrown. Passing yardage is the only thing that’s keeping their offensive ANY/A somewhat respectable.
So, how many of the teams below that currently have a positive differential will wind up making the playoffs? It certainly can’t be all of them. I’ll guess that the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers won’t on the AFC side and that the Philadelphia Eagles won’t on the NFL side. I also believe that all 8 of top teams below will make the playoffs. I’ll continue to keep you updated on this stat as the season progresses.
| TM | OFFENSE | DEFENSE | DIF | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TM | AT | YDS | TD | INT | SK | SKYDS | ANY/A | AT | YDS | TD | INT | SK | SKYDS | ANY/A | DIF |
| ARI | 197 | 1747 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 8.59 | 213 | 1387 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 42 | 4.64 | 3.95 |
| GB | 182 | 1491 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 70 | 8.45 | 227 | 1545 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 126 | 4.80 | 3.65 |
| CIN | 193 | 1761 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 32 | 9.64 | 229 | 1668 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 99 | 6.11 | 3.53 |
| NE | 197 | 1699 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 73 | 8.86 | 190 | 1335 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 127 | 5.35 | 3.51 |
| NYJ | 171 | 1177 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 5.98 | 185 | 993 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 60 | 3.59 | 2.39 |
| CAR | 157 | 1078 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 71 | 5.91 | 209 | 1265 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 58 | 4.27 | 1.64 |
| DEN | 237 | 1524 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 79 | 4.56 | 221 | 1321 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 168 | 3.43 | 1.13 |
| PIT | 167 | 1451 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 96 | 7.54 | 234 | 1792 | 10 | 5 | 17 | 93 | 6.67 | 0.87 |
| NYG | 235 | 1606 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 28 | 6.69 | 255 | 1851 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 60 | 6.13 | 0.56 |
| SD | 259 | 2179 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 101 | 7.66 | 176 | 1395 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 64 | 7.22 | 0.44 |
| BUF | 180 | 1364 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 107 | 6.29 | 257 | 1648 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 5.86 | 0.43 |
| ATL | 229 | 1751 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 87 | 6.77 | 246 | 1773 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 6.38 | 0.39 |
| PHI | 228 | 1561 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 62 | 5.40 | 253 | 1663 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 99 | 5.18 | 0.22 |
| TEN | 169 | 1302 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 138 | 5.92 | 125 | 1021 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 101 | 5.93 | -0.01 |
| SEA | 180 | 1433 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 146 | 6.27 | 192 | 1412 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 93 | 6.36 | -0.09 |
| STL | 143 | 976 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 60 | 5.34 | 174 | 1277 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 100 | 5.45 | -0.11 |
| CLE | 227 | 1770 | 11 | 4 | 22 | 136 | 6.72 | 214 | 1608 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 63 | 7.08 | -0.36 |
| OAK | 193 | 1313 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 69 | 6.26 | 206 | 1541 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 45 | 6.63 | -0.37 |
| HOU | 278 | 1843 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 56 | 6.03 | 215 | 1499 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 60 | 6.49 | -0.46 |
| DAL | 170 | 1290 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 80 | 6.24 | 177 | 1336 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 65 | 7.03 | -0.79 |
| MIN | 146 | 1023 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 125 | 4.83 | 183 | 1255 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 55 | 5.91 | -1.08 |
| KC | 210 | 1573 | 6 | 3 | 24 | 133 | 6.09 | 227 | 1745 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 85 | 7.33 | -1.24 |
| TB | 152 | 1174 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 82 | 5.63 | 147 | 1119 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 107 | 6.90 | -1.27 |
| MIA | 200 | 1346 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 110 | 5.19 | 163 | 1246 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 54 | 6.63 | -1.44 |
| NO | 247 | 1926 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 112 | 6.75 | 199 | 1703 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 74 | 8.34 | -1.59 |
| IND | 242 | 1560 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 57 | 5.57 | 225 | 1778 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 43 | 7.23 | -1.66 |
| JAC | 242 | 1630 | 13 | 7 | 17 | 82 | 5.76 | 219 | 1676 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 89 | 7.54 | -1.78 |
| WAS | 229 | 1420 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 36 | 4.85 | 194 | 1432 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 97 | 6.70 | -1.85 |
| SF | 178 | 1329 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 112 | 5.64 | 230 | 1919 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 82 | 7.67 | -2.03 |
| BAL | 248 | 1602 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 52 | 5.45 | 222 | 1830 | 11 | 3 | 18 | 113 | 7.51 | -2.06 |
| CHI | 214 | 1415 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 61 | 5.62 | 182 | 1391 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 71 | 7.69 | -2.07 |
| DET | 275 | 1801 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 5.36 | 186 | 1691 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 94 | 8.13 | -2.77 |
