NFL Net Yards Per Play: Dolphins Quietly Remain At League’s Peak

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Written By Mo Nuwwarah | Last Updated
NFL net yards per play week 17

After it looked like the 49ers might pull away to finish as the NFL net yards per play kings, the Miami Dolphins are mounting a spirited defense of what had been their top spot for most of the season. After a good game and a long-awaited big win against the Cowboys, they remain tied with San Francisco atop the board. Today, we’ll also take a look at a recent net yards per play slump from the seemingly surging Lions.

While you’re handicapping NFL Week 17 odds, you may be searching for a new tool to apply to your step-by-step process. If so, yards per play (YPP) should be near the top of your checklist. NFL net yards per play — the difference between offensive and defensive performance on a per-play basis — gives a solid look at a team’s overall strength.

This report will be updated following each week of action and contains each team’s yards per play results on offense and defense, respectively. The “last three weeks” column captures the teams’ current form. If you see fit, one could be worth investing in for futures. You’ll want to look for undervalued teams whose per-play strength isn’t reflected in their final scores due to luck or other factors.

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NFL NET yards per play Explained

Yards per play — or YPP — is a handy metric for NFL bettors since it eliminates unpredictable variables, including turnovers, botched kicks, and scores via special teams. Ignoring randomness is a critical part of handicapping any sport. Therefore, yards per play on both sides of the ball helps indicate where a team is in the short term. Generally speaking, you will rarely find a below .500 team in the upper echelon of these rankings.

But like EPA, teams may be overvalued in the betting market if their YPP surges positively over a small sample size. You will see that various units — offensively, defensively, or both — benefit from playing weak competition over arbitrary samples. In turn, their output could be mis-contextualized.

Conversely, a team outperforming expectations against a presumably elite opponent is likely a sign of a positive trajectory.

NFL Yards Per Play: Offense, Defense And Net

Here are the current yards per play numbers before Week 17 action. Conventional wisdom says dividing the net yards per play difference by 0.15 gives an approximate spread between two teams.

Furthermore, keep in mind that the more or fewer plays a team runs/defends, these numbers could wind up skewed in either direction. This table can be sorted by clicking on the headers.

TeamYards Per PlayOpponent YPPNet YPPLast 3 Weeks NYPP
49ers6.851.82
Dolphins6.64.81.80.8
Ravens5.84.51.30.1
Chiefs5.54.80.70.8
Bills5.85.10.70.9
Cowboys5.550.5-1
Vikings5.550.50.6
Lions5.85.40.4-0.3
Rams5.65.30.30.4
Falcons5.14.90.21.5
Browns4.74.50.21.8
Texans5.45.30.1-1
Seahawks5.45.30.1-0.9
Eagles5.55.40.10.6
Saints5.15.100.5
Packers5.45.5-0.1-1.4
Colts5.15.2-0.1-1.1
Patriots4.74.8-0.10.4
Bears55.2-0.2-0.1
Titans4.95.2-0.3-0.3
Jets4.34.6-0.30
Raiders4.85.1-0.3-0.5
Jaguars5.25.5-0.3-0.4
Buccaneers5.15.6-0.5-0.2
Steelers4.95.4-0.5-0.9
Chargers5.15.7-0.6-1.2
Cardinals55.7-0.7-1.1
Bengals5.36.1-0.80.1
Panthers4.25-0.80.1
Commanders5.15.9-0.8-1.1
Broncos55.9-0.9-0.9
Giants4.35.7-1.4-0.6

Dolphins No Longer Powered By Early Outliers

Early on, it was easy to write off the Dolphins’ net yards per play dominance. They posted a few outlier games that were going to be tough to reproduce, such as scoring 70 points on the Broncos and putting up north of 500 yards of offense on the Giants and Chargers. When dealing with a small sample of games, such things will have an outsized effect, swaying the final numbers.

However, as the season approaches the finish line, the Dolphins remain at the top of the board in NFL net yards per play. The 49ers briefly surpassed them, but the Dolphins have reasserted themselves as the Niners’ equals in this critical stat.

While the offense powered things early, the key to the Dolphins remaining at the top has been the revival of the defense. It was never realistic to keep posting 10 YPP as they did against Denver, but defensive improvement offered lower-hanging fruit, and the Dolphins have plucked it.

Miami now ranks sixth in EPA/play allowed on defense, above average against both the rush and the pass. What’s more, only the Raiders have outperformed them over the second half of the season.

Yet, the Dolphins have not gotten a ton of respect in the betting market. Despite a position that has them two wins away from securing the AFC No. 1 seed, they sit a distant fourth in Super Bowl odds, not far behind the Eagles but well back of the Ravens and 49ers. This is despite the market saying the Dolphins are only about a point worse than Baltimore (see game line below).

Note that they will also miss budding star WR Jaylen Waddle, in all likelihood, and possibly for multiple games.

But if outstanding defensive coach Vic Fangio can continue crafting the defense to his desires, Miami looks like a strong contender in a wide-open AFC.

Dolphins Upcoming Schedule

Houston Texans 8 – 5 – 0 Week 15: Dec. 15, 2024
San Francisco 49ers 6 – 7 – 0 Week 16: Dec. 22, 2024
Cleveland Browns 3 – 10 – 0 Week 17: Dec. 29, 2024

Dolphins Week 17 Odds

Miami Dolphins Futures & Week 16 Props

Miami Dolphins Player Statistics

Player GP Games Played CMP% Completion Percentage YDS Passing Yards YDS/G Yards Per Game YDS/C Yards Per Completion TDS Passing Touchdowns INT Interceptions thrown RTG Passer Rating
Tua Tagovailoa – QB 973.8%2,456272.910.2174106.1
Tyler Huntley – QB 359.1%377125.79.71154.1
Skylar Thompson – QB 363.6%18762.38.90083.7
Player GP Games Played ATT Rushing Attempts YDS Rushing Yards YDS/C Yards Per Carry YDS/G Rushing Yards Per Game TDS Rushing Touchdowns
De’Von Achane – RB 131536003.946.24
Jaylen Wright – RB 12612504.120.80
Raheem Mostert – RB 9652363.626.22
Tyler Huntley – QB 316674.222.31
Tyreek Hill – WR 138536.64.10
Tua Tagovailoa – QB 915503.35.60
Jeff Wilson Jr. – RB 79444.96.30
Malik Washington – WR 104369.03.61
Jaylen Waddle – WR 13362.00.50
Skylar Thompson – QB 3144.01.30
Jonnu Smith – TE 132-1-0.5-0.10
Player GP Games Played TGTS Targets REC Receptions YDS Receiving Yards CTP% Catch Percentage YDS/R Yards Per Reception YAC/G Yards After Catch Per Game TDS Receiving Touchdowns
Tyreek Hill – WR 13966576967.7%11.819.85
Jaylen Waddle – WR 13725470075.0%13.019.52
Jonnu Smith – TE 13786169278.2%11.329.85
De’Von Achane – RB 13716347488.7%7.541.86
Raheem Mostert – RB 9161211775.0%9.810.40
Julian Hill – TE 12181210066.7%8.34.80
Odell Beckham Jr. – WR 91995547.4%6.11.60
Malik Washington – WR 1016105462.5%5.43.60
Durham Smythe – TE 131374053.8%5.71.00
Dee Eskridge – WR 52236100.0%18.00.20
Jeff Wilson Jr. – RB 73319100.0%6.32.70
Tanner Conner – TE 8431675.0%5.30.60
Grant DuBose – WR 2311333.3%13.00.00
Jack Stoll – TE 8321066.7%5.00.10
Jaylen Wright – RB 1263850.0%2.70.70
River Cracraft – WR 40000.0%0.00.00
Erik Ezukanma – WR 12000.0%0.00.00
Braxton Berrios – WR 64000.0%0.00.00
Player GP Games Played INT Interceptions PD Passes Defended FF Fumbles Forced FR Fumbles Recovered SACK QB Sacks TOT Total Tackles SOLO Solo Tackles AST Assisted Tackles
Zach Sieler – DT 1110116392019
Calais Campbell – DT 1300104392811
Emmanuel Ogbah – LB 1210004331815
Jordyn Brooks – LB 13000121126547
Tyrel Dodson – LB 1310102885038
Quinton Bell – LB 130010117116
Jalen Ramsey – CB 1320001493217
Da’Shawn Hand – DT 1300101291910
Jevón Holland – S 1100101453213
Jaelan Phillips – LB 400001624
Tyus Bowser – OLB 9000001165
Patrick McMorris – S 200000000
Mohamed Kamara – LB 400000101
Duke Riley – LB 1300000220
Elijah Campbell – DB 1300100330
Siran Neal – CB 700000431
Kendall Fuller – CB 900010412912
Kader Kohou – CB 111001031247
Channing Tindall – LB 800000000
Anthony Walker Jr. – LB 1210000532528
Cam Smith – CB 60000016133
Benito Jones – DT 130000017710
Jordan Poyer – S 1200000764036

Lions Struggling In Net Yards Per Play

Lost in the celebration of the Lions clinching their first division title since 1993, the team has really struggled in the net yards per play department over recent weeks.

The 2-1 stretch has seen the Lions outgained by a significant margin in two games. In a 28-13 loss to the Bears, the Lions went -0.9 YPP. Even the Week 16 win against the Vikings didn’t look good by this metric, with an eye-opening -2.5 YPP.

Most of that ugliness came on the defensive end. Minnesota rolled up a whopping 7.6 YPP on offense despite starting its fourth QB of the season, Nick Mullens. Mullens fired for 9.3 YPA as the Vikings passed for more than 400 gross yards. And it didn’t come in a bunch of garbage time, as the outcome of the game was in the balance pretty much the whole way.

The pass rush hasn’t been the issue. Detroit ranks in the top five in both pressure rate and Adjusted Sack Rate.

Instead, it’s been the coverage letting the team down. PFF has been unimpressed with the unit, ranking them 27th.

The impending return of S CJ Gardner-Johnson should help, though it sounds like the sometime slot cover man will remain out for at least one more week.

Pass defense looks like an issue throughout the NFC playoffs, but an especially acute one for the Lions. Given the strength of the passing offenses in the conference, they’ll have to clean this up in a hurry if they hope to keep the good times rolling.

Lions Upcoming Schedule

Buffalo Bills 10 – 3 – 0 Week 15: Dec. 15, 2024
Chicago Bears 4 – 9 – 0 Week 16: Dec. 22, 2024
San Francisco 49ers 6 – 7 – 0 Week 17: Dec. 30, 2024

Lions Week 17 Odds

Detroit Lions Futures & Week 17 Props

Detroit Lions Player Statistics

Player GP Games Played CMP% Completion Percentage YDS Passing Yards YDS/G Yards Per Game YDS/C Yards Per Completion TDS Passing Touchdowns INT Interceptions thrown RTG Passer Rating
Jared Goff – QB 1372.4%3,265251.211.82510115.6
Hendon Hooker – QB 366.7%6220.710.30086.3
Player GP Games Played ATT Rushing Attempts YDS Rushing Yards YDS/C Yards Per Carry YDS/G Rushing Yards Per Game TDS Rushing Touchdowns
Jahmyr Gibbs – RB 131781,0165.778.210
David Montgomery – RB 131807714.359.312
Jameson Williams – WR 118567.05.10
Craig Reynolds – RB 1312514.33.90
Jared Goff – QB 1329471.63.60
Sione Vaki – RB 126142.31.20
Amon-Ra St. Brown – WR 13263.00.50
Hendon Hooker – QB 3520.40.70
Kalif Raymond – WR 11200.00.00
Player GP Games Played TGTS Targets REC Receptions YDS Receiving Yards CTP% Catch Percentage YDS/R Yards Per Reception YAC/G Yards After Catch Per Game TDS Receiving Touchdowns
Amon-Ra St. Brown – WR 13998186381.8%10.721.09
Jameson Williams – WR 11633971061.9%18.231.44
Sam LaPorta – TE 12513644570.6%12.419.05
Tim Patrick – WR 12322734984.4%12.96.82
Jahmyr Gibbs – RB 13423431281.0%9.228.82
David Montgomery – RB 13343231094.1%9.724.90
Kalif Raymond – WR 11211620476.2%12.811.92
Brock Wright – TE 13161310081.3%7.75.82
Shane Zylstra – TE 81122100.0%22.01.60
Sione Vaki – RB 121117100.0%17.00.20
Allen Robinson II – WR 952940.0%4.50.20
Maurice Alexander – WR 20000.0%0.00.00
James Mitchell – TE 10000.0%0.00.00
Tom Kennedy – WR 21000.0%0.00.00
Player GP Games Played INT Interceptions PD Passes Defended FF Fumbles Forced FR Fumbles Recovered SACK QB Sacks TOT Total Tackles SOLO Solo Tackles AST Assisted Tackles
Za’Darius Smith – DE 1300008301911
Aidan Hutchinson – DL 50010819127
Alim McNeill – DL 130010424177
DJ Reader – DT 110000318108
Malcolm Rodriguez – LB 1000012392514
Josh Paschal – DL 100010219145
Levi Onwuzurike – DL 120010219910
Jack Campbell – LB 1300102934845
Alex Anzalone – LB 900001574116
Pat O’Connor – DL 800001725
Al-Quadin Muhammad – DE 500001541
Zeke Turner – ILB 600001321
Marcus Davenport – DL 200001211
Ben Niemann – LB 13000001046
Isaiah Thomas – DE 200010303
Brandon Joseph – S 130000013112
Khalil Dorsey – CB 600000954
Kindle Vildor – CB 11000001091
Amik Robertson – CB 130020034286
David Long Jr. – LB 1100010402713
Kyle Peko – DT 500000211
Jonah Williams – DE 800000312
Kerby Joseph – S 1370000594118
Derrick Barnes – LB 3000001082
Jalen Reeves-Maybin – LB 8001001073
Brian Branch – DB 1240100705416
Terrion Arnold – CB 120001042339
Brodric Martin – DL 200000101
Carlton Davis – CB 1220120534211
Mekhi Wingo – DT 1100000918
Ennis Rakestraw Jr. – CB 600000642
Jamal Adams – SS 400000532
Kwon Alexander – LB 4001101037

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