Previously:

• Week 1 Passing Stats
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10

I didn’t post the week 11 stats, so this week I’ll be posting the week 11 and week 12 weeks together (although, technically, we may still have a Wednesday game left in week 12). Deshaun Watson pulled off quite a feat, being the top quarterback both weeks. He dominated the Patriots in week 11, and then obliterated the Lions on Thanksgiving. In the span of four days, Watson threw for 651 net passing yards and 6 touchdowns on 64 dropbacks, while also rushing 10 times for 64 yards and a touchdown (excluding kneels). He’s played at an MVP caliber level for most of this season, but has been held back by an awful team. This week, he gets the proper recognition he deserves.

Below are the week 11 passing stats.

Ryan Finley and Jake Luton also had some really notable performances in the other direction. Finley was awful in relief of an injured Joe Burrow, finishing with more yards lost on sacks than gained through the air, a truly rare feat. He averaged -3.29 ANY/A, which is equally as rare. Luton, the Jaguars quarterback in case you forgot, was more garden variety bad. He had four interceptions and few positive plays. He finished with a 15.5 passer rating on 37 pass attempts, marks that make him an honorary member of the Bears. Such a performance had not happened since 2006.

Below are the passing differential stats from week 11 by game. The big outlier was the Vikings/Cowboys game, where Minnesota somehow lost despite a massive edge in the passing game. Andy Dalton played well, but the huge passing differential came because of how outstanding the passing numbers were from Kirk Cousins. The Vikings quarterback did have a costly strip sack, but that is included in these passing numbers. The Cowboys made some big plays in the running game, including a 42-yard touchdown run and a 6-yard run on 4th-and-1, and three other third down conversions on the ground.

Both teams had 10 drives, and both teams had one drive end on downs and one drive end on a quarterback turnover; in addition, both teams had four drives end in touchdowns (although the Cowboys had shorter fields, owing to a nice punt return and the strip sack) and three drives end in punts. The difference: the Vikings also had a fumble by Dalvin Cook in the final minute of the first half, which the Cowboys turned into a field goal. The full week 11 passing differential stats, below.

Now, on to week 12. While the world still waits for the Steelers and Ravens to finally play — originally scheduled for Thanksgiving, then the Tuesday after the weekend games, and now for Wednesday afternoon — here are the rest of the week 12 passing stats.

Watson and Patrick Mahomes were outstanding, but what’s new about that? Watson had a 150 passer rating on 25+ attempts, the second time he’s done that in his career. Mahomes, en route to setting the all-time career passer rating mark, had a passer rating of over 120 on over 45 attempts. That has only happened 28 times in NFL history, and it’s the second time Mahomes did it in November.

And here are the week 12 passing differential stats. The Patriots/Cardinals game is a fascinating one: it’s the rare game where you can justifiably say New England won the game because of their special teams advantage!

• The game was tied 17-17 with less than two minutes remaining. Arizona moved into position (after some very conservative playcalling) for a 45-yard field goal, but it went wide right. The Patriots drove down the field and hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired.
• The Patriots had a 53-yard kickoff return and a 58-yard punt return! Those two plays led to 10 points.
• New England had a punt from their own 47 that was downed at the 3-yard line (net of 50 yards) and a 59 yard punt that was returned for 7 yards (net 52).

It is very rare to see in 2020, but this was truly a game where the special teams made all the difference.

What stands out to you?