In the final month before the 2022 pre-season begins I take a look at some of the top teams from 2021. Today we look at the Buffalo Bills and total yards margin.
The 2021 Buffalo Bills makes the top ten teams all time for a total yards margin. That is the yards gained minus the yards allowed for a single season. They are at number ten. The next closest 2021 team was the Buccaneers at 103rd. The top ten are shown in the following table. Four of these ten teams made it to the Super Bowl in that season.
| Margin | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Season | Tot | G | Rush | Pass | Tot | TO |
| 1 | Houston Oilers | 1961 | 2263 | 14 | 262 | 2001 | 2263 | 9 |
| 2 | St. Louis Rams | 2001 | 2219 | 16 | 653 | 1566 | 2219 | -10 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1979 | 1988 | 16 | 894 | 1094 | 1988 | -10 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | 2010 | 1984 | 16 | 310 | 1674 | 1984 | -6 |
| 5 | New England Patriots | 2007 | 1967 | 16 | 277 | 1690 | 1967 | 16 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams | 1973 | 1955 | 14 | 1655 | 300 | 1955 | 18 |
| 7 | Dallas Cowboys | 1978 | 1950 | 16 | 1062 | 888 | 1950 | 1 |
| 8 | San Francisco 49ers | 1987 | 1892 | 15 | 626 | 1266 | 1892 | 12 |
| 9 | Denver Broncos | 2004 | 1873 | 16 | 821 | 1052 | 1873 | -9 |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills | 2021 | 1856 | 17 | 343 | 1513 | 1856 | 8 |
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
The Bills were the number one team in 2021 in opponent passing yards allowed with only 2,771 yards allowed. The league average was 3,881 passing yards allowed. The Bills were the number one 2021 team in opponent quarterback pressure percentage with 30.8% of quarterback dropbacks having pressure. They were also number one in hurry percentage. All this even though they were only the thirteenth team in blitz percentage. The Bills had the least amount of allowed passing touchdowns with only 12 allowed. The league average was 26.They had the least amount of net yards per pass attempt and passing first downs.They allowed only 138 passing first downs. The next best team allowed 170.
Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer had the third lowest allowed passer rating (42.2) when targeted in 2021. Poyer and Buffalo safety Micah Hyde each had five interceptions in 2021. The 2021 Bills are tied in tenth for teams with the most passes intercepted on defense in a season over the last five seasons.In 2021 only the Cowboys and Patriots intercepted more passes. In 2021 Buffalo had three players in the top 15 of the lowest passer rating allowed when targeted. They were Jordan Poyer (42.2), corner Tre’Davious White (59.9) and linebacker. A.J.Klein (63.1). Klein is currently a free agent.
Bills’ defensive tackle Ed Oliver was tied for the seventh most quarterback knockdowns by a defensive tackle with nine. The Bills signed outside linebacker Von Miller in the offseason. As reported by Pro Football Focus (PFF), across those four postseason games, Miller recorded 22 quarterback pressures (one shy of Aaron Donald’s 23) to go along with a playoff-high 92.6 PFF pass-rushing grade.
On the offensive side of the 2021 top passing yards margin rank, the Bills ranked ninth in offensive passing yards. The only two quarterbacks with a higher PFF grade than Bills quarterback Josh Allen over the past two seasons are Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. In 2021 Josh Allen had the sixth best ESPN Quarterback Rating. Over the last two seasons Allen has the tenth best passer rating among quarterbacks that started at least 16 games. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs was eighth in receiving yards, sixth in receiving first downs and sixth in yards before the catch. PFF ranked Stefon Diggs as one of eight top elite receivers for 2022.They consider Diggs as one of the best route runners in the league.
