With spring turning to summer and best ball drafts increasingly populated not only by untouched virgins, but moderately well-adjusted fantasy nerds, it’s time to preview the pace. Like every summer, we’ll spin through teams projected to speed up, offenses set to slow down, and a handful of uncertain outlooks.
The 2025 season is blessed by the return of a true pace innovator, an encore of the Kliff-Jayden rocket ship, and hope for a long-awaited Lawrence liftoff in Jacksonville. There is no shortage of ancillary pace-based headlines, including an unholy alliance in Pittsburgh that could produce the first sub-30-snap game of the 21st century… so let’s dive in.
Up In Pace | Slow-Paced Sloggers | Pace-Based Questions
Up In Pace
Atlanta Falcons
Last year’s Falcons were often a rudderless mess, occasionally interrupted by flashes of brilliance when Kirk Cousins temporarily decalcified. Still, they leapt from 26th to 13th in scoring and finished seventh in plays per game. The offense was voluminous because, unlike Cousins, it moved quickly. Atlanta finished fourth in neutral pace despite briefly slowing while rookie passer Michael Penix Jr. found his bearings.
In Penix’s final start of the year — easily his best performance — the Falcons sped back up to their full-season pace. Atlanta also went no-huddle at a 13% clip during the final two games — just below its 15% seasonal rate (seventh highest). They were run-heavy, ranking just 29th in Pass Rate Above Expected (PROE) — which essentially can only go up in Year 2 for Penix.
Falcons games were top 10 in both combined snaps and total points. With their defense again looking porous, we’re in for another season of fantasy-friendly environments. They were also top 10 in both rushing and passing yards — and, once Penix took over, ranked sixth in per-game scoring (32.0). Despite having players picked in the first and second rounds, many fantasy drafters are yet to realize the potential point powder keg hiding in Atlanta.
Cincinnati Bengals
One would think the Bengals want to move faster on offense and capitalize on their relative advantages. Then again, you’d think they wouldn’t want to piss off their best players every offseason. In Cincinnati, they burn bridges and play clocks with equal ferocity. The good news is, since the defense has itself been a smoking crater the last two seasons, Cincinnati’s slow pace has not wrecked game environments.
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