Strength in Numbers: Actionable Stats From Conference Championships

We’re going to get a lot of stuff wrong, but sifting through usage metrics can help us work through what matters and what doesn’t. That’s the goal of this article: to break down the most actionable takeaways from each week in a concise, numbers-filled format and work through what’s important. Note: This is the final Strength in Numbers of the 2025-26 season. Thank you to everyone who has read it this year! Now, let’s get right to it:

1. Mack Hollins was activated off injured reserve for the AFC Championship Game after missing time due to an abdominal injury. He got in a limited practice on Thursday and a full practice on Friday, but he was still understandably limited after so much time off. Hollins played 60.9% of snaps in total and ran 14 routes on 29 Drake Maye dropbacks, though he was productive in that time with two catches for a team-best 51 yards. Hollins was quietly earning targets at a pretty high level pre-injury — he had six straight games with at least a 12.9% target share (two of those without Kayshon Boutte), including three games at 20.5% or better — and it’ll be interesting to see what his role looks like in the Super Bowl. Boutte had ascended in Hollins’ absence, particularly in the Divisional Round with 3/75/1, but his output was quiet (1/6/0 on six targets) against Denver despite leading New England with 24 routes. With two weeks off, Hollins should be pretty healthy by the time Super Bowl Sunday rolls around, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him retake the WR2 role here, given Boutte’s lackluster production in the AFCCG. Behind Hollins, Demario Douglas (nine routes) and Kyle Williams (eight) took a back seat as expected, while Efton Chism III was a healthy scratch.