Welcome to the Week 6 edition of Snaps & Pace, where we examine trends in play volume and game pace. It is meant to be a 30,000-foot view of upcoming contests, while identifying main-slate matchups that will — and will not — be played on fertile fantasy soil. For a primer on why this is important, click here.
After the first four weeks featured contests that fluctuated between 60.3 and 61.4 offensive plays, Week 5 saw the weekly average leap to 64.8 snaps. We haven’t had a full-season average of at least that many plays since 2013. We also saw a season high for no-huddle rate and, especially, scoring.
Coming into Week 5, the average game produced 43.1 points. That leapt to 48.9 during what mercifully felt like a throwback slate. Despite several typically high-octane offenses on bye, we have six Week 6 totals topping the 47-point mark — with two reaching 52.5 points. We might be back, baby — so let’s dive in.
“Situation neutral” is meant to provide context and refers to plays while the game is within seven points during the first three quarters (minus the final two minutes of the first half). Neutral Pace (average play-clock seconds used), Neutral Pace Over Expected (POE), and Pass Rate Over Expected (PROE) are based on neutral game script and are provided by our data science team.
Up In Pace | Slow-Paced Slogs | Pace Notes
Up In Pace
Washington Commanders at Baltimore Ravens
Considering their pace and heavy no-huddle utilization, the Commanders have not been producing voluminous games. Their contests rank 26th in average combined snaps (120.6) — a mark that would have finished dead last during the 2023 season. A league-low neutral pass rate (45%) and a league-high 7.1 plays per drive have conspired to melt game clocks. Yet, as Jayden Daniels has continued his ascension, the offense is incrementally picking up speed. The past two games have seen, by far, Washington’s quickest Neutral Pace relative to expectation — with Week 5 registering the league’s highest Neutral No-Huddle rate of this season or last. We also just saw the Commanders’ top neutral pass rate of the year (53%; 20th), when they had been throwing at a 43% clip prior to that. Like long frustrated Washington football fans when fantasizing about Daniels’ ceiling, it’s coming.
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