NFL Analysis and Explainers
Seeding, tiebreakers and the rules nobody explains properly — how the NFL settles its divisions, its wild cards and its playoff bracket.
An NFL Game Lasts 3 Hours and 4 Minutes: We Timed Every Play Since 2001
An NFL game lasts 3:04 in real time for 60 minutes of game clock, by our timing of every play since 2001. Every season, plus halftime, playoffs and Super Bowl.
Cam Little's 68 Yards Is the NFL Record, and a 61-Yard Try Is Now a Coin Flip
The longest field goal in NFL history is Cam Little's 68 yards. From every try since 1999: the coin-flip distance moved from 53 yards in 1999-2003 to 61 now.
Every NFL MVP Since 1957, From Jim Brown to Matthew Stafford
Peyton Manning has the most NFL MVP awards, five. Every AP winner from 1957 to Matthew Stafford in 2025, by position and team, and the MVP's Super Bowl record.
Every Super Bowl Winner Since 1967, and the Teams With the Most Titles
The Patriots and Steelers have won the most Super Bowls, six each. All 60 winners from Super Bowl I to LX, titles by team, droughts and the teams never there.
Win the Turnover Battle and You Win 79 Percent of NFL Games. Just Don't Count on It Next Year
NFL teams that win the turnover battle win 79 percent of the time since 1999. What a season differential means for the playoffs, the next year and 2026.
NFL Teams That Win Time of Possession Win 67 Percent of Games. The Scoreboard Explains Most of It
The NFL team with more time of possession won 67 percent of games from 1999 to 2025, but first-half possession won only 58 percent. What the numbers show.
NFL Passing by Season: Quarterbacks Got Far More Efficient, Not Busier
The league-wide NFL passer rating was 91.4 in 2025, up from 77.2 in 1999, and peaked at 93.6 in 2020. Pass rate, completions, sacks and 300-yard games by year.
About Six New Teams Make the NFL Playoffs Every Year, and Never Fewer Than Four
Since 2000, an average of six NFL playoff teams a season missed the playoffs the year before, never fewer than four. Who returns, droughts and 2026 to Week 5.
NFL Penalties Per Game: 12.7 in 2025, and 15.1 Through Week 5 of 2026
NFL games averaged 12.7 accepted penalties in 2025 and 15.1 through Week 5 of 2026. Every season since 1999, the most common flags and the most penalized teams.
Thursday Night Football Is Not the Problem: What Rest Really Does to NFL Results
Since 2012, short-week Thursday NFL games averaged 45.7 points, like Sundays, and home teams won 56.8 percent. A bye is what helps: 53.4 percent off one.
Dome Teams Hold Up in the Cold. Wind, Not Temperature, Is What Slows NFL Offenses
Dome teams have won 40 percent of NFL road games at 32 degrees or colder since 1999, close to what their records predicted. Wind hurts scoring more than cold.
NFL Two-Point Conversions Work Less Than Half the Time. Why Teams Try More of Them
NFL teams have converted 47.4 percent of two-point tries since 1999, and the rate barely moves from era to era. What changed is when they go for two, and why.
How Often NFL Teams Go for It on Fourth Down, and How Often It Works
NFL teams went for it on 23.3 percent of fourth downs in 2025, nearly double the 11.9 percent of 1999. Conversion rates by distance, field position and team.
The Last Unbeaten NFL Team Usually Falls by Week 10, and Almost Never Wins the Super Bowl
The last unbeaten NFL team has lost by Week 10 in 13 of 24 seasons since 2002 and won the Super Bowl once. What 4-0 and 5-0 starts lead to, and 2026 to Week 8.
NFL Scoring Peaked at 24.8 Points a Game in 2020. In 2026 It Was 22.9 Through Oct. 1
NFL teams averaged 24.8 points per game in 2020, the record, and 23.0 in 2025; 2026 was 22.9 to Oct. 1. Every season since 1999 and what moved scoring.
How Often the NFL Team Leading at Halftime Wins
Since 1999, NFL teams leading at halftime have won 77 percent of regular-season games: 58 percent with a 1-3 point lead and 95 percent with leads of 15 or more.
NFL No. 1 Seeds Reach the Super Bowl Half the Time and Win It About One Time in Five
Of 72 NFL No. 1 seeds since 1990, 37 reached the Super Bowl and 16 won it, 22 percent. Playoff records, titles and win rates for every seed, and since 2020.
NFL Home-Field Advantage Has Shrunk Since 2019, and Empty Stadiums Are Not the Whole Story
NFL home teams won 57.5 percent of games from 1999 to 2018 and 53.2 percent since. Every season's home record, the 2020 dip, playoffs and all 32 teams.
Half of NFL Games Are Decided by One Score, and 3 Points Is the Most Common Margin
From 1999 to 2025, 50.6 percent of NFL regular-season games were decided by one score. Three points is the most common margin, and 23-20 the top final score.
What Happens to Super Bowl Losers the Next Season
Of 26 Super Bowl losers since 1999, 14 made the playoffs the next season and one returned to the Super Bowl. Every team, a hangover test and the 2026 Patriots.
How Often NFL Teams Go From Last Place to a Division Title
Since 2002, 27 of the 184 NFL teams that finished last in their division won it the next season, about one in seven. Every case, and how often champions repeat.
How NFL Overtime Works, and How Often It Ends in a Tie
Both teams now get the ball in NFL overtime. From 2002 to 2025, 6.0 percent of regular-season games went to overtime and 15 of 6,223 ended tied: 1 in 415.
Can an 0-3 Team Still Make the NFL Playoffs? History, and Houston
Since 2002, 2 of 112 NFL teams that started 0-3 made the playoffs, both of them Houston. Playoff rates for every start and the five 2026 teams that began 0-3.
The NFL's Tiebreakers, and the Four Races They Settled
Head-to-head, division record, common games, strength of victory: the order that separates tied teams, and the four times in five years it took the last seat.
Everything NFL on Vertize Sports
The NFL schedule week by week and a season simulator that rebuilds the AFC and NFC standings from your scores: how to read both pages and how the model works.