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Stats & Information gets you ready for the NFL Draft at the end of the month with a look at the biggest need for each team. Today, we take a look at the AFC East.

Buffalo Bills
Needs: Offensive line, wide receiver

The Bills had five different offensive line combinations play at least 100 snaps last season, tied for most among any NFL team. Their most-used group played 184 plays together, the fewest of any team’s most-used unit. They also lost tackle Demetress Bell via free agency to the Philadelphia Eagles

The Bills could also look for a wide receiver. They used sets with at least three wide receivers 81 percent of the time, the highest rate in the NFL, but their 6.5 yards per pass attempt in three-wide formations ranked only 19th-best.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

Miami Dolphins
Need: Offense

The Dolphins missed out on Peyton Manning, and also traded away wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears. They also have an aging right tackle in Marc Colombo. The Dolphins averaged 5.3 yards running to the left last season, but only 3.9 when running to Colombo’s side.

In terms of quarterback, Miami’s weakness last season was that it threw 10 touchdowns and completed 56 percent of passes when the opponent used at least five defensive backs. Those ranked 21st and 25th in the NFL respectively.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M

New York Jets
Need: Pass rush

The Jets used five-or-more pass rushers 43 percent of the time under Rex Ryan, the second-highest rate over the last three seasons. But they recorded only 7.5 sacks from players lined up as outside linebackers (standing off the line of scrimmage), fifth-worst among the 15 teams that play a 3-4 defense.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama

New England Patriots
Need: Pass rush/defensive line

The Patriots picked up 23.5 sacks from defensive ends last season, 20 of which came from Mark Anderson (signed with Bills) and Andre Carter (free agent).

They sacked or put opponents under duress on 20 percent of their drop-backs last season, the fifth-worst rate in the NFL. They also allowed 2.9 yards per rush prior to contact, the fourth-worst rate in the league.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: Shea McClellin, OLB, Boise State (27th) and Derek Wolfe, DL, Cincinnati (31st)
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse (27th) and Kendall Reyes, DT, Connecticut (31st)

Just over two months after meeting in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants and New England Patriots learned their 2012 outlook when the NFL schedule was released Tuesday night. To put it simply, one team has a slightly tougher road than the other.

The Giants will face the league’s most difficult schedule this season, including a lethal stretch that will pit them against four of last year’s playoff teams (vs Green Bay Packers, vs New Orleans Saints, at Atlanta Falcons, at Baltimore Ravens) in the final six games. In fact, each of their last 11 games is against a divisional opponent or team coming off a postseason appearance.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, New York is the first defending champion to have the toughest schedule, and the club with the hardest slate has failed to make the playoffs in six of the last seven years.

History is on the Giants’ side, though, when they face the Dallas Cowboys in the 2012 opener, which will be the first Wednesday NFL game since 1948. The reigning Super Bowl champs have won 12 straight openers.

Meanwhile, after having the second-easiest schedule last season, the Patriots have the simplest set of opponents in 2012. Tom Brady and company play exactly one road game against a 2011 playoff team: Week 3 at Baltimore.

Having the easiest slate hasn’t been a blessing in recent years, however. According to Elias, the last five such teams have failed to reach the postseason.

SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS

• In his first game with the Denver Broncos and first start since January 2011, Peyton Manning will square off with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in a rematch of last season's playoff clash. The Steelers will then face Denver’s previous quarterback, Tim Tebow, when they host the New York Jets in Week 2. The Jets open the campaign against the Buffalo Bills.

• Both Ravens-Steelers matchups will take place within a 15-day span (Weeks 11 and 13) and are part of a treacherous closing stretch for Baltimore. The defending AFC North champs face playoff teams from last season in five of their final seven games.

• The 15-1 Packers have an interesting start to their slate, hosting the San Francisco 49ers in the opener before a quick turnaround for a Thursday-night clash with the rival Chicago Bears. They then are likely to face former quarterback Matt Flynn when traveling to play the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night before returning home to face the Saints.

• If the draft goes as expected, with the Indianapolis Colts selecting quarterback Andrew Luck first and the Washington Redskins taking quarterback Robert Griffin III second, that pair will not exactly be eased into professional competition. The Colts open the season on the road against the Bears, and the Redskins start the year at New Orleans.

• Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh, who famously had a sideline spat after last season’s contest, won’t have to wait long to see each other again. The 49ers host the Detroit Lions in Week 2 on Sunday night.

It’s official, Tim Tebow is coming to the Big Apple. The Denver Broncos completed their trade of Tebow and a seventh-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth-round pick and sixth-round pick in next year’s draft.

Tebow’s move to New York is nearly unprecedented given his first-round pedigree. He is just the fifth first-round quarterback in the common draft era to play for the team that drafted him and then leave that team after less than three seasons.

The others do this are Cade McNown (1999 Chicago Bears), Jim Druckenmiller (1997 49ers), Tommy Maddox (1992 Broncos) and Todd Marinovich (1991 Raiders). Of those four, only Maddox played in the NFL after changing teams.

The acquisition of Tebow may signal a shift in the Jets offensive philosophy. The Jets moved away from the "ground-and-pound" offense in 2011, calling designed runs just over 41 percent of the time. In 2009, they called designed runs a league-high 57.5 percent of the time and had the second-highest percentage in 2010 at 48.4.

Last season, the Broncos played to Tebow’s strengths as a runner, calling 84 designed rushes for Tebow, most among quarterbacks. He averaged 4.3 yards per rush with five touchdowns on those designed plays.

One strength the Jets running game could become even more lethal at is in short-yardage situations. Over the last 11 weeks of the season, the Jets posted the second-best first down percentage (80 percent) when needing one yard.

Despite Tebow's bruising run-first mentality, the Broncos' first-down percentage of 54 percent with one yard or fewer to go with Tebow as the starting quarterback was the fourth-worst in the league over the last 11 weeks.

The addition of Tebow to the Jets quarterbacking corps also likely won’t help the team cut down on its turnovers under center. From weeks 13-17, four quarterbacks turned the ball over a league-high 10 times: Tebow, Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Freeman.

Though many people are quick to speculate that Tebow will only help the Jets’ run their wildcat formation, new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano might want to consider using Tebow in some obvious passing situations.

Although the Broncos dropped back to pass only 45 percent of the time with Tebow at quarterback last season, when he did so, it was usually deep. No quarterback averaged more air yards per pass attempt (12.3) than Tebow last season.

Tebow last season also was more efficient than Sanchez when throwing the ball deep. On passes over 20 yards in the air, both completed just over 25 percent of their throws, but Tebow threw five fewer interceptions in 11 more attempts and had a higher average yards per attempt.

A big play made for a big win for the New York Giants on a day where little went right for either them or the New York Jets.

Victor Cruz’s 99-yard touchdown reception was the turning point of the contest. It was the 14th offensive touchdown of 99 yards in NFL history (Tony Dorsett had a 99-yard touchdown run; the other 13 were passing plays).

Wes Welker had a 99-yard touchdown catch earlier this season for the New England Patriots, making this the first season in NFL history with two 99-yard touchdown receptions.

The last eight teams to have a 99-yard touchdown reception in a game all won.

Brandon LaFell had a 91-yard touchdown reception for the Carolina Panthers, making this the first day in NFL history in which two different players had touchdown receptions of at least 90 yards.

Cruz had 89 yards after the catch on his 99-yard touchdown reception late in the first half. It was the most yards after the catch a player has had on a single reception since Week 1 of last season (Matt Forte, 91 yards).

Elias notes that the only other day with two touchdown passes of 90 or more yards was December 11, 1989, when Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers connected on a pair with wide receiver John Taylor).

Cruz set the franchise record for receiving yards in a season and joined Del Shofner as the only other Giants receiver with six 100-yd receiving games in a single season.

This was an unusual game from a statistical perspective in a number of ways.

Eli Manning guided the Giants to a win, despite a 9-for-27 afternoon. He’s the second quarterback this season to win a game in which he completed no more than one-third of his passes (minimum 25 attempts), along with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. He did so against the Jets in Week 4.

Manning finished with nine completions and 225 yards.

A check of Pro-Football-Reference.com shows that the last quarterback to complete no more than nine passes and throw for at least 225 yards was Trent Dilfer for the Seattle Seahawks against the St. Louis Rams (eight completions, 232 yards) in 2002.

The Giants won despite allowing more than twice as many first downs (21) as they got (10). The Giants had been allowing opponents to convert 54 percent of third downs since Week 11, but held the Jets to just four successes in 21 attempts.

Mark Sanchez had a career-high 59 pass attempts, but the Jets passing game posed little threat. Sanchez completed more passes to Giants defenders (two) than his own receivers (none) on eight attempts that traveled at least 15 yards from the line of scrimmage.

When Sanchez wasn't throwing downfield, the Giants were causing trouble with six passes batted down at the line of scrimmage and five sacks.

The six bat-downs were one shy of the number that both Sanchez and the Giants had this season, entering the game. In fact, 16 NFL defenses had six or fewer bat-downs all season entering Sunday.

The 12th edition of the Battle for New York kicks off at 1 ET on Christmas Eve with both the New York Jets and New York Giants fighting for their postseason lives.

The Jets hold the final AFC Wild Card spot, with four teams chasing them; the Giants are one game behind the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys, but control their own destiny for a division title and playoff berth.

Both teams are coming off disappointing Week 15 losses. Eli Manning had one his worst performances in a 13-point setback to the Washington Redskins. His 7.1 QBR tied for his worst since 2008, and it marked the first time he threw at least three interceptions, without throwing at least one touchdown pass in a game.

The Jets allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to take a 28-0 lead in the second quarter and gave up 420 yards in their 45-19 defeat. That was the second-most yards allowed by Jets defense this season. New York also matched a season high with four turnovers and converted just 3-of-13 third downs on offense.

Matchup W2W4
Manning is enjoying a career season, having already set the single-season franchise record for passing yards. One reason for his success is his prolific downfield passing. Manning leads the NFL with 36 completions on throws of 21 yards or more downfield and is tied for the league lead with 10 touchdowns on such throws.

Manning will face perhaps his stiffest challenge of the season this Saturday.

The Jets have given up the lowest completion percentage on throws of more than 20 yards downfield in each of the last three seasons, and have allowed the second-lowest Total QBR on such throws this year.

Injury W2W4
The Giants have been riddled by injuries this year. According to Football Outsiders, the Giants have an NFL-high 85.2 adjusted games lost from starters and important situational players (adjusted games lost combines games missed with a value for players who are on the NFL’s injury report and thus deemed to be playing at less than full strength).

The most critical player missing from the field this weekend could be tight end Jake Ballard, who injured his knee last week. Ballard leads all NFL tight ends with an average of 15.9 yards per reception, and his 604 receiving yards rank third on the team.

The Jets have really struggled this year to defend tight ends. They have allowed the most receiving yards and the fourth-highest yards per catch average in the NFL. Last week the Eagles tight ends torched the Jets for 176 yards on eight catches, including one touchdown.

But with Ballard on the sideline, it will be tough for the Giants to exploit this weakness. Bear Pascoe and Travis Beckum have combined to catch just 13 passes for 202 yards this season, and each has not been targeted more than three times in any game.

Stats2Know
• The Jets are 8-6 and a win will assure them of a fourth straight winning season, which would be the longest streak in team history.

• The Giants have won five straight games against the AFC, their longest such streak since winning six in a row from 1989-90.

What Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos were able to do in the first quarter against the New England Patriots was something that was statistically difficult to maintain.

The Broncos inability to perform up to the level they played in the first 15 minutes allowed Tom Brady and the Patriots to surpass them in the stat that counts the most-- points.

Tebow’s issues against teams that send five or more pass rushers on a play came into play on Sunday. He was just 3-for-9 for 53 yards, 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter. The Broncos had won four straight games with fourth quarter comebacks, but they had no such magic on Sunday.

Conversely, Brady was 10-for-12 for 172 yards and a touchdown when the Broncos sent at least five rushers. The Patriots knew the Broncos would be blitzing frequently. Denver had blitzed the second-most frequently of any team since Week 9.

One of the biggest stories of this game wasn’t so much Tebow or Brady, but Aaron Hernandez, who had a career-high nine catches and 129 receiving yards, two more yards than he had in his previous two games combined.

Hernandez had five receptions on five targets, including a touchdown, for 96 yards when the Broncos sent extra pass rushers.

The Tebow magic, most evident in the fourth quarter the last few weeks, was present early in the game this week.

Denver had 15 rushes for 167 yards in the first quarter (according to Elias, the most in any quarter against a team that had Bill Belichick as its head coach), 123 of which came before being contacted by a Patriots defender (both single-quarter season highs).

Though they averaged 8.2 yards before contact per rush in the first quarter, the Broncos only attempted 16 designed rushes in the last three quarters, gaining 68 yards before contact (4.4 per rush) and 85 total yards.

Tebow, who completed 60 percent of his throws in the first quarter, completed just 42 percent in the last three.

The Broncos fell to 18-1 all-time in games in which they had at least 250 rushing yards.

Tebow’s 93 rushing yards were the second-most he’s had in a game in his career.

Lions set NFL record

The Detroit Lions late rally to beat the Oakland Raiders made NFL history.

The Lions became the first team in NFL history with four comebacks from 13 or more points down to win in a single season.

Matthew Stafford became the third quarterback in Lions history to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a season (Scott Mitchell and Jon Kitna, with Kitna doing it twice).

Calvin Johnson’s 214 receiving yards were the third-most in a game in Lions history, trailing Cloyce Box (302, 1950) and Richard Johnson (248, 1989)

Vick keeps Eagles alive

The Philadelphia Eagles remained barely alive for a playoff spot by beating the New York Jets handily.

Michael Vick had one of the best days he’s had as a passer in a long time. He was 10-for-14 for 251 yards on throws traveling more than ten yards downfield

The Jets entered the game allowing a league-low 37.7 completion percentage to opposing passers on throws of that distance.

LeSean McCoy also had a big day, setting team single-season records for rushing touchdowns (17) and total touchdowns (20), both marks previously set by Steve Van Buren in 1945.

The Eagles are 9-0 against the Jets, which according to Elias is the best unbeaten record for one team against another.

Last week, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez watched his team get beat at the end by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

On Sunday, Sanchez responded with a performance that bore some similarities to that which beat his team last week. He dealt with a sluggish start, but came through with some clutch plays late to beat the Buffalo Bills.

Sanchez didn’t let some of his struggles get in the way of his most important pass, a 16-yard go-ahead touchdown to Santonio Holmes with 1:09 left in the game.

Sanchez was 1-for-8 with an interception when targeting Holmes prior to that pass, his final pass of the day, and 1-for-11 dating back to halftime of the Jets last game against the Broncos.
It was also only the second completion in nine attempts in the game for Sanchez on throws that went at least 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. His first came on the play before, a completion to Plaxico Burress that set up the Holmes score.

Sanchez became the third quarterback since 1999 to throw at least four touchdown passes in a game in which he had a sub-50 percent completion rate (he finished 17-for-35). The others to do so in that span were Trent Edwards in 2007 and Peyton Manning in 2009.

Coincidentally, the last Jets quarterback with that statistical combination was Joe Namath, also against the Bills in 1968.

Sanchez overcame his issues by going 6-for-8 for 61 yards on the final drive. He was effective earlier in the game with short throws, with three touchdowns on passes that traveled 14 yards or fewer from the line of scrimmage.

The Jets have specialized in winning close games over the last two seasons. They are 9-4 in regular-season games decided by eight points or fewer in that span, including 3-1 this season.

From a Bills perspective, the loss of running back Fred Jackson to a season-ending injury was noticeable.

His replacement, C.J. Spiller struggled to gain any ground up the middle against the Jets’ defense.
Jackson ranked third in the NFL in yards per carry between the tackles (6.2 per rushing attempt) and led the league with six 20-yard rushes on carries up the middle this season. Spiller was held to 17 yards between the tackles on his six carries Sunday.
In the NFL’s other early-afternoon games:

Bengals tie comebacks record
The Cincinnati Bengals got their third win this season that required coming back from a double-digit halftime deficit, tying an NFL record. The mark is shared with four other teams, including this year’s Detroit Lions.

Falcons, Ryan rolling
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan completed 79.4 percent of his passes, the second-best rate he’s had in a game, in a win over the Minnesota Vikings. It was the best rate by a Falcons quarterback with at least 30 pass attempts in a game. Wide receiver Roddy White tied Andre Rison’s team record for most games with at least 10 receptions (7).

Colts keep losing
The Indianapolis Colts quest for imperfection continued with a loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Colts fell to 0-11 for the first time since 1986.

They are the 11th team since the 1970 merger to start 0-11 and the first since the Lions went 0-16 in 2008.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton becomes the first rookie in NFL history with 10 rushing touchdowns and 10 passing touchdowns in a season.

Tim Tebow saved his best for last, engineering a game-winning drive on the Denver Broncos’ final possession for the 17-13 win against the New York Jets.

Tebow's 20-yard touchdown scamper with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter capped a 12-play, 95-yard touchdown drive.

Tebow did much of the work on the final drive, accounting for 92 of Denver's 95 yards (57 rush, 35 pass).

The touchdown run was his ninth career rushing touchdown. It’s tied for the fourth-most by a quarterback in his first two seasons in the Super Bowl Era.

Tebow finished with a game-high 68 rush yards, averaging a robust 8.5 yards per attempt. For the season, he’s now averaging 6.9 rush yards per attempt.

The late-game magic helped eclipse what to that point had been a game that would only have fueled his detractors.

In Denver's first 11 drives, Tebow accounted for just 80 total yards, including just 11 rush yards (on two attempts). The Broncos’ first 10 points were scored by a field goal (on a drive starting at the Jets’ 34-yard line) and an Andre Goodman 26-yard interception return.

Tebow started out accurately, completing four of his first five passes. But he followed with just two completions on his next 10 attempts leading up to the final Broncos' drive.

Regardless of his final line, the second-year quarterback is now 4-1 as a starter this season since stepping in for Kyle Orton following Denver's bye week.

Tebow has still yet to throw for at least 200 yards in a single game this season, and he's failed to complete at least 50 percent of his passes in any game this season.

But none of that might matter. The Broncos are now winners of three straight, and back in the mix for the AFC West crown.

The New York Jets defense allowed just eight passing touchdowns in 2009 but struggled to sustain the success in 2010, allowing three times as many passing scores. This season, the Jets are once again allowing the fewest passing touchdowns in the NFL, and while there are similarities in how they are doing it, there’s also a key difference.

Under Rex Ryan, the Jets have been known as a blitz-heavy team and in 2009 no team was stingier than the Jets when rushing at least five defenders. The Jets allowed the lowest completion percentage and the fewest touchdown passes and yards per attempt in 2009 in such situations. After allowing 12 more touchdowns in 2010 than in 2009, the Jets have re-gained their form when bringing added pressure in 2011. The Jets aren’t getting beat when sending extra pressure, but more importantly, they aren’t blitzing as much.

In 2009 the Jets had the most aggressive pass rush in the NFL, sending five or more defenders on 52.4 percent of opponent dropbacks. This season, however, the Jets are rushing five or more at the 12th highest rate (34.7 percent), slightly above the league average (32.6 percent). The change in philosophy can be attributed to the 2010 season, when a key injury (and a big loss) may have forced Rex Ryan’s hand.

The Jets lost safety Jim Leonhard in Week 12 of the 2010 season. Leonard played on 97.9 percent of the Jets’ snaps in 2009, so his loss put his replacements in unfamiliar territory. The first game without Leonard was against the Patriots. After rushing five or more 46.9 percent of the time in that Week 13 game and getting burned for three scores, the Jets toned down the aggressive pass rush. From Week 13 and on, the Jets rushed five or more 33.8 percent of the time after doing so on 44.7 percent of opponent dropbacks beforehand.

The results with a more conservative pass rush were a vast improvement - whereas in the first 12 games the defense allowed a completion percentage of 50.3, that number dropped to 43.1 after the switch. Likewise, the yards allowed per attempt dropped from 7.0 to 4.9. Perhaps most notably, after allowing 13 touchdowns and recording just three interceptions when sending five or more pass rushers through the first 12 games, the Jets defense allowed just one touchdown - while recording four interceptions - over the final seven.

The New England Patriots are coming to New York this week and are looking to avoid their first three game losing streak since 2002. It will be interesting to see if the Jets continue their overall trend from the 2011 season and - just as importantly for AFC East implications - if it is effective against the Patriots slumping offense.

The New York Jets “ground-and-pound” is officially back. The Jets rushed a season-high 39 times for 126 yards in their 27-11 win over the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

In the first five games of the season, the Jets averaged just 23 rushing plays and 76 rushing yards per game. They’ve gone back to the basics in the past few weeks, though, averaging 33 rushes and 131 rushing yards during their current three-game win streak.

The Jets used a new look on offense by lining up a running back and fullback behind Mark Sanchez on 40 of 68 plays (58.8 percent). They entered Week 9 using that set on only 32 percent of plays. The Jets found success with this backfield formation, gaining 88 of their 126 rushing yards on those plays.

Mark Sanchez complemented the Jets strong running game with one of the most efficient games of his career, completing 20-of-28 passes for 230 yards. His completion percentage of 71.4 was the second-highest of his career, though he did throw his first red-zone interception of the year in the first half.

The Jets ability to pound the ball early and often on the ground opened up the play-action passing game for Mark Sanchez, who completed 11 of 12 passes for 129 yards and his only touchdown of the day when using a play fake.

New York’s opportunistic defense sealed the win, forcing three turnovers, including a forced fumble in the third quarter when the game was still within a touchdown. Less than two minutes later, LaDainian Tomlinson scored on a one-yard run to give the Jets a 13-0 lead.

Re-writing the record books
• The Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-3, for their first win this season. The 28-point victory was the third-largest win margin by a team to start 0-7 or worse in their first win of the season, according to Elias.

• Drew Brees threw two touchdowns in the New Orleans Saints 27-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brees extended his streak of games with a passing touchdown to 36 games, tying Brett Favre for the second-longest streak in NFL history.

• Brees also finished the game with 258 passing yards, bringing his season total to 3,004 yards, which is the most in the first nine games of a season in NFL history.

• Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards in the 49ers 19-11 win over the Redskins, becoming the first 49ers player to rush for 100-plus yards in five straight games.

• Redskins kicker Graham Gano booted a franchise-record 59-yard field goal in the Redskins loss to the 49ers.

Under Rex Ryan, the New York Jets defense built a reputation as one of the best teams in defending the run. Last season, the Jets allowed the third-fewest yards per game on the ground (90.9) and the second-fewest rushing first downs (70).

However, this year the Jets have struggled against the run, allowing 126.9 rush yards per game, and will be really tested by a formidable Buffalo Bills’ rushing attack on Sunday. The Bills average 5.1 yards per rush (fourth in NFL), and have nine rushes of at least 20 yards (fifth in NFL).

What’s been the difference for the Jets? They have been stout in stopping rushers from gaining extra yardage, allowing only 1.5 yards after contact per rush, second-fewest in the league. However, actually getting to the ball carrier has been New York’s Achilles’ heel this season.

The Jets’ front seven is in a state of flux, and has allowed 2.7 yards before contact per rush, ranked 22nd in the NFL. Rookie Muhammad Wilkerson replaced veteran Shaun Ellis, while a slew of relatively inexperienced faces have seen significant time like Jamaal Westerman, Ropati Pitoitua, and Marcus Dixon.

The Jets defensive linemen have struggled in losing point-of-attack battles with opposing offensive linemen. This has caused linebackers Bart Scott and David Harris to regularly be kept out of opponents’ backfields. They combined for 9.5 tackles for loss in 2010, but have registered only one this season.

The Jets have also been especially susceptible to runs on the right side of their defense, where Westerman, Pitoitua and Bryan Thomas have made the majority of the starts. Four of the five runs of at least 20 yards the Jets have allowed this season have gone to the offense’s left, targeting the right side of the Jets’ rush defense.

Total QBR has allowed us to evaluate quarterbacks through the first half of the NFL season and, by extension, the play of the offense as a whole. But it also offers us insight into the effectiveness of defenses in limiting the Total QBR of opposing quarterbacks.

The Baltimore Ravens lead the NFL with a Total QBR allowed of 23.3. The Ravens defense is even more intimidating when they pressure a quarterback, allowing a QBR of just 0.4. In these schemes, they excel at forcing bad throws, forcing fumbles, sacking the quarterback and not letting the quarterback scramble.

The Detroit Lions, New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs are among the best coverage teams in the league. While the Lions and Jets are known for pass defense, the Chiefs have largely flown under the radar this season.

Kansas City pressures the quarterback on just 19 percent of plays, the lowest rate in the league. But the Chiefs excel in coverage when not getting pressure, allowing just a QBR of 58.3 in those situations. They use a three-or-four man rush as much as any team in the NFL, so their defensive backs have pretty consistent coverage responsibilities.

There is a huge variation across the four teams that generate the most pressure on quarterbacks. The San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants have succeeded when bringing pressure, while the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers have not.

It’s worth noting that the Giants are reliant on pressuring the quarterback in order to stop the opponent’s passing game because, in situations when they don’t bring pressure, they allow a QBR of 80.4, the fifth-worst mark in the league.

The team that has allowed the highest QBR when putting pressure on the quarterback is the St. Louis Rams (38.6). The Rams are also pressuring the quarterback at one of the highest rates in the league.

The problem appears to be that the four-man rush which the Rams use so often takes a very long time to generate pressure. We track how much time opponents have to throw when a team gets pressure and when they don’t. In both of those situations, the Rams’ defense ranks near the bottom of the league.

For exclusive video, stories and blogs about quarterbacks from every level of competition, check out ESPN's "Year of the Quarterback" page.

This edition of Chalkboard Stats previews Sunday's AFC East matchup between the New York Jets and New England Patriots by breaking down a pivotal play from their Week 13 meeting last season.

The Jets sent an all-out pass rush after Tom Brady, only to have their aggressiveness used against them. Click on the “podcast” buttons to hear Stats & Info’s John Parolin provide play commentary and analysis.

ESPN’s new metric, Total QBR, takes you through the good, the great and the ugly quarterback play in Week 4 of the NFL season:

Aaron Rodgers -- 96.2 Total QBR in 49-23 win vs. Broncos
Rodgers had a spectacular game, accounting for 408 yards and four touchdowns through the air with another 36 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. While he threw one interception, Rodgers accounted for 21 first downs and led Green Bay to six touchdowns on the nine drives he was on the field.

Among the over 900 games in which a QB has had at least 40 action plays since 2008, Rodgers’ (52 action plays Sunday) rating was the second-highest, behind only Drew Brees back in 2009.

Matt Hasselbeck -- 97.8 Total QBR in 31-13 win at Browns
While Hasselbeck’s box-score numbers may not impress, he made large contributions when the game was close on the relatively few action plays he was involved (just 21 for the game). In the first half, Hasselbeck was 8-12 for 194 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers and no sacks, helping the Titans jump out to a 21-6 lead.

He didn’t do much in the second half (even throwing an interception), but all those plays came with the game mostly decided -- the Titans had a win probability over 90 percent for the entire second half.

Total QBR rewards Hasselbeck for making winning plays early that put the game away, and doesn’t penalize him much for his so-so play when the game was basically out of reach.

It may seem weird Hasselbeck’s Total QBR is higher than Rodgers’, but Total QBR is a rate statistic evaluating quarterbacks on a per-play basis. Rodgers had by far more TOTAL value by virtue of his efficiency over 52 action plays, but Hasselbeck was slightly more efficient on a per-play basis.

Mark Sanchez -- 0.6 Total QBR in 34-17 loss at Ravens
Sanchez had a terrible outing, fumbling four times (losing three) and throwing an interception, in addition to going just 11-35 for 119 yards. Three of those turnovers resulted directly in return touchdowns for the Ravens. “Sanchize” led the Jets to a grand total of three points on 15 offensive drives.

He had 46 action plays Sunday -- a high number for such a poor rating. Usually, when a QB is playing that badly (Sanchez’s Total QBR never rose above 2.7 at any point Sunday), he does not get that many opportunities (i.e. he gets pulled if he doesn’t start playing better).

In fact, among the 909 games since 2008 in which a QB has had at least 40 action plays, Sanchez’ 0.6 Total QBR was the absolute lowest!

This interactive edition of Chalkboard Stats previews Sunday night’s New York Jets-Baltimore Ravens matchup by breaking down a crucial play from their previous meeting in Week 1 of last season. Despite allowing only 10 points, the Jets were unable to contain Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense at one of the game’s most pivotal moments.

Click on the “podcast” buttons wherever you see one to hear Stats & Info’s John Parolin provide play commentary and Next Level statistical analysis.