With Chip Kelly moving his option-based offense from Oregon to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, and with option-oriented Colin Kaepernick coming off the most prolific rushing game a quarterback's ever had, and with option star Robert Griffin III likely to win the offensive rookie of the year award, and with option stud Russell Wilson […]

We now know that two of four teams will play in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Feb. 3 on CBS. Before the conference championship games take place this weekend, let's rank each of the four possible Super Bowl matchups. 1. Baltimore vs. San Francisco While New England would be a bigger audience draw because of […]

While it features a prominent football player, the jaw-dropping story of what happened to Manti Te'o — documented here by Deadspin — isn't really a sports story. It goes well beyond that world.  Still, there is an important NFL angle to consider, and that pertains to the Heisman runner-up's stock for this April's draft. There's […]

The New England Patriots are one victory away from going to their sixth Super Bowl in the 12-year period since Tom Brady became the starting quarterback. But standing in the way is one of the Pats' biggest rivals in Baltimore. Here's our first stats-based look at the matchup between the Ravens and Patriots.  * The […]

Both top seeds moved on in the NFC playoffs this weekend, setting up a matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta Sunday. Some need-to-know facts: * Neither team has gotten to the Super Bowl this century. The Niners were last in the game when they beat beat San Diego in […]

So Wade Phillips thinks J.J. Watt had the best season a defensive lineman's ever had, but Phillips is Watt's defensive coordinator, and thus might be apt to bias. However, the numbers indicate Phillips could be on to something, and the eyeball test certainly doesn't lie regarding Watt's dominance as a defender.  This season in Houston, […]

For years, stats geeks and old-schoolers have been fighting over the importance numbers and trends possess when it comes to predicting future outcomes. The champion of the stats side of that argument is Nate Silver, who comes from the world of sabermetrics and who also happened to use his advanced system to predict the winner […]

The worst part about playing poker with people who have no idea how to play poker? If they're not entirely sure what good and bad hands look like, it's pretty much impossible for them to show bluffs. I'm pretty sure my mom chased me out of a hand pre-flop holding a 2-7 offsuit at our […]

They say running backs are worth less than a dime a dozen in the NFL, and they have a point. After all, the NFL's No. 2 leading rusher this season — Alfred Morris of the Washington Redskins — was passed on exactly 172 times in the 2012 NFL draft. And the league's rushing touchdown leader […]

Before the playoffs get underway, let's take a nerdy look back on the 2012 NFL regular season with a breakdown of the 10 most fascinating stats that came out of the 256 games played between Sept. 5 and Dec. 30. 6.5: That's how many yards per play the New Orleans Saints surrendered on defense this […]

Usually, if you've found your way into the NFL playoffs, you've either been lucky in the injury department or you've been good enough to overcome any injuries you've encountered. But that doesn't mean bumps and bruises and broken bones won't play a role this weekend and throughout January and February. Here's a look at the […]