The disparity between some NFL teams this season is quite astonishing, as the incredible Denver Broncos offense, averaging 44.8 points per game, is scoring each game more than what the Jacksonville Jaguars (31 points) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (44 points) have scored in total since the beginning of the season.
This has been the Broncos this season so far: 49 points against the Ravens, 41 against the Giants, 37 against the Raiders and 52 against the Eagles. They’re 4-0, obviously, but that’s not all. They rank first in the NFL in total offense with 483 yards per game, although they haven’t been neglecting the running game, averaging 119.3 yards a contest. Their defense hasn’t been shutting teams down, allowing 390.3 yards per game, but they’ve been forcing turnovers (6), and have been impossible to keep up with.
In Florida, things are quite different. The Dolphins are having a good season at 3-1, but the Jags and Bucs are a combined 0-8. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a defense and plenty of talent except for the quarterback position (maybe it actually makes their start worse), the Jags are a mess at almost every position.
But offense has been especially ugly. They’re getting outscored 75-8 during the first half, and are averaging only 224 yards per game. They are 30th in passing yards, 31st in rushing yards and dead last in the NFL when it comes to stopping the run. The closest they’ve been in a game has been a 10-point loss to the Oakland Raiders. The others have all been painful blowouts. Their collective passer rating so far this season is 51.6, with Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne sharing the honors.
The team has scored only three touchdowns so far, and their quarterback of the future, Gabbert, hasn’t thrown a single one to accompany his five interceptions.
Going west, the Bucs haven’t won, but at least there’s some sort of hope, if you call averaging 11 points per game hope. They’ve lost three of their games by three points or less, as their defense is ranking a decent 13th in the NFL in total yards and 8th when it comes to giving up points, allowing only 17.5 per game.
The offense? A debacle, failure and what not. The combined passer rating of Josh Freeman and Mike Glennon is 58.2, throwing three touchdowns and five interceptions. Doug Martin, who had a sensational rookie season is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry, but is also the only player on this team with more than five rushes (he has 100 carries this season). Vincent Jackson has been targeted 41 times but has caught only 17 passes, still waiting for his first touchdown reception of the season.
As the season moves on, the Jags haven’t shown any sign of getting better, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some hope, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the differences in scoring remaining at an awe-inspiring level between them and the Denver Broncos.