Aaron Schatz

Aaron Schatz

@aaronschatz.com

Chief Analytics Officer, FTN. ESPN NFL writer. Former radio DJ. Founder of Football Outsiders, creator of DVOA, All-Pro/MVP voter.

63.7K followers225 following9.1K posts

The Cowboys have single-game DVOA of about 60% for last night and for their Week 2 37-20 win over the Commanders. They have negative DVOA in each of their other five games including their win over the Texans. They moved up from 21st to 16th after last night.

Our playoff odds for the NFC East champion depending on tonight's game. Dallas wins: Cowboys 49%, Giants 33%, Commanders 13%, Eagles 5% Philly wins: Giants 41%, Eagles 22%, Cowboys 20%, Commanders 17%

Yep, Denver is the lowest 6-0 team by DVOA but also by point differential. And yep, they won the title. The Vikings could too!

an actual potato@an-actual-potato.bsky.social

lol the lowest one listed won a championship

Since I'm sure it will come up, here's a list of the worst 6-0 teams by DVOA. Obviously, all these teams were pretty good. They were undefeated! 2026 Vikings are sixth lowest.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, you may know, is on pace to break the all-time receiving yards record. He also has 303 DYAR, leading the league by over 100. He's on pace for 737 receiving DYAR. The record is 618 by Cooper Kupp in 2021. He's incredible.

After the 49ers' poor performance this week, there aren't any units that are really historically good or bad in DVOA this year. The closest is the Rams special teams (15th worst through 7 games).

The Texans have gone from two years of a Top 3 defense to a below average defense by DVOA (16th - remember, DVOA is "below average" if it is above 0%). Here's a list of similar teams since 1977, including the end of the Steel Curtain and a Ravens team that surprisingly won the Super Bowl.

I feel like something went wrong with that play call because the two Seahawks receivers ended up in the same place. Or were they supposed to be crossing and just, uh, didn't?

OK, well, I guess he can't catch everything.

Aaron Schatz@aaronschatz.com

Bored with picking on L'Jarius Sneed, the Seahawks have decided to move JSN around to make things more fair. It did not work (to make things more fair).

Bored with picking on L'Jarius Sneed, the Seahawks have decided to move JSN around to make things more fair. It did not work (to make things more fair).

I was just thinking to myself, at what point can agree it's been this way long enough, that Mahomes just isn't the same guy he was when he was younger, even if he's still very good. And then that throw.

One more note about penalties. Last year, Roughing the Passer was called on the Bears 9 times and on their opponents only twice. This year, not including this week, it was called on the Bears once and on their opponents 4 times. Nothing changed about the Bears.

I write a column every week with five picks based on DVOA. It went 0-5 last week. It went 4-0-1 this week because Gibbs just slid down instead of scoring. You win some, you lose some.

No. Analysis will show that Moore calls too many penalties and some of the penalties in this game were pretty bad and it is NOT BECAUSE HE HAS ANYTHING AGAINST YOU, PERSONALLY.

dus7yk.bsky.social@dus7yk.bsky.social

What will it show? That this was reffed well?

If Alex Moore's history shows that he has a personal axe to grind against the Green Bay Packers, he should absolutely be fired. Everyone on this crew should be fired. I have a feeling that analysis will not show that.

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Oh, wait, it was tipped by one of the Lions.

Aaron Schatz@aaronschatz.com

Trey Smack now has the two shortest missed field goals of the year (not blocked) in the SAME GAME. What the hell?

Oh, right, so that's three. I didn't think of the Hutchinson one because it was technically a fumble when the lateral wasn't caught.

Derrik Klassen@qbklass.bsky.social

Houston! Hutchinson caught it initially

I think that's the second failed hook-and-lateral play in the NFL today. The other one fell one yard short, I can't remember right now which game it was.

Also, pointing out this post I made earlier today. This crew calls a LOT of penalties. We should not be shocked that they are doing it again!

Aaron Schatz@aaronschatz.com

I forgot to mention this on this week's podcast, for the 4:30 Lions-Packers game. Alex Moore’s crew led NFL in penalties per game in 2025 and ranks second in 2026. The Packers lead the league in penalties so far (Lions are below average).

I got a couple of these responses. If the league was really going after a team because one player mistreated women, the Cleveland Browns would have three times as many penalties as any other tean.

mtodz.bsky.social@mtodz.bsky.social

The uhhh, Josh Jacobs situation

Some team is always going to be the most screwed, and some team is always going to be the least screwed, and it changes every season and it changes during the season.

jlueck.bsky.social@jlueck.bsky.social

The random number generator sure is being stuck on Green Bay with the phantom grounding and the non call DPI (after the Cisse call)