NFL scoring down to lowest level since 2010

Halfway through the 2022 season it appears NFL defenses have finally started catching up.

After a five-year run of hot-shot quarterbacks lighting up scoreboards and leaving defenses with few answers, the pendulum has turned away from the offense for a change.

With star quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson showing signs of decline as they age, a new crop led by five firstround draft picks in 2021 has been slow to develop. And defenses geared toward limiting big plays in the passing game have put offensive production in a significant decline at the halfway mark.

The 21.8 points per game average through nine weeks is the lowest at this stage of the season since 2010, when teams averaged 21.7 points per game. Scoring is down a staggering 3.5 points per game from this point two years ago when offenses peaked in partly empty stadiums due to the pandemic, and 1.6 points per game from last season.

While rushing production is at its highest mark since 1987 thanks to defenses willing to cede yards on the ground, passing has been harder than it’s been in years, with the NFL passer rating of 89.2 the lowest through nine weeks since 2017 and the 6.12 yards per drop back the lowest since 2006.

The decline in passing production has led to 33 games already when the winning team scored 20 or fewer points, tied for the most through nine weeks since 2007. There have also been only nine games this season when the losing team scored at least 30, down from 21 at this point in 2020.

The lack of offense has helped keep games close, with the NFL having a record 72 games decided by seven points or fewer — the most ever through nine weeks. The average point differential per game of 9.4 points is the lowest through nine weeks in the Super Bowl era.

RECORD WATCH

The passing slowdown hasn’t made it to Miami, where new receiver Tyreek Hill is thriving under firstyear coach Mike McDaniel and is on a record-setting pace.

Hill has 1,104 yards receiving, the most for a player through nine games since Charley Hennigan had 1,122 for the Houston Oilers of the old AFL in 1961. The last NFL player with more was Raymond Berry with 1,147 for the Colts in 1960.

Hill could become the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiver. He is on pace for 2,085 yards receiving — 121 more than Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson’s record 1,964 in 2012. While Hill could benefit from a 17th game, his 16game pace is just 1 yard off Johnson’s record.

Dolphins teammate Jaylen Waddle has 812 yards receiving, and their 1,916 yards combined are the most for a duo in the Super Bowl era.