46.7% - It's a figure that goes largely unnoticed, due in part to the fact that the NFL has only kept track of it since 2009. But tracking targets on pass attempts provides clear evidence for a team's passing game.
It shows not only who is targeted the most in a team's passing attack, but likely who is getting open most often and who is a preferred target of the team's quarterback.
For the 2019 Bills, it is no surprise that John Brown and Cole Beasley have had the lion's share of the targets in Buffalo's passing game. What is surprising is just how large that target share is.
Brown and Beasley are neck-and-neck in total targets this season. Brown has 115 and Beasley has 106. Percentage-wise, Brown is seeing just over 24 percent of the passing attempts and Beasley is seeing just over 22 percent. Collectively their share of the pass attempts is close to half of the throws made by Josh Allen (456) and Matt Barkley this season (16).
"Most of the time one of us is going to be clicking," said John Brown in reference to Beasley and himself in the passing game. "This past week Beasley kind of put the receivers on his back and he executed and made plays when the ball was thrown to him."
That share of 46.7 percent is the highest in team history since the stat has been tracked by the league. The only other time two Bills receiving targets had close to that share of the throws was in 2009 when Terrell Owens (24.7%) and Lee Evans (21.5%) had 46.2 percent of the targets.
In 2010, Stevie Johnson and Lee Evans accounted for 43 percent of the targets and in 2012 Johnson and Scott Chandler had 43 percent of the throws as well. But at no other time over the last 10 seasons has target share among the top two receivers been over 40 percent.
83.3% - Allowing an opposing offense to score more than 83 percent of the time when facing a 1st-and-goal situation at the five-yard line or closer might seem high, but Buffalo's goal-to-go defense touchdown percentage allowed is tied for third-best in the NFL.
The Bills have kept their opponents from scoring touchdowns on four of the 12 opportunities they've had in those situations. On two of those four their opponents took field goals, but on the other two the opponent failed to score altogether. Buffalo's goal line stand in Tennessee in Week 5 is clearly the most memorable.
But the week prior was Buffalo's other goal-to-go stop where the opponent came away with nothing. New England facing 3rd-and-goal at the two-yard line saw Tom Brady get intercepted by Micah Hyde on a pass intended for Julian Edelman.
This past week, Buffalo got a goal-to-go stop early in the fourth quarter this past Saturday. New England had a 1st-and-goal at the Bills five-yard line, but held them to a chip shot field goal after yielding just three yards on three plays.
Other numbers to note
3,084 – After throwing for 208 passing yards last week, Josh Allen moved passed the 3,000-yard passing plateau for the season. That combined with his 510 rushing yards makes him just the third Bills QB to record 3,000 or more passing yards and 400 or more rushing yards in a season in team history. (Doug Flutie 1999, Tyrod Taylor 2015, 2016).
510 – Josh Allen's rushing yardage total this season made it back-to-back 500-yard rushing seasons. Allen joins Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson as the only quarterbacks to do so in their first two NFL seasons.
21 – Allen's two touchdown passes in last week loss at New England gave him 21 straight games in which he accounted for at least one touchdown. That set a new franchise record.
5,158 – Finally, Allen eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark for career passing yards last Saturday in just his 27th career game. It makes him the third QB, joining Robert Griffin III (22) and Cam Newton (23) as the only players to reach 5,000 career passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in fewer than 30 games. Allen has 1,141 career rushing yards.
1-30 – The record of quarterbacks in their first or second year at Gillette Stadium since 2001. Colin Kaepernick has the only win in Week 15 of 2012.
109.7 – Fourth quarter passer rating for Josh Allen, good for fifth in the NFL.
