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Taysom Hill Breaks Football Outsiders

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NFL Week 5 – Well, it finally happened: Taysom Hill broke the Football Outsiders computers. For one glorious afternoon, he was one of the most dangerous players in the NFL … but you won’t find him anywhere in our tables that list the best passers, runners, and receivers of Week 5.

Hill terrorized the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, rushing for 112 yards on only nine carries, a 12.4-yard average. And though he was explosive, it was his efficiency that really stood out; seven of those carries went for first downs. Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts was the only player to run for more first downs this week, and it took him five more carries (plus a kneeldown) to do it.

Hill’s first downs include this 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter…

… followed by this 9-yarder a few minutes later…

… and then the big one, this 60-yard go-ahead score on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter that was, by any measure, one of the biggest plays of the entire weekend.

Mind you, Hill wasn’t just a runner. Although Hill has started nine NFL games as a quarterback, when the Saints put him in the shotgun on second-and-8 in scoring range late in the third quarter, the Seahawks seemed completely unprepared that he might throw the ball. Hill had an easy touchdown pass to Adam Trautman down the middle, but look close and you’ll see J.P. Holtz all alone in the right side of the end zone too:

As alluded to in one of those Tweets, Hill made other contributions in this game, but for now let’s focus on what he did as a runner and passer. Hill’s nine carries amassed 57 DYAR as a rusher, and the touchdown pass to Trautman added 28 DYAR through the air. That’s 85 total DYAR, more than any running back, wide receiver, or tight end this week, and more than most starting quarterbacks. So why didn’t Hill, officially, qualify for Quick Reads?

  • He only threw one pass; the minimum for the quarterbacks table is eight, so he does not qualify as a quarterback.
  • He did not have a single target as a receiver, so he does not qualify as a wide receiver or tight end.
  • He is listed as a “QB/TE” in our database (the Saints are still listing him as a tight end), so our data parser did not qualify him as a running back.

Hill has been giving Quick Reads a headache for years now. After going undrafted in 2017, he spent three years in New Orleans as Sean Payton’s favorite toy, throwing 13 passes, taking 64 runs, and catching 22 balls (not to mention his 16 punt and kickoff returns) in his first three seasons. He qualified as one of our top receivers in Week 8 of 2019 after catching three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, but we noted at the time he was also the Saints’ third-string quarterback. Hill was also one of the stars of the wild-card round that year, but we weren’t sure what to do with a player who had 50 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, and 25 yards and a touchdown as a receiver, finally throwing our hands in the air and simply labeling him “Whatever” at the end of the column.

When Drew Brees missed four games in 2020 with broken ribs, Sean Payton made the curious decision to start Hill at quarterback ahead of Jameis Winston, who has proven himself before and since to be a low-end starter at worst. (Brees had also missed time in 2019, with Teddy Bridgewater starting in his absence instead of Hill.) The Saints won three of Hill’s four starts that season, but he showed little sign of being a starter-caliber passer, finishing below replacement level in our numbers. With Brees retired in 2021, Payton wisely put Winston in the starting lineup and Hill back on the bench. Hill ended up playing anyway after Winston tore his ACL, and was probably better than he had been the year before, but it’s hard to win consistently in the NFL when your quarterback is completing less than 60% of his passes. In Week 12 of that year, Hill threw four interceptions against Dallas and finished as the league’s worst passer (but not the worst quarterback, thanks to his rushing value), and we wrote that his days as a starter should be over. Indeed, Hill has returned to third-string status behind Hill and Andy Dalton this year … although, as Mike Tanier accurately pointed out, the Saints have actually been most dangerous with Hill taking snaps.

Regardless, per Stathead, Hill is now the 13th player since at least 1950 with three rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown in the same game. The last to do it was Dak Prescott in Week 2 of the 2020 season in a big comeback against Atlanta. Before that, you have to go back to Russell Wilson and Cam Newton in their rookie years of 2012 and 2011. It has been done just once in the playoffs, by Cleveland’s Otto Graham against Detroit in the 1954 NFL Championship Game. Johnny Lujack, the oldest living winner of the Heisman Trophy, did it for the Bears in 1951 against the New York Yanks. (Lujack is a distant relative of a contemporary versatile player: L.A. Rams WR/FB Ben Skowronek.)

That’s a long list of quarterbacks, but Hill is mainly a rusher these days. Hill joins Ronnie Brown in 2008 and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 as the only players with a passing touchdown, three rushing touchdowns, and at least 100 rushing yards in a single game. Brown’s game was the breakout performance for the Wildcat formation in the NFL, as the Patriots had no idea what to do against a running back taking direct snaps in a 38-13 Dolphins win. There’s nothing historically influential about Tomlinson’s outing; he just happened to throw one of his seven career touchdown passes on the same day he ran for nearly 200 yards against an overmatched Giants defense.

Now, as we said earlier, Hill’s impact on Sunday’s game went beyond what he did on offense. He was also New Orleans’ primary kickoff returner, averaging 23.0 yards on a trio of returns. That makes Hill the first player in over 20 years with a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown, and kickoff return in the same game (and the first since Lenny Moore in 1956 to do that with multiple rushing scores). The last time we saw that was in 2001 by Deuce McAllister of … the New Orleans Saints. (You get enough beignets, Cher, and you can do crazy things.) There have only been 15 such games since the late 1940s.

And somehow this is still selling Hill’s game short, because he also recovered a fumble on a fake punt. He even made plays without the ball in his hands, making the key block that let Alvin Kamara run for a first down, putting New Orleans in position to kneel out the clock from there.

Winston won’t be putting up games like this every week, but the Saints are clearly going to make his rushing ability a big part of their offense; he had four carries for 81 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta in Week 1, and five for 21 and a score against Minnesota in the U.K. In total, he has 228 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season; the former figure would rank in the top five amongst quarterbacks, and the latter puts him amongst the top five of all players, regardless of position. In fact, if you count him as a quarterback, Hill is second only to Lamar Jackson with 90 rushing DYAR through five weeks thanks to those five scores and his 10.9 yards per carry.

It took six years and 69 games, but the Saints’ do-it-all player may have finally found his niche. As a quarterback, he wasn’t much of a starter, but he has turned into a hell of a closer.

Quarterbacks

Rk

Player

Team

CP/AT

Yds

TD

INT

Sacks

Total
DYAR

Pass
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Opp

1.

Josh Allen BUF

20/31

424

4

1

0

206

195

11

PIT

For typical quarterbacks, deep passes and yards after the catch are an either/or proposition: you can either throw short and let your guys rack up the YAC, or you can chuck it long and let them win jump balls. But as I said, those are the rules for typical quarterbacks, and Josh Allen is no typical quarterback. He led all passers with a 13.3-yard average depth of target, but still averaged an NFL-best 10.1 yards after the catch per completion. And yes, the 98-yard touchdown to Gabriel Davis (38 air yards, 60 yards after the catch) had a lot to do with both those stats. It’s also largely why Allen was the week’s best passer on third/fourth downs (4-of-6, 174 yards, four conversions, two touchdowns) and on throws down the middle of the field (8-of-10 for 230 yards and two scores, plus a 4-yard DPI).

2.

Patrick Mahomes KC

29/43

292

4

0

3

137

126

10

LV

I was out and didn’t see much of this game, but I wanted to say that Travis Kelce’s absurd statline (seven catches, eight targets, 25 yards, four touchdowns) had me giggling. That’s 25 yards and 3.6 yards per catch; as our own Bryan Knowles pointed out on the FO Discord server, the prior records for players with at least four touchdown catches were 93 and 9.3, both by Detroit’s Marvin Jones against Minnesota in 2019.

3.

Kyler Murray ARI

28/40

250

1

1

1

132

113

18

PHI

Murray gains 44 DYAR due to opponent adjustments. Thanks in part to those opponent adjustments, he was the week’s best passer in the fourth quarter (10-of-11 for 58 yards), but still its worst on deep balls (0-for-6 with an interception). As opposed to…

4.

Geno Smith SEA

16/25

268

3

0

3

119

116

3

NO

… this guy! Smith was the week’s best passer on deep balls, going 4-of-5 for 157 yards and three touchdowns, plus a 27-yard DPI. If this sounds familiar, he was also the best passer on deep balls last week.

5.

Jimmy Garoppolo SF

18/30

253

2

0

2

118

118

0

CAR

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that Garoppolo had the league’s best DYAR on throws to running backs (6-of-7 for 83 yards and a touchdown). But what if I told you that he was also the best passer on throws to the outside (16-of-23 for 203 yards and two scores, plus an 8-yard DPI)? Really! Jimmy Garoppolo!

6.

Kirk Cousins MIN

32/40

296

1

1

1

110

98

12

CHI

Fun with directional splits: Cousins had the week’s best DYAR on throws to his left (17-of-18 for 174 yards), but the worst on throws to his right (7-of-13 for 51 yards with an interception).

7.

Tom Brady TB

35/52

351

1

0

0

101

101

0

ATL

Brady loses 26 DYAR due to opponent adjustments, tied with Andy Dalton and Jalen Hurts for most this week. His goal-line touchdown pass to Leonard Fournette put Tampa Bay up 21-0, but he threw for only one first down after that, going 5-of-11 for only 26 yards as Atlanta rallied and made this win more difficult for Tampa Bay than it should have been.

8.

Daniel Jones NYG

21/27

217

0

0

1

93

89

4

GB

Jones had the week’s worst DYAR on throws to receivers at or behind the line of scrimmage, going 6-of-9 for all of 7 yards. Two of those completions lost yardage, none gained first downs, and only one counted as a successful play. However, he was tremendous after halftime, going 13-of-14 for 136 yards. He was virtually tied for most second-half DYAR with…

9.

Kenny Pickett PIT

34/52

327

0

1

3

92

85

7

BUF

… this guy! Pickett was especially effective in the third quarter, when he went 10-of-12 for 108 yards, plus a 7-yard DPI and a pair of sacks. We should probably point out that each of those 15 plays came with Pittsburgh trailing by 28 points, and that Pickett gains a league-high 54 DYAR due to opponent adjustments.

10.

Justin Fields CHI

15/21

208

1

0

2

80

74

6

MIN

Fields’ arsenal this year has mainly consisted of 1) handoffs, 2) scrambles, 3) sacks, and 4) deep shots, more or less in that order. But on Sunday, he was actually the NFL’s top passer on throws to receivers at or behind the line of scrimmage, completing all five of his passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.

11.

Justin Herbert LAC

22/34

228

1

0

1

70

78

-8

CLE

Herbert had a weirdly concentrated passing chart:

12.

Bailey Zappe NE

17/21

188

1

1

0

67

88

-21

DET

You know your defense is bad when you allow a third-stringer like Zappe to gain successful yardage on 65% of his dropbacks, the highest rate in the league. It wasn’t all sunshine and kittens for Zappe, though. He had the league’s worst DYAR on throws down the middle (1-of-2 for 10 yards with an interception), and his three runs gained only 6 yards and no first downs, with a fumble for good measure.

Rk

Player

Team

CP/AT

Yds

TD

INT

Sacks

Total
DYAR

Pass
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Opp

13.

Jacoby Brissett CLE

21/34

230

1

1

0

64

48

16

LAC

Brissett didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers—his average completion gained just 3.3 yards after the catch, fewest of any qualified passer.

14.

Jalen Hurts PHI

26/36

239

0

0

2

55

19

36

ARI

Hurts loses 26 DYAR due to opponent adjustments, tied with Tom Brady and Andy Dalton for most this week. His league-best 62 rushing DYAR came on 14 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns. His average depth of target was a league-low 3.8 yards; he only threw three deep balls (completing two for 53 yards), but he threw 16 passes to receivers at or behind the line of scrimmage, completing 13 for 68 yards. Four of those completions lost yardage.

15.

Aaron Rodgers GB

25/39

222

2

0

2

53

53

0

NYG

Rodgers’ average dropback came with a league-low 7.6 yards to go for a first down. He only had three dropbacks with more than 10 yards to go, but 15 with 7 yards or less, and he converted nine of them (including two touchdowns).

16.

Zach Wilson NYJ

14/21

210

0

0

2

45

31

14

MIA

Even though the Jets scored 40 points in this game, Wilson only threw one pass in the red zone. (It was incomplete.) Instead, the Jets ran 10 times for 39 yards and five scores inside the Dolphins’ 20, including Wilson’s touchdown on a scramble on third-and-goal from the 5.

17.

Derek Carr LV

20/30

241

2

0

2

36

38

-2

KC

18.

Davis Mills HOU

16/24

140

0

0

1

24

23

0

JAX

Mills didn’t throw a single pass in the red zone. Houston only had two plays in the red zone, from the 1- and 2-yard lines, and they handed off to Dameon Pierce both times.

19.

Trevor Lawrence JAX

25/46

286

0

2

0

17

8

9

HOU

Lawrence threw five passes in the red zone, completing one to his own team (a 3-yard gain on first-and-10) and one to the Texans.

20.

Joe Burrow CIN

24/35

217

1

1

2

12

14

-1

BAL

Burrow had nine failed completions against the Ravens, and those nine completions gained 41 yards, putting him in the top three in both categories.

21.

Lamar Jackson BAL

19/32

174

1

1

1

11

-4

15

CIN

Jackson had the league’s best DYAR on throws to tight ends, going 10-of-13 for 96 yards and a touchdown. If that sounds familiar, it should; it’s the third time in the last four weeks Jackson has finished first in that category.

22.

Marcus Mariota ATL

14/25

147

1

0

5

-6

-29

23

TB

Mariota was the week’s worst passer from under center, going 1-for-4 for zero yards with two sacks and a fumble. At least he can still run—Mariota gained 61 yards on seven carries against Tampa Bay.

Rk

Player

Team

CP/AT

Yds

TD

INT

Sacks

Total
DYAR

Pass
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Opp

23.

Carson Wentz WAS

25/38

359

2

1

3

-8

6

-14

TEN

Wentz’s four carries against Tennessee gained only 14 yards and resulted in a pair of fumbles. He was the week’s worst passer in a variety of categories, including third/fourth downs (3-of-10, 17 yards, one conversion, one interception, one sack), throws to running backs (8-of-11, 70 yards, only one first down, with an interception), and in the fourth quarter (13-of-18, 98 yards, one 14-yard DPI, one interception). The common denominator of those categories is the interception Wentz threw on third-and-goal from the 2 with Washington trailing 21-17 and nine seconds to go. That one play was worth -73 DYAR, the single worst total for any passing play so far this season.

24.

Skylar Thompson MIA

19/33

166

0

1

2

-11

-11

0

NYJ

Say what you will about Thompson, but Miami’s third-stringer was terribly effective on throws down the middle, going 5-of-6 for 69 yards; all five of those completions picked up first downs.

25.

Andy Dalton NO

16/24

187

1

1

1

-14

-16

3

SEA

Dalton loses 26 DYAR due to opponent adjustments, tied with Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts for most this week. He had a bad day on second downs, going 3-of-8 for 63 yards. Fifty-four of those yards came on one completion to Alvin Kamara, a completion that lost 4 yards through the air but gained 58 after the catch.

26.

Matthew Stafford LAR

28/42

308

1

1

5

-33

-33

0

DAL

Stafford gains 49 DYAR due to opponent adjustments. He threw a league-high 11 failed completions. He was also the worst quarterback of the week in the no-huddle; though he went 4-of-5 for 56 yards, he also gave up two sacks, a fumble, and an interception.

27.

Ryan Tannehill TEN

15/25

181

1

0

5

-36

-26

-10

WAS

Tannehill’s three carries against Washington gained only 3 yards with no first downs, not even any successful plays. But he was the week’s best passer in the red zone, going 4-of-5 for 39 yards and a touchdown.

28.

Baker Mayfield CAR

20/36

215

0

1

4

-38

-38

0

SF

In a week when six backup quarterbacks (including a pair of third-stringers) saw enough pass attempts to qualify for these tables, it was alleged starter Baker Mayfield who had the league’s lowest success rate at 28%. That’s the kind of stat that’ll get a coach fired.

29.

Jared Goff DET

19/35

229

0

1

2

-62

-56

-6

NE

Goff did almost nothing once crossing midfield. He threw for only one first down in New England territory, going 7-of-20 for 35 yards with two sacks, one fumble (returned for a Patriots touchdown), and one interception.

30.

Russell Wilson DEN

21/39

274

0

2

4

-69

-80

11

IND

Wilson failed to throw for a single first down in the red zone, where he finished 1-of-6 for 5 yards with an interception and a sack.

31.

Cooper Rush DAL

10/16

102

0

0

3

-91

-90

-1

LAR

Rush had the week’s worst DYAR in the first quarter, going 2-of-4 for 9 yards with a sack and a fumble.

32.

Matt Ryan IND

26/40

251

0

2

6

-116

-109

-7

DEN

Ryan was faced with very tough circumstances, gaining 41 DYAR due to opponent adjustments against the stout Denver defense and facing a league-high 10.7 yards to go for a first down … and he made the absolute worst of them. With more than 10 yards to go, he went 6-of-10 for 56 yards with one conversion, two sacks, one fumble, and an interception. He was the week’s worst passer in the third quarter, going 3-of-8 for 13 yards with an interception.

Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Total)

Rk

Player

Team

Runs

Rush
Yds

Rush
TD

Rec

Rec
Yds

Rec
TD

Total
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Rec
DYAR

Opp

1.

Derrick Henry TEN

28

102

2

2/2

30

0

72

47

25

WAS

Henry gains 25 DYAR due to opponent adjustments—Washington’s run defense has quietly been pretty good this year. But the Commanders only stuffed Henry three times while allowing him to run for seven first downs, the longest a gain of 15 yards. That includes five conversions in six carries with 5 yards or less to go for a first down. Henry’s two catches both came on second-and-7; one gained 24 yards, the other gained 6.

2.

Breece Hall NYJ

18

97

1

2/2

100

0

68

29

40

MIA

The Dolphins only stuffed Hall twice while allowing him to run for four first downs and four gains of 10 or more yards. His two catches: a 79-yard touchdown on first-and-10 and a 21-yard gain on second-and-9.

3.

Josh Jacobs LV

21

154

1

5/5

39

0

64

59

5

KC

4.

Austin Ekeler LAC

16

173

1

4/4

26

1

55

36

19

CLE

Ekeler loses 22 DYAR due to opponent adjustments; there is a reason the Browns traded for a linebacker a few hours after this game. Ekeler was stuffed just once while running for five first downs, each of which gained 10-plus yards, including a 22-yard touchdown and a 71-yard gain. His best catch was his touchdown on second-and-goal from the 12.

5.

Dalvin Cook MIN

18

94

2

2/2

27

0

53

38

15

CHI

The Bears only stuffed Cook once while letting him run for a half-dozen first downs, including four gains of 10-plus yards. His best catch was a 23-yard gain on third-and-10.

Five Best Running Backs by DYAR (Rushing)

Rk

Player

Team

Runs

Rush
Yds

Rush
TD

Rec

Rec
Yds

Rec
TD

Total
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Rec
DYAR

Opp

1.

Josh Jacobs LV

21

154

1

5/5

39

0

64

59

5

KC

2.

Derrick Henry TEN

28

102

2

2/2

30

0

72

47

25

WAS

3.

Jeff Wilson SF

17

120

1

1/2

12

0

50

46

4

CAR

Wilson ran for seven first downs against Carolina, including gains of 14, 16, 23, and 41 yards, while being stuffed just twice.

4.

Raheem Mostert MIA

18

113

1

1/3

9

0

39

42

-3

NYJ

The Jets stuffed Mostert twice, but each of his other 16 runs gained at least 3 yards. He ran for five first downs, including a 12-yard touchdown and gains of 20 and 24 yards.

5.

Tony Pollard DAL

8

86

1

0/0

0

0

40

40

0

LAR

Each of Pollard’s eight carries gained at least 2 yards. Three went for first downs, the longest a 57-yarder.

Worst Running Back by DYAR (Total)

Rk

Player

Team

Runs

Rush
Yds

Rush
TD

Rec

Rec
Yds

Rec
TD

Total
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Rec
DYAR

Opp

1.

Mark Ingram NO

9

16

0

0/0

0

0

-31

-31

0

SEA

None of Ingram’s carries went for a first down; in fact, none even counted as a successful play or gained more than 4 yards. But hey, he was only stuffed once.

Worst Running Back by DYAR (Rushing)

Rk

Player

Team

Runs

Rush
Yds

Rush
TD

Rec

Rec
Yds

Rec
TD

Total
DYAR

Rush
DYAR

Rec
DYAR

Opp

1.

Mark Ingram NO

9

16

0

0/0

0

0

-31

-31

0

SEA

Five Best Wide Receivers and Tight Ends by DYAR

Rk

Player

Team

Rec

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

Total
DYAR

Opp

1.

Justin Jefferson MIN

12

13

154

12.8

0

63

CHI

Nine of Jefferson’s catches picked up first downs, including two third-down conversions. His longest catch was a 31-yard gain on third-and-2.

2.

Tyler Lockett SEA

5

6

104

20.8

2

62

NO

Four of Lockett’s catches picked up first downs; the other was an 8-yard gain on first-and-10. His two touchdowns went for 35 and 40 yards.

3.

Gabriel Davis BUF

3

6

171

57.0

2

60

PIT

Each of Davis’ catches moved the chains, including 62- and 98-yard touchdowns. He also had a 4-yard DPI.

4.

Jakobi Meyers NE

7

8

111

15.9

1

54

DET

Each of Meyers’ seven catches gained at least 10 yards, and six picked up first downs, including a 24-yard touchdown.

5.

Tyreek Hill MIA

7

7

47

6.7

0

52

NYJ

Hill’s totals include 13 rushing DYAR for his two carries for 13 yards. None of his catches gained more than 13 yards, only three picked up first downs, and he never found the end zone. So why did he make the top five this week? Because in addition to the plays listed here, he picked up a pair of DPIs for gains of 34 and 27 yards.

Worst Wide Receiver or Tight End by DYAR

Rk

Player

Team

Rec

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

Total
DYAR

Opp

1.

Zay Jones JAX

3

8

12

4.0

0

-43

HOU

Jones’ only first down was a 7-yard gain on third-and-4. That was also his longest catch of the day; the others were a 2-yard gain on third-and-8 and a 3-yard gain on second-and-10.





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