How good of a job did the Jets do in capitalizing off of opponent turnovers this past season? Let’s dive in.
TURNOVERS FORCED
The Jets recorded 11 interceptions (tied for 20th) and 9 fumble recoveries (tied for 14th), which puts their takeaway total of 20 at 20th in the league.
CAPITALIZATION
Let’s look at all drives that started with either an interception, fumble, blocked punt, or blocked field goal, discounting drives that culminated with the end of a half. The Jets had 19 of those in 2017.
- Did not record a single turnover off of an opponent turnover; one of ten teams.
- Recorded a score on 9 of 19, a 47.4% rate. That placed them at 26th in the league, with the league average at 56.4%.
- Scored a touchdown on 5 of 19, a 26.3% rate, placing them 23rd and below the league average of 32.9%.
- Punted on 9 of 19, a 47.4% rate, the 2nd highest rate in the league above a league average of 27.8%.
- Averaged 15.7 yards per drive, 2nd fewest in the league (ahead of the Giants).
How about drives off of turnovers that set them up in opponent territory?
Turnovers are great momentum-swingers, but they don’t always necessarily set the offense up in prime scoring position. Let’s narrow the field down to drives that began off of turnovers on the opponent’s side of the field. The Jets had 9 of those.
- Scored on 8 of 9, an 88.9% rate that placed them 7th in the league, above the league average of 77.7%.
- Scored a touchdown on 4 of 9, a 44.4% rate that placed them 17th in the league against a league average of 46.8%.
Clearly, the Jets’ numbers off of turnovers were much better in opponent territory. They did a pretty solid job of capitalizing when the defense put them in prime position. In fact, their only non-scoring drive off a turnover starting in opponent territory was a missed field goal.
One thing that I took away from looking at these numbers is the profound impact turnovers have. Leaguewide, the average drive resulted in a touchdown 19.9% of the time and a score 35.2% of the time. Drives starting with a turnover (the INT, fumble, BLK kick, and BLK punt filter mentioned earlier) resulted in a touchdown 32.9% of the time and a score 56.4% of the time. Sometimes they say the best offense is a good defense, and in football that tends to be true possibly more so than any other sport.
Poll
Which is more important in creating a takeaway machine on defense?
This poll is closed
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23%
Ballhawking DBs
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76%
Monster pass rushers
What do you take away from the numbers?