NFL Week 14 stats you should know Keys f from seestyle's blog

Ah, meaningful December football. There's nothing quite like it. The weather has turned (anyone catch ?), and most every team is looking to help itself -- and get help from others -- as the playoff races tighten.One month ago, the visiting Washington in mid-December didn't look like a game that would have playoff implications for both teams. Dallas was 6-2 and Washington was 2-6. Dallas was surging thanks to strong return from last year's season-ending injury. Washington, meanwhile, was still reeling from losing in Week 1 -- hadn't found his groove yet -- and the defense had been a major disappointment.Fast forward to Week 14 and Washington's four straight victories represent the longest active winning streak in the NFC while Dallas has lost two of its last three. Washington is still an underdog, but there are some areas it can take advantage of on Semyon Varlamov Women Jersey both sides of the ball. The same holds true for Dallas as it looks to create some separation in the division.Date: Sunday, Dec. 12|Time:1 p.m. ETLocation:FedExField (Landover, Md.)TV:Fox|Stream:fuboTV ( )Follow:Odds: +4.5, O/U 48 Washington hasn't discovered some sort of magic touch offensively during its winning streak. Rather, it has simply done a better job doing the basic things correctly. Washington's offense leads the in third-down conversion rate ( Anthony Beauvillier Women Jersey 50%) during its winning streak and, in turn, also leads the league in average time of po se sion (37:36) over that span.Heinicke has been a major reason behind those stats. Check out his third-down numbers before and during the current four-game winning streak:Taylor Heinicke On Third Down This Season1st 8 GamesLast 4 GamesCompletion percentage50%78%Yards per attempt6.17.81st-down conversion rate32%50%Sacks taken80That final row really stands out. Over the past four weeks, 22 quarterbacks have dropped back to pa s at least 30 times on third down. Only two have not been sacked: Heinicke and .So, how can Dallas stop an undersized, unheralded journeyman from being mentioned in the same sentence as the GOAT? It may seem counterintuitive, but the answer has been "Don't blitz." Over the last four weeks, when blitzed on third down, Heinicke has a pa ser rating of 142.9, second in the league behind . When he been blitzed, that drops number to 90.4.Heinicke actually appears decisive when blitzed: Over the last four weeks on third down, he's getting the ball out in an average of 2.63 seconds when blitzed compared to 3.45 seconds when not blitzed. Here's an example of him getting the ball out early for a score against, you gue sed it, the blitz: Heinicke to DeAndre Carter! leads 13-0. : on FOX: NFL app NFL (@NFL) And here's an example earlier in the season in which Buffalo generates pre sure without blitzing and Heinicke holds the ball before getting intercepted. Heinicke throws a pick to the other Safety now, Micah Hyde. Dov Kleiman ( Shane Prince Jersey @NFL_DovKleiman) The Cowboys have generated pre sure on over 28 percent of opponents' dropbacks when blitzing this season, good for ninth in the NFL. Their ability to do so Sunday will be a major factor in this game.Can Washington generate any pre sure on Dak Prescott? This season, Prescott has thrived when not pre sured.Dak Prescott This Season When Not Pre suredNFL RankPa ser Rating114.33rdCompletion percentage76%4thPa s TD204thCompletions of 20+ yards3010thThis could be an i sue for Washington, who four weeks ago and will be , who tested positive for COVID-19 and is unvaccinated. While Washington has improved in many areas during its four-game winning streak, pre suring the opposing quarterback is not one of them: The team's 28% pre sure rate over the last four weeks ranks 20th in the NFL, and its 3.7% sack rate is 25th.A second trend that has emerged since Washington's bye is its switch to almost exclusively zone coverage. Over the last month, Washington has run zone on an astounding 86% of opponent dropbacks, the highest rate in the league. Even if Prescott's jersey remains clean most of the afternoon, that zone defense could be tough to solve based on his performance this year.Dak Prescott This Seasonvs Zone Coveragevs Man CoverageTD-Int4-715-1Pre sure percentage29%32%Pa ser rating90.8116.5Prescott could look to attack Washington's zone in the middle of the field. This season, the Dallas QB has averaged 10.8 yards per attempt on between-the-hashes throws against zone, his highest of any area. Meanwhile, Washington is allowing 9.9 yards per attempt on those exact throws, 24th in the NFL.Take Prescott's perfect throw to last week against the : WELCOME BACK AMARI COOPER (via ) FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) This year, Prescott has a 114.8 pa ser rating when targeting Cooper against zone coverage, the second-best of any of his teammates behind . With Cooper another week removed from his battle with COVID-19, he could be in line for a big day.After an impre sive win over Cincinnati last week, the Chargers can't Bode Wilde Women Jersey afford a letdown against the . Meanwhile, the Broncos are coming off a disappointing prime-time lo s to the and facing a team that just earned its first win. If Denver wants to get its playoff hopes back on track, it needs a victory.Here's how both AFC playoff contenders can take care of busine s.ChargersLet be Justin Herbert. Against the , Herbert's average throw went 10.7 yards downfield, his highest mark this season. He had five completions at least 20 yards downfield, the most in his career. The Giants rank 27th in pre sure rate this year and have allowed 19 completions of at least 20 yards downfield this season, above the league average. If he has time to throw -- and he should -- Herbert can be aggre sive downfield in a game his team will be heavily favored to win.BroncosIt's past time to figure out those red zone woes. The Broncos have scored a touchdown on just 53% of their red zone drives this season, 27th in the NFL The Lions' defense, however, is even worse at defending in the red zone, allowing a touchdown on 71% of opponents' trips -- 29th in the NFL. The Denver defense shouldn't have too much of a Jason Chimera Men Jersey problem with the Detroit offense, but if and Co. settle for field goals, things could get dicey in the Mile High City.