Photo: Peter Aiken / Getty Images

By Connor Groel (Contributor)

If there’s one thing we learned from 2020, it’s to expect the unexpected. Still, nothing could have quite prepared us for the surge in offense that took place during the NFL regular season. Analytical trends of increased efficiency in several aspects of the game were taken to new levels, leading to the best year for offense in league history. Let’s take a closer look at how it all went down.

A Record in Points Per Game

Ask any coach, and they’ll tell you that all the offense in the world means nothing if a team can’t turn it into points. Luckily, NFL teams had no trouble cashing in during 2020. As a whole, the league averaged 24.8 points per game (ppg) this season. 

That’s a full two points higher than last season, and a staggering 1.4 points higher than the previous record of 23.4 ppg set in 2013, when Peyton Manning and the Broncos seemingly broke every record in the book.

Just how impressive is this record?

That 1.4-point gap between 2020’s scoring output and 2013’s is the same as the gap between the 2nd and 17th-highest scoring years the NFL has seen.

The entire league was scoring more than ever before. In 51 seasons since the AFL-NFL merger, the league has seen 40 teams average 30 ppg or higher. Five of those occurrences were in 2020, with the Packers, Bills, Buccaneers, Titans, and Saints all eclipsing the 30 ppg mark. Never before had more than three teams averaged 30 ppg in a season, and now half of the 30 ppg seasons (post-merger) have occurred in the last 10 years.

Credit the Superstar QBs

Part of this offensive outburst is due to the unique combination of young and old superstar quarterbacks, perhaps best exemplified by the four QBs that led their teams to the conference championships this season. In the NFC, it was the old guard of Aaron Rodgers (age 37) and Tom Brady (43), while the next generation continued their takeover of the AFC with Patrick Mahomes (25) and Josh Allen (24) leading the way.

Even beyond these four elite signal-callers, it’s remarkable that guys like Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers still had strong seasons at the same time that Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, and others continued their ascent to stardom.

Behind likely the deepest collection of quarterbacks the league has ever seen, the NFL set a new record for overall passer rating in 2020 at 93.6, while the average net yards gained per pass attempt reached its highest mark post-merger. Teams went on longer drives than ever before (the average of 6.1 plays per drive and 10.9 drives per game are the highest and lowest marks, respectively, since drive tracking began in 1998), and they capitalized on their opportunities. In 2020, 39.8% of drives ended with the offense scoring, more than 3% higher than the next-best year.

Don’t Forget the Run Game

After all of these numbers, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that the 2020 season also set a record for total offense at 359 yards per game. But while the passing game has obviously led the way, 2020 was also an amazing year for rushing attacks.

This season’s average of 4.41 yards per carry is second all-time. And at 118.9 yards per game, teams ran for the most total yardage since 1988. All this while teams fumbled just 1.2 times per game, a new record. 

 Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images

Picking Up the Flags

There are a few other factors leading to this year’s increased offensive efficiency; the first being a sharp decrease in offensive penalties. In 2020, teams were called for just 5.6 penalties per game, down more than a full flag from the 6.7 average in each of the previous four seasons. 

According to Walt Anderson, the NFL’s senior VP of officiating training and development, the league placed an emphasis on “clear and obvious” calls this year, meaning many less egregious penalties (particularly on offensive holding).

Lastly, teams continued their aggressive play-calling on fourth down, leading to more attempts and a greater success rate than in years past. Teams kept their offense on the field 658 times on fourth down. That is both a new record and a 38% increase over just five seasons ago.

In Conclusion

The 2020 regular season produced offensive efficiency unlike any other. There is no reason to believe that offenses will slow down moving forward.

Welcome to a new age. And defenses? Good luck.