Numbers don't lie, but they definitely hide things. If you just look at the final scores from the 2024 NFL season, you're missing the weird, granular reality of how these teams actually functioned. Honestly, looking at NFL 2024 team stats is like looking at a car's telemetry after a race. You see the crashes, the fuel efficiency, and the moments where someone clearly fell asleep at the wheel.
The Baltimore Ravens finished the regular season with the league's best offense in terms of total yardage, but did that actually make them the most dangerous team? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on whether you value raw explosive power or the kind of surgical efficiency we saw from the Detroit Lions.
The Ground Game Revolution and the Ravens' Dominance
Baltimore was a cheat code. Period. Led by Lamar Jackson and the mid-season arrival of Derrick Henry, they didn't just run the ball; they demoralized people. They averaged a staggering 156.4 rushing yards per game. To put that in perspective, most teams are thrilled to crack 120.
But it wasn't just about Henry stiff-arming linebackers into the turf.
The Ravens' offensive line created 2.8 yards of "push" before contact on average. That is a massive gap. It meant Henry was hitting the second level of the defense without anyone even touching his jersey. When you combine that with Jackson’s ability to break contain, defenses were basically playing a guessing game they were destined to lose. According to Next Gen Stats, Jackson finished the year with a passer rating over 100.0 when using play-action, a direct result of teams being terrified of the run.
The Lions and the "Ben Johnson" Effect
Then you have Detroit. The Lions were the most balanced team in the league, ranking in the top five for both passing and rushing yards. Jared Goff didn't just have a "good" year; he had a career-defining one. He stayed clean. The Lions’ offensive line allowed the third-lowest pressure rate in the league.
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When Goff has a clean pocket, he’s a surgeon. When he gets hit, things get... messy. But he didn't get hit much in 2024.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams provided the perfect "lightning and lightning" duo. St. Brown owned the intermediate middle of the field, while Williams finally became the deep threat everyone expected. Their NFL 2024 team stats reflected a team that could beat you in a phone booth or a track meet.
Defensive Metrics That Actually Matter
Everyone talks about "yards allowed," but it's a garbage stat. It really is. A team can give up 400 yards but if they force three turnovers and hold the opponent to field goals, they won.
The 2024 Kansas City Chiefs were the masters of this "bend but don't break" philosophy. Steve Spagnuolo’s unit didn't necessarily lead the league in fewest yards, but they were elite in "Expected Points Added" (EPA) per play allowed. Specifically, their blitz pick-up and disguised coverages forced quarterbacks into a league-high 14% "throw-away" rate.
The Rise of the Sack-Heavy Units
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans were nightmares for tackles. T.J. Watt continued to defy the laws of physics, but the real story was Will Anderson Jr. in Houston. The Texans' defensive front generated a pressure on nearly 38% of dropbacks. That is an absurd number. It’s why C.J. Stroud was able to take such big risks on offense—he knew his defense was going to get the ball back.
- Baltimore Ravens: Total sacks led the AFC for most of the season.
- Cleveland Browns: Remains a top-tier defensive unit despite offensive woes, specifically in 3rd-down conversion percentage allowed.
- Kansas City Chiefs: Top 5 in scoring defense, proving that Mahomes doesn't always have to score 30 to win.
What People Get Wrong About Efficiency
A lot of fans look at the Dallas Cowboys' stats and think they were elite. On paper, they were. Dak Prescott threw for a ton of yards and CeeDee Lamb was a target vacuum. But look closer at the NFL 2024 team stats regarding "Strength of Victory."
Dallas beat up on bad teams.
When they faced teams with a winning record, their "Yards Per Play" dropped from a league-leading 6.2 down to a pedestrian 5.1. That's the difference between a Super Bowl contender and a playoff participant.
The San Francisco 49ers, conversely, maintained their efficiency regardless of the opponent. Brock Purdy’s "Adjusted Yards Per Attempt" (AY/A) stayed consistently high because Kyle Shanahan’s system creates open windows that even a league-average QB could hit. Purdy isn't just league-average, though; his accuracy on throws 10-19 yards downfield was the best in the NFL in 2024.
The Special Teams X-Factor
We can't talk about 2024 without mentioning the "Dynamic Kickoff." It changed the math. The average starting field position moved from the 25-yard line to the 28.6-yard line across the league.
Teams like the Buffalo Bills took advantage of this. Khalil Shakir and the return units weren't just looking for touchdowns; they were looking for that extra 5 yards that puts Josh Allen in a position to strike. Buffalo’s "Hidden Yardage" stats—the difference between their return yards and their opponents'—was among the highest in the NFL. It’s a boring stat. It wins games.
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Red Zone Realities
The Philadelphia Eagles had a weird year. The "Tush Push" (or Brotherly Shove) remained statistically the most successful short-yardage play in football history, converting at over a 90% clip.
But their red zone touchdown percentage actually dipped. Why? Because teams started sellling out to stop the run on 1st and 2nd down inside the 20. The Eagles were forced to pass in tight windows, and Jalen Hurts struggled with a slightly higher interception rate in the "Gold Zone" (inside the 10-yard line) compared to his 2022-2023 campaigns.
Efficiency Leaders in the Red Zone:
- Detroit Lions: 68% TD rate.
- San Francisco 49ers: 66.5% TD rate.
- Cincinnati Bengals: 64% TD rate (when Burrow was healthy).
The Bengals are an interesting case study. When Joe Burrow is upright, their red zone efficiency is elite because he gets the ball out in under 2.4 seconds. When the pocket collapses, that number tanks.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you're looking at these stats to understand what happens next, don't just chase the leaders. Look at the outliers.
Watch the "Pressure to Sack" ratio. Teams like the Texans have a high pressure rate but might not always get the sack. This usually means a "sack regression" is coming—meaning they will likely get even more lucky or unlucky next year based on how those pressures convert.
Monitor the "Turnover Luck" factor. The Minnesota Vikings, for example, had a wildly fluctuating turnover margin. If a team wins 10 games but has a +15 turnover margin, they probably aren't as good as their record suggests. Turnovers are notoriously "sticky" and rarely repeat at high levels year-over-year.
Focus on "Success Rate" over "Total Yards." A 4-yard run on 1st and 10 is a "successful" play. A 4-yard catch on 3rd and 10 is a failure. Teams like the Ravens and Lions lead the league in Success Rate, which is a much better indicator of sustainable winning than a few 70-yard bombs.
To really master the 2024 landscape, start by filtering stats by "Game Script." How does a team perform when they are down by 7? The Packers, surprisingly, had one of the highest EPA/play numbers when trailing in the fourth quarter. That’s the mark of a young team with a high ceiling.
Keep an eye on the defensive secondary "Completion Percentage Over Expected" (CPOE). Defenses that force tight-window throws, even if they give up yards, are the ones that survive the playoffs. The Chiefs are the blueprint here. They don't mind you catching a 5-yard out; they mind you catching a 20-yard post.
Study the offensive line continuity. Teams that started the same five linemen for more than 12 games in 2024 saw a 15% increase in rushing efficiency compared to those with rotating lineups. It's the most underrated stat in the game.