Saluting the NFL’s worst passers

You don't need a top-flight passing attack to succeed in the NFL. The Eagles, for example, don't rank in the top 10 in yards per pass or passing touchdowns, and they're comfortably sitting on the third playoff spot in the NFC. But you do need a passing attack that isn't truly incompetent.

In some cases, that incompetence is long-term. The average NFL team has thrown 115 passes that gained 10 or more yards; the New York Jets have thrown 82. Similarly, the average NFL team allows a sack on 6.1 percent of dropbacks; the Jacksonville Jaguars are over 10 percent and are on pace to be the first team in franchise history sacked 60 or more times in one season. In others, that failure can be more sporadic. For the second consecutive week, Matt Stafford failed to throw a touchdown pass, and the Lions lost. Through 73 starts, Stafford has been shut out of the end zone 12 times, and Detroit is 2-10 in those games.

You also do not need an amazing pass defense to enjoy a successful season. The Eagles, who rank near the bottom of the league in passing touchdowns and yards per pass allowed, prove that once again. But it certainly doesn't hurt. The Bengals are leading the AFC North in part because they tightly constrain opposing quarterbacks; in four games, Cincinnati hasn't allowed a passing touchdown, and they've given up two passing touchdowns total in the first and second quarters.

Terrible pass defense has sunk the Atlanta Falcons. They are the worst team in the league at 8.2 yards per opposing pass attempt and next-to-last in sacks with 14. The Falcons have given up 3,125 passing yards this year; no previous Atlanta team allowed 3,000 through 11 games, including the record-setting 1995 squad.

Terrible pass defense has also helped to kill the New York Giants this year. Last year, the Giants allowed 41 passes that gained 20 yards or more, tying them for fifth-fewest overall. This year, the Giants have allowed 46 of those receptions, second-most in the NFL.

In 2013, the Chicago offense essentially ran through four players: Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, Martellus Bennett, and Matt Forte.

That's still true in 2014, but the load is being carried much more heavily by Matt Forte.

So who is this deadly dual-threat quarterback known as Patient C? That would be Russell Wilson, who's killing defenses when he takes off with the ball in a way that should make Colin Kaepernick (Patient A) and Cam Newton (Patient B) jealous.

• No team has played more games decided by one score than the San Francisco 49ers (seven), and no team has won more of those games (five).
• The Packers are the only team that have not been shut out in the first quarter of any game they've played this year, and they're outscoring opponents by 70 points in the first 15 minutes.

• The Titans continue to see their third-down conversion rate plummet, now down to 29.1 percent. Tennessee has had 16 more three-and-outs on offense than they've forced on defense; the Raiders are the only team with a worse margin.
• Shaun Hill's game-shattering interception unfortunately fits with a trend for the Rams this year -- no team has turned the ball over more often in the second half while trailing by one score than St. Louis, who've done it seven times.
• New Orleans lost its third game in a row, something it's only done three other times since Drew Brees joined the Saints (and two of those were during the 2012 post-Bountygate season.)
• Miami's defense is feast-or-famine in the second half. In the third and fourth quarters, the Dolphins lead the league in opposing drives that end in a turnover (22 percent), but they're 29th in opposing drives that end in a punt (28 percent).