[OC] First Down Stats For All Playoff Teams (image inside)

Table

Boredom + PFR led to this: I was curious if seeing how a team was able to gain first downs would give any clue as to how they'd like the playcalling to go, and if there were any clues we could identify heading into this weekend's games. I broke down each playoff team's first downs/game by type (pass, rush, penalty), and then split the results by wins and losses. There were a few interesting tidbits:

• The Eagles baaarely averaged more 1Ds in a loss than a win (21.33 vs 21.08)

• The Steelers had almost no change in their passing/rushing 1Ds in wins vs losses. The big difference? 2.54 1Ds via penalty in wins, vs .67 1Ds via penalty in losses

• The Jaguars (2.3 vs 2.5) and the Bills (1.44 vs 1.57) were the only two teams to gain more 1Ds via penalty in losses than wins.

• The Patriots 2.67 1Ds via penalty in a loss is tied with the highest 1Ds via penalty in a win (Tennessee)

• Four teams showed notable drop-offs in rushing 1Ds during a loss: The Bills, Chiefs, Saints, and Titans.

I also made another table that added Home/Road splits (open in a new tab, it's long)

I know that there are other factors to consider such as score, field position, garbage time, etc., but I leave that to anyone that wants to dig even deeper.