From the episode
In weeks one through 10, including the bye week... Darnold had a passer rating of 117.5 against man coverage. His explosive pass rate was 23.8%, which is absurd. His yards per attempt was nine and a half. His EPA per play was a whopping 0.36... But in weeks 11 plus, starting with that first Rams game, his passer rating dropped against man coverage down to 89.3.
STACKED’s take
JSN dominated man coverage early (117.5 rating, 23.8% explosive rate) before defenses adjusted in week 11.
JSN was the centerpiece of Seattle's offensive identity in the first half of 2024, engineered to get one-on-one matchups through a run-heavy scheme that forced defenses into cover three. In weeks 1-10, Darnold had a 117.5 passer rating against man coverage with JSN, a 23.8% explosive pass rate, 9.5 yards per attempt, and 0.36 EPA per play. JSN had five games with 10+ receiving snaps in single coverage during this stretch. However, after the Rams set a defensive blueprint in week 11 limiting his explosives while allowing catches underneath, JSN's role changed dramatically; he got double-digit single-coverage snaps in only one game (vs. Falcons) for the rest of the season.
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