NFL Week 16 - To even the least analytics-minded observer, something seemed different during Week 16 of the 2021 NFL season. Coaches appeared to be going for it on fourth-and short-routinely, often in their own territory, and yet commentators’ heads weren’t exploding. Has the thinking really shifted, and is it here to stay?
There were approximately 100 non-trivial fourth-down decisions that occurred during Week 16. “Non-trivial” is the subset that eliminates obvious late-game desperation attempts or, to be more specific, the type of decisions NFL coaches have always gotten right. EdjSports analyst Ian O’Connor, in his weekly fourth-down report, identified 35 correct fourth-down go attempts.