Chicago Bears’ ‘D’ Keeps Top Spot in NFL STOP Factor Rankings
Published by Jerry Tapp on October 27, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears defense had another outstanding game in their 13-7 win over the Detroit Lions on Monday night. The Bears “D” was on the field for 12 Detroit offensive possessions and allowed the Lions to score only once in the game, that coming on the Lions’ last possession of the game. The Bears forced the Lions to punt eight times and created three turnovers in those other 11 possessions.
With this performance, the Bears defense remained in the No. 1 spot in this week’s NFL STOP Factor rankings.
(The STOP Factor is based on the premise that it is the defense’s job to stop their opponents from scoring on each possession. To get a team’s STOP Factor, you divide the number of times a defense stops the offense from scoring—offensive unit TD or field goal—by the number of total possessions by the opposition.)
Looking at each teams’ last three games, the Bears have been the most dominant defense. The Bears have allowed their opponents to score in only five of 34 possessions, an 85.3 STOP Factor. The Arizona Cardinals defense has played very well in their last three games stopping their opponents from scoring in 28 of 36 possessions, a 77.7 STOP Factor.
Following is each NFL teams’ STOP Factor. Listed is how many times each team stopped the opponents from scoring, the number of possessions their opponents had and the percentage of possessions that each team prevented the other team from scoring (stats are through Week 7 games).
Team, Opponents’ scoreless possessions/opponents’ possessions, STOP percentage
1. Chicago 79.7 (55 stops in 69 possessions)
2. Houston 74.4 (61 stops in 82 possessions)
3. Arizona 72.9 (62 stops in 85 possessions)
4. Atlanta 72.2 (47 stops in 65 possessions)
5. San Francisco 71.4 (50 stops in 70 possessions)
6. Seattle 70.4 (50 stops in 71 possessions)
7. Miami 68.5 (50 stops in 73 possessions)
8. Minnesota 67.6 (50 stops in 74 possessions)
9. San Diego 67.2 (43 stops in 64 possessions)
10. Tampa Bay 66.2 (45 stops in 68 possessions)
11. St. Louis 65.3 (47 stops in 72 possessions)
12. Dallas 64.8 (35 stops in 54 possessions)
13. Cleveland 64.6 (53 stops in 82 possessions)
14. Philadelphia 64.3 (45 stops in 70 possessions)
15. New England 63.3 (50 stops in 79 possessions)
16. New York Giants 62.9 (44 stops in 70 possessions)
17. Green Bay 62.7 (47 stops in 75 possessions)
18. Denver 62.5 (40 stops in 64 possessions)
19. Detroit 60.7 (37 stops in 61 possessions)
20tie. Baltimore 60.3 (47 stops in 78 possessions)
20tie. Cincinnati 60.3 (47 stops in 78 possessions)
22. Indianapolis 59.1 (39 stops in 66 possessions)
23tie. New York Jets 58.9 (43 stops in 73 possessions)
23tie. Pittsburgh 58.9 (33 stops in 56 possessions)
25. Washington 57.3 (47 stops in 82 possessions)
26. Jacksonville 55.9 (38 stops in 68 possessions)
27. New Orleans 53.7 (36 stops in 67 possessions)
28. Kansas City 53.1 (34 stops in 64 possessions)
29. Oakland 52.2 (35 stops in 67 possessions)
30. Buffalo 51.9 (40 stops in 77 possessions)
31. Tennessee 48.6 ((36 stops in 74 possessions)
32. Carolina 47.5 (29 stops in 61 possessions)
Biggest gainers this week: Dallas (up eight spots); Detroit (up four spots); Indianapolis (up three spots)
Biggest losers this week: St. Louis (down four spots); New England (down three spots); New York Giants (down three spots); Washington (down three spots)
Average league STOP Factor (through Week 7): 62.8
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