False Start, Houston Texans. Repeat Ad Nauseum.

StatWatch looks at the rise in motion and shift penalties around the NFL and what impact penalties are having on the Texans, Ravens, Dolphins and other teams.

C.J. Stroud leads the NFL with 27 dropbacks in situations where his team needs 15-plus yards for a first down: first-and-20, third-and-15 and so forth. Let’s call these situations “behind the sticks” dropbacks. They are bad for quarterbacks and their offenses, for obvious reasons.

Here are the quarterbacks with the most Behind the Sticks dropbacks, and their passing statistics in those situations, through four games of the 2024 season:

C.J. Stroud, Texans: 16-of-26 for 189 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack on 27 dropbacks.

Geno Smith, Seahawks: 12-of-24 for 101 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 1 sack on 25 dropbacks.

Deshaun Watson, Browns: 14-of-22 for 149 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks on 24 dropbacks

Caleb Williams, Bears: 12-of-22 for 89 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks on 24 dropbacks

Brock Purdy, 49ers: 13-of-17 for 209 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack on 18 dropbacks

Any dropbacks not counted in the data above resulted in scrambles. 

There are many reasons why an offense might need 15-plus yards for a first down. Penalties are the most common reason: a false start creates instant first-and-15; a holding penalty on first down often results in three straight Behind the Sticks offensive plays and a failed drive. Through four games, the Texans have already committed:

• 12 false starts

• 9 offensive holds

• 4 illegal formations

• 2 ineligible player downfield fouls

• 1 illegal shift

• 1 illegal use of hands

And a Laremy Tunsil in a pear tree.

The Texans lead the NFL with 40 penalties. The Ravens (357 yards) and Dolphins (336) have been penalized for more yardage than the Texans (326), largely because of pass interference and roughness fouls. 

Stroud has performed pretty well under the circumstances on Behind the Sticks passes, but it is hard to lead scoring drives when third-and-4 in field goal range becomes a fourth-and-19 pass due to three false starts and one incompletion (as happened against the Vikings).

Smith and Williams illustrate the perils of facing lots of long-yardage situations. Smith also leads the league in total attempts, so he will end up among the leaders in many splits. Williams is currently hapless when playing behind the sticks. Descuzzball mostly bumbles around and checks down, though he delivered some long completions against the Jaguars, a team that never passes up an opportunity to disappoint. The Browns offensive line is full of backups right now, creating a penalty-sack-checkdown-punt feedback loop.

Purdy has performed very well behind the sticks, one of many signs of his growth beyond “system quarterback” status this year. Also, he has faced such situations 2/3rds as often as Stroud.

Folks who have read my stuff for years may be waiting for the big reveal: this year’s surprise success stories have not faced many Behind the Sticks situations! Indeed, that is more-or-less the case, though it’s not the stuff of a bully-pulpit Sermon on the Sample Size Amount:

Sam Darnold: 9-of-12, 72 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks in 13 dropbacks

Justin Fields: 10-of-12, 61 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks in 13 dropbacks

Derek Carr: 8-of-10, 64 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks in 10 dropbacks

Baker Mayfield: 5-of-8, 54 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks in 8 dropbacks

Mayfield’s completions in Behind the Sticks situations traveled a grand total of four air yards; Darnold’s average depth-of-target is just 3.6 yards when Behind the Sticks. What you are seeing here is a group of veterans that has had the luxury of rarely needing to challenge a defense on third-and-15, thanks to a variety of factors: early-down success, low penalty rates, a defense that makes third-and-long a draw-play-and-punt down. 

Jayden Daniels is also just 6-of-8 when passing with 15-plus yards to go, with three total air yards. Splits like these are a fun way to discover things that in-the-news quarterbacks haven’t needed to do yet. When folks say it takes six weeks to “figure out” an offense or a new quarterback, this is what they mean: no one has seen Daniels and the Commanders often enough on, say, 2nd-and-long in a must-pass situation to determine their potential weaknesses.