The 5 NFL Offenses That Declined Most This Season

Baltimore Ravens

2015 Rank: 30
2014 Rank: 8
Fall: 22 spots

Here we have another team that saw their starting quarterback end the season on Injured Reserve and suffered through a backup quarterback carousel. Even when he was healthy, Joe Flacco was having a down season, with a disappointing 14:12 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

As it was, his Passing NEP per play finish of 26th was worse than those of Andrew Luck, Sam Bradford, and Brock Osweiler. After Flacco went down, Matt Schaub, Jimmy Clausen, and Ryan Mallett each started two games for Baltimore.

Steve Smith Sr. amassed 670 yards in seven games before a season-ending injury, and Kamar Aiken became a target hog over the rest of the season. While rookie Breshad Perriman garnered much of the preseason hype as Torrey Smith’s replacement, he never stepped onto the field and Aiken totaled 127 targets as really the only option for Ravens quarterbacks.

Dennis Pitta again could not play due to long-term injury concerns, and Crockett Gillmore eventually landed on Injured Reserve. As the starter, rookie tight end Maxx Williams didn’t do much.

Justin Forsett was serviceable, albeit not up to his 2014 level of play, before hitting Injured Reserve with a broken arm. His backup, Javorius Allen, finished ahead of only fellow rookies Melvin Gordon and Matt Jones in Rushing NEP per play, although he proved valuable in the pass game.