Photos: Ian Johnson (left), Mark Goldman (center), Leslie Plaza Johnson (right)/Icon Sportswire

Let’s take a one-week break from baseball to touch on something going on in one of the other sports we cover, the NFL Playoffs.

Much like SIS devised Defensive Runs Saved as a way to get a better understanding of what was going on in the sport, so too did it create Total Points, a stat that puts a value to almost everything that happens on a football field, taking things into account such as broken tackles, yards after the catch, and blown blocks.

Total Points uses the Expected Points Added (EPA) framework. EPA works by taking any given situation and finding the odds that each different scoring possibility comes next.

Total Points is a player level stat, but similar to Wins Above Replacement in baseball, it can be summed to create an overall team value, which we do on a per-play basis.

A much more comprehensive explanation can be found on our website here.

So let’s apply this to the NFL playoffs. Here are the playoff teams listed with their 2024 season ranking in Total Points Per Play.

Team Total Points Per Play Leaderboard – 2024 Season

One important thing to note here: These numbers are based on the entire season, meaning that a game in which a team rests its starters counts as much as any other game.

Case in point: The Chiefs dropped from 7th to 11th after getting shut out by the Broncos. While 11th may not be a reflection of Kansas City’s true talent, it’s worth noting they weren’t dominant in this statistic prior to that, standing about even with the Chargers and Broncos.

The Ravens, not the top-seeded Chiefs and Lions, are the No. 1 team in Total Points Per Play. Between Lamar Jackson’s overall excellence passing (41 touchdowns, 4 interceptions) and rushing (915 yards) and the dominance of running back Derrick Henry and his 1,921 rushing yards and 6 yards per carry, the Ravens have the No. 1 offense by Total Points Per Play.

In fact, they’re No. 1 in the Passing, Rushing, and Receiving Components, and No. 6 in Blocking. Jackson is the No. 1 QB on a per-play basis. Henry is the 3rd-ranked running back and Justice Hill ranks 5th.

Defensively, the Ravens rank 12th in Total Points Per Play allowed and they’re trending in the right direction. They allowed only 43 points in the last four games of the season.

The defense does have some imperfections. The Ravens allowed 10 points to the Bills in Week 4 but also yielded 31 to the Buccaneers and 38 and 34 in two meetings against the Bengals, so they’re at least a little susceptible to a good offensive team. Baltimore faces Pittsburgh this weekend, a team against whom it allowed 18 and 17 points, respectively, in their two meetings.

The weakest offense among postseason teams belongs to the Texans, who rank 25th. Quarterback C.J. Stroud took a step back this year, though the Texans were still good enough to win a weak AFC South.

The top-ranked defense by Total Points Per Play belongs to the Eagles. The Eagles ranked 3rd in all three defensive components – Run Defense, Pass Rush, and Pass Coverage. They just edged out the Broncos, who ranked 7th, 6th, and 2nd in those stats, respectively, as the top defensive team.

Philadelphia turned it up a notch at the season’s quarter-point. The Eagles allowed 24 points per game in their first four games and 16 points per game in their last 13 games. Their top contributor by Total Points was Zack Baun, who led all NFL linebackers in that stat.

The weakest defense in the playoffs– by these numbers– belongs to the Commanders, who rank 25th overall, 27th in Run Defense, 21st in Pass Rush, and 19th in Pass Coverage. Washington’s best defense would be to keep its top 10 offense and superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels on the field as much as possible.

To see the full team Total Points rankings, click here for our final regular season report.