Skip to content
English
Contact us
Back To Stathead.com
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Football Advanced Stats Explained

Most of the stats you'll find in search es on our Football Stathead site are straightforward stats from boxscores. However, there are a few calculated advanced stats not found on other websites that you might not be familiar with. Here's a quick rundown with definitions of those stats:

ANY/A - adjusted net yards per passing attempt: (pass yards + 20*(pass TD) - 45*(interceptions thrown) - sack yards)/(passing attempts + sacks). 

AV - approximate value. This is our attempt to put a single number on each player-season since 1960 so that we can (very approximately) compare across years and across positions. See this blog page for all the details. 

AY/A - adjusted yards per passing attempt: (pass yards + 20*(pass TD) - 45*(interceptions thrown))/(passing attempts). This stat was introduced, and the reasoning behind it thoroughly explained in a book called The Hidden Game of Football, by Bob Carroll, Pete Palmer, and John Thorn.

NY/A - net yards per passing attempt: (pass yards - sack yards)/(passing attempts + sacks)

Game-Winning Drives - QB must lead an offensive scoring drive in the 4th quarter or overtime that puts the winning team ahead for the last time.

4th Quarter Comebacks -QB must lead an offensive scoring drive in the 4th quarter, with the team trailing by one score, though not necessarily a drive to take the lead. Only games ending in a win or tie are included.

During the 2022 season, we introduced to Stathead a wide ranged of advanced tracking stats that were previously only available on the season and player pages at Pro-Football-Reference.com.

This update includes:

  • Passing stats that measure throwing distance, QB accuracy, pressure faced by the QB, and play types like RPOs, play action, and scrambles.
  • Rushing stats that measure yards before and after contact, as well as broken tackles
  • Receiving stats that measure yards before or after the catch, drops, ADOT, and passer rating when targeted
  • Defensive stats that measure QB pressures, hits, knockdowns, and more for pass rushers; coverage success for pass defenders; and missed tackles for all defenders

For more information on these advanced stats, which are compiled through game charting by SportRadar, please see this glossary page.