The National Football League has raised eyebrows with its latest concern regarding the current state of the game, particularly in relation to scoring.
Despite the league’s historic success in terms of ratings and overall popularity, some officials are troubled by a noticeable dip in points-per-game averages over the past couple of seasons.
Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL Competition Committee, recently highlighted the issue, citing statistics that underscore the decline.
“Statistically, what gives us concern a little bit is scoring,” McKay said. “Scoring this year (2023) at 43.5 is still above a historical marker, which has kind of been that 43 mark. But we were at 49 points per game during COVID (2020), and we went to 45 (2021), we went to 43.76 (2022), and now weβre down to 43.54.”
π₯ππ£π’π₯π§: The #NFL is growing concerned with the dip in scoring over the last few seasons, says Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay.
The average points per game by both teams in 2020 was 49 points, but this year it was all the way down to 43.5. pic.twitter.com/0O2WK4GCJm
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) March 24, 2024
This decrease in scoring has prompted speculation about potential reasons behind the trend.
Some suggest that defenses are becoming stronger, while others propose that offenses are adopting more conservative strategies to minimize turnovers.
The NFL is seeing a dip in scoring, with concerns raised by Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay. Despite money and TV r… #nfl
Full summary here: https://t.co/rHaxgLan6Q
— Daily Handoff (@dailyhandoffnfl) March 24, 2024
The trend is interesting since the league has catered almost exclusively to offenses in recent years.Β
With rule changes and certain points-of-emphasis, life is generally easier for quarterbacks, receivers, and offensive players in general than ever before.Β
This used to not be a penalty. NFL has gone soft. https://t.co/WyF0fxeMvB
— WTF (@540856) April 7, 2024
What do you chalk the dip in scoring averages up to?
Should the NFL be concerned?
Whether they want to admit it or not, the popularity of gambling and fantasy football most likely means the NFL wants as much scoring as possible.
But is that a good thing?
all these weak pass interference calls the refs definitely got a parlay with cheifs moneyline on it pic.twitter.com/23DMwz6Pbe
— π§πΎββοΈ (@bdrip1k) November 21, 2023
With rule changes making the sport less physical than ever, don’t you take pleasure in the fact that defenses are seemingly holding their own?
Or are you on the NFL’s side of the field in that you want points, points and more points?
What – if anything – should the NFL be truly concerned about as we head into the future???