The 2019 NFL Conference Championship games are less than a week away and I’m getting more excited for these matchups with every passing minute, specifically due to the skill players on each team. There couldn’t be a more diverse mix of teams showing up this weekend if they were hand picked by the fans themselves. Between the fast-paced underdogs and the dominant powerhouse leaders, there is surely to be some incredible football drama headed our way soon as we finally find out who is headed to the Super Bowl.
Last week, we used the Pro Football Network OSM grading metrics to look at the divisional leader’s top wide receiving duos but today I wanted to take a broader approach. I thought it would be interesting to see which conference has the stronger overall OSM average between their two teams facing off in the national title bouts. For this stat, I compiled the regular season averages of the current offensive skill position starters (QB, WR, WR, RB, TE) for the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and Tennessee Titans. I then stacked them against each other and averaged out the grades among conferences. I did not include any grades or performances from any post season matchups.
According to the PFN OSM, the American Football Conference finalist had a higher productive output than it’s NFC finalist counterparts over the course of the regular season. The 2019 regular season combined OSM offensive averages of the Chiefs and Titans’ skill players came out just ahead of those for the 49ers and Packers. Even though the two conferences grades overall were for the most part similar, there were a handful of differences between the team pairs that stood out.
American Football Conference
Overall OSM Grade: 30.706
Patrick Mahomes: 22.48
Ryan Tannehill: 34.36
Derrick Henry: 21.27
Damien Williams: 9.40
Corey Davis: 33.21
Tyreek Hill: 35.44
Adam Humphries: 37.79
Sammy Watkins: 31.86
Travis Kelce: 36.93
Jonnu Smith: 44.32
The AFC’s averages out ahead of the NFC by just over one full point but some of the ten skill players listed in this group are just miles ahead of their National Football Conference peers. Specifically speaking, the Tennessee Titans are a dominant force when graded on their production using OSM alone. Of all four teams graded in this article today, the Titans hold the highest individual overall grade for quarterback, running back, and tight end. Both teams here also have access to a dominant offensive line that continues to lead to big plays. Also noted, Travis Kelce was the only player featured in this article that met the minimum qualification to record an OSM grade in all 16 games that he played.
National Football Conference
Overall OSM Grade: 29.544
Jimmy Garoppolo: 23.90
Aaron Rodgers: 19.60
Matt Breida: 17.31
Aaron Jones: 14.98
Davante Adams: 35.13
Geronimo Allison: 33.27
Emmanuel Sanders: 33.41
Deebo Samuel: 38.63
Jimmy Graham: 37.73
George Kittle: 41.48
While the NFC overall average is just behind the AFC, they have a couple standout stats of their own. With the help of Deebo Samuel, the NFC has an overall higher graded group of wide receivers between the two conferences. Samuel also put up the highest individual game day OSM grade of any of the twenty players featured here over the course of the entire regular season. It’s also important to note that even though the AFC has Derrick Henry, as a whole the NFC has been more productive in the running game with a higher grade overall for RB’s. Interestingly, Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers was the only of the four QB’s to be graded Average on the OSM metrics.