Lions and Bucs accomplished something Rams failed to do in 2024

When it comes to the most proficient offenses, the Los Angeles Rams are no longer leading the pack. That's right, the Rams offense is no longer one of the top scorers in the NFL. That title for 2024 falls to the Detroit Lions (33.2 points per game, Buffalo Bills (30.9 points per game), Baltimore Ravens (30.5 points per game), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (29.5 points per game), or the Washington Commanders (28.5 points per game.

Three of the Top Five NFL offenses boast a dual-threat quarterback. That means that their quarterbacks were capable of pulling the football down and running as effectively as an NFL running back. The Buffalo Bills had QB Josh Allen, who rushed for 531 yards. The Baltimore Ravens had QB Lamar Jackson, who rushed for 915 yards. The Washington Commanders had rookie QB Jayden Daniels, who rushed for 891 yards. The Rams are never going to get veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford to rush for 500+ yards in an NFL season.

But when it came to the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they did not have the benefit of a dual-threat quarterback. The Lions had former Rams QB Jared Goff, who only rushed for 56 yards all season. The Bucs had former Rams QB Baker Mayfield, who rushed a respectable 376 yards, but that was only good enough for third-best on the team. So they didn't benefit from a fleet-footed QB. So how did they managed to score at will?

Closer inspection reveals that the Lions had two solid rushers in second-year RB Jahmyr Gibbs (1,412 yards, 16 TDs) and veteran RB David Montgomery (775 yards, 12 TDs). Hmm. So they accomplished the same effect with two running backs as the dual-threat QBs on their respective teams. They had two dangerous running backs. Was that two-running back threat replicated in the Buccaneers offense?

It certainly was., The Buccaneers got a monster season out of rookie RB Bucky Irving (1,122 yards, 8 TDs) with third-year RB Rachaad White (613 yards, 3 TDs)

So high-scoring NFL offenses have some characteristics that seem to be shared by all. Is this a blanket factor for all? That is, if other NFL teams can manage to accomplish two successful rushers in the backfield, does that automatically mean more points on the scoreboard?

I don't think that it's as simple as that. After all, there is the task of blocking schemes, running lanes, offensive line proficiency at run blocking, and even the pattern of play calling that sets up the defense to be more vulnerable to running plays.