The Green Bay Packers are leading the way to start a historic year of scoring in the NFL.
Through three games, the Packers have scored 122 points – the most in franchise history to start a season – and lead the NFL at 40.7 points per game.
Overall, the league is scoring points at a historic rate. According to the NFL, more points and touchdowns have been scored through the first three weeks of 2020 than any other season in league history. Teams have combined to score 2,446 points and 281 touchdowns, both records.
The Packers are the only team averaging over 40 points per game, but five other teams – the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons – are all averaging 30.0 points per game or more.
Amazing, the Packers have allowed 28.3 points per game – which would be the most per game in team history – but rank just 21st in the NFL in points allowed in 2020. Eight teams are allowing 30.0 or more points per game.
The Packers still have an average win differential of 12 points per game, an astounding fact considering how many points the defense has allowed through three games. The Packers offense has just been that good, scoring at least 37 points in each game.
Why are offenses so far ahead?
For starters, this is a unique year in the NFL, with abbreviated training camps and no preseason games due to the coronavirus pandemic. In many ways, defenses appear to be lagging behind offenses in terms of cohesion and performance to start the season and may need extra time to catch up.
Also, there have been no fans in the stands for most games. Defenses often rely on the energy from the crowd, and offenses aren’t being disrupted by the volume inside stadiums. The Packers scored 43 points in the opener at U.S. Bank Stadium and 37 more on Sunday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Arguably no team has benefitted more from empty stadiums.
Expect more scoring in Week 4. The Packers are welcoming the Falcons to Lambeau Field on Monday night. Dan Quinn’s team might be scoring 30.0 points per game, but his defense is allowing 36.0 points per game in 2020, the most in the NFL.