There are certainly ranging tiers of offenses in today's NFL. On one hand, you have a Mike McDaniel-led team like the Dolphins who can put up 70 points in a game despite resting his starters for the fourth quarter. Likewise, teams like the Bills, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Eagles can pour it on their opponent at any given time.
On the other hand, there are a few bottom-dwellers who struggle to muster up much more than a single touchdown per game. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have been among the most disappointing teams in the league so far a month into the season.
There is not a direct correlation between points per game and the best teams in the league, but this is a statistic that certainly matters. After all, what's more important in football than scoring points? Here's a look at every NFL team ordered by points per game entering Week 5.
NFL Standings: Points per Game entering Week 5
1. Miami: 37.5
2. Buffalo: 34.8
3. San Francisco: 31.3
4. Dallas: 31.0
5. Philadelphia: 29.5
6. Seattle: 27.8
7. LA Chargers: 27.5
8. Detroit: 26.5
9. Kansas City: 25.3
10. Denver: 25.0
10. Green Bay: 25.0
12. Baltimore: 24.8
13. LA Rams: 24.5
14. Indianapolis: 24.3
15. Houston: 24.0
16. Minnesota: 22.5
17. Washington: 22.3
18. Arizona: 22.0
19. Tampa Bay: 21.0
20. Jacksonville: 20.0
21. Cleveland: 19.0
22. Chicago: 18.8
23. Tennessee: 18.0
24. Carolina: 16.8
25. Atlanta: 15.5
25. Pittsburgh: 15.5
25. New Orleans: 15.5
25. Las Vegas: 15.5
25. NY Jets: 15.5
30. New England: 13.8
31. Cincinnati: 12.3
32. NY Giants: 11.5
The Pittsburgh Steelers might be 25th in the NFL in points per game, but this number is even worse than it looks. If you take away two defensive touchdowns by edge rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, their offensive PPG is just 12.0 -- good for 31st in the NFL.
It's remarkable how low the Bengals are this year. Joe Burrow clearly hasn't been the same since his calf injury, and it makes you wonder whether or not they should just rest him on the bench rather than risk further injury to the face of their franchise.
Three teams are currently averaging over 30 points per game on the season. Miami is pulverizing the competition when it comes to scoring with a whopping 37.5 points per contest. The Bills, who just manhandled Miami in a 48-20 win in Week 4, are second in the league in scoring with 34.8 PPG. It's no surprise that these teams have combined for a 6-2 record (and somebody had to lose when they went head-to-head).
Right now, there's quite a discrepancy between the top teams and the bottom teams in the league when it comes to points per game. Obviously, a team's quarterback situation has a lot to do with this statistic. Outside of a clearly-hampered Joe Burrow, the teams on the bottom of this NFL standing have a shaky-at-best quarterback situation.
For those at the bottom, there's still plenty of season left to turn things around. However, now that we are a month in, the scoring for these teams is starting to become the trend. At this rate, we will see sizeable tier gaps in points per game by the end of the 2023 season.