Mile High Report
Last night, Bo Nix put up a passing stat line of 29 of 42 (69%) for 326 yards, 2 TDs, & an INT. That 326 yard passing mark is a new personal best for the sophomore QB, which may feel a bit weird for a guy with 22 career starts and 12 wins. I know it certainly felt off to me, even considering an offense that’s not necessarily geared to emphasize pumping out bulk passing yardage.
As it happens, Nix is actually above average in producing high-yardage games among the huge 2024 QB class. Here’s how they stack up in 300+ passing yard games:
So what’s the deal? Why is such a talented QB class producing so few high-yardage games?
It’s mainly because such games have gotten a lot rarer for the entire league. And that is a direct effect of the “Dynamic Kickoff” rules the NFL instituted in 2024 and further tweaked for 2025. The removal of fair catches on kickoffs combined with touchback placement surging forward from the 25 to the 30, and now to the 35, has resulted in shortened fields for offenses.
The NFL is getting what it wanted at least: More relevance for the previously moribund return game. Return rates rose to 32.8% in 2024, and spiked to 79.3% through the first two weeks of 2025. But the other side of that coin is that offensive volume is dropping, and it’s dragging volume-dependent stats like passing yards down with it.
That is a precipitous drop in the number of 300 yard passing games happening around the league.
Dynamic Kickoffs have also advanced average starting field position by about 4.5 yards. With around 22 drives happening each game, up to about 100 yards of potential offensive yardage is removed. Extend that to the whole 285 games of regular & postseason play, and the NFL has cut out up to 28,000 yards of potential offense. That said, the qualifiers in those notes are there for good reason. Between 3 & outs, turnovers, short fields, and other factors, the actual reduction in offensive yardage is far smaller than that. But it is enough to make a noticeable impact, such as that drop in 300+ yard passing games.
So is the NFL hurting itself with these side-effects of the Dynamic Kickoffs rules? Probably not. As an article on the Operations page of the NFL website points out, the kickoff rule changes have also driven Points Per Drive up from 1.78 in 2023 to 2.02 in 2024 and, per Pro Football Reference, 2.12 points per drive through 4 weeks in 2025. Likewise, the percentage of Scoring Drives has risen from 33.2% to 37.9% & now 43.8% respectively.
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