The NFL’s Most Generous Teams

The holiday season is a time of year associated with giving to others, as family and friends exchange presents and get merry. The gridiron isn’t normally a place where you would expect to see acts of generosity, but sometimes teams give their opposition gifts in the form of on-field opportunities, much to the disdain of their loyal fans.

As we make our way through the festive period and towards the business end of the football season, Gambling.com decided to work out the NFL’s Most Generous Teams - by seeing who has given up the most points, penalties and giveaways per game this season. Each category contributed equally to an Overall Generosity Score for every team out of 100. The full ranking of all 32 franchises is listed below.

Cleveland Loves To Give Out Brownie Points

The Cleveland Browns are the NFL’s Most Generous Team, based on the opportunities and openings they give to the opposition in every game so far this season. Despite this, the Ohio franchise is 2nd in the AFC North, with almost twice as many wins as losses (9:5). The Browns have the most giveaways per game (2.14) across the entire division, which helps culminate in an Overall Generosity Score of 75 out of 100.

The 2nd Most Generous Team in the NFL is the Chicago Bears, with a final rating of 71. While not topping any of the analyzed categories, the Bears rank near the top in all of them and sit at the bottom of the NFC North with only five wins in 14 games.

Completing the generosity podium in 3rd is the Arizona Cardinals, with an Overall Generosity Score of 68. The Glendale-based team has conceded the second most points per game in the NFL (26.86), with only the Washington Commanders opposition racking up a higher score on average. Therefore it’s no surprise to see the Cardinals at the bottom of the NFC West with only three victories.

The Denver Broncos (67) and Carolina Panthers (66) are in 4th & 5th, respectively. 

At the opposite end of the scale, the San Francisco 49ers are the Least Generous NFL Team (to their opposition). Their Overall Generosity Score of 15 out of 100 is attributed to having the fewest giveaways per game across the NFL, while also being stingy in terms of points and penalties conceded per game. Unsurprisingly, the 49ers are at the summit of the NFC West, with 11 wins this season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the 2nd Least Generous NFL Team, earning a final score of 22. Meanwhile the Cincinnati Bengals are 3rd in this inverted ranking (23).

Methodology

●      Gambling.com decided to rank the NFL’s Most Generous Teams by measuring these three data points/metrics so far this season:

• Average points conceded per game - from ESPN.
• Average penalties conceded per game - from NFL Penalties.
• Average giveaways (fumbles lost & giveaway interceptions) per game - from ESPN.

●      All three data points were measured out of 100 using the PERCENTRANK formula, and an average was found to create an Overall Generosity Score. All NFL teams were ranked from highest to lowest final score.

• All data was collected and correct on Dec. 19, 2023.