A little preface here to the article. I’m a huge believer in chunk plays. I was caught up for years in the way Tom Brady could reliably get the ball to Wes Welker or the way Frank Gore could always manage to get 4 yards.
However, with the onset of analytics, it’s pretty clear that big plays are what matters. You can have a 15 play drive, with five first, and it doesn't mean much if you fail to score. But if Raheem Mostert breaks a long run for a touchdown, that’s game-changing. It’s awesome that the analytics support this because, as a fan, it’s a lot more fun to see long touchdowns than Alex Smith check it down again and again.