A lot goes into winning and losing football games, but ultimately, having the ball more than you don't gives you a better shot of winning. I mean, if one team has the ball, the only way the opposition can score is if they intercept a pass or recover a fumble. It's simple, but significant.
With that, it comes as little surprise that the teams among the best in the league at dominating time of possession are sitting pretty record-wise 15 weeks into the season. Here's a look at the NFL standings ordered by time of possession.
NFL standings by time of possession
AFC East
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Buffalo Bills | 33:04 (1st) | 9-4 |
2 | New England Patriots | 31:45 (5th) | 11-2 |
3 | Miami Dolphins | 29:04 (24th) | 6-7 |
4 | New York Jets | 28:21 (27th) | 3-10 |
The 2025 season has been up-and-down for the Buffalo Bills, but when it comes to time of possession they're hanging out at the peak. They lead the NFL, keeping the ball for over 33 minutes of game action on average. Both Josh Allen and James Cook are averaging over five yards per carry, helping Buffalo maintain the league's best rushing attack. Running the ball often and efficiently usually leads to impressive time of possession results, and that could be a winning formula in January and February. Giving Allen the ball for 33 of 60 minutes in a football game should lead to great things for Buffalo.
AFC North
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cleveland Browns | 29:22 (21st) | 3-10 |
2 | Baltimore Ravens | 29:19 (22nd) | 6-7 |
3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 28:04 (T-28th) | 4-9 |
4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 26:58 (32nd) | 7-6 |
Not only do the Pittsburgh Steelers have the worst time of possession in the NFL, but they've controlled the ball nearly a minute less on average per game than the 31st-ranked team. The Steelers have found ways to win in spite of this, but it's also worth noting they've gone 3-1 against their division rivals. Nobody in this division is even in the top 20 in time of possession. Assuming they match up against a team from a different division in the playoffs (if they can even get there), Pittsburgh's inability to get the opposition off the field can really come back to bite them. It's hard to win if you rarely have the ball, especially in the playoffs, giving reason to believe this season will end familiarly for Pittsburgh.
AFC South
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Houston Texans | 32:10 (3rd) | 8-5 |
2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 31:26 (7th) | 9-4 |
3 | Indianapolis Colts | 29:14 (23rd) | 8-5 |
4 | Tennessee Titans | 28:54 (25th) | 2-11 |
The Houston Texans rank 20th in yards per game, so it's not as if they have anything close to a dominant offense. They've been able to control the ball in spite of this, though, and that has everything to do with their elite defense. Keeping the opposition off the field is half the battle of winning the time of possession game, and the Texans are as good as any team in that area.
AFC West
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles Chargers | 32:56 (2nd) | 9-4 |
2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 31:30 (6th) | 6-7 |
3 | Denver Broncos | 30:32 (12th) | 11-2 |
4 | Las Vegas Raiders | 28:04 (T-28th) | 2-11 |
The AFC West has two of the four best defenses on third down in the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos. The reason why the Chargers have been able to control the ball a good amount more than Denver comes down to their offense. The Chargers are ninth in the NFL in rushing yards per game, and Justin Herbert has come through in the clutch when needed. The Broncos, though, struggle to generate consistent offense. Their defense has allowed them to control the play, regardless, but their lackluster offense pushes them closer to league average in terms of time of possession than they otherwise would be.
NFC East
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York Giants | 30:28 (13th) | 2-11 |
2 | Dallas Cowboys | 29:46 (16th) | 6-6-1 |
3 | Philadelphia Eagles | 29:37 (18th) | 8-5 |
4 | Washington Commanders | 28:33 (26th) | 3-10 |
From first to... mediocre? The Philadelphia Eagles led the league in time of possession last season on the backs of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, and wound up winning the Super Bowl. Neither Hurts nor Barkley has been close to as effective this season as they were last, and the result is the Eagles having the football for less than half the game. They're still a pretty good team, but it's clear this isn't nearly the same team that won last year's Super Bowl handily.
NFC North
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chicago Bears | 32:03 (4th) | 9-4 |
2 | Detroit Lions | 30:39 (11th) | 8-5 |
3 | Green Bay Packers | 29:47 (15th) | 9-3-1 |
4 | Minnesota Vikings | 27:51 (31st) | 5-8 |
The Chicago Bears are another team that's dominated on the ground, as they lead the NFC with 152.6 rushing yards per game. That, combined with a league-leading 28 takeaways, has allowed the Bears to control the ball. We can talk about how well Caleb Williams has played this season, but if the Bears are going to continue winning the time of possession battle, they're going to continue winning games.
NFC South
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 31:17 (8th) | 7-7 |
2 | Carolina Panthers | 30:54 (10th) | 7-6 |
3 | Atlanta Falcons | 29:26 (20th) | 5-9 |
4 | New Orleans Saints | 27:58 (30th) | 3-10 |
The biggest surprise in the NFC South is that the Atlanta Falcons are 20th in time of possession. Sure, their quarterback play has been less than stellar, and the same can be said about their defense, but Bijan Robinson is one of the best running backs in the NFL, and the Falcons are fifth in the NFL in rushing attempts. Typically, running the ball a lot kills the clock. Their underwhelming roster everywhere other than running back, though, has made it so that even with Robinson, the Falcons don't control the ball very much.
NFC West
Rank | Team | Time of Possession (NFL Rank) | Current Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arizona Cardinals | 31:03 (9th) | 3-10 |
2 | San Francisco 49ers | 30:23 (14th) | 9-4 |
3 | Seattle Seahawks | 29:42 (17th) | 10-3 |
4 | Los Angeles Rams | 29:33 (19th) | 10-3 |
The NFC West is a strange division on the time of possession front. In fact, the time of possession standings are in reverse order of the actual standings. This division is proof that, as useful as this information is, time of possession isn't everything. You can have the ball a lot, but also fail to convert in the red zone, and also allow a lot of big plays on the defensive end. With that, it's strange seeing the Arizona Cardinals in the top 10 of time of possession and the Los Angeles Rams in the bottom half of the league, but not overly shocking when acknowledging that this isn't a perfect metric.
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