Pat Thorman’s Week 2 edition of Snaps & Pace landed with a clear message for anyone tracking volume: the Saints and the Ravens both pushed the pace in Week 1, and that matters because pace drives opportunity. New Orleans finished first in neutral pace, just as it did last year, after a 139-snap game that included 20-play overtime.
That is the kind of number that can change a fantasy week. Week 1 scoring rose to 24.7 points per team per game even as play volume slipped to 60.8 snaps per game, down from 61.3 in 2025. Thorman’s point is simple enough to matter right now: if the Saints keep playing that fast, the floor for volume goes up with it.
Neutral pace is the part of the game that isolates the snaps that matter most for game flow, defined here as plays while the margin is within seven points during the first three quarters, excluding the final two minutes of the first half. By that measure, New Orleans was not just fast — it was first. A 139-snap game before overtime is a different class from the 121.8 pre-OT average in 2025, and that gap explains why the Saints keep showing up as one of the league’s most useful pace teams.
Baltimore offered a different kind of signal in Indianapolis. The Ravens scored touchdowns on four of their opening five possessions and reached the 3-yard line on the other, yet they still operated at the 12th-fastest neutral pace. That fits the broader shape of the offense: still mostly run-based, still capable of moving quickly when the game calls for it, and still fast enough to matter for Week 2 decisions.
The catch is that Week 1 can flatter pace as much as it reveals it. Scoring climbed, but the total play count remained low by recent standards, which means one explosive Sunday does not erase the larger volume problem. Even so, the Saints look like the clearest bet to keep creating extra snaps, and Baltimore’s pace in Indianapolis suggests the Ravens are not going to be a drag on opportunity if the script stays active. Week 2 will show whether those numbers were a one-week spike or the start of something more durable.
