This clip comes from an NFL game from January 3, 2021, featuring the Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills - a game that Buffalo won by 56 points to 26. The clip from Youtube shows the magic of a punt return going all the way to the endzone for a touchdown by Isaiah McKenzie. The action in the video clip is replicated in the visualization below with one important addition. Each circle below represents a player. Blue represents Miami, red represents Buffalo. You will see some analytics in the top left corner and in the form of a halo surrounding #19. The metric in the top left and the halo tells you something about the opposing traffic. As McKensie begins to encounter Miami players, the metric grows in size and the halo takes on a more intense color. The darker the halo, the more trouble for McKensie. The halo’s hue is derived from a mathematical calculation based on average distance to each opposing player. It’s simple but effective at showing you how much trouble lies ahead. The halo is initially clear but as McKensie takes possession and Miami players arrive in force, the halo darkens and stays that way as McKensie begins to weave his way through Miami players to reach the endzone.

The data used to produce the above animation clip is derived from an NFL dataset containing over 18 million observations from the 2020-2021 season.