NFL

The NFL's 5 Most Improved Offenses Entering 2016

Already with an elite receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, Houston reloaded on offense this offseason. Who else should have an improved attack in 2016?

In some ways, defense won the day in 2015.

The NFL’s top two defenses -- per our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, which you can read more about in our glossary -- squared off in the Super Bowl, with the Denver Broncos’ menacing defense dominating the game.

But don’t let that fool you: the NFL is still an offensive league.

A year ago, 9 of the 12 postseason participants ranked in the top 12 in Adjusted Offensive NEP per play, and 3 of the 4 conference finalists -- Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots -- finished in the top 7 in Adjusted Offensive NEP per play.

To take it a step further, 6 of the 8 teams in the Divisional Round ranked in the top 12 in Adjusted Offensive NEP per play. Denver (25th) and the Kansas City Chiefs (14th) were the lone exceptions.

So, if you want to make a run at the Super Bowl and you don’t boast the league’s best defense, you need to have a top-notch offensive unit.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five teams whose offenses, for varying reasons, should perform much better than they did last season.