| Rank | Team | nERD | Rec | Playoff Odds | Off. NEP Rank | Def. NEP Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | San Francisco 49ers | -8.73 | 0-2 | 1.70% | 31 | 18 | 0 |
| 31 | New York Jets | -8.48 | 0-2 | 1.50% | 21 | 30 | -1 |
| 30 | Cleveland Browns | -7.73 | 0-2 | 1.50% | 22 | 21 | 1 |
| 29 | Chicago Bears | -6.59 | 0-2 | 3.30% | 24 | 29 | 0 |
| 28 | Indianapolis Colts | -4.44 | 0-2 | 10.30% | 29 | 24 | 0 |
| 27 | Los Angeles Rams | -3.53 | 1-1 | 19.60% | 9 | 7 | -2 |
| 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | -3.24 | 0-2 | 6.50% | 32 | 10 | -2 |
| 25 | Houston Texans | -2.16 | 1-1 | 24.10% | 30 | 11 | +2 |
| 24 | New Orleans Saints | -1.85 | 0-2 | 8.70% | 6 | 32 | -7 |
| 23 | Miami Dolphins | -1.52 | 1-0 | 27.70% | 15 | 25 | 0 |
The Los Angeles Rams are sneakily one of the more intriguing teams in the league. We knew going into the season that they would have a solid defense, but the offense was expected to be one of the league’s worst, with Jared Goff coming off one of the most dismal rookie seasons in history.
Goff started 2017 on the right foot with an excellent game against the Indianapolis Colts. He was more pedestrian in Sunday's 27-20 loss to Washington, but Goff still managed 7.8 net yards per pass attempt.
Indianapolis and Washington both had bottom-tier defenses in 2016, but the fact that Goff looked passable against a weak D is still a big improvement from last year, when he was terrible against everyone.
The Rams won't need Goff to be Peyton Manning if their defense can continue its strong start to the year -- Los Angeles ranks seventh in opponent's Adjusted Net Expected Points (NEP) per play. They still have a long way to go, but the NFC West has hardly covered itself in glory this season, and their playoff odds have jumped from to 5.4% to 19.6%.
Like Los Angeles, the Bengals dropped two spots in the rankings this week, but it is a lot harder to be optimistic about Cincinnati. Their offense is off to one of the worst starts in recent NFL history, and their playoff odds have dropped from 48.5% at the start of the season to 6.5%.