3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 4

By The Horns

Not only do the Los Angeles Rams lead the league in points scored (35.7 per game), but they are also currently the top-rated passing offense, per our numbers. The stark improvement in Jared Goff's game looks legitimate at the moment, as he currently trails only Tom Brady for the highest amount of Passing Net Expected Points (NEP).

Traveling to AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys presents an interesting challenge for the Rams. Head coach Sean McVay joined the Washington Redskins coaching staff back in 2010, so he very familiar with Dallas thanks to his time spent in the NFC East.

The Cowboys did limit Eli Manning and Trevor Siemian in terms of passing yards, but yielded four (yes, four) touchdowns to the latter. Furthermore, Carson Palmer was credited with seven explosive pass plays last week (passes of 15-plus yards) per Sharp Football Stats. The longest of those plays came in tandem with Larry Fitzgerald, who abused Dallas all night in the slot.

This bodes well for getting rookie slot receiver Cooper Kupp on track. After seeing a half dozen targets in each of the first two games, Kupp was only looked at twice in last week's offensive fireworks display against the San Francisco 49ers.

The reemergence of Todd Gurley can not be overlooked, but he remains a very inefficient runner. Gurley's -4.77 Rushing NEP is 14th-worst among all running backs. Thanks to the volume he's receiving and his involvement in the pass game, though, Gurley is still scoring touchdowns.