The Read Optional RODS Ratings — Week 5

The Read Optional RODS ratings are our own developed statistical metric of team performance, analyzing the play of all three phases of the game. Within the RODS ratings there are two measures of performance. Firstly, the Standard RODS that is an aggregate of the Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams ratings and is based purely on what happens on the field, taking into consideration no outside factors. Secondly there is the Adjusted RODS, which applies some additional factors that are not measured in terms of box score stats, including weightings for includes strength of schedule, Divisional and Conference games and games played later in the season. For a further breakdown of how the ratings are derived, you can find the full breakdown of the RODS ratings here.

RODS Ratings Week 5

After losing their first three games and firing their offensive coordinator, the Bengals have now won two straight and sit just one game out of first in the AFC North. Their win over the Bills in week 5 was the joint top performance of the week, led by the top rated defense that held their opponent to just 220 yards of offense, and totalled 10 negative plays (6 sacks, 4 tackles for loss). They were joined by the Jaguars who have now tied their 2016 win total after just 5 weeks. Their week was also built on defense and the Jaguars are my top rated pass defense, who had 5 interceptions of Ben Roethlisberger. They were also strong against the run, allowing just 70 yards at 3.5 yards per attempt. They leant heavily on the run themselves, with 37 rushes compared to just 14 pass attempts and put up 231 yards on the ground at a strong 6.2 yards per attempt. The Jaguars finished week 5 as the top team using the Adjusted RODS ratings as their win came on the road, compared to the Bengals winning at home.

The Eagles continue to look like a contender in the NFC and their week 5 rating of +38.6% was their joint best this season as they routed the Cardinals 34–7.

Three teams this week put up a higher rating in defeat than the team that defeated them, with the Cowboys, Browns and Rams the ‘unlucky’ teams this week. The Rams posted their second 0% rating of the season, having achieved the same in week 2 when they lost to the Redskins

The Chiefs remain unbeaten and posted both the top rated offense and lowest rated defense of the week as they overcame the Texans 42–34. That they comfortably held the lead throughout the game is not really reflected in the Standard RODS rating (+1.4%, 13th overall this week), though overall they did rate higher than the Texans (-2.9%).

A little nugget that stood out this week was that the Giants scored 3 offensive touchdowns in week 5, but did not reaching the red zone once during the game. They are the only team since 2010 to have done this, with the only other team to have scored 3 touchdowns without getting to the redzone being the 2010 Cardinals, though two of their three scores came from their defense in a week 16 win over the Cowboys.

RODS Ratings — Season to Date

The Chiefs remain on top as they continue their unbeaten start to the season, driven by the top rated offense in the NFL, alongside the 3rd highest rated special teams. They hold a slight lead over the Jaguars who were the joint top rated team from week 5 and they are now rated as the joint number 1 defense in the league, up from 4th last week, alongside the Bengals.

The Dolphins remain at the bottom of the RODS ratings through week 5, despite winning this week and being at .500 for the season to date. Their offense is the worst rated in the league by quite a distance, which despite having a top 20 defense, sees them in the basement for the second straight week. In 2017 the Dolphins are averaging just 10.25 points per game and have put up less than 200 yards of offense in back to back games. They hadn’t had a game with less than 200 yards of offense in any of the last 3 seasons.

Week 5 is the first week where opponent record is used as a weighting factor in calculating the Adjusted RODS rating. No team currently sits more than two places above of below their Standard RODS rank, but I would expect this to change over the coming weeks.

I’ll be back next week with the updated week 6 rankings. You can find me on Twitter @PaddiCooper or @ReadOptional.