Just four weeks ago, we were wondering about the odds of the New England Patriots getting through the 2017 regular season undefeated. It felt justified. Last year's Super Bowl champs appeared to have gotten better this offseason.
Entering Week 4, the Patriots had the worst defense in the league by our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, which is adjusted for strength of schedule. New England ranked 32nd in Adjusted Defensive NEP per play, coming in 31st against the pass and 25th versus the run.
After a then-surprising loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, New England’s offense was able to overcome the team's defensive deficiencies against the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans.