The Winners and Losers from NFL Week 4...

[www.theringer.com]

The Winners and Losers From NFL Week 4
BY RODGER SHERMAN

[www.theringer.com]

Loser: Jeff Fisher
The Rams offense is good. 40-point efforts against the Colts and 49ers could be scoffed at, but on Sunday the Rams beat the Cowboys on the road, 35-30, taking down a team expected to be an NFC contender. The Rams are alone in first place in the NFC West and lead the league in scoring.

Jared Goff is third in the NFL in quarterback rating—behind Tom Brady, ahead of Drew Brees. Todd Gurley is perhaps the most productive running back in the NFL, with seven touchdowns and 596 yards from scrimmage in four games.

It’s especially amazing because last year the Rams were dead last in scoring. They were held to 10 or fewer points in nine of their 16 games and scored 30 points only once. Goff looked like an immediate bust. Gurley had only six touchdowns the whole season.

This reflects most hilariously on Jeff Fisher, the phenomenally uninspiring coach who helmed the Rams from 2012 to 2016. (Actually, it is pretty inspiring that he kept NFL head-coach jobs for so long despite being Jeff Fisher.) Fisher developed a reputation for mediocrity and milquetoast offenses, but swore 2016 would be the end of “7-9 @#$%&.”

Sure enough, his team started 4-9, he got fired, and as soon as the rest of Fisher’s staff disappeared, the Rams became competent. L.A. is currently being coached by Sean McVay, a teenager who has spent most of the season convincing the team’s older players to buy him vodka.

And he’s made the team miles more effective. Every time the Rams put up points like this and win should make Fisher’s future employment seven to nine times more unlikely.