NFL Report Cards: Team-by-Team Grades for Week 16
It's almost here; can you taste it?
As much as fans relish the start to the NFL season, that expectation pales in comparison (for many) with the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. That's a sword that cuts both ways, as the malaise of losing has set in for plenty. Still, for those still in the race, this is what we came here for!
It's fitting that the anticipation for the NFL's second season comes at this time of the year. Not only does the intensity and the fervor match the holiday season for many, but the "new year" of the NFL playoffs brings a sense of renewal and freshness that the turning of the calendar does as well.
There is one week left in the NFL season, and there is much to play for around the league. Each week, we've been writing a book—chapter by chapter—of each team's season. There is still work to be done here too.
Criteria for Grading
- Coaching decisions and how a team performed on offense, defense and special teams.
- The caliber of opponent the team was facing.
- The atmosphere played in: at home, away, weather, etc.
Not Considered
- Excuses. I grade the team on the field, not the ideal squad that could have been out there without injuries, suspensions, etc.
- Expectations. If everyone picked your favorite team to lose and it won, that doesn't mean it gets an A+ grade.
- Results. A team can look really bad and win a game, while another team can look great in defeat. While it's true that winners will often trend higher than losers from week to week, that doesn't mean all of the winners get good grades, while the losers get bad ones.
Each team also gets a cumulative mark, which averages the grades thus far in the current season. This will be a running metric all season long. A reminder, though, that this is simply an average.
Teams that are playing well right now but did poorly in the past (and vice versa) will have those past efforts equally rated in their grades. For a snapshot look at how a team is performing at this moment, Matt Miller's power rankings are a great resource.
Grab your red pens. We're on to the grades!
Arizona Cardinals (11-4)
1 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Seattle Seahawks 35-6
With Carson Palmer under center, this is probably an A/B+ team. With Drew Stanton under center, this is probably a B/C+ team. With Ryan Lindley? Any club would be an F kind of team. Against the Seattle Seahawks? That's going to manifest itself in these kind of games.
Week 16 Grade: F
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 17 Opponent: San Francisco 49ers (Away)
Atlanta Falcons (6-9)
2 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. New Orleans Saints 30-14
Just a few weeks ago, I was calling for head coach Mike Smith's job, and while I'm not totally off that train of thought, the Falcons can help their coach with another game like this in Week 17.
They can do that by not just making the playoffs, which...let's be honest...isn't exactly a difficult proposition in the NFC South this season, but more importantly by taking the reins and winning the games they need to win.
Week 16 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: Carolina Panthers (Home)
Baltimore Ravens (9-6)
3 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Houston Texans 25-13
With all due respect to Steve Smith, allow me to be another "fat, lazy, sorry couch quarterback" to blast some criticism toward the Ravens for this atrocious effort.
This, just a week after the Ravens laid an absolute egg against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now they're in danger of missing the playoffs thanks not just to getting their butts kicked, as Smith told reporters, but by allowing themselves to get their butts handed to them by teams with not nearly as much talent.
Three turnovers (all interceptions) and 10 recorded QB hits given up along with almost nothing of note in the run game shows you where this loss started—on the offensive line and quarterback Joe Flacco's inability to mitigate pressure when that line isn't playing up to snuff.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: Cleveland Browns (Home)
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Buffalo Bills (8-7)
4 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Oakland Raiders 26-24
So, maybe Kyle Orton isn't the answer at quarterback?
After EJ Manuel started the season 2-2, the Bills went to Orton who started (relatively) strong but will finish the season at that same .500 mark if he starts (and presumably loses) next week in New England.
The Bills defense has been fantastic, but against an improving Raiders defense the offense simply wasn't able to get anything going with absolutely nothing from under center.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: New England Patriots (Away)
Carolina Panthers (6-8-1)
5 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Cleveland Browns 17-13
Quarterback Cam Newton was back for this game, but it was running back Jonathan Stewart and his 122 rushing yards that did much more to pace the offense. Newton was a little more picky with his passes, dinking and dunking to a certain extent and taking off when able.
Still, 17 points isn't a win against most opponents, and the defensive effort (while effective) was hardly lights-out against a Browns offense which has been atrocious with Johnny Manziel at quarterback.
Week 16 Grade: C
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 17 Opponent: Atlanta Falcons (Away)
Chicago Bears (5-10)
6 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Detroit Lions 20-14
I could probably laud the Bears defense a lot more for holding Detroit to only 20 points, but I'm about to take the Lions to task in a few slides for continuing their spate of unforced offensive errors and inconsistency, so maybe it wasn't all Chicago keeping them down.
Offensively, though, it was refreshing to see a team that was always going to struggle against the Lions defense at least not shoot itself in the foot so often with poor throws and interceptions. The Bears confirmed Jay Cutler gets to start again next week because of a Jimmy Clausen concussion, so we'll be back to regularly scheduled offensive hilarity.
Week 16 Grade: D+
2014 Cumulative: C-
Week 17 Opponent: Minnesota Vikings (Away)
Cincinnati Bengals (10-4-1)
7 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Denver Broncos 37-28
The Bengals exorcised some prime-time demons on Monday Night Football. Now, with the playoffs locked up and a divisional title on the line, can they continue the streak and win a playoff game?
The Bengals beat Peyton Manning with a fantastic defensive effort coupled with a better-than-expected night out of Andy Dalton (especially with zone-read runs), some fantastic long runs and special teams efforts.
Week 16 Grade: A-
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 17 Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers (Away)
Cleveland Browns (7-8)
8 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Carolina Panthers 17-13
Johnny Manziel has been given what can only be described as an incredibly disappointing set of training wheels in his first couple of starts as an NFL quarterback. Trial by fire? Meh...it's more like he's somehow drowning in a lukewarm pool of someone else's bathwater.
The offense doesn't cater to Manziel's strengths, and the coaching staff is letting him fail by asking him to do something he's not ready for—because they purposefully didn't get him ready!
These games don't matter long term for Manziel's career, because his preparation (as starter) before next season is much more important. Still, it's easy to question whether this team and staff have much of a clue on how to help him get to the next level.
Week 16 Grade: D+
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 17 Opponent: Baltimore Ravens (Away)
Dallas Cowboys (11-4)
9 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Indianapolis Colts 42-7
Is there a grade higher than A+? Because this was one of the worst butt-whuppin's of the entire 2014 season.
Week 16 Grade: A+
2014 Cumulative: A-
Week 17 Opponent: Washington (Away)
Denver Broncos (11-4)
10 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals 37-28
Manning's arm is completely gone. It has been struggling for a while, but we just got to see it in prime time this week. Though arm strength wasn't the only problem with Manning and the Broncos offense, it was a factor in his four-interception game.
None of that means Manning is a bad quarterback or that he's not capable of leading this team right back to the Super Bowl. What it means is that teams are going to continue to dare him to beat them as they've done the past month, and he needs to be better.
Week 16 Grade: B-
2014 Cumulative: B+
Week 17 Opponent: Oakland Raiders (Home)
Detroit Lions (11-4)
11 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Chicago Bears 20-14
What a terrible game for the Lions as a juxtaposition for their best season in most of their fanbase's lifetime and locking up a playoff spot. It's difficult not to watch this game and have all sorts of weird premonitions about their matchup next week in Green Bay (or their first playoff game) when they struggled so mightily against such a bad Bears team.
This was not the Bears stepping up. This was a terrible performance by the Lions offense and a so-so day by the defense when one considers the caliber of quarterback it was facing.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 17 Opponent: Green Bay Packers (Away)
Green Bay Packers (11-4)
12 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-3
This game was much closer heading into the fourth quarter than Green Bay fans were comfortable with, but much of that had little to do with what the Buccaneers were running.
The Packers were playing close to the vest, featuring shorter passes and no real killer instinct. They were clearly treating this like a tune-up for next week's game against Detroit, and they throttled up when it counted.
Week 16 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: B+
Week 17 Opponent: Detroit Lions (Home)
Houston Texas (8-7)
13 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Baltimore Ravens 25-13
Though the Texans only got two sacks, they were dominant at the line of scrimmage for most of the game. They would've won this by a much larger margin if they'd been playing someone not named Case Keenum at the quarterback position.
Meanwhile, even against the tough sledding of having to run against the Ravens' defensive front, the Texans were able to collect 123 total rushing yards by committing to the run and grabbing three turnovers' worth of extra possessions.
Week 16 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars (Home)
Indianapolis Colts (10-5)
14 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Dallas Cowboys 42-7
Yes, the Colts didn't have anything to really play for, but this was embarrassing. From top to bottom, in every phase of the game, Indianapolis was dominated. The Cowboys offensive line did a fantastic job, and their defensive line simply didn't let the Colts offense get going.
The tide of the game started to turn heavily against the Colts almost from the get-go, but even more so on a failed punt fake in the shadow of their own goal line. It was a good call (even from that area of the field) and everything was executed perfectly, until the pass was dropped as badly as a pass can be dropped.
The Cowboys scored and never looked back.
Week 16 Grade: F
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 17 Opponent: Tennessee Titans (Away)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12)
15 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Tennessee Titans 21-13
This game had all of the flavor of the Jaguars simply waking up down 10-0 and realizing they were the better team. It may not have been by much, but the Jaguars opened up the playbook and ramped up the defensive pressure. Tennessee had no answer.
Week 16 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: D+
Week 17 Opponent: Houston Texans (Away)
Kansas City Chiefs (8-7)
16 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers 20-12
I'm sick of watching the Andy Reid-led Chiefs. This is a terrible team offensively, mismanaged by a head coach who was done being on any sort of cutting edge in the NFL for at least half a decade, if not far more.
Honestly, kicking two short field goals (four total) in this game was the entire difference between a win and a loss. If this team had anything at all offensively, it would probably have double-digit wins and a spot in the playoffs.
Reid, a supposed offensive guru, needs to be fired if this team is ever going to be something more than mediocre.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: San Diego Chargers (Home)
Miami Dolphins (8-7)
17 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Minnesota Vikings 37-35
Dolphins fans seem to want head coach Joe Philbin's head on a platter, but that's more about managed expectations in my opinion. This team doesn't have double-digit win-type talent on a roster which was mismanaged by Jeff Ireland for years, but Philbin had the Dolphins playing close in a bunch of games—many against much better opponents.
Win or lose, that was better than I thought they'd do.
In this game, though, it's tough to give them a ton of credit defensively as Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did much of what he wanted. So, even with the exciting end of the game, grading the whole thing is a light B.
Week 16 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: New York Jets (Home)
Minnesota Vikings (6-9)
18 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Miami Dolphins 37-35
The Vikings are making the whole "good enough to make it close with anyone, but lose in the end" thing quite the meme for their season.
In a tale of the tape-style matchup, they're not getting this close to the Dolphins or controlling the game for that long, but there they were. A lot of that has to do with the quarterback position and the defense overplaying their talent level.
Week 16 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: C+
Week 17 Opponent: Chicago Bears (Home)
New England Patriots (12-3)
19 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. New York Jets 17-16
The Patriots may not have been looking past the Jets in any fashion, but they didn't come into this game trying to make any statements either. Quarterback Tom Brady had little to no help from the line in front of him and looked confused by the Jets' defensive blitzes and alignment.
Combine that with a typically good Jets run defense, and the Patriots seemed more interested in just going with the flow in this one rather than imposing any sort of will.
Week 16 Grade: C
2014 Cumulative: A-
Week 17 Opponent: Buffalo Bills (Home)
New Orleans Saints (6-9)
20 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Atlanta Falcons 30-14
The Saints were my Super Bowl pick, and I was hardly against the grain in that regard. Now, they're not making the playoffs—not just because of coaching (though, that's part of it), but more due to terrible execution.
Turnovers, missed tackles, drops and unforced errors is no way to go through life, son.
Week 16 Grade: D
2014 Cumulative: C-
Week 17 Opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Away)
New York Giants (6-9)
21 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. St. Louis Rams 37-27
I'm not sure anything was quite as surprising in Week 16 as the Giants not only beating the Rams (I had it as a coin flip) but scoring so many points against a really good St. Louis defense!
Manning was kept clean by a fantastic offensive line performance all day, and Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald was all but blanked from an impact perspective.
Week 16 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 17 Opponent: Philadelphia Eagles (Home)
New York Jets (3-12)
22 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to New England Patriots 17-16
This was vintage Rex Ryan-style Jets football against the Patriots. The pass rush beguiled Tom Brady and the Patriots offense all day, while that same front seven made it almost impossible for the rush to get going.
Yet, while the offense put up average numbers (by Geno Smith standards), it was things like settling for field goals and a low third-down conversion rate (5-of-13) that kept the Jets from winning this one.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: D
Week 17 Opponent: Miami Dolphins (Away)
Oakland Raiders (3-12)
23 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Buffalo Bills 26-24
This was a solid game overall by the Raiders. In the context of their usual standards, this might be one of the biggest pieces of their season-ending highlight reel.
The running game was spectacular, especially considering the opponent. The ability to get chunks of yardage on the ground allowed quarterback Derek Carr to stay clean in the pocket and have a nice day passing the ball against a defense that just beguiled the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
It was the defense, though, that had absolute domination of Kyle Orton—pressuring him and baiting him into poor throws—that truly won this game for Oakland.
Week 16 Grade: C+
2014 Cumulative: D
Week 17 Opponent: Denver Broncos (Away)
Philadelphia Eagles (9-6)
24 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Washington 27-24
Sorry, Eagles, but your quarterback is in another castle. A lot of people, myself included, loved just about everything the Eagles brought to the table but had trouble trusting them with such an Achilles' heel at quarterback.
In the end, Mark Sanchez was their undoing. He shouldn't have even been in a spot to throw the game away late because he should've had them up by 20-plus points against a team as bad as Washington.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 17 Opponent: New York Giants (Away)
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5)
25 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Kansas City Chiefs 20-12
Kudos to the Steelers for their bend-but-don't-break defense that held the Chiefs to four field goals, but this wasn't the sort of dominant win that makes me serious about Pittsburgh's chances.
The Chiefs offense is nothing to write home about, and the Steelers offense struggled against a good defense—something they'll be facing almost each week once they get to the postseason. The Steelers can be one of the best teams in the league when they want to be, but this wasn't a good matchup for them.
Week 16 Grade: C+
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 17 Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals (Home)
San Diego Chargers (9-6)
26 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. San Francisco 49ers 38-35 (OT)
This is a game that feels a lot more impressive than a B, but I'm not grading the excitement fans should've felt watching the Chargers' comeback. Their first-half efforts were about an F while the rest of the game was an A+, so I'm meeting in the middle a little, and giving them the benefit of the doubt as the 49ers aren't that terrible of a team (even as they fell below .500 here).
Frankly, they're lucky I don't dock them for making me stay up late...I kid, I kid.
Week 16 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs (Away)
San Francisco 49ers (7-8)
27 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to San Diego Chargers 38-35 (OT)
The 49ers committed to the run about as much as any team could, but their defense couldn't stop the Chargers in the second half. San Diego scored three touchdowns to tie things up and then a field goal to win it in overtime.
Missed opportunities and errors also factored in hugely. A missed field goal and a couple of fumbles helped the Chargers' comeback as well.
Week 16 Grade: C+
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 17 Opponent: Arizona Cardinals (Home)
Seattle Seahawks (11-4)
28 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Arizona Cardinals 35-6
The Seahawks have shown to be pretty much the same team they were at the end of last season. With linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Kam Chancellor back, the defense can lead the way and take a lot of pressure off an offense that isn't going to put up 35 points all on its lonesome.
In this matchup, though, the pressure the defense put on the game opened up some things for the offense and allowed a cascade of fourth-quarter points to make this look a lot more out of hand than it had been for the previous three quarters.
Week 16 Grade: A+
2014 Cumulative: B+
Week 17 Opponent: St. Louis Rams (Home)
St. Louis Rams (6-9)
29 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to New York Giants 37-27
The Rams got thrown into a shootout they didn't expect as the Giants played way above their usual pay grade to neutralize a St. Louis pass rush that has been incredibly effective as of late.
Once that happened, and once the Giants started extending their lead, the Rams did well by continuing to (effectively) establish the run, but it wasn't enough to come back when they couldn't force Eli Manning into mistakes.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 17 Opponent: Seattle Seahawks (Away)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-13)
30 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Green Bay Packers 20-3
The Buccaneers did as much as they could against a vastly more talented Packers team, but when the game started to wear them down, it was clear who the better team was. Green Bay applied a lot of pressure, even without a lot of sell-out blitzes, and that meant little to no scoring for Tampa Bay.
Honestly, I can't even give the Buccaneers that much credit for their defensive effort. It seemed like the Packers were able to pass at will for most of the game, even if they weren't attacking down the field as much as normal.
Week 16 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: D+
Week 17 Opponent: New Orleans Saints (Home)
Tennessee Titans (2-13)
31 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars 21-13
From a talent and production perspective, there isn't a worse team in the NFL than the Titans. As noted earlier, it was almost as if the Jaguars simply stopped taking the Titans so seriously and realized they were the vastly better team, finishing the game on a 21-3 run...and that's the Jaguars!
The Titans should have one of the top picks in the draft, and they'll need every bit of talent from that slot because this team is atrocious and boring to watch in just about every facet of the game.
Week 16 Grade: D+
2014 Cumulative: D
Week 17 Opponent: Indianapolis Colts (Home)
Washington (4-11)
32 of 32
Week 16 Outcome: Def. Philadelphia Eagles 27-24
Robert Griffin III started and got the win (which is apparently all that matters to head coach Jay Gruden) but didn't play that well outside of some long throws to busted coverage. That's something any QB should be able to do against the Eagles and cornerback Bradley Fletcher.
Though the Eagles should've won this game, Washington kept things close and then played well at the very end thanks to missteps by Philadelphia's vaunted (but poorly quarterbacked) offense.
Week 16 Grade: B-
2014 Cumulative: D
Week 17 Opponent: Dallas Cowboys (Home)
Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.
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