Chris Simms' Team-by-Team Grades for NFL Week 7

The NFL is taking advanced-level International Studies courses this season. It shouldn’t forget do to its geography homework. 

I’m talking about the league’s slate of London games. By all accounts, they’re a hit with fans across the pond. Twickenham Stadium was a sellout success, wherever that is.

But it’s tough not to hate these super-early kickoffs back in the states, especially if you’re a Rams fan waking up at 6:30 a.m. local time. It’s even more the case when the on-field product (Case Keenum’s four interceptions, anyone?) struggles to meet expectations.

That’s why I can’t fault the Rams—or any London-traveling team—in my weekly grades.

League schedulers are putting a handful of teams in precarious positions. What we’re seeing (or sleeping through) in London isn’t a fair reflection.

Philadelphia Eagles

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Offense: Take those training wheels off, Carson Wentz. Philadelphia’s star rookie is too restrained in Doug Pederson’s offense. Even his bootleg throws outside the pocket are max protected. This Eagles offense is a hair conservative, and teams are going to start catching on.

Defense: The Vikings had turned the football over just once all season. They also hadn’t played a Jim Schwartz-coached defense. Schwartz put his top guys in places to expose Minnesota’s weak line. The end result? Six sacks and four turnovers of the NFC’s top team.

Grade: B+

New York Giants

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Offense: London fans showed up to see the Odell Beckham Jr. show. Boy, were they disappointed. Ben McAdoo’s offense is almost criminally incapable of getting No. 13 the football. If they won’t design plays for him a week after dropping 222 yards, they never will.

Defense: New York doesn’t win in London without Landon Collins. Because after him and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Big Blue’s secondary isn’t as deep as you think. Case Keenum regularly targeted No. 33—Andrew Adams—for big pass plays. The good news? New York has a week to heal Eli Apple up.

Grade: C

Washington Redskins

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Offense: Matt Jones giveth, Matt Jones taketh away. The hold-and-cold running back continued to confuse with 27 rushing yards and two fumbles. The second one was a backbreaker; it happened at the goal line and completely swung momentum. Is it too late to draft a ball-carrier from the 2017 class?

Defense: Matthew Stafford didn't grasp a win from the jaws of defeat. Washington's defense handed it to him. Where was Ryan Kerrigan in the final minute? Where was Washington's pressure package, for that matter? I counted one blitz on Stafford's game-winning drive. Try a little harder.

Grade: C+

Buffalo Bills

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Offense: Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods were injured. LeSean McCoy probably shouldn’t have toughed out his hamstring injury. So Tyrod Taylor’s numbers (14-of-28 for 221 yards) shouldn’t shock anyone. I applaud his ability to evade sacks and keep his team in the game without its MVP, all-everything running back.

Defense: Where art thou, Marcell? Buffalo’s defense has been banged up all year. Sunday’s loss was the first instance where it was clear the Bills missed Marcell Dareus, though. A big body in the middle of that defense would’ve given Jay Ajayi an obstacle.

Grade: C

Miami Dolphins

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Offense: I warned you about the Dolphins line. I told you about Jay Ajayi. But Adam Gase is the dark-horse MVP for the Dolphins’ turnaround. He’s abandoned his traditional no-huddle attack because—and I know it’s a radical concept—it doesn’t fit his team. The Dolphins run through Ajayi, and they’re running well.

Defense: Buffalo wins games by rolling out an early lead and running behind it. Miami’s defense only let the Bills accomplish half of that plan. It held firm on third down (seven punts) and held Tyrod Taylor to 14 completions. That’s an impressive feat without Pro Bowler Reshad Jones.

Grade: A

New York Jets

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Offense: Geno Smith should stay away from casinos and power lines. Between the latest ACL tear and last year’s training-camp punch, he has the worst quarterbacking luck in NFL history. Looking for some silver linings, Jets fans? Matt Forte ran the ball well against the AFC’s best run defense.

Defense: You know what? I’m impressed. Joe Flacco’s deep ball could’ve fared much better against Gang Green’s secondary. Even Mike Wallace’s big day (120 yards on 10 catches) was relatively tame. Factor out a botched punt, and New York gave up nine points. That’s how this team can win.

Grade: B+

New England Patriots

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Offense: Was it pretty? Hell no. But I applaud New England for not turning into pass-happy goons just because Tom Brady came back. This is the most balanced offense since the early days of the Bill Belichick dynasty. That’ll pay dividends come January.

Defense: Raise your hand if you had Landry Jones as the halftime passing leader in this game. Anyone? Anyone? Belichick’s super-talented defense needs 30 minutes to wake up. Out of the locker room, it only allowed 156 total yards and six points.

Grade: B+

Chicago Bears

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Offense: The football gods can be cruel sometimes. No quarterback was playing more efficient football than Brian Hoyer. He suffered a broken arm, and the Bears suffered a broken offense. There was nothing Matt Barkley could do to get back on track.

Defense: Once upon a time, John Fox guided two great defenses to the Super Bowl. These Bears are not title-worthy, but they did shut down Aaron Rodgers for a half. That has to account for something, right? So does the emergence of rookie Leonard Floyd and the return of star pass-rusher Pernell McPhee.

Grade: B-

Detroit Lions

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Offense: Detroit has no running game to speak of. Its receiving corps leads the league in dropped passes. Yet Matthew Stafford keeps chugging along. Detroit might be winless without its franchise quarterback. That fact alone puts him in my MVP discussion.

Defense: No Darius Slay? OK. Detroit’s secondary lost its top cover corner but never lost its composure. The pass-happy Redskins could only hit on short underneath throws for three quarters. I have to downgrade the defense for surrendering a late touchdown drive that would’ve sealed it…if not for Stafford’s brilliance.

Grade: B

Green Bay Packers

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Offense: I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. Aaron Rodgers is the only quarterback in football who could’ve succeeded last Thursday night. He had one receiver playing running back and three more blanketed every time they ran a route. He’s so awesome that the Bears knew he had to throw, and it didn’t matter.

Defense: You can’t downgrade this group for playing the quarterback in front of them. Dom Capers coordinated a defense that did what it had to against a third-stringer in Matt Barkley. And he did it without Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.

Grade: B+

Minnesota Vikings

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Offense: Quick! Name the Vikings' two starting offensive tackles. I’ll even spot you 31-year-old Jake Long. Only Vikings fans have the answer. That’s a problem for the NFC’s top-seeded team. Serious question: Does general manager Rick Spielman make another call for Joe Thomas?

Defense: They’re the best defense in football, but they were the second-best at the Linc on Sunday. Both Philly and Minnesota forced three early turnovers and four turnovers overall each. What separated them was the sack total: Eagles 6, Vikings 0. That’s inexcusable with a front so deep.

Grade: D

Cleveland Browns

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Offense: The only thing we know with certainty in today’s NFL? Whoever starts for the Browns won’t be playing in the second quarter. Hue Jackson deserves more credit than ever for keeping this football game close. Kevin Hogan just wasn’t ready as a dropback passer.

Defense: A.J. Green’s Hail Mary was textbook bad luck. Jeremy Hill’s two mammoth runs (74 and 48 yards) were textbook bad tackling. With big Danny Shelton in the middle, I thought they’d put up more of a fight, but they don't have the personnel.

Grade: C+

Cincinnati Bengals

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Offense: Let’s talk about a certain Bengals receiver, shall we? His name isn’t A.J., either. Brandon LaFell is emerging as the second pass-catching option this team desperately needed. He caught another touchdown in Week 7; that’s four in the past three weeks. His emergence is almost as important as whatever that Green guy is doing.

Defense: It was ready for the weird tackles-outside-the-numbers formations. It was ready for Kevin Hogan and the read-option. Coach Marvin Lewis and coordinator Paul Guenther were prepared for every Hue Jackson wrinkle. An all-around solid performance.

Grade: B+

Pittsburgh Steelers

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Offense: Landry Jones quarterbacked a close game for 30 minutes. That’s a lot longer than I thought he could make it. Pittsburgh ran its offense through Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Neither guy had the monster day needed to take the Patriots down.

Defense: The good news? The pass defense did a bang-up job keeping Tom Brady (222 passing yards) in check. The bad news? Brady didn't need a big game. He followed the blueprint Miami provided in Week 6—short throws, lots of LeGarrette Blount handoffs—to victory. Pittsburgh is going to see a lot of that until it proves it can stop it.

Grade: B

Baltimore Ravens

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Offense: Swap offensive coordinators until the cows come home, Baltimore. Scheme won't fix what ails this team, and that's lack of talent. The Ravens paid Joe Flacco $100 million to play with $5 weapons. He could only muster 43 yards in the second half.

Defense: What's the strength of this Ravens defense? It's not the run defense that allowed old man Matt Forte to run wild. It can't be the slow-as-molasses pass defense that let Quincy Enunwa jog upfield for 69 yards. So...what is it? I'm waiting.

Grade: F

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Offense: Mike Evans, at 23 years old, is already No. 8 on the all-time receiving touchdowns list for the Buccaneers. That tells me two things: A) Evans is fully back to the level he played at as a rookie and B) Jameis Winston doesn’t need Vincent Jackson in the lineup to be successful. Both are big milestones in this offense’s maturation.

Defense: Tampa Bay fell in a 14-0 hole before it remembered Colin Kaepernick’s weakness. From that point on, coordinator Mike Smith called a press-heavy man defense geared for one job only: to force Kaepernick to throw accurate balls down the field. He could not do that.

Grade: A

Atlanta Falcons

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Offense: When used correctly, play action is a quarterback’s best friend. Therein lies the problem: Atlanta’s passing attack is overusing play action and has built its passing game around it. Linebackers aren’t biting for Matt Ryan like they were in Week 1. It’s time for Kyle Shanahan to adjust.

Defense: Coach Dan Quinn didn’t trust this unit to hold steady in overtime. How could I trust it with a good Week 7 grade? It generated solid pressure (and points) against Philip Rivers, but it couldn’t stop him from throwing the ball anywhere he wanted to.

Grade: C

New Orleans Saints

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Offense: Willie Snead can’t get out of bounds. Michael Thomas can’t get out of bounds. Even ol’ Saint Drew Brees himself took two dumb delay-of-game penalties. Scheme-wise, Sean Payton’s offense is an unstoppable force. Execution-wise? Yuck.

Defense: New Orleans’ best defensive performance happened two weeks ago. Because New Orleans didn’t play two weeks ago. This pass defense is such a sieve that even the cautious-as-hell Chiefs looked dynamic against it.

Grade: D+

Indianapolis Colts

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Offense: Andrew Luck’s completion percentage? Just a hair under 70 in Week 7. That’s as much on the five guys in front of him as it is on No. 12 himself, though. Indianapolis’ five-man group turned in its second straight solid outing. If it can buy Luck and T.Y Hilton time for down-the-field throws, watch out.

Defense: If third down didn’t exist, this Colts defense would be passable. Too bad it does. Tennessee converted a 3rd-and-15 and a 3rd-and-19…on the same drive. The latter kept a Titans drive going when it could’ve forced a huge field goal. I know T.Y. McGill and Robert Mathis iced the game a little later, but c’mon.

Grade: B+

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Offense: Blake Bortles' throwing motion is Tim Tebow-like. He's sinking the Jaguars' season by not working on it. That early interception he threw set the tone for a sloppy day of offensive football—fumbles and muffed punts and everything else. Everyone else is ready to compete except No. 5.

Defense: Oakland's offensive line shut the pass rush down. I'm a little encouraged with the quality of coverage behind that line, though. Derek Carr only connected on a few long throws toward the end of the game. Amari Cooper disappeared. But they did surrender 

Grade: D+

Tennessee Titans

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Offense: Marcus Mariota is still learning how to play the quarterback position. Lesson No. 1: Step away from the 300-pound guy coming right up the middle to rip your head off. Mariota’s pocket presence is something terrible. It’s the only thing holding Tennessee back from playoff contention.

Defense: Dick LeBeau must’ve tried everything to stop Andrew Luck. But Tennessee’s coordinator doesn’t have the horses. Case in point: two big third-down plays on Luck’s final drive that could have sealed a Titans win. Instead, they’re back to below .500.

Grade: C+

Houston Texans

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Offense: It’s time for Tom Savage down in Houston. Because nothing could be worse than the rock bottom Brock Osweiler has crashed this offense into. Osweiler’s 131 passing yards are astonishing, even against a secondary like Denver’s. If Houston’s offense could manage anything, the Texans win in Week 7.

Defense: I get the defense was on the field for most of the game, but Trevor Siemian operated in a spotless pocket for most of the night. I can count on one hand the number of times the Texans forced Denver’s quarterback off his spot. C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker had a night running the ball, too In short: not the best outing.

Grade: C

San Francisco 49ers

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Offense: Some teams can’t piece together a full 60-minute performance. Chip Kelly’s team can't piece together a full 15-minute one. San Francisco went into a shell the moment it opened up a 14-0 lead over Tampa Bay. Colin Kaepernick represents an improvement over Blaine Gabbert, but not by much.

Defense: Fall two touchdowns behind, and some guys on the sideline start panicking. Not the Buccaneers. They knew they’d be able to run their way back into the game, even without Doug Martin. The fearsome trio of Jacquizz Rodgers, Peyton Barber and Antone Smith were more than this Niners defense could handle.

Grade: D-

Arizona Cardinals

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Offense: David Johnson’s patience paid off when he ran up the middle on Seattle’s front seven. It did not pay off when he fell short of a game-changing touchdown on fourth down with 10 minutes to play. Bruce Arians' club left six more points on the board with mismanaged field-goal attempts. One would’ve won it for the Cardinals.

Defense: Guess how many first downs Seattle had before overtime? Five. Markus Golden and Chandler Jones were disruptive all night. And the secondary put ‘Hawks wideouts on lockdown. It’s a pity they couldn’t win this.

Grade: B

Los Angeles Rams

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Offense: Two Case Keenum picks? That’s forgivable. Three? That’s rough. Four? That’s some 7-9 bulls--t. Los Angeles has a run-first offense that doesn’t run first. It’s on Keenum and a group of OK receivers to win games. They’ll fork a few wins over in the process.

Defense: Keenum put his defense in bad spots over and over again. Jeff Fisher has to be thrilled with the way it A) shut down Odell Beckham Jr. and B) eliminated New York’s run game. Those were the team’s two objectives heading into London.

Grade: C-

Seattle Seahawks

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Offense: I hear Marshawn Lynch’s name dropped during every Seahawks game. He’s not suiting back up, folks. The remaining ‘Hawks ball-carriers are a bad committee that won’t make much noise for them this year. Also: Russell Wilson has to be special in order for this pass game to thrive.

Defense: Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, everywhere. Those two defenders made life tough for Carson Palmer all night long. A third—linebacker Bobby Wagner—made sure Arizona couldn’t get a kick off. What an outstanding effort.

Grade: C+

Denver Broncos

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Offense: John Elway made the better call with his quarterbacks. But it was the running game—not the Brock Osweiler-Trevor Siemian showdown—that won Monday Night Football for Denver. Gary Kubiak finally has a balanced attack and a healthy-looking offensive line. Reduce a few drops here and there, and the Broncos offense is dangerous.

Defense: Osweiler attempted 41 throws. He gained 131 yards. You can run on this unit, but you sure as hell can’t pass. The Broncos are still the best top-to-bottom defense in football. What more can I say?

Grade: B+

San Diego Chargers

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Offense: There’s not a scheme in football San Diego hasn’t incorporated somewhere in its offense. That alone makes defending Philip Rivers a handful. But the Falcons rolled out the same vanilla zone coverage for most of Week 7. Rivers and Melvin Gordon teamed up to break it down easily.

Defense: The post-Joey Bosa NFL is a wild new frontier where anything is possible. Suddenly, San Diego’s defense can attack teams on both edges; Melvin Ingram double-teams have disappeared. Plus, Bosa’s pure strength helps him eat blocks for inside guys such as Denzel Perryman and Jatavis Brown. He’s already San Diego's MVP.

Grade: A+

Kansas City Chiefs

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Offense: Jump out to an early lead. Run the ball. Take a few chances with some weapons on the outside. Rinse. Repeat. Kansas City isn’t doing anything shocking under Andy Reid these days. It's just doing it better than anyone else.

Defense: A game played in the 20s? That’s right up the Chiefs’ alley. Credit defensive coordinator Bob Sutton for dictating terms to Drew Brees, not vice versa. And give a little love to reserve safety Daniel Sorensen. The BYU product picked off Brees and changed the possession pace of the game.

Grade: A-

Oakland Raiders

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Offense: Derek Carr and Co. underwhelmed me for the second time in two weeks. They couldn’t get the ball to Amari Cooper. They couldn’t break any big runs with Latavius Murray back in the lineup. And they still put up 33 points. This offense is good. Case closed.

Defense: Something’s still missing from Jack Del Rio’s defense. But Khalil Mack grabbed his third sack in four weeks. Oakland’s usually terrible secondary held Allen Robinson to nine receiving yards. And Perry Riley Jr. looks like the answer in the middle. I'm not ready to say things are looking up, but…

Grade: B+