NFL Team Grades for Week 12
Now things are really getting interesting.
With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, we’re now 12 weeks into the 2017 NFL season. Playoff races are taking shape.
Some of those races are all but over. Compliments of big wins by the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, it's all over but the crying in the NFC East and NFC North.
It was over in the AFC East before it started.
However, other races are tightening up. The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints are tied atop the NFC South, with the Atlanta Falcons hot on their heels. The Kansas City Chiefs are doing everything in their power to give the AFC West away.
As we've done every week this season here at Bleacher Report, it's time to look back at Thanksgiving week and how it affected the season as a whole by grading every NFL team for Week 12.
Just as soon as I finish this 37th slice of pie.
Gotta love leftovers.
Arizona Cardinals
1 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Score: Won 27-24
Sunday's matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals was arguably the best game of Week 12—a wild back-and-forth affair decided by a 57-yard field goal with one second left.
That this immensely entertaining affair featured a quarterback duel between Blake Bortles and Blaine Gabbert might be a sign of the apocalypse.
Gabbert wasn't just facing his old team. In Jacksonville, he was also facing the NFL's No. 1 pass defense.
A third-string quarterback going up against the NFL's stingiest pass defense. A recipe for….a good game from Gabbert?
He certainly wasn't flawless. Gabbert turned the ball over twice, including a strip-sack that was returned for a score by former Cardinals star Calais Campbell. But he made the throws he needed to make, including a nifty toss to the sideline that set up Phil Dawson's game-winner.
This game ultimately doesn't mean much for the Cardinals. Arizona is 5-6 in a conference where a 10-6 team could miss the playoffs in 2017.
But that won't wipe the huge smile off Gabbert's face after he beat the team that gave up on him.
Week 11 Grade: B+
Season Grade: C-
Atlanta Falcons
2 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Score: Won 34-20
The Atlanta Falcons appear to have righted the ship.
At the halfway point of the 2017 season, fresh off a three-point loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons were a 4-4 team that looked good one week and terrible the next.
Since then, however, the Falcons have peeled off three wins in a row, culminating in Sunday's victory over the disappointing Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The star of the game was a player who has been somewhat of a disappointment in his own right. Julio Jones has been quiet (by his standards) in 2017, but Jones exploded against the Bucs, racking up 12 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
It wasn't a flawless win—down seven, the Buccaneers were driving toward a game-tying touchdown midway through the fourth quarter—but Jones, Matt Ryan and the Falcons did what they needed to do to stay in the wild-card hunt and keep the pressure on the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.
Next up? A huge home game with the surging Minnesota Vikings.
Week 12 Grade: B
Season Grade: B
Baltimore Ravens
3 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Houston Texans
Score: Won 23-16
If the 2017 season ended today, the Baltimore Ravens would make the playoffs. It's a team with an excellent defense spearheaded by linebackers C.J. Mosley and Terrell Suggs. The Ravens have arguably the best special teams unit in the NFL.
There's no argument that Justin Tucker is the NFL's best kicker.
But this writer has a hard time seeing the Ravens doing much of anything in the postseason tournament because their offense is offensive.
Alex Collins was OK against the Texans, rushing for 60 yards and a score on 16 totes. But Joe Flacco, as he's been most of the season, was anemic—and that's being kind.
Flacco threw for a whopping 141 yards against a Houston pass defense that entered the game 18th in the NFL. The best throw by a Baltimore player in the game was a 22-yarder from Sam Koch.
He's a punter.
The Ravens have played seven teams this season that have a losing record. Baltimore is 6-1 in those games.
Baltimore has played four teams this year that have a winning record. The Ravens are 0-4 in those contests.
That's all you need to know about this team.
Week 12 Grade: B-
Season Grade: C+
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Buffalo Bills
4 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Kansas City Chiefs
Score: Won 16-10
After the Los Angeles Chargers destroyed them last week, the Buffalo Bills appeared to be headed for yet another second-half fade. Early-season optimism was going to be replaced by late-season despair and another year of missing the playoffs.
One problem—someone forgot to tell the Bills.
Sunday's 16-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs didn't come with much in the way of style points. LeSean McCoy managed just 49 yards on 22 carries. Tyrod Taylor threw for only 183 yards. But the Bills defense came up big, and Buffalo got a much-needed win on the road against a first-place Chiefs team.
It was an impressive effort—a big-time gut-check after last week's West Coast debacle.
With the win, the Bills are among the top six teams in the AFC, pending the results of Monday night's Ravens game.
Keep hope alive!
Week 12 Grade: B
Season Grade: C
Carolina Panthers
5 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at New York Jets
Score: Won 35-27
Given that the Carolina Panthers entered Week 12 with one of the NFL's best defenses, it was reasonable to expect that the New York Jets would have their hands full moving the football Sunday.
As it turns out, not so much.
Despite somewhat of a defensive letdown, the Panthers found a way to win a game in which they were outgained by nearly 100 yards.
The win is all the more surprising since Cam Newton had a miserable day throwing the ball. He completed well under half his passes for just 168 yards. Thankfully, the run game had far more success, rolling for 145 yards on 33 carries.
The Panthers were also able to score in unconventional ways. In less than three minutes in the fourth quarter, Carolina got a defensive touchdown from Luke Kuechly and a punt-return touchdown from Kaelin Clay.
Good teams find a way to win when things aren't going according to plan.
The Panthers did that in the Big Apple, keeping the pressure on the New Orleans Saints in the process.
Week 12 Grade: B-
Season Grade: B+
Chicago Bears
6 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Philadelphia Eagles
Score: Lost 31-3
Here is a comprehensive list of the positives that came out of the Chicago Bears' trip to Philadelphia in Week 12:
The end.
The Eagles annihilated the Bears on Sunday. Mitchell Trubisky is a rookie who was playing against one of the NFL's better defenses, but he was awful. He finished 17-of-33 for just 147 yards with a pair of interceptions...and he was the offensive highlight.
Jordan Howard carried the ball seven times for six yards, which matched the Bears' total as a team.
Not many expected Chicago to win. OK, no one expected Chicago to win—including Chicago.
But to get blown out like this hammers home how far the Bears have to go before they are consistently competitive.
Week 12 Grade: F
Season Grade: D-
Cincinnati Bengals
7 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Cleveland Browns
Score: Won 30-16
Is your season not proceeding the way you'd hoped? Feeling lethargic and out of sorts? Try the Cleveland Clowns Magic Elixir—sure to put some pep in your step!
The Bengals came into their Week 12 meeting with their cross-state rivals fresh off a win over the Denver Broncos, but they were hardly firing on all cylinders.
They came as close as they have all season to doing so against the Browns.
Andy Dalton was efficient, tossing two touchdowns and posting a passer rating of 111.3. Tailback Joe Mixon rumbled for a career-best 165 total yards. And the defense racked up four sacks.
Strangely enough, this was the Bengals' second win in a row in which their opponent outgained them. And Cincinnati shouldn't be proud of allowing the Browns to march for 405 total yards.
But this mini-win streak has the Bengals at 5-6 and back on the edge of playoff contention heading into a huge matchup with the Steelers next week.
Unfortunately, that game is in prime time—and Andy Dalton is afraid of the dark.
Week 12 Grade: B-
Season Grade: C-
Cleveland Browns
8 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Cincinnati Bengals
Score: Lost 30-16
Yes, Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer passed for a career-high 268 yards in the Browns’ Week 12 loss. The rookie even made it through a whole game without throwing an interception.
You can call that progress.
Believe it or not, the Browns even out-gained the Bengals in this game, piling up 405 total yards of offense.
You can call that progress, too.
And yet, despite gaining more yardage than the Bengals, the Browns still figured out a way to lose by two touchdowns.
The Browns allowed Bengals rookie tailback Joe Mixon to have a career day, topping 150 total yards. Cleveland made it inside the red zone four times, but managed just one touchdown for its efforts.
It can be argued the Browns played better in Week 12. But in the only category that really matters, Cleveland came up short—again.
One step closer to 0-16.
Week 12 Grade: D
Season Grade: F
Dallas Cowboys
9 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Score: Lost 28-6
We knew Ezekiel Elliott was an important part of the Dallas Cowboys offense. We may have underestimated just how important.
On Thanksgiving Day at Jerruh World, the Cowboys were shelled for a third straight game in which nothing went right.
Since Elliott's suspension took effect, Dak Prescott has been horrendous. Over the last three games, Prescott has three straight sub-200-yard outings and hasn't thrown a touchdown pass. Prescott has, however, tossed five interceptions, including two against the Chargers.
Things haven't been any better defensively. With star linebacker Sean Lee on the shelf with a bad hammy, the Cowboys have been gashed left and right. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers carved the Cowboys up like the proverbial Thanksgiving turkey, throwing for 434 passing yards and three scores in a game in which he wasn't sacked.
A Cowboys team that won 13 games last year has now dropped three in a row and slipped below .500.
Dallas is in huge trouble.
Week 12 Grade: F
Season Grade: C-
Denver Broncos
10 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Oakland Raiders
Score: Lost 21-14
For weeks, Denver Broncos fans have been clamoring for second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch to get a chance to show what he can do.
Be careful what you wish for.
Lynch drew the start in Week 12 against a bad Raiders defense that hadn't intercepted a pass this season. To say he was terrible is patently unfair…to the word terrible.
Before leaving the game with an ankle injury, Lynch attempted 14 passes. He gained 41 yards.
That's less than three yards per attempt, which is staggeringly bad.
Some may look at this grade and believe it to be too harsh considering the Broncos only lost by seven points. But that's also the number of games the Broncos have lost in a row—their longest losing streak since before the AFL-NFL merger, per ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold. Denver's vaunted defense couldn't make one late stop against a Raiders team missing its top two receivers.
The Broncos are the worst team in the NFL's worst division.
John Elway must be losing his mind. His Denver team, which won the Super Bowl only two years ago, is now a tomato can.
Week 12 Grade: F
Season Grade: D-
Detroit Lions
11 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Score: Lost 30-23
The Detroit Lions faced their most important test of the season in Week 12.
Defeat the Minnesota Vikings at home on Thanksgiving, and the Lions would sweep the season series and move within a game of first place in the NFC North. Lose, and the Lions would fall to 6-5, effectively kissing any realistic chance of winning the division goodbye.
As they often have in recent years, the Lions failed the test.
It was the same sad story in Motown. The Lions fell into a huge hole early, spotting the Vikings a 20-3 lead. Matthew Stafford brought them roaring back, only to come up just short at the end.
That script has played out far too many times in 2017. As has Detroit's inability to run the ball (53 yards on 15 carries) and get defensive stops in crucial situations.
Hope isn't lost for the 6-5 Lions. Only one of Detroit's final five opponents (the Baltimore Ravens) came into Week 12 inside the playoff picture.
But Detroit is a flawed team that looks the part of a one-and-done even if it can get into the playoffs.
Week 12 Grade: D+
Season Grade: C
Green Bay Packers
12 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Score: Lost 31-28
There are no moral victories in the NFL.
But if there were, the Green Bay Packers would have notched one Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
On the road, in a hostile environment and facing one of the NFL's best defenses without their star quarterback, the Packers gave the Steelers all they could handle. Brett Hundley played far and away the best game of his career, throwing for 245 yards and three scores with a robust passer rating of 134.3.
But in the end, all it got them was a fifth loss in their last six games.
The Packers had no answer defensively for Pittsburgh's dynamic duo of Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, who combined for a staggering 352 total yards. Green Bay let the Steelers drive 35 yards in 17 seconds at the end of the game, which gave Chris Boswell a shot at a 53-yard field goal.
He made it.
There's some hope that Rodgers could return from his broken collarbone in a couple of weeks, and the Packers have winnable games with Tampa and Cleveland coming up.
But to make the playoffs at this point, Green Bay essentially has to win out ala last year's run.
And lightning isn't going to strike twice.
Week 12 Grade: C-
Season Grade: C-
Houston Texans
13 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Baltimore Ravens
Score: Lost 23-16
The story of the Houston Texans in 2017 is the story of what might have been.
What might have been for outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, who is having a breakout season with nine sacks on the season and one sack in five straight games.
Now imagine that breakout season happening with J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus on the field.
What might have been for the Houston offense if Deshaun Watson was on the field Monday night slinging the ball all over the field instead of Tom Savage.
Watson took the NFL by storm before tearing his ACL. Savage is a turnover machine who tossed a pair of interceptions against the Ravens and now leads the NFL in lost fumbles.
Woo-hoo!
The Texans put up a pretty good fight in Baltimore, but the game likely wouldn’t have been so close if the Ravens had anything that resembled an NFL offense.
At 4-7, any fading playoff hopes the Texans may have had are just about toast.
That’s fitting—because the Texans were toast the moment Watson crumpled to the ground in practice a few weeks ago.
Week 12 Grade: D
Season Grade: D
Indianapolis Colts
14 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Tennessee Titans
Score: Lost 20-16
Indy's four-point loss to the Titans on Sunday was a microcosm of their lost 2017 season.
The Colts didn't play especially badly, at least relative to their opposition. Whether it was total yards, rushing yards, passing yards or time of possession, the Colts' stats were similar to those of the Titans. Indianapolis even won the turnover battle.
At the end of the third quarter, the Colts had a three-point lead.
But they just couldn't hold on.
The dominant storyline of the 2017 season in Indianapolis is of course the year-long absence of quarterback Andrew Luck. But it wasn't Luck (or Jacoby Brissett) who let the Titans drive the length of the field late and punch in the game-winning score.
The Colts' retooled defense looks an awful lot like their old defense—not good.
And until that gets fixed, it isn't really going to matter who is under center.
The Colts are now 3-8 and play three of their next four on the road against teams in the playoff hunt.
It's possible Indy will pull an upset in one of those games, but frankly that doesn't help, either.
At this point, all the Colts are playing for is draft position.
Week 12 Grade: D
Season Grade: D
Jacksonville Jaguars
15 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Arizona Cardinals
Score: Lost 27-24
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the midst of their best season in years. A three-point road loss due to a last-second 57-yard field goal from a kicker who was around in the days of leather helmets isn't cause for panic.
What is cause for panic? The mediocre Cardinals exposing the Jaguars on Sunday.
Arizona loaded the box in an effort to stop Leonard Fournette and the Jaguars ground game. The Cardinals succeeded, holding Fournette to just 25 yards on 12 carries.
That put the onus on quarterback Blake Bortles to move the ball. It didn't go well.
Bortles completed 19 of 33 pass attempts for just 160 yards with an interception. His passer rating for the game was a miserable 57.6.
And with Bortles struggling, the Jaguars had only 219 yards of offense. They were also a horrible 1-for-12 on third downs.
For much of this season, Jacksonville's defense and Fournette's running has masked the team's inability to move the ball though the air.
Week 12 was a sobering indication of what can happen when the Jags must rely on Bortles.
Week 12 Grade: D
Season Grade: B-
Kansas City Chiefs
16 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Buffalo Bills
Score: Lost 16-10
If there was any doubt whatsoever, it was eliminated in Week 12.
It's panic time in Kansas City.
It's not just that the Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills at home. Or that it's Kansas City's fifth loss in six games.
It's how the Chiefs lost.
A Kansas City offense that looked like a buzzsaw earlier this season has lost all its teeth. Tailback Kareem Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing over the first half of the season, gained a whopping 17 yards on 11 carries. Alex Smith threw for a paltry 199 yards and tossed a game-sealing interception late.
The Chiefs were wildly aggressive earlier in the season. They attacked teams vertically with relentless precision. Now the offense is a pitching, lurching mess of dinks and dunks.
Not too long ago, the Chiefs looked like one of the best teams in the AFC. Maybe all of the NFL.
Now they look like the worst first-place team in the league. The least terrible team in a bad division.
Week 12 Grade: F
Season Grade: C
Los Angeles Chargers
17 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Dallas Cowboys
Score: Won 28-6
Don't look now, but here come the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers were written off after they dropped four straight games to open the 2017 season. Since then, however, it's been a different story.
Thursday's blowout win over the reeling Cowboys was L.A.'s second straight and fifth in the last seven weeks. At 5-6, the Chargers are now a factor in an AFC West that seemingly no one wants to win.
On Turkey Day, it was all about the right arm of Philip Rivers and the receiving ability of Keenan Allen. Rivers threw for 434 yards in the win, with Allen accounting for a career-high 172 of those yards on 11 grabs.
The Chargers entered Week 12 dead last in the NFL in run defense, but they held the Cowboys to just 79 yards on 20 carries.
This team has plenty of offensive firepower and perhaps the NFL's best one-two punch of edge-rushers in Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. Whereas the Chargers once looked like they'd be playing out the string in December, they're now going to be playing for far more.
Week 12 Grade: A
Season Grade: C
Los Angeles Rams
18 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. New Orleans Saints
Score: Won 26-20
The Los Angeles Rams are in the midst of a brutal stretch.
In the span of six weeks, the Rams play at Minnesota, host the Saints and Eagles and travel to Seattle and Tennessee. Last week, the Vikings soundly beat the Rams in the first leg of that gauntlet.
They got some payback for that loss in Week 12 at the expense of the Saints.
The Rams put the skids on New Orleans' eight-game win streak at the Coliseum on Sunday in their most impressive win of the season. Jared Goff scorched the Saints for 354 passing yards and two touchdowns. Tailback Todd Gurley piled up 128 total yards. And rookie receiver Cooper Kupp picked up the slack for the injured Robert Woods and then some, catching a career-high eight passes for 116 yards.
In a battle of two of the NFL's most potent offenses, the Rams outgained the Saints 415 to 346 and held the ball for over 35 minutes.
And in doing so, Los Angeles showed it can take on (and take down) the big boys in the NFC.
The Rams are legit, folks.
Week 12 Grade: A-
Season Grade: A-
Miami Dolphins
19 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at New England Patriots
Score: Lost 35-17
The Miami Dolphins are not a good football team.
In fact, offensively speaking, the Dolphins are downright offensive.
Yes, the Dolphins scored 17 points against the New England Patriots on Sunday. But seven of those points came courtesy of a Reshad Jones fumble return and the ensuing extra point. Miami tallied less than 225 total yards of offense, went 2-of-11 on third down and turned it over three times.
It's not like the Dolphins don't have some offensive talent. Jarvis Landry, Devante Parker and Kenny Stills are a decent trio of wide receivers. But whether it's been Jay Cutler or Matt Moore, Miami's quarterback play has been abysmal, and it can't run the ball with any consistency.
Somehow, this team managed to win four of its first six games. But reality has come crashing down around the Dolphins. They've lost five straight heading into a home tilt next week with the Denver Broncos.
Look on the bright side. Someone has to win that game—I think.
Week 12 Grade: D
Season Grade: D
Minnesota Vikings
20 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Detroit Lions
Score: Won 30-23
Before the 2017 season began, did anyone expect Case Keenum to be a legitimate MVP candidate through Week 12? No?
Well, here we are.
In Thursday's seven-point win over the Detroit Lions, Keenum completed 21 of 30 passes for 282 yards and two scores without an interception. His QBR in the contest was 95.6; a perfect score is 100.
The Vikings are as hot as any team in the NFL. Thursday's win was Minnesota's seventh straight, and the team is running away with the NFC North.
And yet, every week there are reports that Keenum is one shaky performance away from being benched in favor of Teddy Bridgewater, who hasn't played meaningful football in two years.
Considering how well the Vikings are playing in all three facets of the game, an ill-advised personnel decision may be only thing that could derail a long playoff run.
Don't fix what ain't broken.
Week 12 Grade: A-
Season Grade: A-
New England Patriots
21 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Miami Dolphins
Score: Won 35-17
Be afraid, NFL.
Be very afraid.
Be afraid that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, at 40 years of age, is toying with defenses every week. Brady threw four more touchdown passes in Sunday's win over an overmatched Dolphins team, although he did throw his third interception of the season.
GASP!
Be afraid that a New England defense that was terrible in September has now allowed 17 or fewer points in seven straight games—all New England wins.
Admittedly, the Dolphins are a terrible offensive team, but New England nearly doubled their offensive output, 417 to 221.
Early in the season, the Patriots appeared flawed. Sure, they could move the football, but New England couldn't stop opponents from doing the same. It looked vulnerable. Beatable.
Now? The Patriots look like the Super Bowl favorite everyone expected them to be. A juggernaut that makes lesser teams look silly on a weekly basis.
I'm well aware most NFL fans don't want to hear that. They are sick of watching New England succeed.
Too bad. The Patriots look as good as the Eagles, with the added benefit of playoff experience galore.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
Week 12 Grade: A-
Season Grade: A
New Orleans Saints
22 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Los Angeles Rams
Score: Lost 26-20
No winning streak lasts forever.
The New Orleans Saints had been as hot as any team in the NFL, peeling off eight straight wins after losing their first two games. The Saints had been winning in a very un-Saints way, too—playing defense and running the football.
New Orleans was able to do the latter Sunday in La-La Land, outrushing the Rams 123 to 88. Rookie Alvin Kamara had a huge game, piling up 188 total yards and scoring both Saints touchdowns.
But a Saints defense missing some injured starters was lit up through the air by Jared Goff in a game where the Rams never trailed.
Losing on the road to an excellent Rams team is hardly the end of the world. New Orleans gave L.A. all it could handle, climbing within six with a late comeback.
But the loss coupled with Carolina's win in New York sets up a big-time showdown in the Big Easy next weekend.
The Saints need to circle the wagons defensively before Cam Newton and the Panthers come to town, because a losing streak of more than one game will cost them first place in a division where there's no margin for error this season.
Week 12 Grade: C-
Season Grade: B+
New York GIants
23 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Washington Redskins
Score: Lost 20-10
The New York Giants are a fat, steaming pile of awful.
Any momentum the Giants built up by stunning the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 went up in a foul-smelling cloud of smoke Thursday. Against Washington, the G-Men played like they were in a turkey coma.
Quarterback Eli Manning was horrible, completing less than half his passes, tossing an interception and posting a passer rating of less than 50.
The Giants ground game was no better, managing just 84 yards on 24 carries. New York's offensive line allowed four sacks and seven QB hits.
The defense fared slightly better, but one play by that defense just about sums up the catastrophe that is the 2017 New York Giants.
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins scored New York's only touchdown in the game on a 53-yard interception return—a play on which the veteran cornerback suffered an ankle injury that may have ended his season.
Jenkins is the lucky one. The rest of the Giants have to play five more times.
Week 12 Grade: F
Season Grade: F
New York Jets
24 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Carolina Panthers
Score: Lost 35-27
In more facets than not, the New York Jets outplayed the Carolina Panthers in Week 12.
Veteran quarterback Josh McCown had his way with one of the NFL's better pass defenses, throwing for 307 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. The Jets ran for 109 yards at better than four yards a carry against a top-five Panthers run defense.
The Jets out-gained Carolina, 391 to 299.
But New York came up short on the scoreboard thanks to a couple of lapses in the fourth quarter. The only turnover of the game was returned for a touchdown, and a few minutes later the Jets allowed another score on special teams.
The Jets are a much better team than most people expected them to be in 2017. But they aren't good enough to overcome those sorts of gaffes—especially against a team the caliber of the Panthers.
At 4-7, the Jets are just about out of it playoffs-wise, but in some respects, it's remarkable they were anywhere near "in" it this late in the year.
Week 12 Grade: C-
Season Grade: D+
Oakland Raiders
25 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Denver Broncos
Score: Won 21-14
The good news for the Oakland Raiders is that the team got the win in needed to at home in Week 12 to keep its playoff dreams alive.
The bad news is that win came at a heavy cost.
First, the Raiders lost wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who was ejected for throwing punches at cornerback Aqib Talib (who was also tossed) in the continuation of bad blood that dates back to Talib ripping Crabtree's chain right off his neck in their Week 17 matchup last year.
He did so again Sunday, and Crabtree went ballistic.
Then, just before halftime, Amari Cooper was forced from the game after a brutal hit from Denver safety Darian Stewart.
One player could be facing a suspension. The other is all but certainly going to spend the week in the NFL's concussion protocol.
That could leave the Raiders all kinds of short-handed at wide receiver against the New York Giants next Sunday.
But that's a problem for another day. Sunday was a good day—because an Oakland team that appeared dead in the water a few weeks ago is suddenly just one game back of the sagging Chiefs.
Week 12 Grade: B
Season Grade: C-
Philadelphia Eagles
26 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Chicago Bears
Score: Won 31-3
The Eagles' Week 12 tilt with the Chicago Bears had the makings of a "trap" game. Not so much that the Eagles were in danger of losing, mind you—but against a clearly inferior opponent, it was fair to wonder if the Eagles might take their foot off the gas.
If they did, it was only to move it to Chicago's neck.
The Eagles annihilated the Bears en route to their ninth consecutive win and 10th of the season. This was a game that was over before it started. There wasn't a facet of the game where Philly didn't stomp a mudhole in Chicago.
The Eagles rolled for 176 rushing yards at over five yards a pop. Carson Wentz continued his march toward a possible MVP award with three more touchdown passes. The Eagles run defense held the Bears to six yards—on 14 carries.
And the Bears had 140 yards—total.
This wasn't a trap game. It was a statement.
That statement read, "The Philadelphia Eagles are the best team in the National Football League."
And it was sent loudly.
Week 12 Grade: A+
Season Grade: A
Pittsburgh Steelers
27 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Green Bay Packers
Score: Won 31-28
The last thing the Pittsburgh Steelers expected in Week 12 was to find themselves in a dogfight with an Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers team. The Packers had struggled offensively with Brett Hundley under center, and Pittsburgh entered Week 12 second in the NFL in scoring defense.
Then Hundley had the game of his life, and that dogfight is exactly what the Steelers got.
Still, when Chris Boswell kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired, the Steelers survived and kept pace with the Patriots atop the AFC at 9-2.
The game was all about Pittsburgh's offensive core—Ben Roethlisberger threw four touchdown passes, tailback Le'Veon Bell racked up 183 total yards and a career-high 12 catches and Antonio Brown caught two touchdown passes and piled up 169 receiving yards.
It was harder than expected, but the Steelers demonstrated that it isn't going to be a cakewalk for the Patriots in the AFC. There's more than one big bad in the conference.
And New England's Week 15 trip to the Steel City looms larger by the day.
Week 12 Grade: B+
Season Grade: A-
San Francisco 49ers
28 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Score: Lost 24-13
My mother always told me if you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all.
But my editors will likely get upset if I leave this part of the article blank, despite it getting danged hard to find good things to say about the 1-10 Niners.
When these teams last met, the 49ers got a big game from tailback Carlos Hyde and were able to stay close in an ugly game. This time out, Hyde averaged less than three yards a carry and the game was never really in doubt.
However, there was a glimmer of hope at the end of the contest for San Francisco's beleaguered fanbase. After rookie C.J. Beathard got hurt late, we got our first glimpse of Jimmy Garoppolo in the Red and Gold.
Garoppolo barely played and only attempted two passes, but the second was a 10-yard touchdown pass as time expired.
That throw showed quite clearly what everyone (save for Kyle Shanahan) already knows.
It's past time to see what Jimmy G can do—unless the 49ers are tanking to get the best draft pick possible.
Depending on Beathard's status for Week 13, Shanahan may not have a choice.
Week 11 Grade: D-
Season Grade: F
Seattle Seahawks
29 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at San Francisco 49ers
Score: Won 24-13
The Seattle Seahawks are the worst 7-4 team in the NFL.
Stop looking at me like that.
Sure, the Seahawks were able to get back to winning football games with an 11-point win in Santa Clara, but beating the 49ers isn't exactly an achievement in 2017.
That's especially true when you consider the same problems that have dogged Seattle all season long were in evidence against San Francisco.
The Seahawks ran the ball 30 times Sunday against a 49ers run defense that entered Week 12 allowing over 133 yards per game.
Seattle tallied 90.
The one-dimensional nature of Seattle's offense has put tremendous pressure on Russell Wilson to do, well, everything. As Bleacher Report's Doug Farrar pointed out, Wilson had accounted for over 80 percent of Seattle's yardage in 2017 heading into Sunday. Against the 49ers, it was right at 80 percent (253 of 318).
Against a one-win team, the Seahawks can get away with that. Against the Vikings or the Rams or another NFC power that actually plays defense?
Not so much.
Week 12 Grade: B-
Season Grade: B-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Atlanta Falcons
Score: Lost 34-20
If you're the glass-half-full type, you might say that all things considered, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played pretty well Sunday. With backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, the Bucs hung with a red-hot Falcons team for most of the game.
If you're a realist, you'd say this was just one more loss in a wildly disappointing season for a Tampa team that came into 2017 with postseason aspirations.
Speaking of wildly disappointing, the Buccaneers defense was truly awful in Week 12. Tampa apparently forgot that Julio Jones is pretty good at the whole catching the football thing, allowing a monstrous 12-catch, 253-yard, two-score day to the star receiver.
The Buccaneers didn't have any more luck stopping the run. The Falcons piled up nearly 150 yards on the ground, with Tevin Coleman accounting for 97 of those and scoring twice in his own right.
The momentum from Tampa's two-game winning streak? Gone.
Any hopes the Buccaneers had of playing into January? Gone.
The glass? Empty.
Deal with it.
Week 12 Grade: D
Season Grade: D
Tennessee Titans
31 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: at Indianapolis Colts
Score: Won 20-16
In recent years, the Tennessee Titans have had all kinds of trouble winning in Indianapolis. The Titans haven't beaten the Colts on the road since 2007.
For a time Sunday, it appeared that streak would hold. At the end of the third quarter, the Titans found themselves on the short end of a 16-13 score in a game where they didn't play especially well.
Still, despite gaining less than 100 yards on the ground, a shaky game (again) from Marcus Mariota and losing the time-of-possession battle, the Titans were still able to mount a fourth-quarter scoring drive that propelled the team to victory.
The win, coupled with Jacksonville's wild loss in Arizona, vaults the Titans back into first place in the AFC South. That's the good news.
But that good news is tempered by the reality that Tennessee isn't running the ball consistently and Mariota appears to have regressed in his third season.
There's work to be done if the Titans are going to make any noise in the playoffs.
Week 12 Grade: C+
Season Grade: C+
Washington Redskins
32 of 32
Week 12 Opponent: vs. New York Giants
Score: Won 20-10
On one hand, it's difficult to get overly excited about the Washington Redskins' 10-point win over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving night. Beating a tortoise in a footrace don't make you fast.
On the other hand, after back-to-back crushing defeats, the Redskins desperately needed a win to keep their fading postseason hopes alive.
With the Washington backfield ravaged by injuries, rookie Samaje Perine has been tasked with functioning as the team's lead back. Perine shined against the Giants, rushing for 100 yards on 24 carries and adding 30 more yards on three catches.
The Redskins now will hit the road to take on a pair of peripheral contenders over the next two weeks in the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers. If they win both of those games, they may resuscitate their playoff hopes.
Washington ends the season with three winnable games, two of which are at home.
Week 12 Grade: B-
Season Grade: C-
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
