NFL Week 15 Report Cards: Grades for Every Team
NFL Week 15 turned in some unbelievable performances, and a lot of predictions for the weekend, including mine, were blown out of the water.
The Bengals, Panthers and Lions won, defying just about every oddsmaker on the planet. Then there was the Eagles-Giants game, and the incredible finish provided by DeSean Jackson.
The Cleveland Browns coaching staff may want to clear their offices out after Sunday's game, and the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff is going to really want to sit down and re-evaluate everything from the bottom up next month.
The grades for this week's games are in, so let's take a look at how everyone scored.
Arizona Cardinals
1 of 30
Grade: F
If you lose to the Carolina Panthers this year, you get an "F".
The Cardinals were unable to move the ball against a Panthers defense that hasn't been able to stop much of anything this season.
John Skelton threw for 196 yards and one interception, but it's probably better than what Derek Anderson would've done. The Cardinals have a lot of work ahead of them this offseason.
Miami Dolphins
2 of 30
Grade: F
The Miami Dolphins' season of unanswered questions continues as they lose at home, again, to the Buffalo Bills.
The Dolphins came into the season with an air of mystery around them, but that could just be the smell of losing at this point.
Houston Texans
3 of 30
Grade: F
The Texans gave up 31 points to the Tennessee Titans. That's not surprising. What is surprising was how ineffective the offense was, especially in the first half.
Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson had a pretty good day, but Arian Foster was neutralized, and that seems to be what the difference in the game was. Foster rushed for 15 yards on 11 carries. That's just not going to get the job done.
San Francisco 49ers
4 of 30
Grade: F
The San Francisco 49ers are the Jekyll/Hyde team of the NFC West. Each game brings its own unique character to the field.
Alex Smith and the rest of the team may show up and put 30 points on the board in a dominating performance.
Or they may go out there and flop around for four quarters. Really, it's a matter of taste, I guess.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5 of 30
Grade: F
The Buccaneers are who we thought they were. Losing to the Detroit Lions isn't the best way for the Buccaneers to make the playoffs, but with the Saints losing, this still keeps them mathematically in the race.
This is a playoff race, though, and the Buccaneers can't expect to go anywhere in the postseason playing like this, assuming of course they even get there.
The Buccaneers didn't have their best performance versus the Lions, and once the game went into overtime, the question of who was better this week got answered.
Cleveland Browns
6 of 30
Grade: D
The performance of Colt McCoy keeps this grade from being an "F". McCoy threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but the Cleveland Browns coaching staff decided winning wasn't the goal of the day as the offensive game plan was only slightly less putrid than it was last week against Buffalo.
However, the defense couldn't take advantage of the Bengals, unlike the rest of the league this season, and now the Browns have no chance of even finishing .500 this season.
St. Louis Rams
7 of 30
Grade: D
The St. Louis Rams aren't as bad as they used to be, but they're really not a good team, yet. They also aren't doing the rest of the NFC West any favors by threatening to win the division with an 8-8 record.
Of course, they could finish 7-9 and still win the division, but don't look for them to go very far when they can only muster 181 yards through the air and fewer than 100 on the ground.
The Rams, in any other division, probably wouldn't even be in the Wild Card hunt at this point, but that's the NFC West for you.
New Orleans Saints
8 of 30
Grade: C-
The Saints just aren't as good as they were last year, and the loss of Chris Ivory really hurt this team on Sunday. The Ravens still are one of the best teams in the AFC, and the Saints just came up short.
Seattle Seahawks
9 of 30
Grade: C-
The Seahawks grade out a little better than most people would think simply because they played the Falcons a lot better than most people thought.
The Falcons are one of the best teams in the league, and the Seahawks are in the NFC West. Despite this, and the two interceptions thrown by Matt Hasselbeck prior to being benched, the Seahawks still managed to score 18 points.
I thought they would've been lucky to score six.
Denver Broncos
10 of 30
Grade: C-
All things considered, the Broncos didn't look that bad. The defense continues to be completely ineffective, but that's not a surprise.
Tim Tebow threw up a stat line that looked almost Michael Vickian in the ratio of runs to passes, but he didn't throw any interceptions and the Broncos kept the game interesting for three quarters.
The fourth quarter was a different story, and the reason they got a "C-".
Pittsburgh Steelers
11 of 30
Grade: C
The Steelers defense just doesn't look the same without Troy Polamalu, the offense continues to not be as effective as it should be and the special teams gave up an opening kickoff return for a touchdown.
The Steelers are picking the worst time of year to go into a slump.
Jacksonville Jaguars
12 of 30
Grade: C
The Jaguars' streak of great finishes came to a halt as the Colts shut down Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard couldn't find any miracles in the backfield on Sunday.
Garrard still had a pretty decent day, but it wasn't enough without MJD doing what he usually does.
Carolina Panthers
13 of 30
Grade: C+
Give credit where credit is due to Jimmy Clausen. He didn't do anything to lose the game for the Panthers. But the Cardinals defense is just putrid this year, and Clausen still only had 141 yards and one touchdown against said putrid defense.
The Panthers put together a winning game plan, and that's saying something this year. That doesn't mean the game was any fun to watch.
New York Giants
14 of 30
Grade: C+
The Giants played great in the first half.
But then they came out for the second half.
And then they punted to DeSean Jackson.
The rest is history.
Washington Redskins
15 of 30
Grade: B-
The Redskins may have lost, but they took it to the resurgent Cowboys, and they did it with Rex Grossman, of all people.
Donovan McNabb's trade value just dropped.
Green Bay Packers
16 of 30
Grade: B-
For 59 minutes, the Packers were looking great, far better than anyone expected. After Matt Flynn failed to really move the Packers offense last week, it didn't look good for the team going up against the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
If it wasn't for a communication breakdown in the final minute, the Packers might have pulled it out, but it was not to be.
Cincinnati Bengals
17 of 30
Grade: B-
The Bengals didn't look horrible Sunday, but that was far from a great performance. The Bengals overpowered a Browns defense that doesn't seem to be able to grasp the basics anymore, and the Browns offense refuses to call anything but Peyton Hillis between the tackles, especially on the goal line.
Palmer didn't throw any picks, and Cedric Benson was the star of the game.
Dallas Cowboys
18 of 30
Grade: B+
The Cowboys pulled out another win, and this time they almost lost. They got away with field goals on a few drives where they should've had touchdowns, but a win is a win, and both teams are fighting for respect and an invite to next year's training camp.
Detroit Lions
19 of 30
Grade: B+
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are fighting for a playoff spot. The Lions aren't. But the Lions are the team who wanted it more on Sunday.
The Lions took the game to the Bucs and won it in overtime. What more could Lions fans ask for?
Tennessee Titans
20 of 30
Grade: A-
The Titans had their best showing in more than a month, and they rumbled all over the Houston Texans. The Titans controlled the game from the start, and Kerry Collins threw two touchdowns while Chris Johnson ran for 130 yards and one touchdown.
If only the Titans could've done this for the last few weeks, they might still be in the playoff race.
San Diego Chargers
21 of 30
Grade: A
The Chargers may not have been facing an elite team, but they went out and dominated the game, so they earn the "A" for doing what they were supposed to do. With the Chiefs' win, it keeps the Chargers playoff hopes in doubt, but if the Chargers keep winning, good things could happen.
Buffalo Bills
22 of 30
Grade: A
The Buffalo Bills may have taken themselves out of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes with their last couple of wins, but Bills fans don't really care at this point. Ryan Fitzpatrick keeps giving the Bills more reasons to hold off drafting a quarterback until at least the second round, anyway.
While the merits of many of the Bills players can be debated, Fitzpatrick threw for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns as the Bills won by a field goal.
Indianapolis Colts
23 of 30
Grade: A
The Colts are back, not only winning two games in a row, but beating division rival Jacksonville in convincing fashion.
Peyton Manning didn't throw any interceptions for the second game in a row, and the Colts defense held Maurice Jones-Drew to under 50 yards.
Kansas City Chiefs
24 of 30
Grade: A
Matt Cassel wasn't perfect, but he didn't need to be as Jamaal Charles ran for 126 yards and a touchdown. Thomas Jones also ran for a touchdown, and the Chiefs offense looked like its old self again as they took apart the St. Louis Rams.
The Chiefs remain in control of their destiny in the AFC West, but there are still two more weeks to go.
New York Jets
25 of 30
Grade: A
The Jets went into Pittsburgh and outfought the Steelers on their home turf. Sanchez didn't throw any interceptions, Braylon Edwards caught the ball and the Jets looked more like the team Rex Ryan insisted they were the last few weeks.
Baltimore Ravens
26 of 30
Grade: A
The Ravens outplayed the Saints in an exciting game that stayed close to the end. The Ravens' Ray Rice ran for 153 yards and Joe Flacco threw for two scores while the defense completely shut down the Saints running game.
Without Chris Ivory, the Saints couldn't get a ground game going, and the Ravens stay ahead in the Wild Card hunt.
Atlanta Falcons
27 of 30
Grade: A
The Falcons romped all over the Seahawks, but it surprisingly wasn't a shutout. Matt Ryan threw for three touchdowns and Michael Turner had 82 yards on the ground.
The Falcons didn't look spectacular, but they certainly didn't look bad. The Falcons got Matt Hasselbeck benched, but Charlie Whitehurst isn't exactly a better option.
Oakland Raiders
28 of 30
Grade: A
No real surprises in this game as the Raiders dominated, but the game was a lot closer for three quarters than Oakland would've wanted, and Tim Tebow was a lot more successful than the Raiders defense would've wanted.
But it doesn't matter—Darren McFadden still had 119 yards on the ground, and the Raiders overcame two interceptions by Jason Campbell.
New England Patriots
29 of 30
Grade: A
The Patriots fought off a surprisingly fierce attack from the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. No one, it seems, including Bill Belichick, was prepared for Matt Flynn, but the Patriots hung in there, traded blows with the Packers, and held on for the win.
Dan Connolly's 71-yard return will be the big highlight of the game, but this was a game full of great plays on both sides of the ball.
Philadelphia Eagles
30 of 30
Grade: A
Now THAT is what you call a comeback. Not only did Michael Vick rally his team from a 21-3 deficit, DeSean Jackson made one of the biggest plays of the year in the entire NFL with his 65-yard punt return in the closing seconds of the game.
The Eagles now are looking at a huge advantage going into the playoffs, and the Giants now have to fight for a Wild Card spot.
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