NFL Report Card Week 2: Handing Out Grades to All 32 Teams

After two weeks of the NFL, things are becoming a little more clear as to what may still be an early season aberration and what looks to be for real.

However, what we're going to do here is grade each team for its Week 2 performance only, not the whole season thus far.

I'll break it down between offense and defense and then give an overall score at the end.

See something you disagree with? Don't be shy; explain yourself in the comments below.

Arizona Cardinals

Offense: The offense continues to be a work in progress with new signal caller Kevin Kolb running the show, but it moved the ball okay this week. Plenty of room for improvement, though. C+

Defense: I don't care what anyone says. Letting Rex Grossman throw for 291 yards against you is a sign there is something wrong with your defense. C-

Overall: C

Atlanta Falcons

Offense: I'm looking at these numbers after watching the game, and I can't believe it was as lopsided as it was. Matt Ryan showed poise down the stretch to get the win, but he could have played better. C

Defense: If Michael Vick doesn't leave that game, Philly hangs 500 yards of offense on a defense that just looks beaten down. I wonder if there is any way they could get out of that Dunta Robinson contract. D-

Overall: C-

Baltimore Ravens

Offense: Talk about laying an egg. A week after abusing the Steelers on both sides of the ball, Baltimore struggled moving the offense against the Titans in an embarrassing loss. Just 229 yards of total offense gets a low mark here. D

Defense: A defense that I predicted to clobber the Titans did so against the run. However, veteran Matt Hasselbeck abused the Ravens secondary for 358 yards in the air. A complete and total disaster on both sides of the ball. D

Overall: D

Buffalo Bills

Offense: Wow, what a finish. Buffalo moved the ball on the ground and through the air en route to almost 500 yards of offense, including the game-winning drive as time expired. A+

Defense: As good as Buffalo was on offense, it was bad on defense. Allowing Jason Campbell to let loose for 324 yards passing is unacceptable if this Bills team is for real. D+

Overall: C

Carolina Panthers

Offense: I guess it's time to eat crow since I said Cam Newton wouldn't have another 400-yard passing day this season. However, he did it, and against the defending Super Bowl champs. Sure, the rushing game struggled again, but Newton appears to be the real deal. B+

Defense: Unfortunately, the defense couldn't get a stop to save Newton's life, as it failed get off the field on third down and surrendered 419 yards of offense. D+

Overall: C

Chicago Bears

Offense: After a dominant showing against the Falcons defense, Jay Cutler regressed this week to an abysmal 19-of-45 passing performance that saw the Bears struggle to put points on the board. D

Defense: Even Lance Briggs' monster day on defense couldn't keep Drew Brees from doing what he does. The defense gave up 5.7 yards per play, which is never a winning formula in the Superdome. D

Overall: D

Cincinnati Bengals

Offense: Man, this Andy Dalton kid can play. As I've said in the past, I know he can play after seeing him play out here in Houston back in his high school days, but I didn't expect him to progress this fast. What a monster day for the youngster. B-

Defense: If the defense had decided to show up earlier in the game, the Bengals offense clearly had the horses to win the game. However, you can't let Willis McGahee gash you for 100 yards and expect to win. D-

Overall: C

Cleveland Browns

Offense: A balanced game from both Colt McCoy and Peyton Hillis powered the Browns to a comfortable road win against a depleted Colts team. However, you can only play who is in front of you, and the offense did well. B+

Defense: Does anyone really think Kerry Collins is the starter the entire season? D'Qwell Jackson and Joe Haden might have been able to stop the Colts offense alone. B-

Overall: B

Dallas Cowboys

Offense: Another week, another thriller for the Cowboys as they come out on top of this one. I have to give Tony Romo—who I usually rag on—some respect. To play through the pain of a broken rib and lead a comeback like that gets my respect every day and twice on Sunday. B+

Defense: While I don't like that the Dallas defense made Alex Smith look like a good NFL quarterback, it did a great job at containing Frank Gore all day and holding the Niners to just 206 yards of total offense. B-

Overall: B

Denver Broncos

Offense: Where Kyle Orton struggled, Willis McGahee picked up the slack. A hundred-yard day on the ground for the veteran running back helped run the clock out on the surging Bengals in a close one. C

Defense: I'm still debating if rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is that good or if the Broncos defense is that bad. Regardless, giving up close to 400 yards of offense is never going to get high marks from me. C

Overall: C

Detroit Lions

Offense: What a beating. With all the whining that goes on in sports—especially from Todd Haley—about running up the score, Detroit probably didn't make too many friends today. Matthew Stafford is an absolute monster now that he's healthy. Lions fans should be ecstatic. A+

Defense: What can I say? This was as dominating of a performance as any team put up in Week 2, which is why the Lions are the only team to get a perfect rating from me. A+

Overall: A+

Green Bay Packers

Offense: The Packers offense continues to click and seems to be money on third downs. It certainly wasn't this side of the ball that let Carolina stay in the game today. B+

Defense: I think it is safe to be a little bit alarmed in Packers country. For the second straight game, the secondary has been shredded for 400-plus yards. It needs to get it under control if it hopes to defend its title. D+

Overall: C

Houston Texans

Offense: Look, can we quit talking about Arian Foster now? Let's talk about how Ben Tate has rushed for more than 100 yards in both of his games in the NFL. I'd grade the offense higher if it hadn't been so shoddy in the red zone today. B-

Defense: Let's go ahead and climb off Mario Williams' back now. The guy can play outside linebacker, and to be truthful, it really isn't fair. The new Texans defense looks to be for real. B+

Overall: B

Indianapolis Colts

Offense: How can such a well-oiled machine look so different when it's only missing one person? When that person is Peyton Manning, this is the best you're going to get by replacing him with Kerry Collins. D-

Defense: The defense played pretty well, all things considered. After getting punked in Houston, it held the Browns close to 300 yards of total offense but couldn't get it going on the other side of the ball. B-

Overall: C

Jacksonville Jaguars

Offense: There isn't much positive to say about this game other than Jack Del Rio pulled Luke McCown for Blaine Gabbert, who looked pretty good in garbage time. The Jaguars would be better off forgetting this game. D-

Defense: Pretty much the same as I said above. Just forget this one happened and move on to the next one. D

Overall: D-

Kansas City Chiefs

Offense: Losing Jamaal Charles for the season the week after losing Eric Berry had to have Chiefs fans wondering how they upset the football gods. The offense was bad today and will be worse without Charles the rest of the way. D

Defense: The defense was even worse than the offense, as it allowed the Lions to do pretty much whatever they wanted today. It could be a long year for Chiefs fans. F

Overall: D-

Miami Dolphins

Offense: A team that pretty much moved the ball at will against the Patriots last week came back down to earth against the new Houston defense this afternoon. Chad Henne looked back to his normal self, and Dan Carpenter went all Ray Finkle in a disappointing performance. C

Defense: The defense actually did pretty well against the high-powered Texans offense. Houston moved the ball very easily in the first half, but Miami held the Texans to three points most of the time. However, the bend-but-don't-break defense finally broke in the fourth. C

Overall: C

Minnesota Vikings

Offense: Donovan McNabb actually looked like a competent quarterback again today, but the story here is Adrian Peterson, who absolutely gashed the Bucs defense for 120 yards. A great effort that the defense couldn't hold. B+

Defense: The defense played pretty well but couldn't get off the field on third downs in the fourth quarter and let Josh Freeman make the winning drive. C-

Overall: C

New England Patriots

Offense: A game that was hyped up, as two of the best quarterbacks in the league did not disappoint. However, as good as Philip Rivers is, Tom Brady is better—as is the Patriots offense, which still looks like a force to be reckoned with. A-

Defense: For the second straight week, the New England secondary was shredded, but at least this time it was against Rivers. Still, this has to be a concern going forward. C-

Overall: B

New Orleans Saints

Offense: Just another day at the office for Drew Brees with another stellar day from the pocket. The running game got involved, too, with Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram shouldering the load. A-

Defense: Roman Harper went from questionable to playing to the defensive player of the game with seven tackles and two sacks on the afternoon. As a whole, the defense recovered nicely from its Week 1 meltdown. A-

Overall: A-

New York Giants

Offense: Eli Manning was solid and the duo of Bradshaw and Jacobs were able to pound out enough offense to hold off the pesky Rams. B-

Defense: The depleted secondary allowed Sam Bradford to have a 300 yard night, but the bend but don't break plan worked in holding the Saints to just 16 points. C+

Overall: B

New York Jets

Offense: The slow Jaguars defense even made Mark Sanchez look pretty good this afternoon, but at only 283 yards of offense, I think the defense should get most of the credit here. C

Defense: A completely dominant performance by the defense that had this game over by halftime. A

Overall: B

Oakland Raiders

Offense: Darren McFadden is a monster, plain and simple. Both receiving and rushing, he just gets the job done, and he helped Jason Campbell have a career day while Oakland moved the ball at will all afternoon. A-

Defense: Just like their opponent today, the Raiders couldn't stop a nosebleed on defense. You could tell it was going to be one of those games where whoever had the ball last was going to win. Unfortunately for Oakland, that team was Buffalo. D

Overall: C

Philadelphia Eagles

Offense: Before Michael Vick left the game, the Eagles were having their way against the Atlanta defense. After Mike Kafka came in, they pretty much continued this course of action but just came up short. A

Defense: The Eagles played the explosive Atlanta offense about as well as you could have in giving up 35 points, but without Vick, that offense just doesn't work, and the defense ran out of gas late. B-

Overall: A

Pittsburgh Steelers

Offense: Did anyone expect this one to turn out any differently? Other than Ben Roethlisberger leaving with an injury, it was all smooth sailing for the offense against the hapless Seahawks defense. A-

Defense: A shutout is never going to get very much negativity from me. A great game all around by Steel Town. A-

Overall: A-

San Diego Chargers

Offense: Philip Rivers is ridiculous. I don't know how else to say it. Regardless of not being able to win the shootout with Tom Brady, he and Vincent Jackson did whatever they wanted today. Juggernaut. A+

Defense: On the other side of the ball, though, it was pretty much the same—for New England. San Diego couldn't have stopped the Patriots had it wanted to, especially late. D-

Overall: C+

San Francisco 49ers

Offense: Even with one of Alex Smith's better games as a pro, the offense is still one of the most painful to watch in the entire league. Just 206 yards of offense? Come on now. C-

Defense: To let this one slip away like they did was just inexcusable. What a terrible letdown for the Niners faithful. C-

Overall: C-

Seattle Seahawks

Offense: Surely the Seahawks are going to give David Garrard a call, right? If they trot Tarvaris Jackson out there for all 16 games this year, it is going to be a long, miserable season for the Seattle faithful. F

Defense: With absolutely zero help on the offensive side of the ball, the defense had to pitch a shutout to have a shot. Unfortunately, that was never going to happen. At least they didn't give up 30. D

Overall: D-

St. Louis Rams

Offense: Sam Bradford and the duo of Sims-Walker and Alexander did their part, but no Steven Jackson really hurt the ground game and a fumble that went for a TD the other way hurt. C

Defense: The defense held the Giants to 300 yards of total offense but couldn't come over the offenses mistakes. B+

Overall: C+

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Offense: The comeback kid gets it done again. After being knocked around in the first half, Josh Freeman led the Bucs to a 21-point differential in the second half to pull off a huge comeback. B-

Defense: The defense was pretty shaky in letting Donovan McNabb and Adrian Peterson have great games, but they tightened their belts in the second half and locked them down when needed. B-

Overall: B-

Tennessee Titans

Offense: Wow, where did that come from? The running game is still suffering as CJ2K gets into game shape, but Matt Hasselbeck just abused the Ravens secondary for 358 yards passing. I didn't think he had that kind of game still in him. A-

Defense: A Ravens team that did whatever it wanted offensively last week had no answer today, as it was controlled in both the passing game and passing. An impressive performance by the Titans. A+

Overall: A

Washington Redskins

Offense: The Mike Shanahan offense continued to improve against the weak Cardinals defense. However, 455 yards of total offense can't be overlooked, regardless of your opponent. B-

Defense: The defense made the plays in the fourth quarter that it needed to make to put the defense in a position to win the game. That makes its earlier struggles seem like a non-issue now. B+

Overall: B