NFL Report Cards: Team-by-Team Grades for Week 12
What did I just see?
That sort of reaction was common after Sunday Night Football when New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. managed the fantastic touchdown catch seen above. The Giants lost that game, but Beckham was clearly the story of the night, as the rookie stamped his name into the memories of just about anyone connected with football. It was the greatest catch of our lifetime, and a catch Beckham and Giants fans will likely never forget.
Still, the typical week in the NFL has moments that draw that same reaction in almost every game: a particularly vicious hit, a cut that no human should be able to make, a pancake block leaving the offensive lineman looking like a massive sumo standing atop his fallen foe.
The NFL is built on suspending our disbelief for these punctuated moments, that what we think the human body can accomplish or what we think should happen as two teams match up gets completely turned on its head and we see the truly remarkable.
It is my pleasure to wade through these moments and take a look at every game each weekend, providing you the most objective look possible at how each team performed.
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 the performance was played in: at home, away, weather, etc.
Not Considered in Grades
- Excuses. I grade the team on the field, not the ideal team 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-plus 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 grade, which averages 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. Early on, massive outliers (both positive and negative) will affect those averages.
Grab your red pens. We're on to the grades!
Arizona Cardinals (9-2)
1 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Seattle Seahawks 19-3
The Cardinals couldn't move the ball on the ground in this one, and some mental and unforced errors in the passing game kept them from ever finding a rhythm. Though the score indicates a rather close game, the Cardinals were beaten on offense, defense and special teams.
Quarterback Drew Stanton needs to be better than he was here if the Cardinals want to win another game this season.
Week 12 Grade: D+
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: Atlanta Falcons (Away)
Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
2 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Cleveland Browns 26-24
I have no idea what Falcons head coach Mike Smith was thinking at the end of this game.
Overall, the Falcons didn't exactly play terribly for most of the game. The defense played really well for long stretches and made Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer look pretty bad before his late-game heroics. The offense moved the ball and, although beset by turnovers, was mostly effective against a solid Browns pass defense.
Yet, they were doomed by horrendous clock management at the end of the game by their head coach and a ridiculous defensive collapse.
Week 12 Grade: C
2014 Cumulative: C+
Week 13 Opponent: Arizona Cardinals (Home)
Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
3 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. New Orleans Saints 34-27
This is how the Ravens offense is supposed to look every week.
With the zone-blocking scheme, backs for the Ravens should have more days like Justin Forsett's 182-yard performance (he also had two touchdowns). With that rushing attack in place, quarterback Joe Flacco was free to pass at his leisure, and took only one sack on the night.
The Ravens defense also stepped up. Though the Saints had more speed and were able to utilize that at times, the Ravens won plenty of battles on the line of scrimmage.
Week 12 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: San Diego Chargers (Home)
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Buffalo Bills (6-5)
4 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. New York Jets 38-3
Wow, I didn't know this Bills team had it in them.
Offensively, it was a team effort, with quarterback Kyle Orton only passing for 230 yards but also throwing for two touchdowns and no interceptions. No running back rushed for over 55 yards, but as a team, they rushed for over 100. They also had no turnovers.
They played extremely sound defense, and this put them in shorter field situations most of the game. Buffalo even picked up a blocked punt for a touchdown by defensive end Manny Lawson.
Week 12 Grade: A+
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 13 Opponent: Cleveland Browns (Home)
Carolina Panthers (3-7-1)
5 of 32
The Carolina Panthers were on a bye this week.
2014 Cumulative: C-
Week 13 Opponent: Minnesota Vikings (Away)
Chicago Bears (5-6)
6 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-13
This game was a perfect example of a team catching (and then capitalizing on) a lot of "breaks" that happen in the game of football. The Buccaneers were in control for much of the first half, then a tremendous third quarter all but iced the game for the Bears. It's a credit to the defense, that made sure the Buccaneers mistakes turned into four turnovers.
Still, the offense was awfully lackluster, and it's easy to imagine this game going the other way if the defense hadn't stepped up.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 13 Opponent: Detroit Lions (Away)
Cincinnati Bengals (7-3-1)
7 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Houston Texans 22-13
The Bengals have seemingly turned around their fortunes this season with two straight road victories in bouts that weren't exactly gimmes for them. With a relatively easy schedule coming up, not only could the Bengals win most of their remaining games, but they have three AFC North matchups (Cleveland once and Pittsburgh twice) where they could lock up the division.
Against the Texans, the defense showed up as much as they have all season long, getting a safety and an interception and holding Houston to only 248 total yards.
Week 12 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 13 Opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Away)
Cleveland Browns (7-4)
8 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Atlanta Falcons 26-24
The Browns were able to absorb a bad game by quarterback Brian Hoyer and still win this one—ironically, with a great final drive by said quarterback. The Browns won by staying committed to the run game and playing good defense.
The defensive backfield had one of the better days of the season with cornerback Joe Haden grabbing an interception and no Falcons receiver gaining over 100 yards.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 13 Opponent: Buffalo Bills (Away)
Dallas Cowboys (8-3)
9 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. New York Giants 31-28
Quarterback Tony Romo's late-game heroics aside (I wrote about those following the game), this game was really a tale of two halves where the Cowboys had a lot of trouble in the first both moving the ball and stopping the Giants from doing the same.
The play of running back DeMarco Murray was just as important to this game. He kept the score low and helped the Cowboys keep the Giants off balance with a five yards-per-carry average that seemed to extend as the game went on.
With a huge fourth-quarter touchdown and a defensive stop to end the game in dramatic fashion, it's easy to feel that this game deserves an A, but when one considers all 60 minutes, it's clear the Cowboys could've played better against an inferior opponent.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B+
Week 13 Opponent: Philadelphia Eagles (Home)
Denver Broncos (8-3)
10 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Miami Dolphins 39-36
Coming off of their worst game of the season, the Broncos bounced back in an awfully difficult matchup against the tough Dolphins defense. Quarterback Peyton Manning left some throws on the field, but he threw four touchdowns—three to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas—and running back C.J. Anderson had 167 yards rushing.
The defense, though, was troubling and helped Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill find a rhythm early because they couldn't seem to apply any pressure until late.
Week 12 Grade: B+
2014 Cumulative: B+
Week 13 Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs (Away)
Detroit Lions (7-4)
11 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to New England Patriots 34-9
First, the good for the Lions: The defense seemed to get things figured out in the second half...that's about it.
Everything else was terrible for Detroit, as quarterback Matthew Stafford had one of the worst passing performances of his career, but it wasn't all his fault. The offensive line was porous all day long, and left tackle Riley Reiff left the game early with an injury. The running game wasn't much better—though it had a few moments—and the defense had tons of mental mistakes.
Week 12 Grade: F
2014 Cumulative: C+
Week 13 Opponent: Chicago Bears (Home)
Green Bay Packers (8-3)
12 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Minnesota Vikings 24-21
First, my weekly Packers disclaimer that their cumulative grade is still being pulled down by early-season efforts (or lack thereof) and that they're playing some of the best football in the entire league.
This game, though, didn't do much to pull their grade up, as the Packers seemed content to cruise in this one before next week's matchup with the New England Patriots. That cruise-control mindset almost doomed them, as the Vikings and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater seemed more than happy to play the trap-game role.
Big marks to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who still hasn't thrown an interception since Oct. 26, and to running back Eddie Lacy, who had 125 yards rushing and two total touchdowns.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: New England Patriots (Home)
Houston Texans (5-6)
13 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals 22-13
The Texans had this one and let it slip away.
After a third-quarter interception returned for a touchdown to make the game 16-10, the Texans clearly had the Bengals on the ropes. But things started to come off the rails a little bit later in the quarter when the Texans had the ball in the red zone and could've taken the lead, but needed to settle for a 25-yard field goal.
Things went downhill from there.
The Texans couldn't move the ball for much of the fourth quarter and gave up two Bengals field goals to put the game out of a one-score reach. It wasn't until the Bengals settled down and the game was out of a conceivable reach for quarterback Ryan Mallett and the offense that some garbage-time stat padding took place.
Week 12 Grade: C
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 13 Opponent: Tennessee Titans (Home)
Indianapolis Colts (7-4)
14 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Jacksonville Jaguars 23-3
The score actually hides the fact that it took the Colts a little while to get warmed up in this one. At the end of the first half, the score was 6-3 in favor of Indianapolis, and quarterback Andrew Luck was having a ridiculously shaky day to that point. Overall, the Colts turned the ball over three times in this one, which not only points to some mental errors on their part, but also that the days of pouring it on against the Jaguars may be over.
The second half went much better, obviously, as the passing game heated up and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton got his touchdown for his brand new baby girl.
Overall, you'd just like a team this close to the upper echelon of the NFL to perform a little better against a one-win opponent.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: Washington (Home)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-10)
15 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Indianapolis Colts 23-3
Looking back in the aftermath, this looks like more of an F kind of loss. In reality, though, the Jaguars went toe-to-toe with a much better Colts team for the entire first half before reality set in. That doesn't mean the loss is any less stinging, but it does mean that there are positives to be seen.
Defensive end Chris Clemons had three sacks and three additional hits on Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who was assuredly sore the next morning. Linebacker Telvin Smith had one of his better games, although he was out of position a couple of times in the second half. Really, the offense could've changed this game by being even a little effective, but that wasn't in the cards against a good Colts pass rush.
Week 12 Grade: D+
2014 Cumulative: D+
Week 13 Opponent: New York Giants (Home)
Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)
16 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Oakland Raiders 24-20
The Chiefs weren't terrible in this one, but they lose major points for falling to the Raiders, who were "ofer" at the time. The offense is still struggling mightily, and the Raiders' improving defense was able to keep the Chiefs stymied for much of this one, proving that any time running back Jamaal Charles has a poor game on the ground, the passing attack and quarterback Alex Smith don't have enough juice to make up for it.
I was also surprised how toothless the Chiefs defense looked for long stretches. They certainly have the personnel and have had the production this season to stop the Raiders more soundly, but it was an off game for the unit.
Week 12 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: Denver Broncos (Home)
Miami Dolphins (6-5)
17 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Denver Broncos 39-36
The Dolphins gave the Broncos everything they had, but ultimately, the Broncos simply had too many bodies to cover and quarterback Peyton Manning finally found enough of a rhythm (and got enough protection) to complete some passes after a sluggish start (by his standards).
Most impressive here was the Dolphins offense. The line took the teeth out of the Broncos pass rush while quarterback Ryan Tannehill spent the better part of the day dealing. Being just a notch below the Broncos isn't anything about which to be ashamed.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: New York Jets (Away)
Minnesota Vikings (4-7)
18 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Green Bay Packers 24-21
They almost did it.
The Vikings kept things close with a Packers team that didn't seem too serious about being there, and then almost pulled off the upset with a late touchdown that got them within three points. Sadly, the rest of the comeback never really happened, but the Vikings definitely played up to their level of competition this week and Bridgewater looked good after a couple of games full of struggles.
Week 12 Grade: B-
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 13 Opponent: Carolina Panthers (Home)
New England Patriots (9-2)
19 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Detroit Lions 34-9
The Patriots are very close to achieving an A overall for the season despite their early-season struggles. This showcases just how well they're playing right now. Against a good Detroit defense, the Patriots confused and outplayed their opponents and quarterback Tom Brady took advantage of every single mental error the Lions made.
Of course, the Patriots defense also clearly played well. It's not exactly difficult to hold the Lions offense down these days, but the Patriots looked good both in rushing the passer and winning at the line of scrimmage in the run game.
Week 12 Grade: A+
2014 Cumulative: B+
Week 13 Opponent: Green Bay Packers (Away)
New Orleans Saints (4-7)
20 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Baltimore Ravens 34-27
Quarterback Drew Brees and the passing attack were able to move the ball reasonably well (420 yards, three touchdowns), but the inability to get the run game going—and an inability stop the Ravens from doing the same—doomed their chances late in this game.
As we're looking for blame to assign on this Saints squad, make sure you're looking in the trenches. The offensive and defensive lines have been pretty rough for the Saints this season, and when they play like they did against Baltimore, they're going to lose a lot of games.
Week 12 Grade: C
2014 Cumulative: C+
Week 13 Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers (Away)
New York Giants (3-8)
21 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Dallas Cowboys 31-28
The Giants didn't let up on the Cowboys and used just about everything at their disposal to attempt this upset. Sadly, they just aren't that good of a team.
On offense, the only thing that worked were some short passes to the running backs and intermediate-to-deep shots to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Quarterback Eli Manning wasn't running an offense as much as he was trying to stay alive in the pocket, and it showed as he failed to really go through his progressions and threw an interception and a couple more errant passes that deserved to be.
On defense, things held up for a half, but the effort dropped precipitously after halftime as the Cowboys made adjustments.
Week 12 Grade: C+
2014 Cumulative: C+
Week 13 Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars (Away)
New York Jets (2-9)
22 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Buffalo Bills 38-3
This was about as embarrassing as things could get for the Jets.
Quarterback Michael Vick was so bad, he eventually gave way to Geno Smith. Overall, Vick was seven of 19 for 76 yards and an interception. His protection was not great, but Vick was paralyzed by trying to diagnose the Bills defense and allowed much of that pressure to get to him with slow decision-making.
Offense, defense, special teams—just about everything failed in this game, which could easily cost head coach Rex Ryan his job.
Week 12 Grade: F
2014 Cumulative: D
Week 13 Opponent: Miami Dolphins (Home)
Oakland Raiders (1-10)
23 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Kansas City Chiefs 24-20
The Raiders came prepared for this game and started dominating from the very start. Running back Latavius Murray, who had literally come out of nowhere and sat behind disappointing veterans on the depth chart, tore up the Chiefs defense for 112 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries before leaving the game early.
Defensively, the Raiders shut down Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles about as well as can be expected and helped turn the Chiefs into exactly what they don't want to be—a one-dimensional passing team.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: D
Week 13 Opponent: St. Louis Rams (Away)
Philadelphia Eagles (8-3)
24 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Tennessee Titans 43-24
What a difference a week makes—especially when the level of competition drops off from Green Bay Packers to Tennessee Titans levels.
Here, the Eagles looked like a dominant team. Running back LeSean McCoy, who has struggled at almost every point running the ball this season, racked up 130 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Mark Sanchez still didn't look as good as he did in his first full game for the Eagles, but he also wasn't running for his life consistently, either.
The Eagles defense does trouble me, though, and the upcoming game against the Cowboys could be the best barometer of their talent yet.
Week 12 Grade: A-
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: Dallas Cowboys (Away)
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4)
25 of 32
The Pittsburgh Steelers were on a bye this week.
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 13 Opponent: New Orleans Saints (Home)
San Diego Chargers (7-4)
26 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. St. Louis Rams 27-24
Something is off with the Chargers, and though they got the win this week (and last), they have not looked anything like they did early in the season. It was almost as if the Raiders playing them tight the first time around demoralized them and took away a swagger that was becoming so entertaining to watch.
Here against St. Louis, the Chargers rode their road-grading offensive line to 105 yards rushing for running back Ryan Mathews. That helped keep quarterback Philip Rivers relatively clean as the Rams picked up three sacks and four quarterback hits, though in terms of talent that number could've been much higher.
Week 12 Grade: B-
2014 Cumulative: B-
Week 13 Opponent: Baltimore Ravens (Away)
San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
27 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Washington 17-13
The 49ers love making life more difficult for themselves this season.
Against Washington, the running game just couldn't get going, and when it did, fumbling became an issue as both backs lost fumbles and quarterback Colin Kaepernick nearly did as well. The passing game still didn't look in sync, but no one on the Washington secondary could keep up with Anquan Boldin, who managed 137 yards and a touchdown.
This should've been a beatdown (it was even at home!). Instead, the defense wasn't working nearly hard enough for the turnovers Washington would've willingly given them, and the offense never got into a rhythm.
Week 12 Grade: C+
2014 Cumulative: C+
Week 13 Opponent: Seattle Seahawks (Home)
Seattle Seahawks (7-4)
28 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Def. Arizona Cardinals 19-3
This wasn't exactly an offensive back-and-forth, but the Seahawks defense deserves a lot of credit for doing enough to both completely shut down the Cardinals' running game and keep the passing attack from connecting on deep shots. We expect these kind of days out of this defense, but we hadn't been seeing them nearly enough as of late.
Week 12 Grade: B
2014 Cumulative: B
Week 13 Opponent: San Francisco 49ers (Away)
St. Louis Rams (4-7)
29 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to San Diego Chargers 27-24
Rams quarterback Shaun Hill could be starring in one of those "Wanna get away?" commercials following this one, as he quite literally threw the game away in this one. Whether it was a lack of a read, or just a bad read, Hill fell into the trap of throwing into what should've been easy-to-read coverage.
On defense, I was surprised to see the Rams pass rush look less effective this week than they did against Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
Week 12 Grade: C
2014 Cumulative: C
Week 13 Opponent: Oakland Raiders (Home)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-9)
30 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Chicago Bears 21-13
It wasn't surprising to me that the Bears won this game, but it was surprising that the Buccaneers offense couldn't find its stride (as it just had the week before) against a Bears defense that matched up so poorly.
Wide receiver Mike Evans was targeted 11 times, but only managed three receptions. If that connection works even a little better (let's say five or seven receptions), it completely changes the character of this game—not only in the yardage he gets, but also in how it might have opened up the run game a little more.
Week 12 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: D+
Week 13 Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals (Home)
Tennessee Titans (2-9)
31 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to Philadelphia Eagles 43-24
If the Titans run game had been better in this game, it would have been a much more interesting matchup. As it was, their defense couldn't stop the Eagles (even with a couple of turnovers), but fumbles and an interception helped doom the Titans, who got so little movement up front against an Eagles front seven that practically invites teams to run on them at times.
That said, there were positive in the passing game, and tight end Delanie Walker ended up with 155 yards receiving.
Week 12 Grade: C-
2014 Cumulative: D+
Week 13 Opponent: Houston Texans (Away)
Washington (3-8)
32 of 32
Week 12 Outcome: Lost to San Francisco 17-13
Overall, this game could've (and probably should've) been much worse for Washington, and it's becoming clearer and clearer that the wheels are coming off for this team.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III is still making mistakes that a rookie shouldn't and managed only 106 yards in this matchup, though he didn't throw an interception. Instead, it was Alfred Morris who paced Washington with 125 yards on the ground.
Week 12 Grade: D
2014 Cumulative: D+
Week 13 Opponent: Indianapolis Colts (Away)
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.
All traditional box score stats courtesy of ESPN.com. Advanced stats and metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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