NFL Week 10 Report Cards: Breaking Down the Stars and Duds at QB
NFL Week 11 Report Cards now turns to the quarterbacks. Fairly or unfairly, the quarterbacks take most of the blame and receive most of the credit for wins and losses.
Jon Kitna and the Cowboys had the kind of day Jerry Jones has been dreaming about all year, while Brett Favre may have made the rest of the season irrelevant, closing the book on his long career.
The grades are ready, so let's review.
Carson Palmer
1 of 26
Grade: F
Carson Palmer just isn't the same quarterback the Bengals drafted. Palmer doesn't have the same zip on his throws, he makes bad decisions, forcing the ball where it shouldn't be going, and even with three great targets to throw to, the ball seems to end up in the defender's hands a lot more than it should.
Brett Favre
2 of 26
Grade: F
Brett Favre probably closed the book on his career on Sunday, throwing three interceptions en route to a loss to division rival Chicago Bears.
With the loss, the Vikings playoff hopes pretty much are dashed, and the Vikings are going to be stuck playing out the string. Favre's poor play this year is a major factor in this situation.
Jimmy Clausen
3 of 26
Grade: D
Jimmy Clausen had another rough day, but I'm sure it was a good learning experience. Clausen threw for 191 yards, zero touchdowns and zero picks. For Carolina this year, that's an improvement.
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Ryan Fitzpatrick
4 of 26
Grade: D
Just because the Bills won doesn't mean Ryan Fitzpatrick gets off the hook. Fitzpatrick has put up much better numbers against much better teams, so 146 yards and one touchdown against the Panthers isn't really that impressive.
Peyton Manning
5 of 26
Grade: C
Peyton Manning had no touchdowns and fewer than 200 yards on Sunday, a rare feat indeed, but the Colts did get a win. However, the Colts did it by taking advantage of Carson Palmer mistakes, more so than Manning carrying the team on his shoulders.
This actually is a good thing, but Manning's actual QB grade suffers as a result.
Sam Bradford
6 of 26
Grade: C
Sam Bradford didn't have a terrible day, but 251 yards and one touchdown wasn't good enough against the 49ers. Bradford needed to do a little better on Sunday, and it just didn't happen. Don't expect to see Bradford down in this grade range too much.
Kerry Collins/Vince Young
7 of 26
Grade: C
Vince Young and Kerry Collins combined for 143 yards, one touchdown and one pick, with Young throwing both the big passes.
Not a good day, Randy Moss was not a factor, and the Titans now get to try and rebound against the Redskins.
Shaun Hill
8 of 26
Grade: C+
Shaun Hill had an above average day, throwing for more than 300 yards and one touchdown, but he also had one pick and could not get the Lions past the now formerly winless Buffalo Bills.
Derek Anderson
9 of 26
Grade: C+
Grading Derek Anderson is tough, because this was an A as far as Derek Anderson performances go, but this isn't the Derek Anderson grading scale, it's a quarterback grading scale.
Anderson had 322 yards, one touchdown and one pick, but those 322 yards came against the Seahawks defense, which isn't a real defense, according to several Seahawks fans I polled online.
Eli Manning
10 of 26
Grade: C+
Eli Manning can't be blamed for the Giants loss completely, but he did have two picks on the day, thus the C+.
Manning did have 373 yards and two touchdowns, though, so the day wasn't a complete loss.
Ben Roethlisberger
11 of 26
Grade: B-
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 387 yards, three touchdowns and one untimely pick. That untimely pick proved to be very costly for the Steelers, who couldn't keep up with Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Matt Hasselbeck
12 of 26
Grade: B
Matt Hasselbeck threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, a good performance after returning from injury. Plus, the Seahawks got the win. Bonus!
The Miami Dolphins Quarterback Triumverate
13 of 26
Grade: B
Chad Pennington was brilliant in his...what was that? Two plays? Okay. Chad Henne was brilliant in his return performance, leading the Dolphins to...what was that? Knee injury? Tyler Thigpen? Right.
The Dolphins got great performances out of two-and-a-half quarterbacks on Sunday, getting a victory in Tennessee.
Wonder who's starting next week?
Matt Schaub
14 of 26
Grade: B
Matt Schaub got 314 yards and two touchdowns, but the Texans once again leave the game without a win. Schaub can't catch a break lately.
David Garrard
15 of 26
Grade: B
David Garrard got the big pass and the Jaguars got the Hail Mary down to win the game in the closing moments. Garrard had 342 yards on the day and two touchdowns, including the game-winning catch at the end of the game.
Jay Cutler
16 of 26
Grade: B
Jay Cutler threw for three touchdowns in the victory over the Vikings, but he did have another two picks. This still is a good day for Cutler, though, so no one in Chicago is complaining right now.
Colt McCoy
17 of 26
Grade: B+
When you run down the list of reasons the Browns blew the game on Sunday, you won't find Colt McCoy on that list. McCoy had 205 yards and one touchdown, but he got handcuffed in the second half with poor play-calling before taking over the offense and scoring in the two-minute drill. Then the offense got shut down at the end of overtime after the coaching staff couldn't figure out if they were playing to win, or playing for the tie.
Matt Cassel
18 of 26
Grade: B+
Matt Cassel was playing from behind early, and while the defense couldn't stop the Broncos, the running game was shut down.
So Cassel did throw for 469 yards and four touchdowns, but since the Broncos put 49 points on the board, it didn't really matter. But Cassel can go to practice this week and know he did his part.
Joe Flacco
19 of 26
Grade: A-
Yes, the Ravens lost, but Flacco wasn't one of the main reasons. Flacco threw for 215 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Ravens almost had the game, but the Falcons led a little rally of their own.
Josh Freeman
20 of 26
Grade: A
Josh Freeman continues to get it done in Tampa Bay, throwing for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns. The Buccaneers continue to be one of the more surprising teams in the NFL.
Mark Sanchez
21 of 26
Grade: A
Mark Sanchez once again rallied the troops, slithered through the grasp of linemen and got it done at the end of overtime. Sanchez looks more and more like the quarterback Jets fans want him to be every week.
Matt Ryan
22 of 26
Grade: A
Ryan led a fourth quarter comeback, throwing for three touchdowns and more than 300 yards on the day Thursday.
Jon Kitna
23 of 26
Grade: A
Jon Kitna threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns against the New York Giants. The New York Giants. The team that destroyed Tony Romo a few weeks ago.
Kitna was on, and so were the new-look Cowboys.
Troy Smith
24 of 26
Grade: A
Alex Smith who? Troy Smith threw for 356 yards and a touchdown to lead the 49ers to their second straight victory. Troy made a huge statement on Sunday about being the 49ers starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
Tom Brady
25 of 26
Grade: A
Tom Brady showed flashes of his 2007 form, throwing for 350 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots scored almost at-will in the second half.
Kyle Orton
26 of 26
Grade: A
Kyle Orton had another good day on Sunday, 269 yards and four touchdowns. Orton didn't have to everything for a change yesterday as Knowshon Moreno ran for more than 100 yards, but Orton's career-high four TDs made this a good day for the Denver QB.
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