NFL Rankings Week 13 Report Cards: Grading the New England Patriots and More
Week 13 in the NFL started to make the playoff races a bit clearer, while separating the men from the boys.
Take, for example, the Monday Night Football game where two 9-2 teams faced off.
The New England Patriots absolutely destroyed the New York Jets, proving that the former was a legitimate Super Bowl contender, while the latter may not be quite as good as we originally thought.
In other news, the Panthers continued to struggle while the Falcons staked their claim as the best team in the NFC.
Read on to see the Week 13 report cards for each NFL team.
Arizona Cardinals
1 of 31
The Arizona Cardinals continued their fall from grace this week by following up their Monday Night Football debacle against the San Francisco 49ers with yet another stinker, this time against the St. Louis Rams.
Derek Anderson was horrific in the game, completing only nine of his 20 passes. He was eventually benched and replaced by Max Hall, who was injured and replaced by fellow rookie John Skelton.
While the rushing game worked fairly well—an average of 5.5 yards per carry resulted in 105 yards—the offense failed to move down the field, or score a touchdown for that matter.
Two first quarter field goals by Jay Feely were the only points the Cardinals could muster.
The defense was just okay, limiting the Rams to 19 points on four field goals and a Steven Jackson touchdown run. They even picked off Sam Bradford.
But all in all, it wasn't enough to stay in the playoff hunt, even in a very weak NFC West.
Grade: C-
Atlanta Falcons
2 of 31
The Atlanta Falcons didn't have their greatest game of the season, but it was still enough to get the victory against the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Truthfully, the Buccaneers looked much better throughout large portions of the game, but despite the home field advantage at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay still let Matt Ryan lead the Falcons back.
In doing so, the third-year quarterback helped his team become the only NFC team with 10 wins, essentially relegating the Buccaneers to wild-card contention in the process.
Eric Weems kick-started the Falcons' comeback with a 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the longest in franchise history, in the fourth quarter. The return was a thing of beauty; side-line wizardry, elusiveness, breaking tackles and bursts of speed were all involved.
Then Matty Ice calmly drove his team down the field in 10 plays and finished off the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins.
As for the defense, they did force one interception by Josh Freeman, but had some difficulty tackling the bowling ball known as LeGarrette Blount. You could say that Blount punched his way through the forward lines of the Falcons defense multiple times.
Grade: A-
Baltimore Ravens
3 of 31
The game against the Pittsburgh Steelers started out quite well for the Baltimore Ravens when Joe Flacco went 6-for-6 on a first quarter drive, leading his team 92 yards down the field and into the end zone on a 14-yard pass to Anquan Boldin.
But it only went downhill from there as the game turned more and more physical as the clock rolled on. But what else would you expect from a battle between the Steelers and the Ravens?
The turning point in the game came when Troy Polamalu sacked Joe Flacco and forced a fumble, leading to the game's only touchdown.
It's difficult to feel bad about the Ravens' performance as they hung in there with a 9-3 team for the entire game. But in the end, it's the results the matter and those show that the Ravens lost and fell a game behind Pittsburgh in the division standings.
Still, take encouragement from the fact that the game was so close and that the Ravens shut down a vaunted Steelers' attack.
Grade: B+
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Buffalo Bills
4 of 31
The Buffalo Bills inched closer to a top draft pick when they were blown out by the disappointing Minnesota Vikings, playing without the services of Brett Favre.
After knocking Favre out of the game with a shoulder injury and returning the ensuing interception 40 yards for the opening score of the game, the Bills quickly faded.
The defense, with the exception of that interception and the three others thrown by Tavaris Jackson, played terribly. It's not exactly a good thing to allow 38 points to a team playing with an interim head coach and a backup quarterback.
Adrian Peterson was the main problem for the Bills' defense as the talented back rushed for 107 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries.
As for the offense, they couldn't get anything going all day. The only offensive touchdown for the Bills came in the fourth quarter during what was clearly garbage time.
Grade: F
Carolina Panthers
5 of 31
Proud owners of the worst record in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers had yet another terrible performance last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Remember that the Seahawks aren't exactly one of the elite teams in the league.
Carolina got off to a promising start thanks to two rushing touchdowns, one in the first quarter by Mike Goodson and one in the second quarter by Jonathan Stewart. But after jumping out to that 14-point lead, things only went downhill.
The rushing defense just fell apart, letting Marshawn Lynch run for 83 yards and three touchdowns, enough to single-handedly take the game back for the Seahawks.
It's tough to find any positives in this game for the Panthers. They're quickly discovering that Jimmy Clausen most likely isn't the long-term answer for them at quarterback.
Grade: F
Chicago Bears
6 of 31
Jay Cutler and Matt Forte played quite well in this game, but the defense and the rest of the offense should never have let a Detroit Lions team starting their third-string quarterback force them to score a touchdown in the final quarter to win.
Cutler was 21-for-26 in the game and while he lost a fumble, he didn't throw any picks. Forte had 110 total yards and added a touchdown.
But still, it took a seven yard touchdown pass from Cutler to Brandon Manumaleuna in the fourth quarter to get the win.
As for the defense, the supposedly fierce unit had a rather pedestrian outing. They allowed Drew Stanton to stay turnover-free and pass for a touchdown while running in another.
Grade: B
Cincinnati Bengals
7 of 31
The Cincinnati Bungles, sorry I mean Bengals, were back up to their old tricks in this game.
They inspired hope to their fans that they may actually win a game against a contending team, but instead they managed to find a way to blow it at the end and move to 2-10.
After Clint Stitser made a 47-yard field goal with 4:25 left, the Bengals took a 30-27 lead. But then Drew Brees led his team all the way down the field.
On 4th-and-2 at the Cincinnati seven yard line, Brees used a hard count and got Pat Sims to jump into the neutral zone. A five yard penalty ensued and the Saints scored a touchdown on their next play.
That said, it's impressive enough for a 2-10 team to be hanging with the 9-3 defending Super Bowl champions.
Grade: B
Cleveland Browns
8 of 31
The Cleveland Browns moved to 5-7 on the season after a pretty lucky win.
Despite only getting 57 yards out of Peyton Hillis on the ground and just 252 total net yards, the Browns still remained in position to win the game thanks to the even-more-hapless-than-the-normally-hapless-Browns team that they were playing.
Chad Henne's third interception of the night came deep in his own territory and set up an easy 23-yard field goal for the Browns as time expired.
Even though they got the win, Cleveland fans have to be looking forward to seeing Jake Delhomme on the bench next week while Colt McCoy starts.
Grade: B-
Dallas Cowboys
9 of 31
The Cowboys' defense came up big in this game from start to finish.
14 of the Cowboy's 35 points in regulation came on interception returns for touchdowns, but they still let the Colts back into the game when Peyton Manning led his team on a patented fourth quarter comeback.
The Colts scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, sending the game to overtime. But the Cowboys picked off Manning for the fourth time and kicked the game-winning field goal.
Jason Garret continues to inspire this team to victories and Jon Kitna is proving to be quite a serviceable backup.
If Tashard Choice continues to be a valuable asset, as he was in this game, the Cowboys could continue winning for the rest of the season.
Grade: A
Detroit Lions
10 of 31
The Detroit Lions suffered yet another heart-breaking loss this past Sunday, this time at the hands of the far superior Chicago Bears.
Truthfully though, this loss should be encouraging because there's no way that any sane Lions fan would have expected to beat a hot Bears team while starting Drew Stanton, a third-string quarterback, thanks to injuries to both Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill.
Stanton had both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown to supplement Jahvid Best's great running. Calvin Johnson got involved, and even the defense was playing well.
It all added up to a lead in the fourth quarter, but a loss when Jay Cutler threw a touchdown to Brandon Manumaleuna.
Still though, it was an encouraging performance.
Grade: B
Green Bay Packers
11 of 31
After a particularly bad first quarter and a 0-6 deficit in the second, the Packers offense caught fire.
Aaron Rodgers had a great day, going 21-for-30 for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Gregg Jennings was the main beneficiary of Rodgers' MVP-worthy day.
But the play of the day belonged to Donald Driver, who is still breaking tackles.
Even James Starks, a rookie from Buffalo, had a good day with his 18 carries and 73 yards.
The defense also held the 49ers to just 269 total net yards, 66 of which came on one play.
They were playing San Francisco, so a grain of salt is necessary, but the Packers looked dominant.
Plus the throwback uniforms definitely give Green Bay some bonus points.
Grade: A
Houston Texans
12 of 31
The Houston Texans, in the midst of a disappointing season, should at least be encouraged by their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
They held the high-flying Eagles to 34 points and forced Michael Vick to lead a fourth quarter comeback for the victory.
The Texans defense also did a ton of damage to Vick, piling up hit after hit on the mobile quarterback.
As for the offense, Matt Schaub looked like a very good quarterback, Andre Johnson rebounded nicely after his fight the week before, and Arian Foster continued to do his thing by scoring two touchdowns and gaining 109 total yards.
If they just got the pass defense figured out, this would be a dangerous team.
Grade: B-
Indianapolis Colts
13 of 31
For quite some time now, the Indianapolis Colts have lived and died by the right arm of Peyton Manning. That's usually been a good thing.
But for the last three weeks, the golden arm of Manning has let down the team. He's thrown 11 interceptions in his last three games, arguably the worst slump of his career.
Last week against the Dallas Cowboys was no different as Manning was picked off four times. Two of those turnovers were returned for touchdowns while the final one set up the game-winning field goal in overtime.
For a team looking to stay in the playoff hunt, this isn't exactly what needs to be happening.
Especially when you look at the wild card picture and see that the only way the Colts are sneaking into the postseason is by overtaking the Jacksonville Jaguars and winning the AFC South.
Grade: C-
Jacksonville Jaguars
14 of 31
Jacksonville continued their surprising season with a dominant win over the Tennessee Titans, the same team that embarrassed them on Monday Night Football in Jacksonville earlier in the year.
Maurice Jones-Drew continued his fabulous year, rushing for a career-high 186 yards. David Garrard was mistake free.
The defense absolutely shut down the Titans offense, holding Chris Johnson to just 53 yards and allowing only two field goals the entire game.
With the win, the Jaguars opened up a one-game lead in the AFC South and moved closer to advancing to the playoffs.
Grade: A+
Kansas City Chiefs
15 of 31
Another surprising division leader, the Kansas City Chiefs continued their winning ways in Week 13.
In a low scoring game, the Chiefs made the Denver Broncos' offense look absolutely inept. Their rush defense was the only flaw, letting Knowshon Moreno rush for 161 yards. But even then, they managed to keep him out of the end zone.
The Chiefs also kept up their great rushing offense, posting 185 yards. That was mostly due to Jamaal Charles, who continues his excellent season.
Most importantly, the Chiefs remained unbeaten at home. The crowd noise at Arrowhead has been deafening so far this year.
Even though Matt Cassel was a little bit off his game, this was a great win for the Chiefs.
Grade: A-
Miami Dolphins
16 of 31
Against the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins played an absolutely terrible game.
The defense let Cleveland overcome numerous mistakes and even win the game.
However, the loss was mostly Chad Henne's fault. The Michigan product threw three interceptions, none more costly than the one thrown late in the fourth quarter deep in his own territory. That pick led to the game-winning field goal as time expired.
These are the kind of games that a good team would win. So the conclusion has to be that the Dolphins just aren't very good.
Grade: F
Minnesota Vikings
17 of 31
With the exception of the Carolina Panthers, every single team in the league is supposed to be beating the Buffalo Bills.
Despite that fact, Minnesota Vikings fans probably wouldn't have been too surprised if they'd lost. Especially when Brett Favre threw a pick-six and got knocked out of the game on his first play.
Somehow, the Vikings managed to overcome three more interceptions from backup quarterback Tavaris Jackson and shut down the Bills.
Adrian Peterson ran wild, scoring three touchdowns in the process.
It seems as though Leslie Frazier is doing a great job turning around this team.
Grade: A
New England Patriots
18 of 31
The New England Patriots looked like the best team in the league on Monday Night Football.
A 42-point win over the New York Jets, who were 9-2 going into the game?
Enough said.
Grade: A+
New Orleans Saints
19 of 31
It took a hard count on fourth down late in the game and deep in Cincinnati territory to win the game. But the Saints did win and stay alive in the hunt for the NFC South. That's what counts.
Still though, the Saints should never have been in a position where they had to pull off such a miracle to win a game against the Bengals.
The defense did not play well but Drew Brees did, completing 24 of his 29 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns.
With five straight wins in a row, even though this one was too close, the Saints are starting to look like the defending Super Bowl champions again.
Grade: B
New York Giants
20 of 31
The New York Giants absolutely tore apart the Washington Redskins.
Donovan McNabb was forced into a pretty terrible performance and the ground game couldn't get anything going against the stout Giants' defense.
On offense, the running game dominated. Ahmad Bradshaw had 97 yards and two touchdowns while Brandon Jacobs had 103 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.
Eli Manning had a sub-par game, but he didn't really need to do much in this 31-7 blowout.
Grade: A+
New York Jets
21 of 31
The New York Jets had an opportunity to make a statement on Monday Night Football.
They did, but it was the wrong statement.
Losing by 42 points on the big stage to the New England Patriots?
Ouch.
Grade: F
Oakland Raiders
22 of 31
The Oakland Raiders managed to do something that not many other teams can say: they beat the San Diego Chargers in December.
A suffocating defense held Philip Rivers to a rather pedestrian performance while limiting the Chargers to only 21 yards on the ground.
In stark contrast to that, the Raiders ran for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Jason Campbell, who was responsible for one of the aforementioned three, also added another with his arm.
The Raiders seem to be heating up at the right time.
Grade: A+
Philadelphia Eagles
23 of 31
Michael Vick led the Philadelphia Eagles on their first fourth quarter comeback of the year, proving that this team could win close games too.
The defense wasn't great and allowed Houston to score early and often while putting up yards and bunches, but they hung on when it counted.
LeSean McCoy also proved why he's one of the best young running backs in the NFL. McCoy ran for 44 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries but also added eight receptions for 86 yards and another touchdown.
I still don't see how anyone can stop this offense.
Grade: B+
Pittsburgh Steelers
24 of 31
As was expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens locked horns in a tough, physical battle on Sunday night.
The Steelers came out on top, as Big Ben overcame a broken foot, broken nose, and the Ravens' defense.
With the exception of a few big plays from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin, the Ravens couldn't muster anything against Troy Polamalu and the Steelers' defensive squad.
I don't think anyone wants to play this team.
Grade: A
San Diego Chargers
25 of 31
The San Diego Chargers were hoping to continue their patented late-season run, but ran into a better team when they played the Oakland Raiders.
They let Jason Campbell play efficient football, making passes when he needed to and handing the ball of to his backs.
It's never a good thing when you let your opponents rush for over 250 yards.
Philip Rivers was good but not great and can officially stop hoping for an MVP award at the end of the season.
Grade: C
San Francisco 49ers
26 of 31
San Francisco 49ers fans needed to temper their expectations after crushing the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football because they all knew it was too good to be true.
That was proved correct this past week when Green Bay trounced the Cardinals.
After getting off to a good start, the 49ers fell apart and forgot how to score, stop the other team from scoring, and tackle.
You can bet that there will be a practice squad player pretending to be Donald Driver and forcing all the 49ers defenders to tackle him this week in practice.
Grade: C-
Seattle Seahawks
27 of 31
Seattle got a win over the Carolina Panthers to stay in the race for the NFC West title. Except, this isn't much of a race. It's the only race where the contestants are actually walking.
Also, a win over the Panthers isn't exactly something to brag about.
The Seahawks let the Panthers score the first 14 points of the game, then proceeded to win the second half 28-0 and get the victory.
Marshawn Lynch was the MVP in this game, scoring three touchdowns. There wasn't much else to write home about.
Grade: B
St. Louis Rams
28 of 31
Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams won this game over division rival Arizona in dominating fashion.
Bradford continues to improve as he seems to every week while the ground game finally got going.
Steven Jackson ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, the only one scored in the game.
The true star of this game though was the Rams' defense, which held the Cardinals to just 224 yards. They were so good that Derek Anderson, who was just 7-for-20 was benched for Max Hall and then John Skelton.
This is another one of those salty wins. A grain of salt is necessary because they were playing the Cardinals.
Grade: A-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29 of 31
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers put up a valiant effort against the Atlanta Falcons, but succumbed to the superior team in the end.
Allowing a momentum-killing 102-yard touchdown return by Eric Weems was bad enough, but then letting Matt Ryan lead another comeback drive for the win was the killer.
Josh Freeman didn't have his best game of the season by any stretch, but one positive was that the Bucs look like they've find their running back of the future in LeGarrette Blount.
Mike Williams, a rookie just like Blount, continued his emergence as well. The wide receiver caught six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Grade: B
Tennessee Titans
30 of 31
The Titans were terrible against the Jacksonville Jaguars as it may be time to call their season officially over.
Chris Johnson could only manage 51 yards on the ground and Kerry Collins only threw for 169 yards against a defense whose pass defense woes are quite well known.
Then there's the whole problem of not scoring a touchdown.
On top of that, the Titans couldn't force any turnovers by David Garrard, despite the fact that he's been quite prone to handing the ball over this season.
All in all, it was a pretty pathetic performance.
Grade: F
Washington Redskins
31 of 31
The Washington Redskins were pretty awful against the New York Giants.
Donovan McNabb didn't throw the ball well.
The running game never got anything going.
The defense couldn't stop the Giants' rushing attack at all.
Really, not much went right.
Grade: F
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