NFL Week 17 Report Cards: Grades for Every Team
Well, this is it, the last week of the regular season, and it's time for some final grades for a lot of teams.
Some teams showed up and played all 16 games, other teams just mailed it in. The grades will reflect those kinds of performances.
Some teams were fighting for a playoff spot, others were playing for pride. Either way, you have to give it to the teams with nothing to lose who showed up to play.
The playoff exams begin next week, so let's look at the final week of regular season grades.
Buffalo Bills
1 of 30
Grade: F
The Jets already have clinched a playoff spot, and the Bills have looked good against teams far better than the Jets this season.
The Jets also sat a lot of their starters, and Mark Sanchez only played one series.
The Bills have shown they can do better this year, and this only qualifies as a better grade if they were deliberately trying to get a better draft position. While Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn't in there, the Bills still should've managed more than seven points against the Jets backups.
Arizona Cardinals
2 of 30
Grade: F
I won't waste anyone's time trying to break this team's grade down. It speaks for itself, and the season. Good luck next year, Arizona, hopefully things will turn around.
Carolina Panthers
3 of 30
Grade: F
Could there be any other grade?
The Panthers and the word "fail" have become the norm in 2010, and nothing they did against Atlanta on Sunday will do anything to change that perception.
Their season is, mercifully, over.
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Kansas City Chiefs
4 of 30
Grade: F
The Raiders were without their two of their best guys in Darren McFadden and Richard Seymour, and still the Chiefs struggled on Sunday.
The Chiefs should've dismantled the Raiders, who had nothing to play for, but instead the Chiefs barely showed up, and the results speak for themselves
Cleveland Browns
5 of 30
Grade: F
The Browns just didn't show up to play the Steelers on Sunday, and head coach Eric Mangini probably will pay the price for that on Monday.
Colt McCoy was throwing good passes, but the Braylon Edwards dropsies inflicted huge damage on the team's ability to play, and the Browns' defense just wasn't up to the task of defending Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall.
Mangini was playing for field goals in the first half, and by the time it occurred to him to start playing to win in the second half, it was far too little, far too late.
New Orleans Saints
6 of 30
Grade: F
Seriously, losing to a division opponent even whe there isn't anything technically on the line is not a good thing.
The Saints are going to have a much tougher road through the playoff despite facing an NFC West opponent in the Wild Card round next week.
The Saints go into the playoffs with no momentum, and that's not a good thing.
Cincinnati Bengals
7 of 30
Grade: D
The Bengals kept the game close and in question until the very end, but it was a Carson Palmer interception that sealed the deal, and sent the Bengals into the offseason with a ton more questions than answers.
Still Carson Palmer threw for more than 300 yards, and the Bengals managed to gain more than 100 yards rushing on the day.
Jacksonville Jaguars
8 of 30
Grade: D
They didn't have their starting quarterback or running back, so it's no surprise the Jaguars offense wasn't doing that great, even against the Texans defense, which hasn't been great this year.
But the Jaguars defense was atrocious on the day, giving up 180 yards to Arian Foster, and 253 yards to Matt Schaub.
Miami Dolphins
9 of 30
Grade: D
The Dolphins have been uneven at best this year, and faced a New England Patriots team that doesn't believe in tanking games.
So, in short, what did you expect?
Chicago Bears
10 of 30
Grade: D+
If it weren't for the play of the defense, which was excellent, this grade would be an F. The offense, which used most of its starters for the whole game, sputtered against the Packers, and Jay Cutler and the offensive line looked like they were in midseason form.
Culter had no touchdowns and two picks, while the line seemed to be giving up sacks every other play at one point.
This is not a good sign with the playoffs beginning next week, and Chicago needs to use the bye to get that line to perform better, or it'll be one and done for the Bears this year.
Philadelphia Eagles
11 of 30
Grade: C-
Kevin Kolb didn't look spectacular, but neither did the rest of the Eagles team that just looked like it didn't want to get injured.
With many starters resting, it's hard to give the Eagles a true grade, but based on the fact they were sitting a lot of starters and still barely lost, that goes a long way in this system.
Baltimore Ravens
12 of 30
Grade: C
For a team looking to try and secure a better playoff spot, the Ravens looked like they were relying on the Browns to do all their work for them.
This game was much closer than it should have been, and the Ravens allowed the Bengals to stay in a game they should've been out of at halftime.
Denver Broncos
13 of 30
Grade: C
The Broncos stayed in the game, and Tim Tebow had another 205 yards and two touchdowns, but he did throw two picks, so the turnovers did hurt the Broncos here.
However, Tebow also was the team's leading rusher, once again channeling his inner Michael Vick, running for 94 yards and one touchdown.
The Broncos finish the year 4-12, but the future looks bright with a developing weapon like Tebow behind center.
The Broncos need to draft defense in April.
Washington Redskins
14 of 30
Grade: C-
The Redskins lost again, finishing the season at 6-10, but Rex Grossman again passed for more than 300 yards, making Mike Shanahan look like he knews what he's talking about.
On the other hand, when you really try and deconstruct the situation, it really isn't a pretty sight, so we won't go there.
The Redskins turned the ball over four times, and it's hard to win games when you turn the ball over like that.
Tennessee Titans
15 of 30
Grade: C
The Titans came to play despite having no real stake in the game. They could've played the spoiler role by beating the Colts and helping knock them out of the playoffs if the Jaguars won, but the Jaguars lost, making it a moot point.
Kerry Collins had 300 yards and two touchdowns on the day while running back Chris Johnson had a whole 39 yards to finish out his season.
The Titans inability to use Johnson's ability to its fullest potential is one of the reasons they lost today, and why they aren't in the playoff hunt.
Minnesota Vikings
16 of 30
Grade: C+
The Vikings had every reason to just mail this performance in. They proved all they needed to prove Tuesday night, and head coach Leslie Frazier already reportedly has been offered the head coaching job for next year.
The Vikings could've just played it safe and tried not to get anyone injured. Instead, they played hard, even though they didn't have much to show for it.
Brett Favre says he's done for good now, but I won't believe it until he's still sitting in his living room come Week 1 in 2011.
Green Bay Packers
17 of 30
Grade: C+
No one said it would be easy, and the Packers had to fight it out for four quarters, but fight it out they did, and the Packers edged out the Bears on Sunday and grabbed one of the last available playoff spots.
The Packers did it without a running game, and now they get to go to Philadelphia next weekend.
San Diego Chargers
18 of 30
Grade: B
The Chargers won, finishing the season with a 9-7 record, but they missed out on the playoffs. The Chargers had a hard time with the new Denver Broncos, and their new star quarterback Tim Tebow, but running back Ryan Matthews ran for 120 yards and scored three touchdowns.
The defense still have up 28 points, but the offense was able to stay ahead and the Chargers pulled out the victory.
Indianapolis Colts
19 of 30
Grade: B
The Colts came out, played solid, and got the victory. But the Colts struggled to find a running game even with Joseph Addai back in the lineup, and the outcome of the game came down to the final minutes.
The Colts have been playing better, but they'll need to fine tune things a little more to make it to the Super Bowl.
New York Giants
20 of 30
Grade: B
Too little, too late, the Giants win but miss the postseason. Eli Manning had good numbers on the day, 243 yards and a touchdown with only one pick, but the running game ran into the Redskins and never really got going.
However, a win is a win, but that doesn't mean much to the Giants, or Tom Coughlin, who may be out of work by Monday night.
San Francisco 49ers
21 of 30
Grade: B
The San Francisco 49ers put together a good game plan and beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-7. Not sure what else to say about this game. The Niners looked . . . better I guess.
Alex Smith had a good day, but he's had good days before, just never consistently. Still, it's a good way to end the season and we'll see what the San Francisco front office does in the offseason.
Houston Texans
22 of 30
Grade: B
The Texans came out to show their fans tehy weren't going to go out with a whimper, and the Texans offens put 34 points up on the board.
Arian Foster finished his season in style, running for 180 yards, and the defense was much better. Maurice Jones-Drew wasn't running at them, but you take your victories where you can get them.
Dallas Cowboys
23 of 30
Grade: B
The Dallas Cowboys are better under Jason Garrett, but even with the Eagles resting a lot of starters, they still only squeaked out a victory. But they did it with their third string quarterback, so the question then becomes, "What were you expecting?"
This became a hard game to predict because of all the new variables, and it could have easily gone the other way. But Dallas pulled it out, and they head into the offseason most likely with a few less questions than it looked like two months ago.
Atlanta Falcons
24 of 30
Grade: A
The Falcons put together a great gameplan and went out on the field and took care of business. The Panthers enver really had a shot, but that prediction was purely based on the notion the Falcons would not only show up for the game, but play for all four quarters.
Pittsburgh Steelers
25 of 30
Grade: A
If you're a Steelers fan, this was a pretty good day. Your team went into Cleveland and not only embarrased the Browns, they did it in front of a bunch of Steelers fans as the Browns fans saw enough by halftime and went home.
It truly was disgusting for Browns fans today as a coaching staff fighting for their jobs put a team out on the field with a game plan that the Marx brothers probably would've been able to pick apart.
Detroit Lions
26 of 30
Grade: A
The Lions and Vikings had nothing to play for, but the Lions wanted it more, so they get the "A" for effort.
The Lions definitely are a team on the way up, and don't expect them to be playing a meaningless game this time next year.
Oakland Raiders
27 of 30
Grade: A
No Darren McFadden? Check
No Richard Seymour? Check
Nothing to play for, not even spoiler? Check
Yeah, guess who looked better.
Congratulations, Raiders fans, you won the game, but may have lost your coach for reasons only Al Davis can understand.
New York Jets
28 of 30
Grade: A
The Jets came out and pummelled the Buffalo Bills, and they did it without Mark Sanchez, LaDainian Tomlinson and Darrelle Revis.
The Bills everyone thought they were showed up on Sunday, and the Jets end the regular season on a high note.
New England Patriots
29 of 30
Grade: A
The New England Patriots don't take weeks off, and that was bad news for the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots came out to win the game, even though a loss wouldn't have changed one thing.
The Patriots finish the season 14-2, and don't have to worry about playing anywhere but home until and unless they earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30 of 30
Grade: A
The Buccaneers needed a win to make the playoffs, and they went out there and beat the New Orleans Saints.
The Bucs still had to wait to see what the Packers and Giants did in the late games, but they proved this year if you give them a chance they'll probably seize the opportunity. They've hit more than they've missed, but those misses were big ones.
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