NFL Grades Week 17: Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers Clinch
All our questions were answered in Week 17.
Some teams benched their starters when they had nothing to play for while others played their hearts out and fought for a playoff spot.
The Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks all booked themselves a game next weekend.
Yes, that's right. The Seahawks became the first 7-9 team ever to make the playoffs. Let the debate abound about whether or not this is a good thing.
Tom Brady was magnificent once again while Tim Tebow played well.
On a quick side note, how does Tim Tebow of all people not complete a Hail Mary pass at the end of a game? Isn't religion supposed to be his thing?
Now that the tangent is over, read on for each and every team's Week 17 grades.
Arizona Cardinals
1 of 32
38-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
There are so many things that were wrong with this game.
You should never lose by 31 points to San Francisco in 2010, yet that's what Arizona did.
Then, it was bad enough that they were starting the unknown John Skelton at quarterback. But now they let Richard Bartel throw 28 passes? I had to google his name to see who he was.
If you're curious, Bartel was an undrafted free agent in 2007 after playing college football at Tarleton State.
Grade: F
Atlanta Falcons
2 of 32
31-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The Falcons clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a dominant win over the worst team in the NFL.
Matt Ryan and the offense scored at will and were only stopped when they sat down on the bench in the fourth quarter. The defense was superb as well, only allowing a touchdown in the final minute of the game.
Even the special teams were working well as Eric Weems returned a punt for a touchdown.
Grade: A+
Baltimore Ravens
3 of 32
13-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Ravens defense was suffocating, forcing five turnovers. Ed Reed had two interceptions and Ray Lewis recovered two fumbles during the game which saw the Ravens lock themselves into the Wild Card spot in the AFC.
However, the offense struggled throughout the game, putting the team in position to lose on the final drive. They were saved by a fourth-down incompletion in the red zone.
Grade: B+
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Buffalo Bills
4 of 32
38-7 loss to the New York Jets.
The only positive for the Bills was that they proved Brian Brohm wasn't the answer at quarterback. The Louisville product completed 10 of 23 passes for 106 yards and three interceptions.
Also, I'm still trying to figure out whether or not the Bills defenders showed up to the stadium or not.
Grade: F
Carolina Panthers
5 of 32
31-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
It was John Fox's last game as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers and you have to wonder if it was Jimmy Clausen's last as a starting quarterback in Carolina.
Clausen completed just 19 of his 33 passes, throwing for 182 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The defense couldn't stop the offense and the offense couldn't score until they were playing the Falcons' bench players in the final minute.
Grade: F
Chicago Bears
6 of 32
10-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
While the defense performed admirably, the offense should not inspire confidence in fans of the playoff-bound Chicago Bears.
Matt Forte did run for 91 yards, but Jay Cutler completed just 21 of his 39 passes for 168 yards and two interceptions.
They'll need to turn it around quickly.
Grade: C+
Cleveland Browns
7 of 32
41-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
My mom always told me that if I don't have anything nice to say then I shouldn't say anything.
Grade: F
Cincinnati Bengals
8 of 32
13-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
In a game that no one expected them to win, the Bengals were remarkably close to proving the doubters wrong.
Despite turning the ball over five times, the Bengals were still in position to win until Carson Palmer threw a fourth-down incompletion on the Baltimore 2-yard line with just 10 seconds left.
Grade: B
Dallas Cowboys
9 of 32
14-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Even though they got the win to close out their frustrating year, the Cowboys can't be too pleased with this game.
The starters and the backups alike were fighting for their jobs while the Eagles rested pretty much every single starter. And still, Dallas could only manage a one-point win.
That does not look good for next year.
Grade: B-
Denver Broncos
10 of 32
33-28 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
The main purpose of this game was to evaluate Tim Tebow once more. The result was positive.
Tebow completed 16 of his 36 passes for 205 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 94 yards and a third touchdown.
It seems to me like the Broncos have found their franchise quarterback.
Grade: B
Detroit Lions
11 of 32
20-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
When Maurice Morris burst into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown run with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter, they sealed their fourth straight win and tripled their win total from last year.
The Lions looked great on defense throughout, but who knows whether that was because of their defense or Joe Webb's arm.
Grade: B+
Green Bay Packers
12 of 32
10-3 win over the Chicago Bears.
The Packers needed a win to make the playoffs and they got one.
On defense, Green Bay showed up to play and made Jay Cutler's offense struggle all day long. Their offense did struggle as well, though.
The only touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Aaron Rodgers hit Donald Lee for a one-yard touchdown. It was enough, though.
Grade: B+
Houston Texans
13 of 32
34-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It had to be pretty sweet for the Texans to end their divisional rival's hopes of making the playoffs.
Arian Foster had another incredible day, running for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Schaub only threw four incompletions.
There weren't too many negatives at all.
Grade: A
Indianapolis Colts
14 of 32
23-20 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Has Adam Vinatieri ever missed a clutch field goal?
Peyton Manning led a great two-minute drive and set the kicker up for the game-winner. When it sailed through the uprights, the Colts had clinched the AFC South. Well technically, they'd clinched two minutes before when Jacksonville lost, but let's forget about that for a minute.
The defense wasn't great, but it was good enough to get the win.
Grade: A-
Jacksonville Jaguars
15 of 32
34-17 loss to the Houston Texans.
As a Jaguars fan, this game absolutely disgusted me. How do you know that you need a win to have a shot at the playoffs and get destroyed?
They couldn't stop the Houston offense at all and that made all the difference.
Ugh.
Grade: C-
Kansas City Chiefs
16 of 32
31-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
Could the wrong team be going to the playoffs from the AFC West?
The Kansas City Chiefs were outplayed in every facet of the game.
Additionally, Matt Cassel finally had the game that I thought he would have all year. The quarterback completed just 11 of his 33 passes for 115 yards, getting picked off twice in the process.
Grade: F
Miami Dolphins
17 of 32
38-7 loss to the New England Patriots.
Did anyone actually expect a different result?
Tony Sparano's job could be in danger after this performance, as could Chad Henne's.
Sparano has now lost four of his last five games and Henne was awful yet again. The quarterback completed just six of his 16 passes for 71 yards and an interception. He was benched for Tyler Thigpen.
Grade: C-
Minnesota Vikings
18 of 32
20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions.
With Brett Favre looking on from the sidelines, Joe Webb proved that he wasn't the answer to the Vikings quarterback question of the future.
Webb completed 20 of his 32 passes for 145 yards and an interception.
The game was close throughout, but the Minnesota Vikings completed their disappointing 2010 campaign with a loss.
Grade: C
New England Patriots
19 of 32
38-7 win over the Miami Dolphins.
The game didn't mean anything to the Patriots and they still dominated.
Moving on now.
Grade: A+
New Orleans Saints
20 of 32
23-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Truthfully, this game didn't matter at all. With the Falcons playing the Panthers, the Saints were essentially locked into the fifth seed in the NFC.
They didn't play well, but they didn't need to.
Grade: B-
New York Giants
21 of 32
17-14 win over the Washington Redskins.
Bittersweet would be the best word to describe this win. They got the victory, but the Giants couldn't make the playoffs because the Green Bay Packers won as well.
Both the offense and the defense played very good football as New York did the only thing they could control.
Now the question is, will it be enough to save Tom Coughlin?
Grade: A-
New York Jets
22 of 32
38-7 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Scoring 38 points with Mark Brunell at quarterback deserves nothing but an A+
Therefore...
Grade: A+
Oakland Raiders
23 of 32
31-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Raiders dominated in every aspect of the game and became the first team ever to go 6-0 in their division but miss the playoffs.
Michael Bush and the defense were the stars of this one. Bush ran for 137 yards and a touchdown in relief of an injured Darren McFadden.
The defense forced Matt Cassel into his first truly putrid performance as well.
Grade: A+
Philadelphia Eagles
24 of 32
14-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
With the exception of David Akers and a select few other Eagles, Philadelphia rested almost every starter for the entire game.
That makes it tough for me to grade them.
Grade: Incomplete
Pittsburgh Steelers
25 of 32
41-9 win over the Cleveland Browns.
The Pittsburgh Steelers scored on their first drive and never looked back.
Ben Roethlisberger led his team to 31 points in the first half and got to rest for much of the second half. The defense forced Colt McCoy into three interceptions and held the Browns to just nine points.
With the win, they clinched the AFC North.
Grade: A+
St. Louis Rams
26 of 32
16-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Even though the defense was working quite well, the offense was most assuredly not.
Sam Bradford completed just 19 of his 36 passes for 155 yards. His one interception was a terrible throw at a very costly time in the game.
Steven Jackson only ran for 45 yards and the running game was ineffective all game.
The Rams were held without a touchdown in a win-or-go-home game.
Grade: C-
San Diego Chargers
27 of 32
33-28 win over the Denver Broncos.
This was a fairly meaningless game for the Chargers but the performance of their running back was anything but meaningless.
Ryan Mathews ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns and proved that he deserves to be the running back of the future in San Diego.
Grade: B+
San Francisco 49ers
28 of 32
38-7 win over the Arizona cardinals.
The 49ers turned in a dominant performance to end their 2010 season.
Alex Smith, in what will most likely be his final game as a 49er, threw two touchdown passes. Brian Westbrook ran for another pair.
The defense only allowed one touchdown all day.
Grade: A+
Seattle Seahawks
29 of 32
16-6 win over the St. Louis Rams.
Charlie Whitehurst completed 22 of his 36 passes for 192 yards and the game's only touchdown in just his second career start.
Could he have created a bit of a quarterback controversy for next weekend's wildcard matchup with the New Orleans Saints?
The defense was superb but the offense needs improvement. What do you expect from a 7-9 team?
Grade: B+
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30 of 32
23-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.
The Bucs needed a win and a Green Bay loss to make the playoffs. They did their part but the Packers couldn't help them out.
Still though, this was a great football game for a young Tampa Bay team and leads them into the offseason on a high note.
Grade: A
Tennessee Titans
31 of 32
23-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Titans would have loved to knock off the Colts to close their disappointing season, but they didn't. They did however give forth a valiant effort.
Kerry Collins threw for exactly 300 yards and two touchdowns, but Chris Johnson was neutralized. Last season's rushing leader only ran for 39 yards and no touchdowns on 20 carries.
The game came down to a field goal as time expired though, so the Titans shouldn't be too upset at the loss.
Grade: C+
Washington Redskins
32 of 32
17-14 loss to the New York Giants.
It's only fitting that the Redskins finished their season with a loss. What do you expect with Rex Grossman starting at quarterback?
Now, to be fair, this wasn't Grossman's fault. He did throw for 336 yards and two touchdowns while only tossing one interception.
The problem was that nothing else worked.
Grade: C
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")