NFL Season Grades Through Week 12 for All 32 Teams
Srikar Kalapala
Heading into the season, there were a lot of questions surrounding a lot of teams. Through twelve weeks, many of these questions have been answered. This season has featured numerous upsets, and revelations of past contenders not doing well versus past bad teams doing well. This season has shown how much parity there is in the NFL today, as any team can beat any other team on any given Sunday. Let’s get into the grades.
Arizona Cardinals (4-8): F
The Cardinals have been really bad this season. After an undefeated streak to start last season, it seems as though that magic has gone away. With or without Kyler Murray playing, this team has been lackluster, and at times shown no effort. Their HC Kliff Kingsbury is on the hot seat right now, and the future isn’t looking promising right now for the Cards.
Atlanta Falcons (5-7): B+
There weren’t many expectations placed on the Falcons entering this season, and they have shocked some people with how well they have been playing despite a lack of superstars on their team. HC Arthur Smith has really made this team buy-in, and they were even leading their division for a little bit too. Although they should probably be tanking, they have an outside shot of making the playoffs. They are using Patterson in a great way, and Mariota has been solid at QB.
Baltimore Ravens (7-4): A
The Ravens are a great team yet again this year. They would have an undefeated record if they could finish their games, as they have given up several double-digit leads in the 4th quarter. Despite that, they are leading their division, and look to be serious contenders for the Super Bowl.
Buffalo Bills (8-3): A
Through the first several weeks this team would have gotten an A+, but they have fallen back a little bit recently. Josh Allen went from playing like an MVP to throwing nearly two picks a game recently, and they have been struggling to close out games. However, they are still the Buffalo Bills, and both their offense and defense are amongst the best in the league. This team will be serious contenders for the Super Bowl, but the first step is to make sure that they can win their division.
Carolina Panthers (4-8): F
The Panthers don’t have much to be excited about for this season. They fired their coach halfway through the season, their team isn’t very good, and none of the three quarterbacks they have are going to be the future, despite PJ Walker showing flashes. They traded away Christian McCaffery for decent draft capital, but other than that, the future doesn’t look too bright in Carolina. The draft couldn’t come any sooner for the Panthers.
Chicago Bears (3-9): B-
This was the Bears’ trial season with Justin Fields, and with his running abilities, they might have found their guy. GM Ryan Poles gave up Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith, but it was expected as they didn’t fit in the Bears’ timeline. They also gave up a second-round pick for Chase Claypool, but it is still unknown what his role is. With the amount of draft capital that they have, I think the future is bright in Chicago.
Cincinnati Bengals (7-4): B
After the Super Bowl run last year, expectations of this Bengals team for this year were very high. Although they haven’t lived up to those expectations, they are still in the mix in the playoff race and look to overtake the Ravens for their division. The Bengals look to get back Ja’Marr Chase in the foreseeable future, as they look to make another deep playoff run.
Cleveland Browns (4-7): C+
At first glance, this 4-7 team looks to have underperformed given the players on their team. However, they beat contenders like the Bengals and the Bucs. Jacoby Brissett has been a good stopgap, and now Deshaun Watson takes over. It will be interesting to see how Watson performs for these last 6 weeks after a long layoff.
Dallas Cowboys (8-3): A
This might be the year the Cowboys make a deep run in the playoffs. Both their offense and defense are good, and the NFC is relatively weak. Their main opposition will be the Eagles and 49ers, and the Cowboys are well-positioned to beat either. The way this team fails in the postseason is coaching, but if they get past those issues, this team should be making a deep run.
Denver Broncos (3-8): F
The Broncos thought trading for Russell Wilson would solve their offensive issues, but he has somehow almost made it worse. They just got humiliated by the Panthers, and they would be 9-2 if they scored more than 18 points in every game. Just 18. The Broncos defense has carried this team to three wins, and even that seems like a lot for this team.
Detroit Lions (4-7): B+
This team started 1-6 and it looked like this was going to be another lost season, but then rattled off three straight wins, and almost pulled off the upset against Buffalo. This team has definitely made progress from their abysmal year last year, but there is still work to be done
Green Bay Packers (4-8): F
This is a lost season for the Packers, and the Davante Adams trade looks to be a lose-lose situation. The lack of Adams has finally revealed all the holes the Packers had to cover up. Their defense was overrated and not coached well, and the offense struggled without a true WR1. The receiver room looks bright with the emergence of both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, but it might be too late as the future of Aaron Rodgers is in question. Jordan Love might finish out this season as the Packers need to evaluate him before they decide on the 5th year option. This year has been bleak, but there are still things to be optimistic about for the next season.
Houston Texans (1-9-1): F
This team doesn’t have a lot of talent, but at least they were able to uncover the beast of Dameon Pierce. This team looks to get the #1 pick in this year's draft, and they potentially will get either CJ Stroud or Bryce Young.
Indianapolis Colts (4-7-1): C
The Matt Ryan addition hasn’t been nearly as fruitful as the Colts thought it would be. They were one win against the Jaguars away from making the playoffs last year, and are now barely in the hunt this year after a perceived upgrade at QB. This carousel of getting old quarterbacks probably stops this year for the Colts. They either need to develop Sam Ehlinger, or they need to use draft capital to get one of the top passers in the draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7): B
This team has been in every single game, and 6 of their 7 losses have been by single digits. The other was a 10-point loss to the Chiefs, but they were in that game for the most part. They just upset the Ravens and pulled off a crazy comeback against the Raiders. This team has taken major steps forward with Doug Pederson at the helm, and Trevor Lawrence has played much better. This team has a bright future regardless of how the rest of this season plays out.
Kansas City Chiefs (9-2): A+
The Chiefs have been flying under the radar for the majority of this season because of the hype surrounding the Bills and Eagles. However, they still look to be the class of the AFC, and they have only lost two games. One was a thriller against the Bills, and the other was an off-game against the Colts. Patrick Mahomes and this offense have not regressed despite losing Tyreek Hill, and the Mahomes-Kelce connection remains stronger than ever. I like this team to get to their 3rd Superbowl in four years.
Las Vegas Raiders (4-7): D-
This team has severely underperformed compared to their expectations heading into the season, and their major offseason acquisitions. Coaching hasn’t aided this team, and both the offense and defense have been lackluster. They have won their last two games so perhaps there is some hope for this team, but for this season, it hasn’t looked pretty at all.
Los Angeles Chargers (6-5): B
Like the Raiders, the Chargers also had huge expectations heading into the season because of their off-season acquisitions. JC Jackson doesn’t seem to fit well into this defense, and the coaching staff even benched him for a couple of games. The Chargers are still in the playoff hunt with their 6-5 record, and they might need to outpace the Jets in order to punch their ticket.
Los Angeles Rams (3-8): F
After their amazing Superbowl win last year, this team has fallen off a cliff. Maybe this is what they get for selling out to get their ring last year, but the results have not looked good at all for this team. They also lack draft capital due to the Stafford trade which makes things worse. Stafford has also been injured with a concussion (?) and there are rumors about a potential retirement. The future doesn’t look amazing for the Rams, and it doesn’t help that Cooper Kupp has gotten injured too.
Miami Dolphins (8-3): A+
The Tyreek Hill trade has proved to be a home run for the Dolphins, and HC Mike McDaniel has developed Tua nicely. The injury to Tua was very scary, and it is great that he was able to recover quickly. Additionally, Jaylen Waddle has looked very good, making the Hill-Waddle combination one of the deadliest WR1-2 in the league. The Dolphins will look to win their division this year, as they look to make a playoff run.
Minnesota Vikings (9-2): A+
With new head coach Kevin O’Connell, this team has been amazing through the first eleven weeks. They have some key losses to the Eagles and the Cowboys which questions their legitimacy, but they also have an improbable win over the Bills. In a weak NFC this year, the Vikings have made a lot of noise and will look to continue to make noise as they gear up for a playoff run.
New England Patriots (6-5): B
The Patriots have looked very average through twelve weeks, and it has mostly been their defense that has carried them to wins. Mac Jones hasn’t been great, and the Patriots fanbase even clamored for Bailey Zappe to take over full-time. They are 6-5 and in the hunt for a playoff spot, but it doesn’t look that likely to me that they will make it, considering the Bengals and Chargers are also vying for the spots.
New Orleans Saints (4-8): B
Despite their subpar season with Andy Dalton taking over at QB, the Saints are still in the mix to win their division as no team in their division seems to be great. A win over the Bucs would be crucial for their chances, as that would take them to 5-8. I don’t see this team going far in the playoffs even if they do make it, but anything is possible in this year's version of the NFL.
New York Giants (7-4): A+
With HC Brian Daboll, the Giants started out fast and shocked the league with upset wins over the Titans and the Packers. They have cooled down recently, but they have had a lot of injuries in their WR room. Even if they screw up their playoff spot, this season has been very successful for the Giants, as they look to have a bright future.
New York Jets (7-4): A+
The Jets shocked the country with their start to the season, knocking off contenders and even upsetting the Bills. However, Zach Wilson hasn't been good this year and even got benched due to character and accountability concerns. Mike White came in last week and torched the Bears, and they look ahead to a potential playoff bid. Despite how the rest of this season turns out, the Jets should be proud of how they have performed so far. They might look to get a QB in this year's draft, but that worry is not now.
Philadelphia Eagles (10-1): A+
A lot of pundits said that the Eagles were going to be a great team this year, but I think even they would be surprised at how well this team has been playing. They started out very hot, and then stumbled in the last couple of weeks, including an upset loss to the Commanders. However, they just keep finding ways to win, which could fuel them to a potential Super Bowl run.
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-7): C
They tried out Mitch Trubisky as their starter to begin the year, but that experiment showed that it wasn’t going to work out long-term. They replaced him with rookie QB Kenny Pickett, who has shown some promise, but nothing to get crazily excited about. TJ Watt has proven to be essential for this defense, as they struggled a lot without him. I think Mike Tomlin’s streak of at least getting to .500 is in jeopardy, but the future looks bright in Pittsburgh with that defense.
San Francisco 49ers (7-4): A+
It was a good thing the Niners didn’t trade away Jimmy G, as Trey Lance was hurt for the year after a couple of starts. At least Jimmy G was forgiving, and now he leads this Niners team to a potential division crown. Christian McCaffrey has come in and been amazing as well. They could make a lot of noise in this weakened NFC, and they could shock some people by getting to the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks (6-5): A+
Even with all the surprising teams this year, the Seahawks are probably the most surprising. After trading away Russell Wilson, most thought this team was headed toward a rebuild. However, with the resurgence of Geno Smith, this team is poised to be a dark horse team in the playoffs. They also will get a top-ten pick due to the Broncos being terrible this year, and it has overall been a win-win situation for the Hawks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6): B-
After Brady unretired, a lot of people thought this team would remain serious contenders for the Super Bowl. However, this team doesn’t look the part, and there are many holes in this team. They have struggled against some bad teams, including last week's overtime loss to the Browns. They are in jeopardy of not even making the playoffs due to the closeness in the division. However, if they do make the playoffs, I’m not sure if it would be wise to bet against the GOAT.
Tennessee Titans (7-4): A
The Titans have flown under the radar a little bit this year. They are most likely going to win their division and can beat any team on any given week. Derrick Henry is still a monster, and Tannehill has been ok. I think they have the potential to knock out some teams in the playoffs.
Washington Commanders (7-5): A-
At the start of this season, this team did not look good and lost some bad games. Once Wentz got injured and the team played Taylor Heinicke, it was a different story. Heinicke has made this team one of the hottest teams in the league. They could make a playoff bid, and I don’t think anyone wants to face this team in the playoffs.
