Grading every NFL team after six weeks

Arizona has two road wins, but they’ve hit the skids as they tried to overcome the absence of DeAndre Hopkins and early-season injuries to J.J. Watt and Rondale Moore. Fresh off a lucrative contract, Kyler Murray’s play has been erratic, and the team’s pass rush has been almost non-existent. Just in time for the return of Hopkins and the addition of Robby Anderson, Marquise Brown is expected to miss about six weeks due to a foot injury.

Hats off to head coach Arthur Smith for making something of the lacking offensive talent, as his run-heavy scheme behind Marcus Mariota and the now-injured Cordarrelle Patterson has made the team competitive again. It remains to be seen how long that can continue, but the Falcons have been in every game and shocked the 49ers in Week 6. The reality is that the Falcons are less talented than almost every team they play, and yet they’re in the thick of the NFC South race.

Baltimore won the games they should have won, but heart-breaking losses against the Dolphins, Bills, and Giants put them behind the eight-ball and exposed the reworked defense under new coordinator Mike Macdonald. Lamar Jackson has carried the team on his back, as they were third in points through three weeks, and the pass defense continues to be exposed. It’s unclear how far the Ravens can go in their current state, but they’re certainly entertaining.

Expectations couldn’t be much higher for the Bills coming into the year. After blowing out the Rams and Titans, the team took a disappointing loss at Miami. All is right again after close wins at Baltimore and KC, and the Bills are in the driver’s seat of the AFC. Josh Allen has been as spectacular as expected, but there are concerns about the pass defense holding up after losing safety Micah Hyde for the year.

It’s a new year, but the same old problems for Carolina. Baker Mayfield was mediocre in his new home before an ankle injury, and head coach Matt Rhule got the axe after Week 5, which many fans felt was long overdue. The shame is that the team is wasting some very capable offensive weapons, led by Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore.

A lack of aggressiveness in the offseason led most to believe it would be a long season in Chicago. They pulled off a shocking Week 1 win against the 49ers in terrible conditions and also edged Houston in Week 3. The rest of the schedule has more winnable games, but Justin Fields has looked atrocious as he runs for his life behind an offensive line that allowed an unbelievable 19% sack rate through four games. The real worry is that Fields probably won’t last the season healthy at this rate.

There’s always some fear of a hangover for the Super Bowl loser, and we saw that with Cincy’s 0-2 start. They lost the opener against Pittsburgh due to large part to special teams and then took a shocking defeat to a Dak Prescott-less Dallas squad. Fortunately, Joe Burrow and company were able to right the ship since then by going 3-1, but the offensive line remains a huge concern despite major moves in the offseason.

Expectations were low for the Browns in the season without Deshaun Watson. The 2-4 start isn’t great, but it’s about to get much tougher for the Browns in the near future with games against the Ravens, Bengals, Dolphins, and Bucs through November. Watson won’t be able to fix the biggest issue, which has been the run defense.

Perhaps a 4-2 start was on par with initial expectations, but it’s a spectacular result when we consider the circumstances of four wins without Dak Prescott. His return is imminent, with the hope that the offense will rejoin elite status when he does return. The offensive line issues remain a concern, but Michael Gallup has made his way back, and the offense has been among the elite with a ferocious pass rush. Of course, this might be all for naught on the part of head coach Mike McCarthy if he doesn’t have more postseason success this year.

No team had higher expectations for improvement than the Broncos. It’s up for debate if things are direr now or in the future due to what’s looking like a disastrous Russell Wilson contract. Wilson apparently left his good football in Seattle, and new head coach Nathaniel Hackett is clearly in over his head with one questionable decision after another. It’s going to be a long year in Denver.

Despite a 1-4 start, Lions fans have mostly liked what they’ve seen from Dan Campbell’s tough bunch. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has called some masterpieces in the early going, with a dominant offensive line and quarterback in Jared Goff, who looks revitalized. The team has a budding star in wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, and first-round pick Jameson Williams hasn’t even made his debut yet. Unfortunately, the same story can’t be told for a defense that has been the worst in the league, and first-rounder Aidan Hutchinson has looked just OK thus far. It appears the Lions have the offensive talent to stay in most games and a future that should finally make fans excited.

The Packers are off to a 3-3, but the same issues we worried about in the offseason have been apparent. Aaron Rodgers is having trouble getting in rhythm with his new receivers and has yet to produce a 30-point performance. Green Bay’s defense is propping up the offense in the meantime, but they’ve been exposed by the Giants and Jets recently. The Packers are unlikely to advance to the NFC Championship Game again if things don’t improve on offense by the end of the year.

Houston has some problems. They have fared well within the weak AFC South, tying Indy and beating Jacksonville, but overall there have been few bright spots for a Texans squad that hasn’t shown much fight. As feared, Davis Mills hasn’t shown much improvement from his rookie campaign, and the defense got slammed when they finally found a high-powered foe in the Chargers. The schedule gets much more difficult from here, and fans are already daydreaming about the 2023 quarterback draft class.

The Colts’ quarterback musical chairs has landed on Matt Ryan, and the results aren’t pretty in spite of a winning record. The team is already 1-2-1 in the division and needed some miraculous plays in all three of their wins. The offensive line play that was once a strength has been very suspect. The defense has performed well under new coordinator Gus Bradley, but the ceiling for this year’s squad looks extremely low. It’s time to address quarterback once and for all in next year’s draft.

Improvement was expected after the hiring of a legitimate NFL head coach in Doug Pederson, and he has delivered to some degree. There have certainly been hiccups, but the team is playing like they belong in the league with a 2-4 start, with blowout wins against the Colts and Chargers. Trevor Lawrence has shown marked improvement, though he got a rude awakening at Philadelphia in Week 4. Still, the team is suddenly in the mix in the bleak AFC South, with an offense and defense that both ranked in the top 10 entering Week 5.

To this point, it’s been unclear what the Chiefs will be in any given week. Patrick Mahomes and company were spectacular against the Cardinals and Bucs, putting up over 40 points in both contests, but the play was less outstanding against the Chargers, Colts, and Raiders. Their loss to the Colts took a special teams fiasco, and the Bills loss puts them well behind in a quest for the AFC No. 1 seed. Fans would probably be happy with a 4-2 start based on the schedule, but there’s meat left on the bone for this perennial contender.

Josh McDaniels seemed like a home run hire, but perhaps he’s learned less since his time as the Broncos head coach than we thought. Vegas suffered three close losses to open the year before defeating a Denver squad in shambles during Week 4. That was followed by a heartbreaking defeat at KC. It’s going to take much better play for the Raiders to get back in the playoff conversation, and the investment in Davante Adams isn’t looking great with the team’s failure to get him the ball consistently and so-so play in other areas like the offensive line and pass rush.

2022 has been the same old story for the Chargers. They entered with extremely high expectations but haven’t been able to meet them due to injuries and frustrating play. They compounded a close loss at Kansas City with a blowout home loss against the Jaguars, and the significant absences of Keenan Allen, Rashawn Slater, and Joey Bosa have put the team in a tough spot. Kudos to Justin Herbert for performing well through a rib injury, but he can’t put the team on his back with a defense that has continued to be among the worst in the NFL.

The defending Champs have been out of sync early in the year, with a struggling offensive line and no help for Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. The Allen Robinson signing has been a dud so far, while the defense has been far from dominant despite highly-paid stars Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. It should be noted that the Rams didn’t get off to a roaring start last season, either, but it’s unclear if these problems are solvable. 

Miami has been under the microscope early in the year both for their great offensive play and the handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s “back” injury in Week 3. Tagovailoa suffered a scary head injury in Week 4, and they suffered two losses without him. The Dolphins do look like a contender with the wideout tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, along with a defense that has mostly held serve. The Week 3 win vs. Buffalo could have huge playoff implications down the line for what looks like a possible AFC contender.

Minnesota’s record doesn’t really match the level of play that we’ve seen from week to week, but it’s tough to find much fault in the NFC North leaders. The big Week 1 win vs. Green Bay set the tone, but the Vikings looked inept the following week at Philly and didn’t show much flash in wins vs. Detroit and New Orleans. New head coach Kevin O’Connell’s impact hasn’t shown much on offense, but the defense has taken a step up with the help of new acquisition Za’Darius Smith.

If there are expectations, Bill Belichick will usually exceed them. That wasn’t the case early, but the team has been exponential gains recently. The team did almost pull off an impossible win at Green Bay in Week 4, and Bailey Zappe and the defense have strung together two big wins. The whispers of Zappe replacing the injured Mac Jones permanently are shocking but not unfounded.

The fears after losing Sean Payton have been realized with an offense that has been banged up and mostly looked mediocre. Jameis Winston’s injury has given Andy Dalton an opportunity, and he’s arguably been the team’s best quarterback. Predictably, the defense has also shown some regression with an aging front seven and changes in the secondary. Two early-season division losses could create a tough uphill climb for Dennis Allen’s squad.

They won’t win any style points, but the Giants 5-1 start to the season has been an incredible improvement. New head coach Brian Daboll immediately won props for beating the Titans in Week 1 after going for a two-point conversion, and the defense has shown stability in spite of injuries up front. Saquon Barkley is looking like an early MVP candidate on offense, and Daniel Jones has finally learned the importance of securing the ball with the help of good play-calling from coordinator Mike Kafka.

The Jets are coming from rock bottom, but they’ve clearly improved early this season. Rookie weapons Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall already look like keepers, while Zach Wilson showed flashes since his return from a knee injury. Road wins against the Browns, Steelers, and Packers show a capable squad, and takeaways have played a big part in the early success. We will learn a lot more about this Jets squad as they get deeper into division play.

There was major hype about Philly’s offseason additions, but still questions about whether Jalen Hurts was the right quarterback. He’s resoundingly answered those questions with a dominant 6-0 start, showing elite offensive firepower with the top yards per pass average in the league. The pass rush has made opposing quarterbacks’ lives miserable, particularly newcomer Haason Reddick. The only concern is that the Eagles haven’t faced a real test yet, but they are now the clear favorites in the NFC.

Mike Tomlin and company deserve patience with an evolving quarterback situation, but it’s been painful in the meantime. The Steelers’ offense looked even blander than last year with Mitchell Trubisky under center, and they have finally handed the keys to Kenny Pickett. More concerning is the mediocre defensive play with T.J. Watt sidelined. Despite a shocking win over Tampa Bay, a brutal upcoming schedule puts Pittsburgh well behind for a playoff spot.

All the talk about how different the 49ers’ offense would be with Trey Lance under center has been thrown out the window after he suffered a major ankle injury in Week 2. We’re back to the same frustrating 49ers with Jimmy Garoppolo quarterbacking the squad. He did produce huge divisional wins vs. Seattle and LA, along with frustrating losses at Denver and Atlanta. The loss of left tackle Trent Williams is glaring, and the defense couldn’t be more banged up.

Perhaps we called 2022 a rebuilding year for the Seahawks too soon. Geno Smith has been surprisingly solid replacing Russell Wilson, while the running game continues to dominate but will have to keep it up without Rashaad Penny. Not surprisingly, the young defense has taken its lumps, but rookie corners Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen already look like keepers. What a testament it would be to the coaching of Pete Carroll if this motley crew is able to stay near .500, which seems far more likely now than it did before the season started.

Even in consecutive wins to start the year, Tampa Bay’s offense was out of sorts. They could have much bigger problems if the defense doesn’t rebound after getting exposed by the Chiefs in Week 4. Tom Brady does deserve some slack with the early-season wideout injuries, and weak NFC South competition gives the Bucs a decided advantage in the conference. Still, this team needs to make significant improvements on both sides of the ball to reach their goals.

The Titans got off the mat after an embarrassing Week 2 loss at Buffalo, showing they’re capable of being in the thick of the AFC playoff picture again. Despite the rebound, we shouldn’t overlook the team’s clear bugs with a mediocre passing attack without A.J. Brown, along with a secondary that’s been exposed. Still, the AFC South looks as winnable as ever for Mike Vrabel’s squad.

Since a Week 1 win vs. Jacksonville, Washington has mostly been a doormat. The offense looks inept, with Carson Wentz already throwing almost as many picks as he did all of last season, and the defense continues to underachieve with coordinator Jack Del Rio. A 25-10 loss at Dallas in Week 4 without Dak Prescott was particularly embarrassing and is a microcosm for the current state of the organization. The loss of Wentz to a hand injury in Week 6 puts the team’s entire season in doubt.