Sportsnaut
All 32 NFL teams have played either eight or nine games, meaning they’re officially halfway through the regular season. So we thought it was fitting to assess the performance of each team as is. Some have earned an A+, while others are flunking their way to an F. How does your team’s NFL report card look ahead of Week 10?
Kyler Murray helped the Cardinals win their first two games of the season, but he lost the next three. Suffering an injury gave way to Jacoby Brissett, who now takes over as the full-time starter. Brissett has created a spark, and the defense respectively ranks 11th in points allowed. Perhaps they can still turn this thing around and finish with a seven or eight win season.
There is absolutely no excuse for the Falcons ranking 28th in scoring. They’ve spent first round picks on their quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end. They even have two first-round offensive linemen too. On the bright side, Atlanta’s defense is much improved, but it won’t matter if they can’t score more than 17.9 points per game.
We’ll cut them some slack, because the Ravens are playing a lot better as of late, winning their past two games. Yet, they still earn a D+ after such a horrid start. The silver lining here is that they’ve allowed fewer than 18 points in the past three games, and more defensive reinforcements are on the way. There could still be a path to the playoffs, and even the AFC North divisional crown.
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They hit a rough patch there, but the Bills have returned to glory after taking care of the Chiefs. Buffalo is back to ranking third in scoring. While the defense has had moments of weakness too, they’ve allowed an average of just 15 points per game in the past two. We don’t see any reason why this team can’t compete for a Super Bowl.
Carolina’s offense as a whole still needs a lot of work, but they seem to have struck gold with Rico Dowdle. The Panthers have rushed for fewer than 100 yards just once this season. Considering they weren’t expected to compete for a playoff spots this season, Carolina’s start has been very impressive thus far.
Seeing Caleb Williams find more success with Ben Johnson is exactly what the Bears had in mind. However, allowing over 40 points in two of their contests halfway through the year is far from ideal. Still, the Bears are headed in the right direction and are showing some real potential in coach Johnson’s first season.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it. The Bengals sport the NFL’s worst defense, and they seriously considered not paying Trey Hendrickson enough to get him on the field. Joe Flacco...
