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NFL Term 1 Report Card – How Have The 32 Teams Graded After 6 Weeks?

Believe it or not, we are now around 1/3 of the way through the regular season in the NFL with 6 weeks of the 18-week season now in the history books.

You may recall that earlier on this year we went through the eight divisions in the NFL and gave you our predictions for who will win each of those divisions.

Some of those predictions look bang on the money (Eagles and Bills for example), but others look a little off the mark at present.

We also gave you our run down on what was a hugely dramatic opening weekend of action in the NFL regular season.

So what we have done here is gone through each of the eight divisions once again and give you our brief first term report on the season, grading teams from an F, which is a complete failure, to A+, for those teams that probably could not have been expected to perform any better.

Remember, each weekend of the regular season and throughout the playoffs Bet365 Sport offers extensive NFL betting both pre-game and In-Play for you to enjoy.

So before we carry on, let’s quickly recap how the teams currently stand across the NFL after six weeks of action for most teams.

Current NFL Standings – Up to 19th October 2022

NFC North NFC West NFC East NFC South 
Vikings5-149ers3-3Eagles6-0Buccaneers3-3
Packers3-3Rams3-3Giants5-1Falcons3-3
Bears2-4Seahawks3-3Cowboys4-2Saints2-4
Lions1-4Cardinals2-4Commanders2-4Panthers1-5
AFC North AFC West AFC East AFC South 
Ravens3-3Chiefs4-2Bills5-1Titans3-2
Bengals3-3Chargers4-2Jets4-2Colts3-2-1
Browns2-4Broncos2-4Dolphins3-3Jaguars2-4
Steelers2-4Raiders1-4Patriots3-3Texans1-3-1

So let’s grade each of the 32 teams start to the season.

Our Grading System

Our grading system uses the Grades A-F as outlined below:

  • A – Excellent – Clearly surpassed expectations
  • B – Good – Better than expected
  • C – Average – Done what was expected of them.
  • D – Below Average – Slightly poorer than we thought
  • E – Poor – Significantly worse performance than expected
  • F – Awful – Look like they have given up on the season already.

In addition to the grade, teams can also be given a + or – for each grade to allow for greater differentiation, for example a C+ is slightly above average, while a C- is slightly below average.

Let’s now grade all 32 teams so far this season.

NFL 1st Semester Report

NFC North

  • Minnesota Vikings (5-1) – A

They may be a team quietly going under the radar in the NFC but the Vikings have had an exceptionally good season so far and fully deserve to be top of the NFC North with a solid record.

  • Green Bay Packers (3-3) – D-

For the Packers to be 3-3 is a huge surprise and a represents a massive under-performance based on what this team usually does and is capable of. Aaron Rodgers needs help.

  • Chicago Bears (2-4) – D+

Another season of struggle looms in Chicago as their offense is really finding it tough. Bears fans knew this yeat would be a tough one. It may even be more difficult than they expected.

  • Detroit Lions (1-4) – C-

Dan Campbell wanted his Lions to be more competitive this year and they certainly have been even if it has not translated into as many wins as they would like and their performances deserve.

NFC West

  • San Francisco 49ers (3-3) – D+

They may top the NFC West, but this hasn’t been a great season for the 49ers. With QB Trey Lance hurt and Jimmy G back under center, this change has derailed their long term plans and things look a bit of a struggle at present on offense.  

  • Los Angeles Rams (3-3) – E+

The Super Bowl holders have struggled for consistency this season and their drop off from the heights of last season has been unmistakable. This is a very poor start for the reigning champs with QB Matt Stafford struggling.

  • Seattle Seahawks (3-3) – B+

The Seahawks were supposed to be the cannon fodder in the NFC West, however they share the best record with the Rams and 49ers. That represents a decent start for a Seattle side very much in transition.

  • Arizona Cardinals (2-4) – D-

WR DeAndre Hopkins absence has hurt the Cardinals whose poor form from the second half of last season has continued into this as they sit with a very disappointing record at the foot of the NFC West.

NFC East

  • Philadelphia Eagles (6-0) – A

I knew the Eagles would be strong in the East but their start has surprised many. A.J. Brown looks a superb signing and Jalen Hurts is proving his worth. This is a team going deep in the playoffs for sure.

  • New York Giants (5-1) – A+

As great as the Eagles have been, the fact that the Giants are 5-1 is an even greater surprise given that this turnaround in form has been totally unexpected. This is a brilliant start for Brian Daboll and his team.

  • Dallas Cowboys (4-2) – B+

Dak Prescott’s injury was a blow but the Cowboys coped well until last weekend’s defeat to the Eagles. Still a raging defense and a 4-2 start means that the Cowboys are still on track for a good start and to be a main player in the NFC.

  • Washington Commanders (2-4) – C-

The Commanders always looked like being the strugglers in this division and so it has proved. 2 wins is about what we would have expected from their opening six games, but their struggles on offense are a concern.

NFC South

  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) – D

A 3-3 record for the Bucs represents a pretty poor start for Tom Brady and company. A team with this much talent should be better positioned in a relatively weak division. Is age catching up with the team?

  • Atlanta Falcons (3-3) – A-

The Falcons have surpassed expectations in this league with a 0.5 record and really, they could have been 4-2 but for the worst call I have seen in Football against the Bucs. That’s a fantastic start for Arthur Smith’s team.

  • New Orleans Saints (2-4) – C-

This season was always going to be one of transition for the Saints and so it has proved. They are probably a game back of where they would like to be hence the C- grading, but they are not out of things in the South just yet.

  • Carolina Panthers (1-5) – F

A slow start, Baker Mayfield struggling, Robbie Anderson traded away after arguing with his positional coach and the Head Coach sacked. Oh and a 1-5 record. The Panthers season could probably not have started much worse. They will likely be picking first in next year’s NFL Draft.

AFC North

  • Baltimore Ravens (3-3) – D+

The Ravens have lost a number of close games against good teams and their 0.5 start means that they are probably a little worse off than they would have liked to be after six games.

  • Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) – D

The Bengals seemed to have an early-season hangover from their Super Bowl loss to the Rams. Recent performnaces have improved, but they are still behind where they would want to be.

  • Cleveland Browns (2-4) – D-

The Browns knew this season would be tough in the North, but issues at quarterback and some inconsistent performances mean that this start to the season has not been a good one.

  • Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) – D-

With the QB situation at the Steelers up in the air and the team sorely missing TJ Watt on defense, not even a win last week against the Bucs can lift the Steelers to anything above a D- so far.

AFC West

  • Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) – B

With two losses, and given their talent, you’d probably have the Chiefs down as slightly underperforming, but given the roster changes and the strength of their schedule in such a tough division, I think they have done pretty well thus far.

  • Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) – B

The Chargers have had some ups and downs this season but they have won four games and have the same record as their main rivals in the ultra-competitive west. That’s a solid start to the season.

  • Denver Broncos (2-4) – D-

Havin spent heavily on QB Russell Wilson, the Broncos would have wanted a much better start to the campaign than a 2-4 record and an offence ranked dead last in the NFL for scoring points.

  • Las Vegas Raiders (1-4) – E+

The Raiders are playing much better than their record suggests but they have still lost 80% of the games they have played this season and that is well off the standard they would have expected.

AFC East

  • Buffalo Bills (5-1) – B

Only a B for the 5-1 Bills? Well yes, because we knew how special this team is and in truth, the talent they have, they should be 6-0. That one defeat means that this team is performing about as well as expected.

  • New York Jets (4-2) – A

Few people expected the Jets to be competitive in this division but Robert Saleh’s young team have been superb to land four wins and greatly exceed what was expected of them.

  • Miami Dolphins (3-3) – B-

Tua Tagovailaoa’s injury derailed the Dolphins solid start somewhat, but that was their own doing and since then, they have struggled. They need him back to get back on track after a good start.

  • New England Patriots (3-3) – B

Given their top two QBs have been missing the last two weeks, the Patriots have done superbly well to have an 0.5 record heading into week seven and I’d say they have performed well this season.

AFC South

  • Tennessee Titans (3-2) – C

A slow start to the campaign followed by three wins heading into their bye week last weekend, the Titans have recovered well and are about where we expected they would be in terms of their record.

  • Indianapolis Colts (3-2-1) – D-

Matt Ryan got off to a very slow start with the Colts and they only really found their mojo in last week’s win over the Jaguars. They have underperformed so far this season.

  • Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) – C-

We didn’t expect the Jags to make massive strides from being one of the poorer teams in the NFL last year, they have improved, but that improvement has been erratic and a little on the slow side.

  • Houston Texans (1-3-1) – C-

The Texans remain one of the struggling teams in the NFL which we did expect but some of the performances of their rookies does give them some real hope for the future.

Join us again after Week 12 of the NFL season has been completed when we take you through how the grades for these teams have changed and how the standings shape up ahead of the final third of the season.

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