The New England Patriots remain at the head of the class in the AFC. After that, there’s the Kansas City Chiefs followed by a big bunch formation after the first quarter of the season as eight teams have 2-2 records. In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints have earned the edge with two tough victories in a row at Seattle and over Dallas.
Arizona Cardinals
The Kliff Kingsbury-Kyler Murray experiment is off to an expected sluggish start. All the Arizona Cardinals have to show is a strong second half against Detroit in the opener that earned them a tie. After that, three straight losses. For those of you counting, Kingsbury hasn’t been on the winning side of a score since a 48-16 victory over lowly Kansas Oct. 20, 2018. Grade: F
Atlanta Falcons
This was a make-or-break season for Dan Quinn and the Falcons. Thus far, they appear to be on the way to being shattered. The mark is 1-3 and the loss Sunday to a mediocre Tennessee team at home suggests changes will be coming sooner than later. Grade: D-minus
Baltimore Ravens
For all the great play by Lamar Jackson, the Ravens are 2-2. And in a bizarre way that is good enough to be tied for first place in the AFC North with the Cleveland Browns, who ravaged them Sunday in Baltimore. The last two games are losses and they have caused the quarter grade to drop by as many grades. Grade: C
Buffalo Bills
Sunday was a major test for Buffalo and while the Bills failed to defeat the New England Patriots, they passed while seeing their mark drop to 3-1. The Bills have one of the best defenses in the NFL. The offense is erratic and the defense managed to overcome an awful start by Josh Allen to give Buffalo a chance to remain undefeated with Matt Barkley at QB. This is a team that will prove troublesome. Grade: B-plus
Carolina Panthers
This is hard to believe. The Carolina Panthers are 0-2 with Cam Newton as their starting quarterback. They are 2-0 with Kyle Allen calling signals. Go figure. In a year that figures to determine Ron Rivera’s future in North Carolina, the QB from Texas A&M is delivering. Still, hard to believe this can or will continue. Grade: C-plus
Chicago Bears
The Bears finally have found their mean streak. And it is a good thing because the offense is still struggling to find itself. Mitchell Trubisky went out against Minnesota and the defense was so ferocious it did not matter. This is a team on the move and it doesn’t need a lot of points to win games. Grade: B-plus
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals looked awful in falling to 0-4. They have no offense and made Mason Rudolph look like they were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger. At least Zac Taylor was not part of a team that allowed 55 points like his former employer, the Rams. Grade: F
Cleveland Browns
The hyped Cleveland Browns showed up in Baltimore and blew out the Ravens. Is this a one-off or can Baker Mayfield and the Browns keep their focus on the field and out of hype and headlines? They are 2-2 after a quartet of games and have to continue to deliver as they did against the Ravens. Grade: C-plus
Dallas Cowboys
A tough game against New Orleans results in Dallas’ first loss of the season. Far from tragic as the Cowboys did not allow a touchdown and felt the sting the Saints felt against them last season. Three easy wins over inferior opponents and a difficult loss on the road bodes well for the season in Texas. Grade: A-minus
Denver Broncos
You have to feel for Vic Fangio. The rookie head coach in Denver is 0-4 and has lost a couple heartbreakers on last-second field goals. That doesn’t mean the Broncos are any good. It simply means Fangio deserves better. In the end, 0-4 is 0-4. Grade: D
Detroit Lions
Talk about an unexpected solid start. The Lions are 2-1-1 and took the Chiefs to the final seconds before suffering their first loss of the season. They have defeated the Chargers and almost took down unbeaten Kansas City but were unable to do anything but tie Arizona. The defense held Patrick Mahomes without a TD pass in finishing its first quarter of the season. Doubters and cynics have to be wondering if Matt Patricia has the team on the right track. Grade: B-minus
Green Bay Packers
They were on their way to a stellar first quarter and then the Philadelphia Eagles came to life Thursday. Matt LaFleur and Green Bay are 3-1. That’s impressive given the poor record of first-year head coaches in 2019. The defense showed some cracks against Philly and the goal-line offense was questionable. Grade: B-minus
Houston Texans
Perplexing is what the 2-2 Texans are. They have played a quartet of games and each one has been decided by seven points or less. The offense has been sporadic despite having Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. Much more was expected. Grade: C
Indianapolis Colts
Another of the 2-2 teams in the AFC South. There are a quartet of them. When you figure Jacoby Brissett and the Colts are on the right track, they tumble against Oakland. At home, no less. The wins are against the Titans and Falcons. The losses to the Chargers and Raiders. Good thing Indy isn’t in the AFC West. Grade: C
Jacksonville Jaguars
The drama around Jalen Ramsey doesn’t seem to bother Jacksonville, which has won two straight after losing a pair to open the season. Has Doug Marrone finally gotten the team going in a division where all four teams define parity with 2-2 marks. Time will tell if Minshew Mania can roll until Nick Foles returns. Grade: B-minus
Kansas City Chiefs
September’s team is 4-0 after the first month of the season. The Chiefs, who have won 11 straight in September, showed they can battle, scrap and win against the Lions. With the help of a defensive TD, KC scored 34 without a TD pass from Patrick Mahomes. The defense remains shaky. The offense is a Ferrari. Grade:B-plus
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers showed spark in the second half Sunday to even their mark at 2-2. However, that was against Miami, which impresses absolutely no one. There feels like something is off with the LA Bolts after last season’s 12-win team. The upcoming schedule is beyond friendly so possibly they can hit stride. For now, it has been and up-and-down first quarter of the seasons. Grade: C-plus
Los Angeles Rams
Sunday’s contest with Tampa Bay seemed like the definition of a “trap game” and it was exactly that. Instead of going into Thursday 4-0 against Seattle, the Rams were scorched in so many ways for 55 points in their first loss of the season. That’s going to be tough to digest and one can presume will be forgotten quickly. Grade: B-minus
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are 0-4 and horrible. They played the Cowboys and Chargers tough in the first half of their games. Then the break and the second half collapse. Thus far Brian Flores’ Dolphins have been outscored 81-0 in second halves. Grade: F as in Fish.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are like the Thoroughbred that bounces after a win and comes back with a subpar effort. Win-loss-win-loss has been the 2019 saga for the Purple. That’s about as dull as dull gets. Grade: C
New England Patriots
The first three games were not tests. However, New England went into Buffalo on Sunday and upped its mark to 16-10. Most impressive was the fact that the defense, which was aided by the exit of an inconsistent and injured Josh Allen, did not let Buffalo get a game winning score late. The Pats are the Pats: dominant, defending champs. Grade: A
New Orleans Saints
Sean Payton has done a magnificent job through four games in New Orleans in 2019. Talk about a tough task: Lose Drew Brees and then face Seattle on the road and Dallas at home. He found a way to win with Teddy Bridgewater at QB and a staunch defense. Before beating Dallas 12-10, the last time the Saints won without scoring a TD was in 1998 when Mike Ditka was their coach. That’s a long, long time.
New York Giants
They are 2-2 and 2-0 since Daniel Jones took over. That said, the wins are over the 2-2 Bucs and 0-4 Washington. That should temper expectations in a huge way. No one should gloat over Eli Manning being benched and the rookie picking up a couple wins. This remains to look like a long season. Grade: C-minus
New York Jets
Not much has gone right in the Adam Gase Era. A GM has been fired. Two quarterbacks have been lost. Three games have been played and all have resulted in defeats. The offense hasn’t scored a TD since it gave Gang Green a 16-0 lead against the Buffalo Bills in the opener. Grade: F
Oakland Raiders
Hard to figure if Jon Gruden has figured out how to get the Raiders going in the right direction. The two wins have been impressive. The losses have been equally as dull. Which team is going to show up week-to-week? Maybe we can attribute this to growing pains? Grade: C
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were flirting with 1-3 and suddenly showed what was expected of them in rallying at Green Bay. They play close games with all four having been decided by seven points or less. To be convinced they can make a run like they did in 2017, there needs to be more dominance on both sides of the ball. Until then … Grade: C-plus
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers were as disappointing as any team before bashing the Bengals Monday. Don’t be wowed by whipping up on a futile Cincinnati squad. Ben Roethlisberger is done for the season, and Mason Rudolph will experience growing pains. The Steelers are 1-3 with a home victory over a woeful, winless team. Grade: D
San Francisco 49ers
The first-place Niners — say that again, the first-place Niners — caught a bye in Week 4 so they will remain undefeated heading into a Monday Night Matchup with the Cleveland Browns. Yep, the Niners are on MNF. They have used a strong rushing attack and a solid defense to ignite out of the blocks in 2019. The cautionary note: The teams they have played thus far are 2-8 heading into Monday’s Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game, which means barring a tie the mark will be 3-9. Grade: B
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle is in an NFC West that has a 3-0 team and a pair of 3-1 teams. All that separates the Seahawks from a perfect mark is a blemish at home against the Drew Brees-less Saints. That causes the grade to be dinged especially when you realize the first three victories have come against teams with a collective mark of 0-9-1 heading into Monday night’s AFC North tragedy. Grade: B-minus
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is a tricky team to evaluate. The Bucs could be sitting pretty at 3-1 if they had not collapsed against the then-winless Giants. Not going to give Tampa Bay more credit because Big Blue is now 2-2. What it does get credit for is going to the Coliseum and outscoring the then-perfect Rams. That shows us Bruce Arians has got something positive moving with his team. Grade: B
Tennessee Titans
Take Tennessee out of its division and it is 2-0. Inside the AFC South, where it will face six key games, the Titans are 0-2. Marcus Mariota has not shown the ability to be dependable week-in and week-out. Tennessee is in a division with four teams 2-2. Grade: C
Washington Redskins
Washington is 0-4. Jay Gruden and reports indicated Dwayne Haskins, the prized first-rounder, wasn’t ready and then he was thrown in against the New York Giants Sunday. Three picks followed, which proved he isn’t ready … for now. The team looks awful and it is only a matter of time before a coaching search begins. Grade: F
