| A+ |
|
| Incredible season for Detroit, the best in franchise history. Dan Campbell’s vision came to life, as the Lions exploded on offense throughout the season and stepped on the gas when they needed it most, winning their final two games to secure the division and the No. 1 seed. It’s now Super Bowl or bust for Jared Goff and Co. |
| A |
|
| This team did everything but land the top seed in the AFC, and that was more thanks to the warlocks in Kansas City than it was a fault of their own. Josh Allen played at an MVP level all season despite losing his top pass catcher in the offseason, the offense dominated across the full year, and the defense was substantially better than most people expected. The field is too deep for him to win, but Sean McDermott deserves some Coach of the Year love. Now Buffalo just has to validate things in the postseason. |
| A |
|
| Sean Payton kicked Russell Wilson to the curb, taking on the largest dead cap hit in NFL history in the process, replaced him with what many felt was an overdrafted rookie quarterback ( Bo Nix at No. 12 overall), and promptly broke Denver’s eight-year playoff drought. Outstanding season no matter how it ends and certainly promising for the future in Denver. |
| A |
|
| A lot of offseason turmoil attrition expectations, but Nick Sirianni guided this team to the No. 2 seed in the NFC with two new coordinators. Saquon Barkley was one of the premiere offseason additions, exploding for historic numbers behind an offensive line that lost Jason Kelce . Howie Roseman’s draft additions on defense paid huge dividends, and the Eagles look like a balanced problem heading into the postseason, a far cry from the team that wilted towards the end of 2023. |
| A |
|
| A sluggish, questionable start was quickly turned around, with the Ravens becoming just the second team in NFL history to trail their division lead by multiple games and still end up winning it by multiple games. Lamar Jackson is a legitimate MVP candidate (and, frankly, could even steal it from Allen) yet again, and the pairing of Lamar with Derrick Henry was an offseason personnel masterstroke. In-season adjustments took this team from a fringe wild-card squad to one of the Super Bowl favorites. |
| A |
|
| Jim Harbaugh did Jim Harbaugh things, once again taking over a franchise that has traditionally been super sloppy and turning them into a playoff team in his first year at the helm. Justin Herbert’s evolution over the course of the season was impressive, and this team is a physical manifestation of Harbaugh himself, playing tough defense, not making mistakes and running the ball physically despite perhaps lacking in personnel. Guys like Quentin Johnston improving immediately shows the Harbaugh Effect fully. |
| A |
|
| They didn’t win the division, but the Eagles were squatting on a big lead. More importantly, the Commanders found THE GUY in Jaylen Daniels, who looks like a truly legitimate franchise quarterback with the ability to play at his best in the most important moments. Washington appeared ready to sort of collapse late, but let’s credit Dan Quinn for righting the ship and ensuring they made the playoffs. Ten wins in his first year for a franchise with a long (recent) history of being extremely meh has this fanbase reenergized, and the building blocks in place for long-term success. Great, great season no matter what happens next. |
| A |
|
| The only thing marring a 14-win season is a lack of a division title and the lackluster performance Sunday night against the Lions in what was a moment for the Vikings to really establish themselves as a big boy in the conference. They’ve got the personnel to do damage and are favored in the wild-card round against the Rams , but Sam Darnold crumbling on the biggest stage against a banged-up Detroit defense definitely raises a red flag. Still, Kevin O’Connell got the most out of this situation as he appears to do every year, wildly outperforming expectations after losing Kirk Cousins in free agency this offseason and seeing J.J. McCarthy go down with an injury during the preseason. |
| A |
|
| Winning the division after a 1-4 start is a testament to Sean McVay’s coaching, especially in a year where Matthew Stafford played really well for short bursts but maybe wasn’t at his absolute pinnacle as a signal-caller. They overcame injuries to both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to win a division title in the really stout NFC West and have now put together kind of a similar season to when they won the Super Bowl. No one should be stunned if this team gets hot in the postseason. |
| A |
|
| The Buccaneers lost their OC this offseason and Baker Mayfield improved, having maybe the best year of his career and looking incredibly comfortable in Tampa. Losing Chris Godwin stings, but Jalen McMillan is looking like a steal in the draft as a compliment to Mike Evans , and Bucky Irving is a bonafide star in year one. We can ding them for some ugly losses, including late in the year to Dallas to open up the division for Atlanta, but this is a team coming into the playoffs hot. The Buccaneers could be a problem in the wrong matchup. |
| B+ |
|
| A B+ for 15-2?!?! Yeah, that’s what happens when the entire world thinks the NFL has rigged things in your favor to land a three-peat and you don’t score more than 30 points once in a single season. The bar is really high for the Chiefs , and while they ended up tied for the best record in football, they didn’t exactly do it in incredible fashion. If Patrick Mahomes and Co. turn it on offensively during the playoffs and win another title, no one will be surprised, but this felt like a luck-fueled record in somewhat of a cruise control season, even if there were a lot of injuries on offense to overcome. |
| B+ |
|
| Mike Tomlin’s squad vastly overachieved in 2024 and he deserves all the credit in the world for that, particularly considering how in-flux the quarterback position was for the Steelers this season. At 4-2, Tomlin made the bold move to go from Justin Field to Russell Wilson, and it paid dividends with the Steelers nearly holding on to win the AFC North. The only reason this isn’t higher? A four-game losing streak to close out the season cost them what should have been a sure-fire division title and took the air out of what people thought was something really special. It certainly brings into question if the Steelers can hang with a very top-heavy AFC. |
| B+ |
|
| Most years, an 11-6 season is going to get you an A of some kind and have you in the mix for the division title. The Packers finished four games out from the Lions! They’ve got the streakiness to go on a run but don’t necessarily feel like they’re coming into the playoffs with the same kind of heat they did last year, especially with Jordan Love injuring his finger in Week 18 (although he was apparently fine to come back in). Josh Jacobs was a stupendous offseason signing, Love did his Toyot-a-thon thing and continues to look like a franchise quarterback in the mold of Favre/Rodgers, and the defense took a major step forward under Jeff Hafley. A really tough matchup in Philly being the “reward” for this kind of season is just brutal. |
| B |
|
| Injuries to the skill position guys took its toll, and although the Texans ultimately won 10 games and the AFC South, it’s hard not to look at 2024 as a step back for C.J. Stroud and this offense. This time last year, the Texans were THE ascending team in the NFL. Ten wins is nothing to sneeze at, but this year the Texans never really felt like one of the true Super Bowl contenders in the way they were viewed coming into the season. There’s a reason they’re three-point home dogs at home in the wild-card round. |
| B |
|
| It’s hard to win five games and still get a decent grade, but as I mentioned we’re operating on a sliding scale here people! The Panthers benched Bryce Young two games into his second season and accidentally stumbled their way into bringing him back and watching him develop into a potential franchise quarterback. He was above average as far as starters go over the back end of the season and flashed some really good games and really big throws at various times. The Panthers should head into this offseason with a lot of optimism they can at least be competent and maybe more if Young can take another step forward. The offensive line massively improved, the defense can’t be worse/less healthy, and with a high pick you can squint and see a division contender maybe as early as next year. |
| B |
|
| Victims of a loaded conference, the Seahawks went 10-7 and still missed the postseason in Mike MacDonald’s first year at the helm. Pretty impressive considering he replaced Pete Carroll. Geno Smith put together another strong season, albeit with some questionable stretches. When you look at their wins as a whole, though, the Seahawks only managed to beat two teams who made the playoffs and one of those was against the Rams backups in Week 18. The loss to the Giants in Week 5 has to linger this offseason, as it might have been the difference between dancing and not. There’s plenty to build on here. |
| B |
|
| This was one of the toughest grades to give out because Arizona took a step forward from frisky cover machine to legitimate playoff contender. It’s hard not to look at that loss to Carolina late in the season, in which the Cards were eliminated, and give them anything higher, though. It does appear they have the coaching in place to be a good team, but there should be concern over Marvin Harrison Jr.’s production this season and the Cardinals wilting down the stretch with five losses in seven games to close the year following their bye. |
| C |
|
| The yin and yang of the Falcons season comes down to the quarterback position. They paid piles of money in free agency for Kirk Cousins. Then they let him start too long, probably costing them a playoff spot. They pulled the rip cord and inserted No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr., which nearly saved the season, but there were too many warts on this roster for the team to really do any damage. They’ve improved from last year but still missed the playoffs, and now Arthur Blank is on the hook for the Cousins thing, plus the issue with dead cap money coming down the pipe. They were the division favorite to start the year and missed the postseason entirely, while being unable to remotely slow down Carolina in Week 18 (not that it ultimately mattered but still). |
| C- |
|
| Going 9-8 isn’t “bad,” but when Joe Burrow puts together the kind of historic season he did — 4,500-plus passing yards, 40-plus TDs, less than 10 picks has only been done three times now and the other two guys went 30-1 and won a pair of MVPs — and you miss the playoffs because you started slow (again) and the defense was bad throughout the year, well, it’s hard to be excited. Cincy’s run to close the regular season made it a really dangerous potential playoff team, but there’s zero reason with a quarterback like Burrow for this team to be sitting at home eating pasta covered in chili in January. I’m not sure firing Lou Anarumo magically fixes everything, either. |
| C- |
|
| The Tua Tagovailoa midseason concussion probably derailed Mike McDaniel from joining Don Shula as the only Dolphins coaches to make the playoffs in each of their first three years. And they dealt with a ton of injuries on defense, particularly when it came to the pass rush. I get no one is as good without your starting quarterback, but the Dolphins cratering on offense when Tua was out was a pretty big red flag. Again, another team who needed public statements saying everyone was coming back. It’s just a reminder the season went poorly, and now with Tyreek Hill talking about wanting out , you can certainly question what the team will look like in 2025. |
| C- |
|
| Collapsing down the stretch in the playoff push by allowing the Giants and Drew Lock to drop 40-plus points on them is a really bad look. I don’t disagree with bringing back Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen , but I do disagree with how the whole quarterback position was handled this year. Anthony Richardson remains an enigma for this franchise and I’m not sure the solution is one everyone finds themselves aligned on. Any time you have to issue a “I’m not firing these guys” statement after the season, it means you considered firing those guys. Which means everyone is on the hot seat coming into 2025, not where Indy thought it’d be two years after drafting a quarterback in the top five. |
| D+ |
|
| It’s impossible to believe the first two games of this team’s season were real. It exploded on offense and looked like a contender … and its coach was fired like six weeks later. Everyone got hurt and that has to factor in, but this felt like a miserable season for a roster slowly changing over. What is this team’s identity? Who wants to coach them? |
| D |
|
| Browns fans still mad about people saying they might not be a playoff team? The “best” thing about this season was the realization that Deshaun Watson isn’t the guy in Cleveland. Now they have to figure out who is and the answer ain’t easy. Kevin Stefanski actually did a pretty strong job coaching this squad given all the injuries and how he was hamstrung at the quarterback position by ownership, but the defense took a massive step back. Cleveland didn’t come close to meeting preseason expectations with five wins on the year. |
| D |
|
| Mike McCarthy surely saved his job at this point, right? Jerry Jones laughed at the idea of stepping down as GM of the Cowboys , which remains a problem. Yes, they lost Dak Prescott to injury and that should give them some leeway, but the expectations were sky high for this team and ultimately it ended up being a victim of its own offseason decision-making. Rallying once Prescott got hurt and fighting to six wins is impressive but not exactly something you raise a banner for. |
| D- |
|
| Weird team to grade because the expectations just weren’t there for me in Antonio Pierce’s first year as full-time coach. They never really had a quarterback to begin with, and if you’re looking for bright spots, Brock Bowers is about the only one (and he’s really bright but he can’t overcome the team-wide lack of talent). In a division with three Hall of Fame coaches, the Raiders feel like they are a long, LONG way off from being a contender unless they can hit on a quarterback in the draft. |
| D- |
|
| Caleb Williams was a bright spot for this team and should attract a good coaching candidate, but most of the time he performed well was after the Bears dug themselves an early hole with a lackluster first-half performance. They fired their coach and the defense went in the tank, and now they’re on yet another coaching search with yet another first-round pick going into year two of his career. It’s fair to wonder if they’ll get it right! In hindsight, the playoff expectations for this team were hilarious … again. |
| F+ |
|
| Disaster season in Jacksonville that is only exacerbated by the Jaguars decision to fire Doug Pederson and retain Trent Baalke . What are you guys thinking?!! Get this guy out of here. Trevor Lawrence was hurt again and the offense was lethargic for most of the season. The defense was bottom five across the league. Brian Thomas, Jr. is a superstar in the making and the only reason they got the plus here. |
| F |
|
| Not only do you fire a first-year head coach but you fire a first-year head coach who replaced Bill Belichick and who played and coached for your franchise previously, all while admitting you only panic hired him because other teams started to interview him. Bad look for Patriots ownership. Drake Maye was a really bright spot this season, especially considering how bad the talent is around him, but the Patriots couldn’t even screw up enough to hand him the No. 1 pick and a possible draft haul or elite weapon. Hiring Mike Vrabel would potentially ease some of the issues with this year, but the Patriots were one of the worst teams in football all season long. |
| F |
|
| The prohibitive favorite to win the NFC and one of the top Super Bowl favorites before the season, the 49ers ‘ 2024 season felt snakebit. You can’t control injuries, but this was far from Kyle Shanahan’s best coaching job. The special teams were a wreck and the defense finished bottom five in points allowed this year. They were middle of the pack on offense as well. Sometimes these seasons happen, but they’re not great when they happen on the verge of Brock Purdy needing a massive new contract, especially when he gets hurt in the penultimate game. |
| F |
|
| They finished as the worst team in football and now have a decision to make on whether they want to take a quarterback up top or try and keep turning Will Levis into Josh Allen 2.0. (That’s a Pete Prisco joke in case you think I’m serious.) It wouldn’t have been all that shocking if they moved on from Brian Callahan, but the expectations were reasonably low for this team, so it probably would have been a pretty hefty knee-jerk reaction. There are some nice pieces on offense but the OL has to improve. Again, when you have the No. 1 pick coming out of the year, things probably didn’t go as planned. |
| F |
|
| The Daniel Jones Era was an unmitigated disaster. Brian Dabol and Joe Schoen got the “we’re running it back” vote of confidence but you can bet this team won’t be doing any “Offseason: Hard Knocks” again any time soon. Saquon Barkley going to the Eagles and being incredible isn’t helping ANYONE after that, and you better believe it weighs on ownership in a bad way. I do think this regime deserves a chance to draft its own quarterback and if they hit on one, it’s not unreasonable this roster could be a fringe wild-card team pretty quickly. Malik Nabers was a bright spot for some stretches, but they nearly killed him in the process it felt like. |
| F- |
|
| Whew, buddy. How’s that for a Madden rating? The Jets were a train wreck from Jump Street once again. They fired their coach midseason, traded for Davante Adams , never won a game they needed to and only looked competent on offense when they were already out of the playoffs. The defense melted down, and there are tons of players openly talking about how they don’t want to come back. They interviewed Rex Ryan before the season ended! The Aaron Rodgers experiment was one of the all-time disappointments considering the expectations. |
