NFL Mid-Season Grades: AFC Edition
The 2024 NFL season is reaching its midway point. Teams and their standings are starting to take shape heading into November and December. It's time to examine the good, the bad, and the ugly eight weeks into the 2024 season.
Baltimore Ravens: A-
The Baltimore Ravens have been nearly perfect this year. They started the season slow, with an offensive line still finding chemistry and an inability to close games. Baltimore was on a five-win streak going into an upset loss to Cleveland in week eight.
Lamar Jackson is making a real case for his third MVP award, Derrick Henry has a chance to break the rushing yards record at 30 years old, and Mark Andrews is finding his rhythm again. There are certainly cracks in their armor, but they’re still a Super Bowl contender in 2024.
Buffalo Bills: A-
The Bills have been a confusing team this season. Josh Allen has been on fire so far and is doing a tremendous job of protecting the ball, and they just added Amari Cooper who is already a beneficial member of the team.
The problem in Buffalo is consistency. Josh Allen went out in week three and put up four touchdowns against the Jaguars in the first half. The Bills faced the Ravens a week later and barely managed 10 points. The Bills need to keep their foot on the gas at all times and they’ll be a juggernaut.
Cincinnati Bengals: D+
Quite possibly the most frustrating team on this list is the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals’ offense is currently top 10 in passing yards (6th), receiving yards (7th), first downs (9th), and points (8th).
The problem in Cincy is the defense. The Bengals’ defense has struggled all year. Through the first five weeks, the Bengals were 1-4 despite scoring a total of 140 points in that span. All four of their losses were decided by less than seven points. Joe Burrow is back and he’s doing his thing with a terrific offense, but Cincy’s defense has been and continues to be their downfall.
Cleveland Browns: F
The Deshaun Watson experiment in Cleveland seems to be the biggest blunder in NFL history. In Watson’s seven starts, the team went 1-6 before he went down for the year with an Achilles injury. Cleveland’s offense is among the NFL’s worst in nearly every stat.
With Watson’s contract still eating up $72 million in each of the next two years, the Browns’ woes won’t end soon. They upset the Ravens in week eight and looked like a real team without Watson. Jameis Winston will help the team in 2024, but as long as Watson is under contract, this organization has a massive problem.
Denver Broncos: B-
Coming out of 2023, the Broncos seemed to be a dumpster fire of a team. Fans were saying Sean Payton was washed, the Russell Wilson experiment was a failure, and Bo Nix had very few expectations. Fast forward to week eight, Denver is 5-3 and decisively winning games.
Leading the way for the Broncos is their defense. They’re second in the league in sacks, and they’re top five in points and passing yards allowed per game. Rookie QB Bo Nix has wildly exceeded expectations in Sean Payton’s system, and he’s only expected to grow from here. It’s been quite a few years, but the Broncos look like a legitimate football team again.
Houston Texans: A-
Houston went into 2023 with rock-bottom expectations before rookie QB CJ Stroud blew everyone away and won a playoff game. This year the expectations are much higher, which could be contributing to their lower grade here. The Texans are 6-2 and atop the AFC South, but they don’t feel as strong as they should. Now they're without top wideout Nico Collins and veteran Stefon Diggs.
Only one of their six wins was decided by more than six points, and the loss of Collins hasn’t helped. Their run game is in the bottom half of the league rankings as well. The Texans are still contenders, and they’re still a top team in the NFL, but they just don’t seem to have that spark they did a year ago.
Indianapolis Colts: D-
The Indianapolis Colts are an extremely frustrating team. Second-year QB Anthony Richardson doesn’t seem to be reaching his potential, and the offense has not been very productive eight weeks in. Richardson currently has four touchdowns and seven interceptions, along with a completion percentage of 44%.
The frustrating part for Indy is how close they are. Their four losses have all been decided by less than six points, and they’ve defeated strong teams like the Steelers and Bears. The Colts have spent the last few years “this close” to contending, it seems like that’s where they’re doomed to be right now.
Jacksonville Jaguars: F
An F grade might be too harsh for the Jaguars, but when a team pays an unproven QB $55 million a year to be 2-6, it feels warranted. Trevor Lawrence is not the sole problem in Jacksonville here though. The defense is one of the worst in the league, ranking 30th in total yards allowed per game (395), 31st in passing yards allowed per game (271), and 29th in points allowed per game (28).
The Jaguars offense has been struggling with turnovers this season and their top receiver Christian Kirk seems to be done for the year. Jacksonville has failed in many aspects this season. 2025 will be the year to build around Trevor Lawrence and find some level of competence.
Kansas City Chiefs: B+
The 7-0 Chiefs might be the worst undefeated team in history coming out of week eight. The back-to-back Super Bowl champions have struggled to establish any sort of dominance in 2024. Only one of their seven wins has been by more than 10 points, and they’ve kept games too close.
Some of their wins have been controversial, with a flag going their way, or being missed entirely in their favor. Patrick Mahomes has been playing bad football, and they’re winning despite him. The props here go to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. KC’s defense is one of the best in the league. Spag’s weekly game plans are incredibly well planned out and he’s a massive part of why the Chiefs are undefeated right now.
Las Vegas Raiders: F
The Raiders have shown flashes of potential in 2024, but this grade comes down to the final product. Vegas is 2-6 in the year, their best player requested a trade and got it, and they have no star power. The Raiders are lacking playmakers. Gardner Minshew has done a fine job at QB, but he struggles to extend plays and put the team ahead.
To their credit, the Raiders are currently under first-year head coach Antonio Pierce. It takes time to build a team, and Pierce adopted a bad one in 2024. The struggles in Vegas come from their front office and the decisions they make. They need a blueprint, until then this franchise just feels like it’s scrambling.
Los Angeles Chargers: C-
Jim Harbaugh became the Chargers’ head coach immediately after winning the CFB National Championship at Michigan. LA seemed to have a plan and tailored their offense to Harbaugh. They signed JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards, they got rid of their wide receivers in favor of inexpensive options, and they drafted Ladd McConkey.
They currently sit at 4-3 and their offense is one of the worst in the NFL. LA is in the bottom 20 of passing yards (28th), rushing yards (24th), receiving yards (28th), and points (27th). They have a supremely talented QB with nobody to throw the ball to. The aforementioned Dobbins and Edwards aren’t the one-two punch that LA hoped for either. They’re finding a way to win games, they just have to find their identity.
Miami Dolphins: D-
A D- is kind of a mixed grade for Miami. When Tua Tagovailoa is healthy, this team has an electric offense and they can score points. When Tua is hurt, they fall apart entirely. Tua got injured in week two and in the four weeks he was gone the Dolphins scored a total of 40 points.
It’s tough to say that a team is only good because of their QB, especially when the offense is loaded with weapons. But the game plan seems to be heavily revolved around Tua and his talents. Without him, the offensive plan needs a complete revision. The Dolphins are a great team, but they need QB depth and a plan beyond Tua Tagovailoa.
New England Patriots: D-
The New England Patriots are turning their luck around in an impressive way. They were 1-6 going into week eight with one of the worst offenses in football. Jacoby Brissett was struggling and the offensive line was (and still may be) laughably bad. The defense plays hard but struggles to make any real stops.
Drake Maye finally got the starting nod in week six, and he’s played well despite the team’s struggles. In his three starts, Maye has thrown for 564 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. New England seems to have its QB of the future, now it’s time to build around him. They managed to finally show their improvement on the wins column with a great comeback win against the Jets.
New York Jets: F
The Jets are a team with a terrific roster. Aaron Rodgers, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, Breece Hall, and Sauce Gardner are all names that should instill fear. Instead, they’re a mess without leadership.
The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh just a few weeks into the season, and they’re now on a five-game losing streak. New York is struggling to find any kind of identity despite having a stacked team. Expectations were very high going into this season and Jets fans have been met with pure disappointment.
Pittsburgh Steelers: A+
The Pittsburgh Steelers started the year 4-2 under Justin Fields while Russell Wilson recovered from injury. The Steeler's defense is one of the best in the NFL, ranking fifth in interceptions (10) and eighth in forced fumbles (8). They've proven they can make crucial stops, preventing a Giants comeback twice in week eight.
Now with Russell Wilson back, they’ve outscored opponents 63-33 in two games. They’re going into a bye week with a 6-2 record and the top spot in the AFC North. The Steelers are looking at a tough schedule ahead, with games against the Commanders, Ravens, Eagles, and Chiefs on the horizon. They’ve got momentum, the question is can they keep it?
Tennessee Titans: F
The Titans are not just a bad team, but a boring team. Tennessee is 1-6 on the year coming out of week eight and has now traded DeAndre Hopkins away to the Chiefs. Per game, the Titans average 161 passing yards (31st) and 17 points (28th). They also rank 31st in third-down percentage at 30.6%.
The Titans were destroyed by the Lions in a 52-14 week eight loss. Now it’s time for Tennessee to look ahead to 2025 and re-evaluate everything. Will Levis isn’t the QB they hoped he would be, and the offense is extremely limited. At least they’ll have a high draft pick.