2023 NFL Mid Season Report Card (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bryant]

From the Athletic Email Newsletter.

I think I agree with all this.

And to be clear, this is from the perspective of real NFL. Not fantasy.

Take your stickers, kids
We are officially halfway through the NFL season, which means it’s time for teams to take report cards home, have them signed by parents and return them to school for record-keeping. No forgeries. Yesterday’s results were fittingly important.

Some midseason grades:

Best overall teams: Eagles (8-1), Chiefs (7-2), Ravens (7-2)
All three teams had landmark wins yesterday. The Ravens were particularly impressive while blowing out a good Seahawks team, 37-3. Kansas City beat Miami, 21-14 in Germany, and quietly has an awesome defense this year. The Eagles continue to beat good teams (28-23 over Dallas) while still not looking like a finished product, which is a scary thought in itself. Y

ou can also win the Super Bowl: Jaguars (6-2), Dolphins (6-3), Lions (6-2), 49ers (6-2), Cowboys (5-3), Bengals (5-3)
This is our clear second tier, minus a few stragglers who will probably be mad at me for omitting them (hi, 5-4 Bills). Half of these teams were off yesterday, giving us more time to talk about the talented-but-flawed group like the Dolphins, who can’t seem to win a big game, and the Cowboys, who choked away a win against Philly. And then there is Cincinnati, charging ahead after starting the year 1-3. They looked incredible against 5-4 Buffalo last night, winning 24-18.

Midseason MVP: Lamar Jackson
Easy call, especially after Tua Tagovailoa’s tough day. Remember when we thought the Ravens would trade Jackson before the season? And remember when no one made any worthwhile offer? Jackson has been electric this year. He’s completing a career-high 72 percent of his passes and is on pace for fewer interceptions than he threw in 2019, when he was the unanimous choice for MVP. A-plus.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Part 2:

Rookie of the Year: CJ Stroud
It’s hard to overstate how good Stroud has been this year (14 TDs to one INT) and how amazing he was yesterday. The No. 2 pick threw for a rookie-record 470 yards during the 4-4 Texans’ 39-37 win over the 3-5 Bucs in the game of the day (running back field goal!). It’s early, but Carolina might end up with remorse for passing on Stroud in the draft.

Backup of the Year: Josh Dobbs
Dobbs entered the season as the likely No. 2 quarterback for Cleveland, who traded him to Arizona, where he was supposed to be a backup but impressed in place of the injured Kyler Murray, then found himself dealt to Minnesota after Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles. Yesterday was magical. Dobbs entered in the first quarter and beat the 4-5 Falcons, 31-28, despite having not taken a single practice rep in the offense. Our Alec Lewis explained “head coach Kevin O’Connell was essentially translating calls and mapping out plays mid-huddle” for Dobbs. Minnesota reached 5-4 anyway.

Biggest disappointment: Giants
Yeesh. This team actually had high hopes coming in after a strong finish last year. They leave yesterday’s 30-6 loss to the 4-5 Raiders with QB Daniel Jones’ ACL likely torn, the NFL's worst point differential and a 2-7 record. At least the No. 1 pick is possible. Meanwhile, how much did this Las Vegas team hate Josh McDaniels? We left a few teams off the report card. See our full takeaways here.

 

[-OZ-]

Stroud might be the clearest ROY in recent memory. He could even receive MVP consideration.

 

[BobbyLayne]

ORotY & DRotY are already settled as long as both stay on the field. Stroud should make the Pro Bowl & Carter is 2nd to Dexter Lawrence in DI grades per PFF.

 

[rockaction]

I love The Athletic and their staff, and that's all well and good, but they botched San Francisco's record. They're still thinking they beat Cleveland or something.

Thanks for posting. It's just those sort of things leave me wondering . . . always will. If I can pick up on it right away, how did it go to print as authoritative? I'm a tough sell sometimes, admittedly, but you can't get that wrong before it goes to print and expect to hold yourself out as more deeply invested than just a casual conversation.

Barnwell and the old FO crew didn't mess up their stuff. Ever. Nor does PFF, far as I can tell. Just odd.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I love The Athletic and their staff, and that's all well and good, but they botched San Francisco's record. They're still thinking they beat Cleveland or something.

Thanks for posting. It's just those sort of things leave me wondering . . . always will. If I can pick up on it right away, how did it go to print as authoritative? I'm a tough sell sometimes, admittedly, but you can't get that wrong before it goes to print and expect to hold yourself out as more deeply invested than just a casual conversation.

Barnwell and the old FO crew didn't mess up their stuff. Ever. Nor does PFF, far as I can tell. Just odd.

I hear you. I do have empathy some as I know how difficult it is. But you're right, they have a staff and budget big enough to do better.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

NFL Standings at the end of the year

AFC

East
Buffalo 11-6
Miami 10-7, they were 8-3 last year before a 1-6 finish
NY Jets 9-8
New Eng 5-12

North
Ravens 12-5
Cincinnati 11-6 although after last night, they have a lot of momentum
Cleveland 10-7
Pittsburgh 7-10, just not a believer

South
Jacksonville 12-5
Houston 9-8, and pushing for a Playoff spot, they traded away their 1st next season to AZ but they have the Browns' 1st to off set it
Tennessee 7-10
Indianapolis 7-10

West
Kansas City 13-4
Los Angeles 9-8
Las Vegas 8-9 but looking much better than they did earlier in the season
Denver 5-12, they still are a bad football team right now

NFC
Philly 14-3, they can coast the 2nd Half and likely get some fo their Vets some much needed rest in the month of December if things keep going their way
Dallas 11-6, could still make some noise in the Playoffs even as a Wildcard
Washington 7-10
NY Giants 4-13, if they're smart they will just keep losing at this point and eat Jones contract, get ready for their next QB and Head Coach. Picking 4th right now

North
Detroit 12-5, what an amazing run for them this year
Minnesota 9-8, it's possible they slip into the Playoffs
Green Bay 6-11
Chicago 3-14, easily gonna have not 1 but 2 Top-5 picks in '24. Potential new head coaches out there must be licking their chops to take this team over.

South
Saints 9-8, powerhouse to take this division.
Atlanta 7-10, seem to be on a down turn for '23
Tampa Bay 6-11, Baker Mayfield Era rolls on
Carolina 2-15, they already spent their '23 1st Rd pick, Bears have that one

West
San Fran 11-6, we've learned they have some holes.
Seattle 9-8, just got ripped 37-3 tot he Ravens, their record is not reflective of how mediocre they are
Los Angeles 7-10, perhaps worse
Arizona 4-13, Murray is going win a few games 2nd Half of the year. Murray doesn't want the Cardinals picking #1 and deciding if they want to move in a new direction.

 

[Sunday Gravy]

NFL Standings at the end of the year


NY Giants 4-13, if they're smart they will just keep losing at this point and eat Jones contract, get ready for their next QB and Head Coach. Picking 4th right now

Don't see how the Giants win again this year.

And the Bears lose out?

 

[Pigskin Fanatic]

AFC

East
Buffalo 11-6

was going to post this doesn't look likely with their defense not being what it use to be, but then i just noticed the Bills hit the lottery having a bye week between @PHI and @KCC. if Jets can find any sembalnce of an offense though, this division is going to be the most interesting at the end of the season.

 

[Scoresman]

Some halfway through the season stats

The league's passing woes appear to be continuing in terms of scoring. Passing attempts and yards are on pace to pretty much match 3 year averages, but Passing TDs are on pace to be even lower than last year's historic low.

Rushing-wise its about the same. Looking at hitting yearly averages for attempts and yards, but rushing scoring is down, on pace for a 8% reduction from last year and 12% reduction from the 3 year average.

 

[Chemical X]

NFL Standings at the end of the year

AFC

East
Buffalo 11-6
Miami 10-7, they were 8-3 last year before a 1-6 finish
NY Jets 9-8
New Eng 5-12

North
Ravens 12-5
Cincinnati 11-6 although after last night, they have a lot of momentum
Cleveland 10-7
Pittsburgh 7-10, just not a believer

South
Jacksonville 12-5
Houston 9-8, and pushing for a Playoff spot, they traded away their 1st next season to AZ but they have the Browns' 1st to off set it
Tennessee 7-10
Indianapolis 7-10

West
Kansas City 13-4
Los Angeles 9-8
Las Vegas 8-9 but looking much better than they did earlier in the season
Denver 5-12, they still are a bad football team right now

NFC
Philly 14-3, they can coast the 2nd Half and likely get some fo their Vets some much needed rest in the month of December if things keep going their way
Dallas 11-6, could still make some noise in the Playoffs even as a Wildcard
Washington 7-10
NY Giants 4-13, if they're smart they will just keep losing at this point and eat Jones contract, get ready for their next QB and Head Coach. Picking 4th right now

North
Detroit 12-5, what an amazing run for them this year
Minnesota 9-8, it's possible they slip into the Playoffs
Green Bay 6-11
Chicago 3-14, easily gonna have not 1 but 2 Top-5 picks in '24. Potential new head coaches out there must be licking their chops to take this team over.

South
Saints 9-8, powerhouse to take this division.
Atlanta 7-10, seem to be on a down turn for '23
Tampa Bay 6-11, Baker Mayfield Era rolls on
Carolina 2-15, they already spent their '23 1st Rd pick, Bears have that one

West
San Fran 11-6, we've learned they have some holes.
Seattle 9-8, just got ripped 37-3 tot he Ravens, their record is not reflective of how mediocre they are
Los Angeles 7-10, perhaps worse
Arizona 4-13, Murray is going win a few games 2nd Half of the year. Murray doesn't want the Cardinals picking #1 and deciding if they want to move in a new direction.

for the jets, i have at least 5 more losses left….
lv, buff, mia 2x and cleveland. wanna say they split wash, hous, atl and NE? i see 6-11. zach wilson is that bad. with an nfl qb this could’ve been an 11-6 season at least.

 

[Truebluey]

Is Lamar Jackson the MVP by default? I can't remember him doing anything special to win any games this year. McCaffrey seems much more consistently a contibutor on a weekly basis. But I agree that if you look around the NFL QB landscape, all the other QBs have noticeable flaws or blemishses on their records.

 

[menobrown]

Breer did a similar poll with 39 NFL execs/scouts as results were similar across the board.

https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1723005777986646275

 

[themeistersinger]

I love The Athletic and their staff, and that's all well and good, but they botched San Francisco's record. They're still thinking they beat Cleveland or something.

Thanks for posting. It's just those sort of things leave me wondering . . . always will. If I can pick up on it right away, how did it go to print as authoritative? I'm a tough sell sometimes, admittedly, but you can't get that wrong before it goes to print and expect to hold yourself out as more deeply invested than just a casual conversation.

Barnwell and the old FO crew didn't mess up their stuff. Ever. Nor does PFF, far as I can tell. Just odd.

It's their layers and layers of editors and fact checking. Just like their parent company, the NY Times.

 

[rockaction]

It's their layers and layers of editors and fact checking. Just like their parent company, the NY Times.

too shay

 

[The Big Donkey]

NY Giants 4-13, if they're smart they will just keep losing at this point and eat Jones contract, get ready for their next QB and Head Coach. Picking 4th right now

Nice work.

Smart or not, there is a distinct possibility they could lose out.

Jones will be around in 2024, I don't see them eating $69mm in 2024 dead cap to cut him. It gets more palatable in 2025 ($22mm in 2025, $11mm in 2026).

Fairly confident they will be drafting a QB this year, Jones hasn't shown he's the guy + 2 neck injuries + torn ACL.

My opinion, drafting a QB will reset the clock for Daboll, unless he completely loses the locker room or goes full Joe Judge the latter half of the season. Some stability here would be nice, does Mara really want to trot out a 5th head coach in 8 years?

 

[jumper]

NFL Standings at the end of the year

AFC

East
Buffalo 11-6
Miami 10-7, they were 8-3 last year before a 1-6 finish
NY Jets 9-8
New Eng 5-12

North
Ravens 12-5
Cincinnati 11-6 although after last night, they have a lot of momentum
Cleveland 10-7
Pittsburgh 7-10, just not a believer

South
Jacksonville 12-5
Houston 9-8, and pushing for a Playoff spot, they traded away their 1st next season to AZ but they have the Browns' 1st to off set it
Tennessee 7-10
Indianapolis 7-10

West
Kansas City 13-4
Los Angeles 9-8
Las Vegas 8-9 but looking much better than they did earlier in the season
Denver 5-12, they still are a bad football team right now

NFC
Philly 14-3, they can coast the 2nd Half and likely get some fo their Vets some much needed rest in the month of December if things keep going their way
Dallas 11-6, could still make some noise in the Playoffs even as a Wildcard
Washington 7-10
NY Giants 4-13, if they're smart they will just keep losing at this point and eat Jones contract, get ready for their next QB and Head Coach. Picking 4th right now

North
Detroit 12-5, what an amazing run for them this year
Minnesota 9-8, it's possible they slip into the Playoffs
Green Bay 6-11
Chicago 3-14, easily gonna have not 1 but 2 Top-5 picks in '24. Potential new head coaches out there must be licking their chops to take this team over.

South
Saints 9-8, powerhouse to take this division.
Atlanta 7-10, seem to be on a down turn for '23
Tampa Bay 6-11, Baker Mayfield Era rolls on
Carolina 2-15, they already spent their '23 1st Rd pick, Bears have that one

West
San Fran 11-6, we've learned they have some holes.
Seattle 9-8, just got ripped 37-3 tot he Ravens, their record is not reflective of how mediocre they are
Los Angeles 7-10, perhaps worse
Arizona 4-13, Murray is going win a few games 2nd Half of the year. Murray doesn't want the Cardinals picking #1 and deciding if they want to move in a new direction.

I'm not a math genius, but shouldn't the total number of wins and losses be equal in total (272) and sum to 544 (17 games times 32 teams)? Since absent a tie, every game results in one winner and one loser? Your projections add up to 267 total wins, and 277 total losses.

Although admittedly the Giants probably deserve a minus 4 Wins record this year.

 

[Bri]

I don't see Stroud as the runaway ROY or even offensive rookie.
I see a great game everyone is understandably praising him for but we're at the midpoint pretending the season is over. Doing that, I think Puka, not him.
With Kupp's return and lesser QB play is it easy to project Stroud to win- sure but there's a recency bias here. Puka has certainly been the topic of conversation more weeks than Stroud

 

[jumper]

I don't see Stroud as the runaway ROY or even offensive rookie.
I see a great game everyone is understandably praising him for but we're at the midpoint pretending the season is over. Doing that, I think Puka, not him.
With Kupp's return and lesser QB play is it easy to project Stroud to win- sure but there's a recency bias here. Puka has certainly been the topic of conversation more weeks than Stroud

Stroud is on a pace for over 4k yards and something like 20-25 TDs / 3-4 INTs. Even if we disregard his last game as a fluke, he's still over 250 yards/game and has a 9 to 1 TD/INT ratio. That's perfectly reasonable grounds to give the man the OROY award. Nothing against Puka and I think he's great, but Stafford breaking down healthwise as the season grinds on is going to be a major headwind to Puka's chances for the OROY hardware.

 

[Bri]

I don't see Stroud as the runaway ROY or even offensive rookie.
I see a great game everyone is understandably praising him for but we're at the midpoint pretending the season is over. Doing that, I think Puka, not him.
With Kupp's return and lesser QB play is it easy to project Stroud to win- sure but there's a recency bias here. Puka has certainly been the topic of conversation more weeks than Stroud

Stroud is on a pace for over 4k yards and something like 20-25 TDs / 3-4 INTs. Even if we disregard his last game as a fluke, he's still over 250 yards/game and has a 9 to 1 TD/INT ratio. That's perfectly reasonable grounds to give the man the OROY award. Nothing against Puka and I think he's great, but Stafford breaking down healthwise as the season grinds on is going to be a major headwind to Puka's chances for the OROY hardware.

Not sure you read what I wrote

 

[renesauz]

NFL Standings at the end of the year




NFC
Philly 14-3, they can coast the 2nd Half and likely get some fo their Vets some much needed rest in the month of December if things keep going their way

Most Eagles fans aren't predicting this. Not only are they about to go through a nasty gauntlet, but an even closer look reveals that the schedule makers were even crueler as several of those top opponents are coming off byes. Sure, Philly is coming off a bye...and the team they face, on the road on a Monday night, is also off bye coached by a man legendary for not losing after a bye. Immediately followed by the BIlls on a shorter week, with the Bills off a bye? There's a significantly non zero chance Philly loses BOTH of these games.
They could hit that 14-3 mark, but if they do it won't be by resting players and coasting the last 3 weeks. 13-4 or even 12-5 is more realistic. @chiefs, Bills, Niners, @cowboys, @Seahawks. Yeah, just two loses in there would be fantastic

 

[Stoneworker]

Best three overall teams...are the three teams with the best records?

Some seriously solid analysis there. Would definitely pay for that subscription.