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Clark JudgeCam Newton is fun to watch (925 total yards, five TDs in two games) but he still has a ways to go. Week 2 Judgements >> 
Will BrinsonPerhaps the biggest difference in the Lions from teams of old is the swagger present in Detroit. Sorting the Sunday Pile >> |
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I'll say this: They sure can score. In a league of wide-open offense, that has to make them somewhat legitimate. The Bills are averaging 39.5 points per game and the Lions are averaging 37.5 points per game.
The Lions dominated the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, winning 48-3, and the Bills rallied from 21 down to beat the Oakland Raiders 38-35 in the final seconds.
In two games, Detroit's Matt Stafford has thrown for 599 yards, seven touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown for 472 yards, seven touchdown passes and one interception. Fitzpatrick was sensational in the fourth quarter against the Raiders, throwing two touchdown passes in the final 4:48, the last one a 6-yard throw to David Nelson with 14 seconds left for the winning points. The Bills scored touchdowns on every one of their second-half drives.
For the past couple of seasons, we've said Stafford could be special if he could stay on the field. This is what many expected to see when the Lions picked him first overall in 2009.
The success of Fitzpatrick is the bigger story. He was a seventh-round pick out of Harvard by the Rams, spent two years there and then two more with the Bengals, getting a total of 15 starts. He was viewed as little more than a backup when the Bills signed him in 2009. Now two years later, he's off to a great start at the right time. His contract expires after the season.
It's rare to see a Fitzpatrick-type of story. It's not quite Kurt Warner. He has a long way to go to get there. But when Bills coach Chan Gailey sat at a table at the owners meetings last spring and extolled the virtues of Fitzpatrick, I thought it was lip service.
It has proven to be a lot more than that. Can he be the franchise guy for the long haul?
"I know he's played awfully well. I don't get into all of that because I think that the guy continues to grow and get better," Gailey said Sunday. "You all put terms like franchise quarterback on him, we don't. The guy's a winner. I know that, I know he's a winner. Don't make me put some kind of other term on him. Carry some kind of other kind of connotation. I don't like that. The guy knows how to win, I like that. I'm glad he's on our side."
Let's give Lions and Bills "A's" to top our CBSSports.com Weekly Grades. You know how I love offense -- especially when it is quarterback-driven.
| Sunday, Sep. 18, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Buffalo Bills 38, Oakland Raiders 35 |
 | B+ | 3.30 | Bills: Buffalo's offense woke up in the second half, scoring 35 second-half points en route to a wild 38-35 comeback victory. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped up in the clutch but RB Fred Jackson was the workhorse. Jackson's 43-yard score to start the second half was the jolt the team was looking for. -- Mark Ludwiczak, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | B | 2.85 | Raiders: After taking a 21-3 lead into halftime, Oakland's defense collapsed. In particular, the Raiders had trouble defending Buffalo's four- and five-wide sets in the passing game. The defensive letdown spoiled tremendous performances from RB Darren McFadden and rookie WR Denarius Moore. -- Mark Ludwiczak, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Carolina Panthers 23, Green Bay Packers 30 |
 | B- | 3.00 | Panthers: This game was a lot closer than the score might indicate. It's hard to beat the defending Super Bowl champions when you turn the ball over four times (three Cam Newton picks, one Steve Smith fumble). Carolina's passing game looks good but the running game needs help. The secondary has all sorts of issues. -- Steve Reed, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | B- | 3.00 | Packers: Sure, it's a different Panthers team, but this was still a game pitting last year's best against last year's worst. And it shouldn't have been this close, coming down to the last possession for the second straight week. Turnover differential, the Packers' sacred cow, won the game. -- James Carlton, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Detroit Lions 48, Kansas City Chiefs 3 |
 | A | 3.65 | Lions: The Lions entered Sunday's game looking to prove their Week 1 win wasn't a fluke. After forcing six turnovers, moving the ball at will in the second half, and posting the largest margin of victory in franchise history, they've done more than that. Their performance was a complete domination. -- John Kreger, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D- | 0.35 | Chiefs: Already crippled by the loss of S Eric Berry, the injury to RB Jamaal Charles may be more than Todd Haley's team can take. What's disturbing is the lack of resistance the Chiefs offered Detroit after halftime. Their effort was a complete and total collapse. Kansas City is a team in turmoil. -- John Kreger, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Cleveland Browns 27, Indianapolis Colts 19 |
 | A- | 2.35 | Browns: A highly encouraging performance by the young defensive line and embattled pass offense highlighted a victory that can be placed in the must-win category for confidence purposes. The line dominated an albeit weak Indianapolis offensive line while QB Colt McCoy found a variety of receivers all over the field. The secondary showed depth and intensity. -- Marty Gitlin, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C | 1.00 | Colts: The Colts showed some improvement from the previous week's 34-7 loss to Houston, but not nearly enough. Too much inconsistency on both sides of the football. QB Kerry Collins started out strong, but struggled as the game progressed. The Colts defense, at least until late in the fourth quarter, played well enough to win. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Minnesota Vikings 20 |
 | B- | 2.00 | Buccaneers: If NFL games were only 30-minutes long, the Bucs would grade an F against the Vikings. With only 62 total yards of offense in the 1st half, starting slow is an understatement. But they came out of halftime, established the running game and scored 24 second-half points to beat the Vikings on the road. -- Joe Oberle, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.35 | Vikings: The Vikings busted out at Mall of America Field against the Bucs, dominating the game in the 1st-half with 284 yards and a 17-0 lead. But like last week, the Vikings were slow out of halftime, were dominated by the Bucs and scored only 3 points in the second half, losing 24-20 at home. -- Joe Oberle, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | New Orleans Saints 30, Chicago Bears 13 |
 | B+ | 3.00 | Saints: The defense bounced back nicely after the Packers shredded the Saints last week by putting tons of pressure on Jay Cutler and forcing a big second-half turnover. The Saints offense also put up back-to-back 30-point outputs against two stout defenses. It wasn't perfect, but it's what the Saints needed. -- Larry Holder, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D+ | 2.65 | Bears: Once again a good defense was able to reduce WR Devin Hester to a non-factor, and with WR Roy Williams out, and WR Earl Bennett suffering a chest injury, the only Bears weapon was overworked RB Matt Forte. Defensively, safety problems are apparent when a cover-2 team gets beat deep for a huge 79-yard TD pass. -- Gene Chamberlain, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | NY Jets 32, Jacksonville Jaguars 3 |
 | B | 2.65 | Jets: The Jets finally got the fast start and redzone scoring they've been looking for -- in spite of QB Mark Sanchez's two early interceptions. They have also yet to put up big numbers in either the rushing or receiving games. The defense was sharp, benefiting from the Jaguars inexperienced QB Luke McCown. -- Lisa Zimmerman, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.35 | Jaguars: How does a team not get an F in a 32-3 loss? The reality was the Jaguars' defense didn't play poorly much of the game and actually did a very good job keeping Jacksonville in the game early. But too many mistakes and too little offensive firepower was way too much for the Jaguars to overcome. -- John Oehser, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Seattle Seahawks 0 |
 | B+ | 2.50 | Steelers: For as putrid as the Steelers played a week earlier in Baltimore, this equated to an SAT perfect score. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 298 yards. The running game collected more than 100. The defense conjured five sacks. And Week 1 star Daniel Sepulveda hardly punted. Still, the competition was young, weak. -- Chuck Finder, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.15 | Seahawks: The offense didn't cross midfield until the fourth quarter, permitted five sacks and hardly converted on third down. The defense, despite a goalline stand and a missed field goal, forced only a one punt with the outcome still in the balance. The special teams pulled up their grade. -- Chuck Finder, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Tennessee Titans 26, Baltimore Ravens 13 |
 | A | 3.15 | Titans: Though Chris Johnson failed to reach the 60-yard mark for the second straight week, the Titans didn't need it as they doubled up Baltimore. Kenny Britt produced his second straight 100 yard game and has developed an instant chemistry with Matt Hasselbeck. On the other end, the front four pressured Joe Flacco throughout and the defense forced three turnovers. -- Matt Rybaltowski, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 2.85 | Ravens: After holding the Steelers in check in the season opener, the Ravens struggled against Matt Hasselbeck's quick-strike attack and surrendered 358 passing yards in the double-digit loss. The defeat is eerily similar to a loss to the Bengals in week 2 last season following an impressive win over the Jets. -- Matt Rybaltowski, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Washington Redskins 22, Arizona Cardinals 21 |
 | B | 3.50 | Redskins: The Redskins played sloppy in the first half, but they maintained their pressure defensively and QB Rex Grossman led a late touchdown drive with short outs that picked up good yards after the catch. They did a good job of incorporating rookie RB Roy Helu in their rally from a late eight-point deficit. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C | 2.15 | Cardinals: Arizona could not take advantage of Washington's offensive turnovers in the first half. The Cardinals ran the ball well in the second half after doing very little in the first half. But they committed too many penalties at inopportune times and they couldn't hold on to a late eight-point lead. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Dallas Cowboys 27, San Francisco 49ers 24 |
 | A- | 3.20 | Cowboys: You name the adversity and the Cowboys had it in this game. Injuries to key players, missed field goals that were extra-point-like, costly turnovers, and yet they somehow found a way to win. Tony Romo had a heroic effort in leading this team back to win, especially after the way last week's loss ended. -- Nick Eatman, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 2.35 | 49ers: Offense did some good things, considering both starting receivers were out, but blew leads of 14-0 and 24-14 to lose 27-24 in OT. The defensive backs had two picks, but were torched by Cowboys QB Tony Romo when it mattered. Coach Jim Harbaugh will be second-guessed for accepting a field goal when he could've chosen a first down on the 22-yard line with a 21-14 lead. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Denver Broncos 24, Cincinnati Bengals 22 |
 | B+ | 2.15 | Broncos: Injuries left Denver with two healthy WRs and even forced Tim Tebow to line up a few times in the slot. But despite Andy Dalton shredding the Denver defense in the second half, three key stops preserved the win. Willis McGahee rushed for 101 yards, flashing back to his old Bills days. WR Eric Decker was the offensive star with TDs of 52 and 25 yards. -- Lee Rasizer, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C | 2.65 | Bengals: The Bengals may have the core of their offensive future with Andy Dalton whipping the ball around for 300-plus yards and rookie A.J. Green showing the ability that made him the No. 4 overall draft pick. Cedric Benson was held in check. The Bengals failed to turn offensive momentum into TDs. They also finished the game just 1 of 11 on third downs. -- Lee Rasizer, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Houston Texans 23, Miami Dolphins 13 |
 | B | 3.35 | Texans: Houston did this with RB Arian Foster (hamstring) ailing and with a defense that, frankly, was still a question mark. The offense was strong, but the defense was even better, especially in the red zone. Special teams had a blocked FG and a 43-yard KO return. -- Chris Perkins, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 1.20 | Dolphins: Miami has now lost 11 of its last 12 at home. The Dolphins hit the road for their next three games and five of the next six. By the way, things are about to get real ugly for coach Tony Sparano. His job security will be a hot topic in South Florida this week. -- Chris Perkins, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | New England Patriots 35, San Diego Chargers 21 |
 | C+ | 3.15 | Patriots: Tom Brady put up his second-straight 400-yard game, and was outstanding overall as he carried the Patriots' offense. But if it wasn't for three ill-timed turnovers by the Chargers, this would have been more than a dogfight. The Patriots' defense has a long ways to go. There was hardly any pass rush, and the secondary had plenty of mistakes. -- Greg Bedard, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D+ | 1.65 | Chargers: The defense played well enough in spurts, but four turnovers by the offense and a failed fourth-and-goal play doomed San Diego. You're just not going to win road games against good teams with that. WR Vincent Jackson had a career day with 10 catches for 172 yards and two TDs. The Patriots clamped down on TE Antonio Gates (zero catches) but had no answer for Jackson. -- Greg Bedard, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Atlanta Falcons 35, Philadelphia Eagles 31 |
 | B- | 1.35 | Falcons: Atlanta won this game and broke into the win column, but there is still work to be done going forward. The secondary is porous still -- even with two new starters in the secondary in the nickel package -- and the Falcons were penalized too much Sunday. Had Eagles quarterback Mike Vick not been knocked from the game, would Atlanta have won? -- Knox Bardeen, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 2.50 | Eagles: The Eagles won in just about every statistical marker available. Philadelphia had more first downs, a huge advantage in total yards and were penalized less frequently. However, the Eagles turned the ball over three times and Atlanta managed 14 points off of those turnovers, winning the game by four points. -- Knox Bardeen, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Monday, Sep. 19, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | NY Giants 28, St. Louis Rams 16 |
 | B- | 1.85 | Giants: The Giants still struggled on third down and the passing game got off to a brutal start. However, after completing only two passes and throwing one interception in his first 11 attempts, QB Eli Manning connected on 16 of his final 18 passes, including two TDs. WLB Michael Boley's fumble return gave the Giants defense its first TD since 2009 and seemed to breathe life into the unit. -- Alex Raskin, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 1.65 | Rams: Despite losing 28-16, the Rams played admirably given their injuries at RB, WR and in the secondary. St. Louis outgained New York 367 yards to 300 and got remarkable performances from WR Danario Alexander, WR Brandon Gibson and WR Mike Sims-Walker, who combined for 266 receiving yards. The defense had its moments, but ultimately depth issues in the secondary allowed the Giants to pull away in the second half. -- Alex Raskin, RapidReports Correspondent |
| GPA Key (updated through season) | ||
| A = 4.0 | A- = 3.7 | B+ = 3.3 |
| B = 3.0 | B- = 2.7 | C+ = 2.3 |
| C = 2.0 | C- = 1.7 | D+ = 1.3 |
| D = 1.0 | D- = 0.7 | |
