NFL regular season grades, how did every team do in 2023?

The 2023 NFL regular season is done and dusted, now it’s time to take a look back over the season and assign grades to every team. We have tried to base the grades as much on the team’s preseason expectations as how they performed over the year.

For a long time, it seemed like the Bills had slipped from the lofty heights of seasons prior but a late-season surge saw them win the AFC East. They suffered as many injuries as anyone throughout the season but seemingly recovered from each one.

Like the Bills, the Dolphins suffered from injuries all year, losing their two best pass-rushers and now head into the playoffs with a banged-up Tyreek Hill. A couple of late-season losses saw them lose the AFC East when they seemed to have it locked up in midseason. Overall a good season from a team that can be very good when healthy.

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A complete collapse in New England with awful QB play, strange coaching decisions, and a defense that kept them in games but was also dominated at times. It couldn’t have gone much worse for the Pats with Bill Belichick and the remnants of their great dynasty on the way out.

This was meant to be their year, instead, they let Zach Wilson et al lead their offense once Aaron Rodgers went down. Arguably one of the most frustrating teams in the NFL with their refusal to even attempt a QB upgrade. The exceptional play from the Jets’ D is the only thing stopping this from being an ‘F’.

For a while it seemed like more of the same for the Broncos, losing early and often to start the year (including conceding 70 to Miami). A good mid-season period saw them challenging for the playoffs before tailing off at the end. The strangeness around Russell Wilson isn’t helping perceptions around Sean Payton either.

It’s tough to be too critical of the Chiefs in a vacuum having won 11 games and the AFC West, but compared to their peak, this was a big drop-off in performance. Deprioritizing their receiving options caught up with them even whilst their defense turned into a dominant unit.

Before the season we saw the Raiders as a middling team with no real playoff ambition, which is exactly what they were. What we didn’t see happening was the early firing of Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce rallying his troops into a competent team that seemed to be having fun. A team to watch in 2024.

The Chargers continue to be the Chargers, it doesn’t seem to matter who the coach is or where the team is based, they still find a way to underperform expectations. Justin Herbert remains an elite player, but until they find the right head coach, this team seems stuck in a perpetual mediocre-bad cycle.

The only 13-win team in the NFL, the Ravens have been dominant all year. A perfect blend of explosive offense and suffocating defense with exceptional coaching across the board. Currently, we can’t see how they don’t reach the Super Bowl.

The Bengals ended up with a winning season, which for most fans, would probably be a shock given how it seemed like their season was going. In a down year where your star QB gets injured, it could go a lot worse than finishing 9-8 and uncovering a backup QB with genuine trade value.

The Jets needed to take some inspiration from the Browns, who, following an injury at QB threw as many darts as they could at the position and eventually landed on an aging Joe Flacco to lead them into the playoffs. Who’s betting against them at this point?

Another year, another winning season in Pittsburgh continuing Mike Tomlin’s incredible record of never having a losing season. The issues at QB remain and will continue into next year which suggests to us they may struggle to break out of this ‘good-but-not-great’ cycle.

Before the season started, the Texans were one of the teams we thought were going to struggle all year, we even wondered if C.J. Stroud should start the season on the bench to give the team a chance to solidify before throwing him to the Wolves. How wrong we were, we’ve learned to never doubt Demeco Ryans and the Stroud is an absolute stud.

The Colts entered into a new era in 2023 with Anthony Richardson and Shane Steichen coming in as their new QB and coach respectively. Richardson quickly got injured but Steichen and his charges earned the league’s respect with their fantastic performances all year. There are certainly issues to iron out, but next year could see them back in the playoff hunt.

The Jags at one point had a 99% chance to reach the playoffs and somehow missed out with some terrible performances down the stretch. There are issues with the offense that stem from terrible play-calling and some up-and-down play from Trevor Lawrence. Doug Pederson has some work to do.

We didn’t see the Titans as being much of a threat in 2023, with strange decision-making around their roster and some aging stars, perhaps in retrospect they should’ve gone into full rebuild mode. Mike Vrabel is gone, so let’s see which direction they go when they hire a new coach.

A great year for the Cowboys punctuated with some strange losses. Overall this is a fantastic team with very few weaknesses, overcoming the injury to Trevo Diggs and fixing their offensive issues midseason. This is the best Dallas team for some time, could they finally make it out of the divisional round?

With a mediocre roster with bad options at QB, the Giants overperformed in 2022 and crashed back to earth this season. Daniel Jones was never the guy at quarterback and Brian Daboll deserves some criticism too. There are holes everywhere that need fixing ASAP.

It’s difficult to rate the Eagles’ season before their playoff run as things could, in theory at least, turn around quite quickly. At one point, Philadelphia was the best team in the NFL but an all-time collapse saw them end up as the five-seed. Things could get worse, and quickly with a loss to the Bucs in the Wildcard with Nick Sirianni’s position supposedly not secured.

An incredibly forgettable team in 2023, the Commanders ended 4-13, and for some, even that might come as a shock. Early in the year, it seemed they were going to be at least competitive but that ended quickly, and Ron Rivera lost his job as a result. Lots of work is required to turn this around.

Giving a 4-13 team a C seems a little high, but given what we thought of the Cardinals before the season, even one win would’ve been something to celebrate. Jonathan Gannon impressed in his first year, with his players giving their all in every game.

The Rams had almost no expectations going into 2023, with an aging core and a record number of UDFA signings on their roster. A few months later they go into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in football with one of the best rookie classes in the league. A great effort from all involved.

Over the course of the season it has become clear the Niners and the Ravens are the class of the NFL. This is a loaded roster, with great coaching and an aggressive front office willing to throw their chips in for a title.

A team with lofty ambitions going into the year, the Seahawks disappointed throughout the season. Geno Smith regressed to the mean, the defense collapsed and they find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time as a result.

The Bears started the season terribly but slowly grew throughout 2023. They still only won seven games, so there is still plenty of work to be done, but given Justin Fields’ improving play, they are set up to challenge for a playoff spot in 2024.

The Lions went into the year as one of the favorites for the NFC crown, entering the playoffs that is still very much a reality. Their offense is incredibly well coached and has even talent to execute behind a dominant offensive line. Defensively, there are certainly weaknesses, but they have enough talent to keep them in games.

Is Jordan Love good enough to take over from the departing Aaron Rodgers? That was the question going into the year and has been firmly answered. Love looks like the QB of the future for the Packers and a playoff game in Dallas could see them cause a huge upset.

As we all know, the Vikings’ record in 2022 vastly overperformed their play. This year, they have regressed somewhat but there is still plenty to be positive about. Jordan Addison is a stud at wideout and if they can re-sign Kirk Cousins, their offense should be formidable next season.

A middling team with middling talent and a coach that seemingly overthinks everything, the 2023 Falcons were uninspiring all year. Arthur Smith has lost his job as a result leaving the Falcons in a state of flux.

Carolina went all in on Bryce Young in 2023 and so far it’s backfired. Young looked skittish in the pocket, when there was one, and the rest of the team looked devoid of talent. The offensive line needs a full rebuild to see if Young has what it takes when he has more than half a second to make a decision.

Like the Falcons, the Saints had few realistic ambitions heading into the season and delivered exactly that with an uninspiring 9-8 record. There is little to be excited about heading into 2024 with Derek Carr locked in as QB for the foreseeable future.

More of the same from the NFC South as the Bucs also finished with an unremarkable 9-8 record but were able to sneak the division title and a playoff berth as a result. There are huge question marks around the QB position as Baker Mayfield doesn’t look good enough to lead a team that wants to genuinely challenge for Super Bowls.