The leaders of the AFC East, AFC West and NFC East all enter Week 11 with plenty of rest. In fact, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles get one more day off as the teams will meet in Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
That Super Bowl LVII rematch is the last of 14 games this upcoming week. So how have the seasons to date gone for the Dolphins, Chiefs, Rams and Eagles? Here comes the grades.
NFL 2023: Grades for teams coming off Week 10 Bye
Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
Andy Reid’s offense isn’t nearly as explosive, but the Kansas City defense has been one of the better units in the league. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been solid and tight end Travis Kelce remains his favorite target, but it’s also a team that has already committed 17 turnovers in nine outings. The team rebounded after both of their losses with effective performances.
If there is a red flag in regards to the reigning Super Bowl champions, their rushing defense (17th in the NFL) has shown some vulnerability in recent weeks.
Grade: A-
Los Angeles Rams (3-6)
This was a team that won only five games a year ago, quite the fall for a franchise that won Super Bowl LVI the previous season. The team opened 2023 with a lopsided victory at Seattle and after six games, owned a 3-3 record.
However, the club is in the midst of a three-game skid and in its last two outings, were blasted at Dallas (43-20) and at Green Bay (20-3) by a combined 63-23 count. Matthew Stafford is expected back this week and with Cooper Kupp healthy, perhaps the team could make a run. Perhaps…
Grade: C
Miami Dolphins (6-3)
The numbers have been repeated ad nauseum. Mike McDaniel’s club is perfect when facing teams with losing record (6-0) and perfectly awful when facing clubs .500 or better. The Dolphins have totaled 24-plus points in their six wins and 20 points or less in setbacks to the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs.
Tua Tagovailoa has remained healthy, wideout Tyreek Hill has been sensational and the ground game is much-improved. If the defense continues to improve, the ‘Fins could be AFC East champions for the first time since 2008.
Grade: B+
Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
The reigning conference champs finished 13-3 a year ago after winning their first eight games. Hence Nick Sirianni’s club is 8-1 for the second straight year. The offseason addition of running back D’Andre Swift has added a big-play element, while wideout A.J. Brown is having a second straight monster year.
The offensive line is stellar and rookie Jalen Carter is a big reason a deep defensive front is much-improved against the run. There have been more nailbiters and fewer blowouts, but this is a very savvy club.