Quarterback Josh Allen and his many weapons have not flashed like they did earlier in the season due to offensive line struggles and issues in the running game.
What we don’t know yet: Will the loss to the Jaguars be the exception and not a sign of bad things to come? The question going into Jacksonville was whether this team would take a step forward and go further than last season, when they lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
But this defense dramatically regressed from last season, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t been healthy enough to develop, and a supposedly improved offensive line has been among the league’s worst.
Miami has yet to play a single snap with Parker, Fuller, Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle all on the field, as this new-look offense has yet to get off the ground.
Their early-season struggles were a result of sloppy ball security and failure to come up with the big play in the critical situation, but that has changed over the past few weeks during a three-game winning streak that has helped turn their season around.
What we don’t know yet: Is the ceiling for the Jones-led offense high enough to make a run into the playoffs? Jones has, by all accounts, performed well through the first nine games of his rookie season.
Final record prediction: 10-7.
What we know: The Jets are who we thought they’d be: wildly inconsistent and prone to breakdowns on both sides of the ball, but also capable of producing an occasional spark that provides a glimpse into the future.
What we don’t know yet: When will rookie QB Zach Wilson be ready to make a difference? He hasn’t played up to his draft status — only one impressive performance in six starts.
Baltimore has 14 players on injured reserve, including five starters who are out for the season, and the Ravens have the second-best record in the AFC because of Jackson’s heroics.
The challenge is only heightened going forward after Baltimore lost its second starter in the secondary to a season-ending injury; safety DeShon Elliott tore his pectoral and biceps muscles in Sunday’s overtime win over the Vikings.
Quarterback Joe Burrow and rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase have been electric at times, while the defense flummoxed the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
What we don’t know yet: Has the Bengals’ defense really turned the corner? Through the first seven weeks, Cincinnati statistically had one of the best defenses in the NFL, but it felt as if there were still some bad habits lurking beneath the surface.
That was on full display Sunday in a 41-16 win in Cincinnati, where, for the first time this season, the Browns resembled the team that surged into the playoffs last season.
What we don’t know yet: Whether the Browns can build off of Sunday’s win and rekindle their 2020 formula.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t the same escape artist gunslinger he used to be, but the offensive line can maximize his current abilities by keeping him upright and buying him time to make his throws.
And in the kicking game, while Chris Boswell is nearly automatic, punter Pressley Harvin III is inconsistent and punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud had a costly fumble late in the win against the Bears.
Final record prediction: 9-8.
It looks like he’ll be doing that again this offseason, as there are few players on expiring contracts who make sense to bring back on long-term deals.
Tyrod Taylor, who looked sharp in the first six quarters he played before injuring his left hamstring in Week 2, struggled in his return Sunday, throwing three interceptions.
Final record prediction: 2-15.
What we know: The Colts would have a winning record if they had a “killer instinct.” Quarterback Carson Wentz said they lacked it after blowing a 19-point lead in the final 18 minutes against Baltimore in Week 5.
However, he can’t say that when it comes to selecting pass-rushers, because they’re still looking for their next Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney on the edges.
It’s obvious the Jaguars need to get Lawrence some help, but it’s not going to come until the offseason, so they’ll have to muddle their way through the second half of the season.
They also had trouble lining up or getting the correct number of players on the field — and they had 26 penalties combined in those two games and have averaged 6.5 penalties in the other six games.
But with league-leading running back Derrick Henry having season-ending foot surgery last week, the defense will have to continue to step up for the AFC’s top team in the standings.
The Titans will look to a committee approach that consists of Adrian Peterson, D’Onta Foreman and Jeremy McNichols to handle the rushing duties.
What we know: The Broncos can be part of the playoff conversation if they commit to playing offense with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater under center about half the time and keep the run game relevant.
They’ve shown some grit, but they will have to continue to have quality play from their rookie class, as well as some backups if they are going to keep themselves in the hunt over the next few weeks.
They can finish better if they find the level of maturity and attention to detail they showed in Dallas, or they can finish far worse if they show the across-the-board stumbles they did in the Oct.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes not only hasn’t been enough to pull the Chiefs out of their slump but he has been part of the problem.
But these Chiefs are a team we don’t know, one that suddenly is playing decent defense but is mired in a deep slump on offense with Mahomes struggling like at no time in his career.
Defensively, Yannick Ngakoue has two sacks in three of the Raiders’ past four games and is teaming quite nicely with bookend defensive end Maxx Crosby, who has five sacks himself.
Perhaps, in a football sense only, Las Vegas gets a pass, given the emotional roller-coaster it has been on the past month, with coach Jon Gruden’s resignation and former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III’s tragic car crash that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog.
That’s an 84.2% completion percentage, including 16-of-16 against the Eagles’ zone coverage, which is tied for the third-most completions without an incompletion against the zone since 2006.
The Chargers will have to rely on Chris Harris Jr and Nasir Adderley, backups Tevaughn Campbell and Mark Webb Jr., and the newly signed Kiondre Thomas to plug the holes in the secondary and hope the run defense toughens up.
This team looks as talented as any since the 1990s Super Bowl teams, including the 2007 and 2016 teams that had home-field advantage in the playoffs and the 2014 team that could score on anybody and made it to the second round of the playoffs.
Games at Kansas City and New Orleans will be difficult, but the Cowboys have shown some mettle on the road, winning three straight after taking the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers to the end in the opener at Raymond James Stadium.
The offensive line remains problematic, questions about quarterback Daniel Jones persist and the defense underperformed for much of the first half of the season without any serious rush off the edges.
Also unknown: Is Jones a true franchise quarterback they can build around? No team has more games lost to injuries by their Week 1 starters than the Giants.
First-year coach Nick Sirianni has finally hit on the right offensive formula — featuring a heavy dose of the run coupled with a play-action pass game — but too much was placed on the shoulders of 23-year-old quarterback Jalen Hurts for the bulk of the first half.
Sirianni offered some high praise of the second-year quarterback following Sunday’s 27-24 loss to Chargers, telling NBC that Hurts made plays in the game “that I don’t think any other quarterback in the NFL can make.” He entered this week ranked fifth in red zone passer rating by a quarterback through his first 12 career games in NFL history.
If that’s all he is, it’s still quite a leap from being out of the league a year ago — and Washington needed to find a backup, too.
It’s a multitude of sins, from underperforming players — veteran corner William Jackson III; second-year end Chase Young — to a struggling linebacker group to botched coverages and some questionable early personnel decisions and alignments.
Final record prediction: 5-12.
The team is undisciplined when it comes to penalties — Chicago was flagged 12 times in Week 9’s Monday night loss at Pittsburgh.
Either this current regime or the next one will be given the chance to properly develop the Ohio State product.
Although the 44-6 beatdown against the Eagles on Halloween didn’t reflect it, this team does play hard and can be competitive against tough teams, such as the Week 7 loss on the road against the Los Angeles Rams where they led 19-17 entering the fourth quarter.
The mood in the locker room was obviously down after the loss on Halloween, which on paper, appeared to be a winnable contest but turned into their worst loss of the year.
It’s hard to argue with LaFleur’s success — he’s 33-8 in the regular season — but there still seems to be some holes, especially on special teams. To be sure, not many teams are dominant in all three phases, but the Packers have a significant weakness on special teams that doesn’t seem to be going away.
What we don’t know yet: What impact, if any, Rodgers’ COVID-19 absence — and the fallout from his explanation about being unvaccinated — will have on the rest of the season.
Is it a run-first team? Should it be more pass heavy with two top receivers? We know the Vikings spent a ton of money to fix their defense, and while it has flashed improvement, it’s not consistently strong enough to be a top-10 unit.
The Vikings will steal a game they’re not favored in — probably San Francisco or Pittsburgh — beat Detroit and split with their remaining division opponents, but it might not be enough to earn them the No.
What we know: Quarterback Matt Ryan has adjusted to coach Arthur Smith’s offense, completing 69.4% of his passes — on pace for the second-most accurate season of his career.
What we don’t know yet: Will the pass rush ever come? It has been a slow go throughout the first half of the season — no individual player has more than two sacks — and if the Falcons remain unable to be consistent with their pressure, it’ll limit what defensive coordinator Dean Pees is able to fully do.
The problem is quarterback Sam Darnold, who was diagnosed Tuesday with an incomplete fracture of his right shoulder blade, keeps making too many mistakes for the offense or defense to be successful.
What we don’t know yet: Whether Darnold is good enough to consistently win when he returns after missing time because of the shoulder injury and running back Christian McCaffrey can stay healthy enough to be a factor.
Final record prediction: 7-10.
What we know: Well, this certainly changes by the week, doesn’t it? We know the Saints are a resilient team that has some of the best coaching/defense/run game/offensive line play in the NFL and can beat anyone when they’re on their game .
What we don’t know yet: Believe it or not, their Week 9 loss at home to the Falcons was almost somewhat encouraging? Quarterback Trevor Siemian looked like a competent pro for the second week in a row while nearly bringing them back to victory, and fellow quarterback Taysom Hill provided a spark in limited action.
And even though they’re 6-2, home-field advantage in the postseason will be far more important with the return of fans, and the NFC has a logjam at the top, so the margin for error is slim.
After 20 games last year — miraculous considering his injury history — is this more of what we can expect from Gronk, or can the coaching staff strike the right balance of usage so he can return? Cornerback Richard Sherman was active against the Saints but did not play a snap because of a hamstring injury.
Final record prediction: 14-3.
It has an offense that can score 30 points and a defense that can get to the quarterback, force turnovers and keep teams out of the end zone.
We saw what happened to them a year ago, when they finished 3-6 after starting 5-2, playing with an injured Kyler Murray for the second half of the season.
The Rams can produce dominant performances on offense, like the one seen in a 34-24 victory over the Buccaneers in Week 3, and on defense they’ve proved to be capable of making game-changing plays, such as in wins over the Colts, Seahawks and Lions.
What we don’t know yet: The Rams have superstars, but can they put it all together as a team? Inconsistency has been the biggest issue, whether that’s a slow start on offense or the inability to have all three phases perform great in the same outing.
The roster is full of players with lengthy injury histories, the reconfigured coaching staff has struggled to find its footing and the rookie class has offered little spark.
If this season continues trending in the current direction, though, the only thing to be gained will be to get Lance up and running so he can be ready next season.
But things are starting to look up: Backup quarterback Geno Smith helped snap a three-game losing streak when he led the Seahawks to a feel-good win over Jacksonville, their defense is settling in and Wilson has been cleared to return for Sunday’s game against the Packers, who could be without Aaron Rodgers.
What we don’t know yet: How good can the Seahawks be with a healthy Wilson and an improving defense? Because they haven’t had both going at the same time this year, with Wilson injuring his finger just as the defense was just starting to turn things around.