Giants receive ‘D-‘ for Monday meltdown; Bengals, Steelers and Browns all get an ‘F’

Week 4 closed out with both New York teams losing at home. First, the Jets loss to the Chiefs at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night, and then, less than 24 hours later, the Giants followed them up with a home loss on Monday night. There were 16 games this week and we have grades for all of them below.

Seattle 24-3 over N.Y. Giants (Monday)
A-
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Seahawks
This game was a defensive masterpiece by Seattle. The Seahawks set the defensive tone early by making a fourth-down stop on New York’s first possession, and then things only got better for them from there. The unit forced a fumble in the first half that set up a seven-yard TD drive, and then Devon Witherspoon followed that up in the second half with a 97-yard pick six. And if that’s not enough, the Seahawks also sacked Daniel Jones 11 times with two of those coming from Witherspoon. The Seahawks actually had four different players with at least two sacks, which is the first time in franchise history that’s ever happened. The Seahawks defense seems to be getting better every week, and if it keeps playing like this, there’s no reason this team won’t be battling for a wild-card spot in January.
D-
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Giants
Going into this game, Daniel Jones had a history of struggling in primetime, and he lived up to that reputation Monday night. Jones had two back-breaking turnovers, including a 97-yard pick-six in the third quarter that effectively put the game away. (He also had a third turnover in garbage time.) Although Jones was bad, it wasn’t his completely his fault that the offense was sloppy. He got no help from his offensive line, which was completely overmatched by the Seahawks’ pass-rush on a night where Jones was sacked 11 times. The Giants offense has a lot of problems right now, and the team is going to hope that the return of Saquon Barkley will help fix them.
Seahawks-Giants grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Kansas City 23-20 over N.Y. Jets
B-
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Chiefs
This was a rough game for Patrick Mahomes, but even when he’s not playing his best, he’s still better than almost every other QB in the NFL. Mahomes threw two picks, but he made up for that by engineering two longs drives in the fourth quarter that helped Kansas City put the game away. With Mahomes struggling in the passing game, Isiah Pacheco helped carry the Chiefs offense with 19 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown. The unfortunate takeaway from this game for other NFL teams is that the Chiefs can still win even when Mahomes is playing at a level that’s nowhere near his best.
B
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Jets
The Jets played a nearly perfect game, but it still wasn’t enough to beat the Chiefs. Zach Wilson had one of the best games of his career with 245 passing yards and two touchdowns, but also lost a key fumble in the fourth quarter on what turned out to be New York’s final possession. The Jets defense also played well — they had two interceptions of Mahomes while also holding the Chiefs to just three points in the second half — but they couldn’t come up with a big stop when they needed it most. The Chiefs ended the game with a 15-play drive that took 7:24 off the clock. This win could give the Jets some confidence going forward, knowing that they have the talent to keep up with the NFL’s best teams.
Chiefs-Jets grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Jacksonville 23-7 over Atlanta (in London)
D
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Falcons
After giving up several big plays in the first half, Atlanta’s defense was largely solid for most the game. The unit came up with a big stop just before halftime when defensive tackle David Onymata stuffed Trevor Lawrence on a fourth-down run after Andre Cisco’s pick of Desmond Ridder gave the Jaguars the ball deep in Falcons territory. As good as the Falcons’ defense was, they couldn’t make up for an offense that gave up a score and recorded just 287 total yards. The Falcons’ offense also failed to capitalize on Bijan Robinson’s 137 total yards that included 105 yards on just 14 carries.
A
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Jaguars
Led by Josh Allen, the Jaguars’ defense dominated the game. The unit sacked Desmond Ridder four times while forcing him to commit three turnovers. Jacksonville’s defense was especially good in the first quarter when they allowed the Falcons to gain just five yards on nine plays. The Jaguars also received a solid performance from Trevor Lawrence, who took care of the ball while completing 23 of 30 passes. He also made plays on the ground that included his 22-yard run on the Jaguars’ first scoring drive.
Falcons-Jaguars grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Baltimore 28-3 over Cleveland
A
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Ravens
John Harbaugh has a long history of destroying rookie quarterbacks, and that’s what the Ravens did to Dorian Thompson-Robinson in this game. Brandon Stephens set the tone early for Baltimore’s defense by picking off Thompson-Robinson in the first quarter, which set up an easy 10-yard TD drive for the Ravens. Baltimore’s defense was so good that the Browns only had one drive all day that got inside of the Ravens’ 20-yard line and that came in garbage time. The Ravens offense wasn’t perfect, but it did manage to come up with some big plays against a Browns defense that had shut down nearly everyone this season. Most of those big plays came from Lamar Jackson, who totaled four touchdowns (Two passing and two rushing). It might only be Week 4, but it feels like the Ravens now have firm control of the AFC North.
F
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Browns
After Deshaun Watson was a last-minute scratch, the Browns were forced to start a rookie quarterback who was making his first career start, and that ended up being a disaster for the offense. With Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center, the Browns mustered just 166 yards of offense. DTR threw three interceptions, and two of those picks led to touchdowns for Baltimore. The Browns defense wasn’t horrible, they just had their backs against the wall for most of the game and there’s not much they could do. Despite the loss, no one in Cleveland should be panicking as long as Watson’s shoulder injury is only minor.
Ravens-Browns grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Denver 31-28 Chicago
B-
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Broncos
For the better part of three quarters, the Broncos were getting run off the field by the worst team in football, but then, Denver saved its season with a miraculous comeback from a 28-7 deficit. Russell Wilson helped spur the comeback with an impressive second half that included 135 passing yards and two touchdowns. The defense also did a much better job of slowing down Justin Fields, who struggled in the second half with two turnovers, including a fumble that Jonathon Cooper returned for a TD to tie the game at 28. This wasn’t a pretty win by any means and Sean Payton would have likely had to fire his entire defensive coaching staff if Denver had lost, but the Broncos should feel somewhat good about themselves after picking up their first win of the season.
B-
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Bears
For one half, Justin Fields looked like the QB of the future in Chicago: He started the game completing 16 straight passes during a first half where he threw for 231 yards and three touchdowns. With a 28-7 lead in the third quarter, the Bears seemed to have this one wrapped up, but then the Bears went back to being the Bears. On their final four possessions of the game, they punted twice and they turned the ball over twice, including a fumble by Fields that Denver returned for a game-tying TD. It was a total meltdown by a team that seems to find a new way to lose every week.
Broncos-Bears grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)

Tennessee 27-3 over Cincinnati
F
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Bengals
With Joe Burrow hobbled, the Bengals offense just isn’t as dangerous as it used to be. Of course, even if he was completely healthy, that might not have mattered, because the offensive line couldn’t stop Tennessee’s pass-rush. Things were almost as bad defensively with the Bengals getting diced up by Ryan Tannehill while simultaneously getting steamrolled by Derrick Henry. The Bengals have now turned into road kill this year. They’ve played two road games and they’ve now been outscored 51-6 while going 0-2 in those games.