Cowboys--What a sparkling home highlight reel, but what a mostly sorry group of outings on the road, sometimes against much inferior teams.
Giants--The major indictment was the grade-school level game plan of "genius" Brian Daboll after spending a week prepping 3rd-string QB Tommy DeVito.
Eagles--Half-season of pixie dust, half-season of cow pies leaves the fans perplexed and the organization flustered, and it started with demoting the defensive coordinator mid-season.
Commanders--One of the worst pass defenses in history spelled doom for defensive-minded coach Ron Rivera and obscured OC Eric Bieniemy's job coaching Sam Howell to almost 4,000 passing yds.
Bears--They are so tantalizingly close to QB relevance with the gains made by Justin Fields and yet game to game it seemed like his career hung in the balance.
Lions--They play for their Neanderthal coach Dan Campbell, they took the division as predicted, and with Ben Johnson calling the shots for the offense, they're just a damn fun watch.
Packers--Jordan Love became a leader and top-15 QB within the last month of the season, and they head into the playoffs with a devil-may-care attitude.
Vikings--They'll never know what kind of career year Kirk Cousins would have turned in at QB, leaving them in limbo as they decide how to move forward.
Falcons--Insane choice of game plans and personnel usage doomed Arthur Smith, leaving a coaching opening for a damn good group of talent.
Panthers--Are now in the lead for Worst Org In The NFL after the owner showed his complete ass in multiple ways while the #1 draft pick Bryce Young seemed to regress with experience.
Saints--Fought as much as they could to that 9-8 record and yet still left onlookers wondering if there could have been more.
Buccaneers--Good story providing a cushion for Baker Mayfield to land and resurrect his QB career.
Cardinals--The 4-13 record was well-earned but new coach Jonathan Gannon has a ground game to build upon at least.
Rams--They showed quality all around as a team and rode the youth injection from Puka Nacua and Kobie Turner to a very good year.
49ers--Top shelf, elite play on offense solidified the rep of coach Kyle Shanahan and made Brock Purdy an MVP-level signal caller.
Seahawks--Falling just short of the playoffs spelled the end of champion coach Pete Carroll's run, but they always gave a fight every contest.
Bills--No team brings the pressure upon itself like Buffalo, and they showed all of their flaws and gifts in overcoming 6-6 to grab the 2 seed.
Dolphins--They will always have that 70-point game to tell their grandkids, but Mike McDaniel's crew suffered greatly when the conditions weren't just right.
Patriots--Being the GOAT coach has its limitations when he's also the SHIT general manager with a bad offensive coordinator, and Bill Belichick couldn't survive a ghastly season.
Jets--The choice to bring AA-Ron as the savior QB was going to cast a shadow one way or the other, and after four plays, it was as a "what could have been" ghost hovering over a disaster.
Ravens--Todd Monken was the answer to show Lamar Jackson consistency at the QB level, and the result was the top team in the AFC and a very tough test for any squad.
Bengals--Suffering through the star QB's obvious calf injury was a tough beginning to the season, and watching Joe Burrow heal up only to mess up his wrist was a gut punch.
Browns--Through the myriad QB injuries and ineffectiveness, not to mention the loss of RB Nick Chubb, Kevin Stefanski's club displayed toughness and grit that make them battle-tested.
Steelers--Whodini coach Mike Tomlin conjures another winning record and playoff bid after a lot of player question marks and soft quitting.
Texans--They hit the QB Lotto with C.J. Stroud and rode his arm to an unlikely division title, showing the kind of surprising cohesion that may nab DeMeco Ryans a Coach of the Year award.
Colts--Too much missed time by franchise QB Anthony Richardson and franchise RB Jonathan Taylor resulted in an incomplete feel to coach Shane Steichen's first season.
Jaguars--The laughingstock of the league, they let an 8-3 record with a soft sked ahead of them evaporate and fell out of the playoffs, leaving egg on Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson's faces.
Titans--Just couldn't produce enough gritty efforts in the image of coach Mike Vrabel to overcome the mediocre QBs and lack of explosive offensive plays.
Broncos--With every oddity that should have been expected under a Sean Payton regime, there's no doubt that Denver was a better team than they were under Nate Hackett.
Chiefs--Celeb TE Travis Kelce fell off as the year wore on, and with no high-quality weapons, the KC offense struggled mightily.
Raiders--They learned, like Denver, that Josh McDaniels is a poor imitation of Bill Belichick, and rallied around interim coach Antonio Pierce to a respectable 8-9.
Chargers--Yet another "coulda been" year for a team that lost its franchise QB early, the risk-taking style of Brandon Staley proved a bad fit for a young squad.
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