BUFFALO BILLS-PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus - The Bills have just not been able to sustain any semblance of an aerial game, and there are myriad reasons. First and foremost, the receiving corps is one of the weakest in the NFL, which is why the Bills made the trade to acquire WR Kelvin Benjamin. TE Charles Clay has missed the last three games and his absence has hurt. And the offensive line is struggling to protect QB Tyrod Taylor. Taylor has actually played pretty well this season, but he rarely puts up big numbers, though in the same vein, he has turned the ball over only three times.-RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus - The Bills have had some games where they looked like the team that led the NFL in rushing the past two years. But there have also been games where they’ve been shut down by opponents who loaded up the box and made a concerted effort to stop LeSean McCoy. McCoy has two 100-yard games, but he’s also had games of 9, 21 and 25 yards, and the Bills lost two of those games. The Bills must run well to be effective on offense, and there’s been too much inconsistency.-PASS DEFENSE: C - The Bills’ pass rush has been invisible, especially in the second quarter of the season, and they now rank 29th in sacks per pass attempt. On the plus side, the Bills have intercepted 11 passes and also forced a couple fumbles by receivers after pass receptions. Rookie CB Tre’Davious White has played like a first-round pick and he’s been traveling with the opposition’s best receiver in some games. SS Micah Hyde leads the NFL in interceptions with five, and FS Jordan Poyer has been a surprisingly solid player and a playmaker. They have allowed too many yards, though, ranking 29th in that category.-RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus - Prior to Thursday night’s meltdown against the Jets when they allowed 194 yards, the run defense ranked third in the NFL, allowing just 80 yards per game. The Bills have gotten solid production from the defensive tackle rotation that no longer includes the traded Marcell Dareus, but still has Kyle Williams, Adolphus Washington and Jerel Worthy. DE Shaq Lawson has also been very good against the run. At the linebacker level, Preston Brown piles up tackles, but rarely are they for lost yardage. Ramon Humber has also been reliable, though he missed three games with a thumb injury.-SPECIAL TEAMS: B - Stephen Hauschka currently has an NFL record-tying streak of 12 consecutive makes from beyond 50 yards. Overall for the Bills, he has made 16 of 18 field goals and all 18 extra points. Punter Colton Schmidt has a 41.4 net average with 15 punts downed inside the 20. The return game has been mostly blase with Brandon Tate serving most of the time on punts and kickoffs; he has a 40-yard punt return and a 26-yard punt return, but that’s about it. The kickoff coverage has been spotty, ranking 20th, but the punt coverage team ranks sixth, partly due to Schmidt’s hang-time skill.-COACHING: B - Head coach Sean McDermott has squeezed five victories in eight games from a roster that is not stocked with top-end talent and is painfully thin in several areas. However, it may be difficult to repeat that performance in the second half with two games against the Patriots and one each against the Saints and Chiefs on tap, plus two division games against Miami. The offensive staff hasn’t been able to establish consistency in the passing game, while the defense has been tremendously opportunistic in terms of taking the ball away, but it has also been yielding far too much yardage in recent weeks.MIAMI DOLPHINS-PASSING OFFENSE: C - QB Jay Cutler (3 TDs, 0 INTs, 121.3 passer rating) was strong against Oakland. But overall this area has been inconsistent this year as dropped passes and penalties have sent head coach Adam Gase back to the drawing board. And Cutler isn’t exempt from criticism either. He’s been so-so. This area gets revamped with the new running backs.-RUSHING OFFENSE: C - RBs Kenyan Drake and Damien Williams have taken over for RB Jay Ajayi, who was traded to Philadelphia. But Ajayi had two 100-yard rushing games, both coming in victories. The power running game is out and yards from scrimmage is in. So don’t look at rushing yards. Look at how Drake and Williams make life easier for the offense.-PASS DEFENSE: D - Miami was riddled early in the season by QBs Philip Rivers and Drew Brees. The Dolphins have also been susceptible to big plays. DE Cam Wake (6.0 sacks) has been a saving grace. This area is improving, but they must overcome a shaky start, especially in the nickel package.-RUSH DEFENSE: A - Miami has surprisingly been among the best in the NFL in this area after being among the worst the last two years. MLB Rey Maualuga and SLB Lawrence Timmons have helped tremendously, and the line, led by DT Ndamukong Suh, have been good all season.-SPECIAL TEAMS: C - K Cody Parkey has missed three extra points, but he’s made three field goals that were key to victories. There’s not much to report from the return game or coverage units. P Matt Haack has been decent as a rookie. Kickoff returner Kenyan Drake is now off those duties, leaving the job to WR Jakeem Grant, who has shared punt-return duties with WR Jarvis Landry.-COACHING: C - Head coach Adam Gase has been trying to hold it together among a hurricane, a player going AWOL, a scandalous video involving an assistant coach and trading RB Jay Ajayi. With a 4-4 record, he’s done a decent job.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS-PASSING OFFENSE: A - With 40-year-old Tom Brady throwing 16 touchdown passes and just two picks for a 106.5 rating, New England has the NFL’s No. 1 passing offense through nine weeks of action. It hasn’t been perfect - the offensive line has allowed 21 sacks, on pace for the most of Brady’s career - but the addition of WR Brandin Cooks (33 catches, 563 yards and three scores) and return of a healthy TE Rob Gronkowski (34-509-5) as well as pass-catching RB James White’s team-best 43 catches have combined to overcome the preseason loss of Julian Edelman (torn ACL).-RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus - Restricted free-agent addition Mike Gillislee has been a major disappointment with a 3.6-yard average on his 98 attempts, failing to fill the void of LeGarrette Blount’s departure. Dion Lewis led the Patriots’ 16th-ranked rush attack in attempts in three straight games leading into the bye, with mixed results, though he does have a 4.7-yard average on his 58 attempts. New England averaged below 3.8 yards an attempt in four of its first eight games leaving head coach Bill Belichick declaring that the team needs more production from its ground game.-PASS DEFENSE: D-minus - New England has had the 32nd-ranked pass defense throughout the first half of the season thanks to a horrendous concoction of poor coverage, horrible communication, non-existent pass rush and big plays allowed. A secondary that sports a $65 million addition in CB Stephon Gilmore and three former Pro Bowlers in Gilmore, S Devin McCourty and CB Malcolm Butler has greatly underperformed, although the back end did show some signs of improvement heading into the bye week. New England had just 16 sacks at the bye, ranking 26th in sacks per pass play.-RUSH DEFENSE: C-minus - A run defense that was No. 3 in the NFL a year ago struggled up the middle and on the edges to open 2017 ranked 24th in the league. Five of the Patriots’ first eight opponents topped 120 yards on the ground and New England held just two foes to below 4.5 yards per carry as a team. Injuries and a lack of depth on both the line and at linebacker have left the Patriots giving up yards consistently on the ground.-SPECIAL TEAMS: B - The strength of the kicking game has been the coverage units led by Pro Bowler Matthew Slater and Nate Ebner’s team-best seven tackles. That’s especially true on kickoffs, where Stephen Gostkowski has mastered high kicks to the goal line for the third-best average drive start off kickoffs in the league. Gostkowski has been solid in his placekicking, hitting 20 of 23 field goals and 20 of 21 PATs. Ryan Allen has not been as good, ranking near the bottom of the league in both gross (30th, 43.2) and net average (28th, 39.0). Dion Lewis has been unremarkable with a 24.2 average on kickoff returns, while Danny Amendola has given an occasional boost on punts with an 11.2-yard average and 40-yard long.-COACHING: B-minus - Though there have been a few examples of overthinking - including questionable lineup and scheme decisions on opening night - head coach Bill Belichick and his staff have been solid enough overall for the 6-2 mark at the bye despite a number of key injuries and underachieving talent. Coordinator Josh McDaniels has seen his offense evolve into more of a big-play passing attack without Edelman, while defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is trying his best to overcome a lack of talent and depth in the front seven on defense. The veteran staff, like the team itself, has room for improvement.NEW YORK JETS-PASSING OFFENSE: B — Josh McCown has had a penchant for fourth-quarter mistakes, as four of his seven interceptions have come in the final period. But he’s also given the Jets some downfield plays they didn’t expect to have early in the season, and he’s developed a nice chemistry with speedster Robby Anderson the last few weeks.-RUSHING OFFENSE: B — The three-headed unit of Matt Forte, Bilal Powell and rookie Elijah McGuire has shown flashes, especially Powell, who has four runs of more than 20 yards. But combined they’ve averaged less than 100 yards per game and McCown actually leads the team with three touchdown runs. Maybe Thursday’s performance against the Bills will provoke first-year offensive coordinator John Morton to rely more on the run.-PASS DEFENSE: C — The Jets have played at least one more game than every team in the league so far, so take this stat with a grain of salt, but they have allowed the third most passing yards at 2,109. They’ve also allowed a league-high 19 touchdown passes. The secondary does have a knack for interceptions, with nine on the season, but the lack of a pass rush (until Thursday night against the Bills) has been an issue.-RUSH DEFENSE: C — Like the pass defense, inconsistency has been the problem. They’ve now completely shut down Jay Ajayi, then of the Dolphins, twice, and LeSean McCoy once, but they have been bedeviled by big plays, like Tevin Coleman’s 52-yard run in Week 8 against the Falcons. They’ve allowed 4.2 yards per attempt, which is 21st in the league. The foundation of a strong run defense is there, and it’s been improving in the last few weeks.-SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Chandler Catanzaro has been a good find. He’s missed only four field goals in 19 attempts, and two were in the driving rain in Week 8 against the Falcons, and has made all 20 of his extra points. Punter Lachlan Edwards is also greatly improved since last season, averaging 42 net yards per punt. This grade would have been an A, but the Jets haven’t got much of anything in their return game. Elijah McGuire has looked spry on kickoff returns, so maybe he can provide a spark back deep.-COACHING: B — There have been blown leads, questionable clock management decisions and odd lapses in performance. But the bottom line is this: This team was supposed to be dreadful and they’re not, and that’s a credit to head coach Todd Bowles, no matter how you slice it.
