Which teams joined the New England Patriots at the top of the class and which failed spectacularly?
NFC EAST
Philadelphia Eagles (W 21-10 v Minnesota)
There has been plenty of competition, including some from this week, but this could just be the best defensive performance of the season. Former Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford was under pressure constantly, sacked six times and intercepted once. There wasn't a whole load of offence from Carson Wentz, which denies them the rare A+ performance. Grade: A
New York Giants (W 17-10 v Los Angeles)
I wasn't sure about the Giants' defence in the opening 15 minutes at Twickenham but they were excellent for the rest of the game, aided by some awful quarterback play from Case Keenum and a lacking Rams run game. Their offence? Not good at all, but a win is a win for coach Ben McAdoo. Grade: B
Washington Redskins (L 17-20 at Detroit)
It was a disappointment for the Redskins at Ford Field, where Kirk Cousins looked to be in control and running back Chris Thompson ran well after taking over from a fumbling Matt Jones by gaining more than 100 all-purpose yards. After coming out on the right end of a couple of close games, this one went the other way in the closing minutes. Grade: B-
Dallas Cowboys - Bye
NFC NORTH
Green Bay Packers (W 26-10 v Chicago)
Aaron Rodgers threw the ball 56 times and he knew he could because the Bears' defence is lousy. Ty Montgomery looks like a hybrid back/receiver to follow in the absence of Eddie Lacy and James Starks, but temper getting carried away because of the opponent. Grade: A-
Detroit Lions (W 20-17 v Washington)
The Lions didn't play particularly well and were outgained in offensive yardage, but a wild fourth quarter ended with victory celebrations thanks to Matthew Stafford's game-winning drive and a touchdown catch for veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin. They will undoubtedly play better and lose. Grade: B
Minnesota Vikings (L 10-21 at Philadelphia)
The final unbeaten record is gone and the Vikings have a few questions to answer on offence and special teams. They gained more yards than the Eagles but simply could not protect Bradford, and that meant too many forced plays as well as turnovers galore. Their defence was very good, as normal, and they won't have it as hard against the Bears this week. Grade: C-
Chicago Bears (L 10-26 at Green Bay)
In any normal season, the Bears would be thinking about tanking by now, but they are that bad they might not even be able to tank very well. Jay Cutler's return might bring a boost but based on a pallid 189-yard day for the offence, he'll need to have turned into Joe Montana overnight. Grade: F
NFC SOUTH
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (W 34-17 at San Francisco)
A very nice day for the Buccaneers' offence, which piled up more than 500 yards. Even taking into account the 49ers being their opponent, it has to be seen as a positive. Jameis Winston had his best game in a while, throwing for 269 yards and three touchdowns, while Jacquizz Rodgers and Peyton Barber ran roughshod on the ground. Grade: A
New Orleans Saints (L 21-27 at Kansas City)
Mistakes would haunt the Saints at Arrowhead Stadium, where Drew Brees threw an interception returned by Daniel Sorensen for a touchdown and Mark Ingram fumbled in the red zone as they attempted to mount a comeback. These errors are the ones that can make the difference between the play-offs and an early end to the season. Grade: C
Atlanta Falcons (L 30-33 v San Diego)
Three touchdowns in the second quarter appeared to have sent the Falcons on the way to victory, making their second-half display all the harder to explain. Their defence has never been great, although Vic Beasley is playing really well right now, but their potent offence just disappeared and that does not bode well. Grade: C
Carolina Panthers - Bye
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals (T 6-6 v Seattle)
A tough game to grade. The Cardinals were much better than the Seahawks in all facets of the game, especially on defence, but they simply could not score more than a couple of field goals despite 443 yards of offence. Then, when they needed a field goal in overtime, Chandler Catanzaro made a hash of his attempt. Grade: B
Seattle Seahawks (T 6-6 at Arizona)
The Seahawks were made to look poor by the Cardinals' defence, with a stumbling rushing game and Russell Wilson struggling to gain yards through the air. Even then, thanks to Arizona's inability to punch the ball home, they should have gone back to Seattle with a win, only for Steven Hauschka to miss a field goal a few of you might have managed to get closer with. Grade: C
Los Angeles Rams (L 10-17 v NY Giants)
The Rams' defence remains a plus unit, limiting the Giants to 232 yards at the home of England Rugby Union. But their offence stumbled badly after the first quarter and Keenum's fourth interception could be the worst throw seen all season. The real Todd Gurley needs to return soon. Grade: C
San Francisco 49ers (L 17-34 v Tampa Bay)
The 49ers looked like a team in the first quarter, scoring the first 10 points, but they fell apart after that behind quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose passing became more and more inaccurate as the game progressed. They were a shambles as well defensively, where Navorro Bowman's injury is proving hugely important. Grade: E
AFC EAST
New England Patriots (W 27-16 at Pittsburgh)
This was a really good game between two good teams, with quarterback play the main difference. Tom Brady's efficient, unspectacular day proved better than Landry Jones' up-and-down effort, even though the latter had more yards. Brady used a short passing game much more than in his first two outings of the season and LeGarrette Blount benefitted from that as well, running for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Grade: A
New York Jets (W 24-16 v Baltimore)
I hope no one blinked. Ryan Fitzpatrick is back as the Jets' starting quarterback with Geno Smith tearing an ACL and now out for the season. Fitzpatrick played well when he returned to the game, but this was Matt Forte's rebirth game. The versatile running back ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns in a fine second-half comeback from the Jets. Grade: B+
Miami Dolphins (W 28-25 v Buffalo)
This Jay Ajayi can run a bit, by the looks of it. Only four players have gone off for more than 200 yards in successive games as Ajayi joins O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. Kenny Stills had 100 yards and a touchdown catch as well as the Dolphins mounted an excellent second-half comeback in a tough divisional battle. Grade: B+
Buffalo Bills (L 25-28 at Miami)
A tough loss for the Bills, but they could never really get their offence going with LeSean McCoy obviously hobbled. Tyrod Taylor's only big play ended in a 68-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin but they simply could not deal with Ajayi. Grade: C
AFC NORTH
Cincinnati Bengals (W 31-17 v Cleveland)
It's weird to say, but I wasn't wildly impressed with the Bengals despite them racking up 559 yards of offence. They trailed the winless Browns for a while and it took some dreadful defence to help them break the game open with three big plays. It is hard not to like their 1-2 rushing punch of Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill, though. Grade: B+
Pittsburgh Steelers (L 16-27 v New England)
Pittsburgh's fears about the loss of Ben Roethlisberger look justified. Landry Jones was inaccurate and more box pressure made life tougher for Le'Veon Bell as well as he struggled to fewer than four yards per carry. Chris Boswell's two missed field goals didn't help, either, but there are easier challenges ahead. Grade: C+
Baltimore Ravens (L 16-24 at NY Jets)
It's a major disappointment for the Ravens and, after a series of one-score games, a fourth-quarter slump turned into their heaviest defeat of a season that appears to be going badly wrong again. Joe Flacco was desperately poor and the Ravens had absolutely no running game at all. Grade: C-
Cleveland Browns (L 17-31 at Cincinnati)
They gave up nearly 600 yards on defence, lost another quarterback to injury and dropped to 0-7. New signal-caller Kevin Hogan can run, but his passing looks to be a work in progress. What a time to be in Cleveland ... but only if you follow the Indians or Cavaliers. Grade: E
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis Colts (W 34-26 at Tennessee)
The Colts will be glad to have Andrew Luck back at something like his best, throwing for 353 yards and three touchdowns in a winning effort. T.Y. Hilton looked in better health than the injury reports last week would have suggested, but Indianapolis still need to be much better on defence. Grade: B+
Tennessee Titans (L 26-34 v Indianapolis)
Close, but no cigar for the Titans, who were made to pay for a horrific five seconds in the fourth quarter when they conceded touchdowns on successive plays after the two-minute warning - the second when quarterback Marcus Mariota was sacked and stripped of the ball by Robert Mathis to put them two scores behind. Defeat will have been hard to take. Grade: C
Houston Texans (L 9-27 at Denver)
Booing is all Brock Osweiler heard on his return to Denver, and it seemed to affect him badly as the Houston passing offence sputtered all game. The Texans ran the ball well, with Alfred Blue in relief of an injured Lamar Miller, but that was about the only positive. They need Miller's injury to be of the minor variety, though. Grade: D
Jacksonville Jaguars (L 16-33 v Oakland)
Another ugly performance from the Jaguars, with Blake Bortles again failing to look like the franchise quarterback from last season. Two costly picks saw them fall into a big hole and he could only throw one touchdown pass to Julius Thomas, which was much too little, too late. Grade: D-
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos (W 27-9 v Houston)
Denver's defence has played better this season but still they managed to keep the Texans out of the endzone. This game was won by the Broncos' running game, with C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker proving way too much for the Texans in combining for 190 yards and two touchdowns. If quarterback Trevor Siemian can up his game a little, they are a contender to defend their title. Grade: A
San Diego Chargers (W 33-30 at Atlanta)
A wonderful comeback from the Chargers, who recovered from a 27-10 hole in the second quarter on the back of some gritty plays by Melvin Gordon and 15 points from kicker Josh Lambo. Gordon ended up with three touchdowns and the San Diego defence, anchored by rookie Joey Bosa, really stepped up as the game progressed. Grade: A-
Oakland Raiders (W 33-16 at Jacksonville)
Despite the lopsided scoreline, this was a pretty level game in terms of yardage. The difference? Costly mistakes from the Jaguars and Oakland making the most of some short fields. They were glad to have Latavius Murray back from turf toe, as his return was marked with two touchdowns. Grade: B+
Kansas City Chiefs (W 27-21 v New Orleans)
Nothing flashy from the Chiefs, who were outgained by more than 100 yards by the Saints but scored an important defensive touchdown. Alex Smith did what he does best - manage the game - and his touchdown passes to Spencer Ware and Tyreek Hill were more down to the receiving work, but they continue to do enough. Grade: B+