NFL Nation reporters grade the seasons for every team out of the running for Super Bowl LIII and look ahead to looming offseason questions. Click the links after each team to view the full posts.
Near perfection
Chicago Bears
The Bears came out of nowhere to win their first division title since 2010. First-year head coach Matt Nagy changed the entire culture of the team. The Bears entered the playoffs winners of four straight and nine of 10 before falling on a missed field goal to the Eagles. Read more.
Los Angeles Rams
It was Super Bowl or bust from the outset after the Rams made several aggressive trades and acquisitions to bolster their roster. Their goal came to fruition as they made it to Atlanta, where they lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Read more.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints came oh-so-close to their second Super Bowl trip in franchise history -- a long nine years after Sean Payton and Drew Brees first hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. Though Brees had one of his best seasons yet, the Saints' NFC title game loss will be a lasting memory. Read more.
Above average
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens lost in the wild-card round to the Chargers. A poor showing in the playoffs aside, the Ravens believe they’ve found their next franchise quarterback in Lamar Jackson, and they finished with the No. 1 defense for only the second time in team history. Read more.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns' strong finish generates a lot of excitement for the future and that begins and ends with the quarterback. General manager John Dorsey nailed it when he made Baker Mayfield the first overall pick of the 2018 draft. Mayfield played with far more savvy than many veterans and revived the Browns' offense. Read more.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys made the playoffs for the first time after starting a season with a 3-5 record and won a playoff game. They have one of the youngest teams in the league and a ton of cap space to keep their own players and add some in free agency. The arrow is up for the future. Read more.
Houston Texans
The Texans overcame an 0-3 start to win the AFC South division title but lost in the wild-card round to the Colts. A nine-game winning streak helped Houston become the first team since 1992 to begin the season with an 0-3 record and win a division title. Read more.
Indianapolis Colts
Nobody knew what to expect from quarterback Andrew Luck after he missed last season because of a shoulder injury he's been deadline with for nearly three years. The Colts also had a first-year head coach, offensive, defensive and special teams coaches and a relatively young roster. None of that mattered as Luck silenced the critics and returned to form. Read more.
Kansas Chiefs Chiefs
The Chiefs won their third straight AFC West championship, controlling the division race from start to finish. They even earned the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed and won a divisional round playoff game against the Colts before falling to the Patriots. Read more.
Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn led his team to a 12-4 record and its first postseason appearance since 2013. Quarterback Philip Rivers had one of his best seasons as a pro, earning his eighth invitation to the Pro Bowl. However, the Chargers still stubbed their toe in the playoffs and Rivers is 5-6 all time in the postseason. Read more.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles came into 2018 eyeing a repeat, and while they fell short of that, the late-season surge and opening-round playoff win over the Chicago Bears showed resolve and reinforced the fact that the Eagles remain a well-coached, talented team. Read more.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks far exceeded outside expectations after an offseason roster-retooling and a few serious injuries. They lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs to the Cowboys but showed, with Russell Wilson at quarterback, they are still contenders. Read more.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans overcame early struggles on offense and injuries to make a late push for the playoffs. Last year's team went to the second round, but Tennessee made strides on defense under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Dean Pees. Read more.
Average
Miami Dolphins
An improvement over their 6-10 record in 2017 is noteworthy and coaches likely will use that as a sign of progress. But as the Dolphins head into 2019, it’s hard to say we know more about the long-term future than we did six months ago. That makes it somewhat of a lost season. Read more.
Minnesota Vikings
The Super Bowl-or-bust expectation was set the moment quarterback Kirk Cousins signed his three-year, $84 million contract in free agency. A commitment of that magnitude put pressure on a team coming off a deep postseason run in 2017. The Vikings struggled against superior opponents and weren’t able to pull everything together until late in the season. Read more.
Washington Redskins
The Redskins' 6-3 start allowed them to stay in playoff contention until late in the season. They could have helped themselves by being far more disciplined; the Redskins committed more penalties on offense than any other team -- and lacked the firepower to overcome the constant loss of yards. Read more.
Below average
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were picked as Super Bowl contenders entering the season yet finished with their first losing season in four years under coach Dan Quinn. The Falcons couldn't figure out how to close games early in the season. A loss at Cleveland was the beginning of a five-game skid that knocked the Falcons out of playoff contention. Read more.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills were ranked among the league’s worst teams in offensive and special-teams efficiency. However, Buffalo was expected to win about only five games and they did lay a foundation for rookie quarterback Josh Allen. Read more.
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback Cam Newton was playing, in his own words, the best football of his career 10 games into the season. He had adjusted smoothly to offensive coordinator Norv Turner's system. He looked like an MVP candidate and the Panthers were in a strong position to make the playoffs. Then Newton's right shoulder became an issue. Read more.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals started the season 4-1 and seemed prepared to make a playoff run. However, they came out of their bye week with five straight losses and got blown out by several teams. They’ll miss the playoffs for the third straight year. Read more.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos had a pile of injuries, with seven starters and 11 players overall on injured reserve. They also traded wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, had a propensity for penalties and a schedule that included nine games against playoff teams. Add it all up and things simply did not turn out as the Broncos had hoped. Read more.
Detroit Lions
The season began with playoff aspirations in coach Matt Patricia’s first year. It ended with the team’s worst record since 2012. Detroit, a year after firing Jim Caldwell after back-to-back 9-7 seasons, feels much closer to a rebuilding team than a contender. Read more.
Green Bay Packers
Anything less than a playoff berth when Aaron Rodgers starts 16 games is disastrous. Part of that is on Rodgers for not playing at his usual MVP level, which would have covered up for myriad other issues. Part of it is on a roster that wasn’t nearly as talented or deep as it should have been thanks to some subpar drafts in Ted Thompson’s final years as general manager. Part of it is on coaching, which is why the Packers have a head-coaching search on their hands. Read more.
Jacksonville Jaguars
It's hard to believe the Jaguars were 10 minutes away from the Super Bowl last season. Nineteen starters returned and yet the Jaguars finished with a losing record -- and double-digit losses -- for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. Read more.
New York Giants
The Giants missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years after losing seven of their first eight games. They should have at least been competitive, especially when adding Saquon Barkley in the draft and getting Odell Beckham Jr. back from injury. Read more.
New York Jets
No one expected a playoff berth, but this was a total failure -- from the front office to the coaching staff to the players. The mandate from ownership was to show progress, but the Jets actually went backward. They were 1-5 in games decided by eight or fewer points. Read more.
Oakland Raiders
Coach Jon Gruden, in his first year back with the Raiders, went about rebuilding the roster with owner Mark Davis’ blessing, and general manager Reggie McKenzie paid for it with his job. Entering Game 15, seven of McKenzie’s 50 pre-Gruden draft picks were on the 53-man roster, and 39 current players had not spent a day on the 53-man roster a year ago. Read more.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers averaged more than 11 wins per season from 2014 to 2017 but made 2018 more difficult with a three-game losing streak over a stretch of AFC West matchups in November and December. Defeating New England for the first time since 2011 was a breakthrough, but in a season when a playoff bye was attainable with more consistent play, the Steelers’ many lapses let the Ravens keep pace in the AFC North. Read more.
San Francisco 49ers
The Niners hopes for playoff contention this year centered on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo didn’t really get the opportunity, suffering a torn ACL in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Losing Garoppolo was the one hit the Niners couldn’t afford, not with the rest of their roster rebuild still under construction. Read more.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2018 season could not have been more of a roller-coaster ride in Tampa: an electrifying 2-0 start under backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick; the benching and reinsertion of starter Jameis Winston; the firing of defensive coordinator Mike Smith; a disgruntled DeSean Jackson requesting (and being denied) a trade; and yet another kicking change. Read more.