Seattle's blowout of the Washington Commanders on Sunday night was a clinic by Darnold and also featured a swarming, attacking defense that ranks fifth in the league in scoring (18.8 points allowed per game) and is tied for third in sacks (27).

After four of the top six teams lost, the top 10 has a new look — and a new No. 1 — as we hand out our midseason report cards.

The defense is historically awful. Cincinnati is the first team since the 1966 Giants to score 38 or more points in consecutive games and lose both games, according to ESPN. The tackling effort on Colston Loveland’s game-winning touchdown was alarming. Major changes need to be made.

Green Bay and Detroit are locked in a fierce divisional battle with the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. All four teams are seperated by less than two games. The NFC West is also crowded with the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers all with six wins.

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Given the Sunday carnage, it’s a good thing they were playing the Saints. The next three weeks, though (at San Francisco, vs. the Seahawks, vs. the Bucs) will show whether they deserve to be the fourth team to hold the top spot this year.

Abrams-Draine didn’t appear to be intentionally malicious, which reinforces quarterbacks’ concerns. On the other end of that scale, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was suspended three games in 2024 for a hit that was deemed over the line against a sliding Trevor Lawrence.