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Bill Wippert/Associated Press

Week 1 grades are the best grades: not the most accurate or enlightening, but easily the most fun. There's no baggage except what carried over from last year (which is often a lot, but never mind). Half the NFL is undefeated, the other half is in crisis mode, and even the weakest team can hang its hat on a 42-14 victory and dream of a better tomorrow.

These are the weekly report cards, not the power rankings. Every week is a clean slate: Play well, and you get a good grade, though teams with the same grade are sorted by reputation/perception. The grades are based on breakdowns of the game tape and the stats, not just the final score.

As the year goes on, we will also be tracking each team's GPA to put the "A" grade of some team with a 1-5 record and a 31-0 win under its belt into context. But Week 1 is not about context. It's about hope, anxiety, jumping on bandwagons, jumping to conclusions and feeling giddy about any team coming off a huge win. Even the Bengals.

All stats are courtesy of the NFLGSIS service unless otherwise mentioned.