Best: Alex Smith, Quarterback, Washington Football Team
This is, and will no doubt be, the feel good moment of the 2020 season. Maybe even the best moment of the sports year in 2020. Alex Smith was injured in a game in 2018. between then and now, his leg has required 17 surguries. Yes you read that right. Its a miracle he is even back in the NFL as a backup. Sunday, in the Washington 30-10 loss to the Rams, Alex Smith was back under center in an NFL game. Yes I know its the fourth straight loss for Washington, but the fact that Alex Smith went 9 of 17 for 37 yards in an NFL game after what he's gone through the last two years is flat out amazing. Sure he was sacked six times, his line sucks. But he was back in a game replacing Kyle Allen. I don't care who you root for in this league, seeing this is a great moment.
Worst: Dak Prescott, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
At the other end of the spectrum, there's this. I know Dallas walked away with a 37-34 win over the hapless Giants, but this came as a huge blow. Dak threw 14 of 21 for 166 and a pick, as well as two carries for seven yards. It was on the 2nd run that it all went south. Dak got tackled and came down wrong on his right leg. He fractured and dislocated his right ankle, in a nasty looking injury if you watched the play. he was able to have surgery on it the same night in a Dallas hospital and it looks as if his season is over. Which really sucks for a guy who was having an outstanding season. Hope Dak can make a full recovery and come back good as new, he was really starting to hit his stride this year.
Best: Chase Claypool, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
In the battle of Pennsylvania, the Steelers came away with the 38-29 win over the Eagles, but the real star, or one of them anyway, was Chase Clayppol. The rookie turned in an amazing performance, scoring four total touchdowns, three of them receiving. He also had 7 catches for 110 yards, as well as three carries for six yards including the other score. The only other rookie in league history to have more touchdowns in a game in their rookie year was Gale Sayers of the Bears in 1965. Somehow, the Steelers have a habit of doing stuff like this. They draft unknown guys in the late rounds and end up getting stars back out of it. He's got 13 catches for 261 yards and four scores on the year. Not bad numbers. Only time will tell if he can build off it.
Worst: Tom Brady, Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In a 20-19 loss to the Bears, Tom Brady had a decent day. He ended up going 25 of 41 for 253 yards and a touchdown, and was able to keep the Bucs in it. They had a 13-0 lead and blew it, and to cap it off, Brady had a big mental mistake in the 4th quarter. A rarity for Tom, he managed to forget what down it was late in the game, causing a turnover on downs to Chicago, giving them the ball back. For a guy who's been as good as he has been and for as long has he has been, it's rare to see something like this. He is human after all.
Best: Cleveland Browns
This incarnation of the Cleveland Browns have been in the NFL since 1999. They have had one playoff appearance, and a grand total of two winning seasons. The way this year has started, they look like they could be on their way to a 3rd ever winning season. They're 4-1 after beating a solid Colts team 32-23. Clevelands offense did its job against a pretty good Indy D. They had Odell Beckham Jr throw a pretty good 37 yard pass to Austin Hooper towards the end of the first half with a seven point lead. What really stuck out for Cleveland this week was how good that defense really is. Miles Garrett turned up the heat on Phillip Rivers, forcing him to throw two really bad interceptions as the game wore on, and recovered a safety against Rivers as well. This is the first time that a Cleveland Browns team has been off to a 4-1 start since 1994.
Worst: Kansas City Chiefs
There no denying that the defending Super Bowl Champions are still one of the elite teams in the entire NFL. They slipped up a little this week, falling 40-32 to the Raiders. What you saw coming out of this loss to the Raiders is that the Champs weaknesses were exposed a little bit. Like how the defense gave up 347 passing yards and a touchdown to Derek Carr. They gave up huge chunk yard plays to the Raiders as well, like a 79 yard touchdown catch by Henry Ruggs III, and a 59 yard score by Nelson Agular. The offense had its share of hicups in this game too. The Raiders defense generated quite a bit of pressure and Mahomes wasn't able to get set the way he'd like and wasn't able to really make plays in typical Mahomes fashion.
Best: Romeo Crennel, Head Coach, Houston Texans
Maybe the change in coaches was just the kick in the pants that this Texans team needed. Crennel stepped in as the interm man on the sideline, and Houston responded with a 30-14 win over Jacksonville. It was the first time that Houston had manged to put up 30 or more points in a game in their last 17 games, including the playoffs. The line actually showed signs of life on the offensive side, managing to keep DeShaun Watson upright the entire day (he was only sacked once Sunday, getting sacked 16 times in the previous four games). Crennel; got the win at 73, the oldest coach in NFL history.
Worst: Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback Miami Dolphins
There was a lot of hype surrounding Tua coming out of Alabama. It was added to that when the Dolphins took him with the 5th overall pick in this year's draft. But after Miami's 43-17 blowout win of the 49ers on Sunday, it looks like Tua time is going to take a little bit longer to develop then he had hoped. Ryan Fitzpatrick has taken hold again as the Dolphins starter when he threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns. This was the first time that the Dolphins had put up that many points in a game since a week seven win against Houston back in 2015. With the Way Fitzpatrick has been playing this season, and the fact that the Dolphins are 2-3, it makes it really hard to try and pull the plug on Fitz and give Tua Time a chance.
Best: Braiden Cooks, Wide Receiver, Houston Texans
We touched on this earlier with the Texans two score win over the Jags. A big reason for that offensive outburst was Cooks, who finished the day with eight catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. He was Watson's favorite target on the day, getting eleven passes thrown his way. Cooks was brought in after the Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona, so he's got some pretty big shoes to fill in the lone star state. This was a bounce back game for Cooks who had no catches in last week's loss to the Vikings. Maybe this will be the kick in the pants needed to get him in gear again.
Worst: Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
The defending NFC Champions have hit a rough go of it at the start of this season. Jimmy G's play hasn't been helping the 49ers get back on track. It got so bad against Miami on Sunday, he ended up getting benched. C.J. Beathard ended up taking over under center, after Garoppolo went 7 of 17 for 77 yards and a pair of picks. He's been throwing off his back foot a lot this year and his mechanics aren't quit as on point as in the past. If the 49ers hope to get back anywhere close to what they managed to do last season, they're going to need their franchise QB to figure it out and find his game again.
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