Best And Worst Of NFL Week 12

Well another week gone, and things are getting more and more interesting in the NFL as time goes by. The playoff picture, in the AFC at least, has gotten a little interesting. There was a little separation in the wild card race. The Jets and Dolphins had a chance to pad their leads in that area and they blew it, allowing for San Diego and Baltimore to remain very much in the hunt with them. The Titans managed to launch themselves into that last wild card spot in the AFC, Pittsburgh has seemed to recover from their worst start in 45 years, and things are starting to really bunch up. With the NFC we can see the separation amongst some of the teams. The East and North are weak, just based on the fact that the division leaders stand at 6-5 in each division. Things are really going to come down to the wire, and teams that are sitting on the bubble are going to have to play great the rest of the way if they want to get in. Week 12 in the NFL helped change the complexion of the playoff picture a little more. So with that in mind, here's some of the best and worst performances from this past week in the National Football League.

Best:
Philip Rivers, Quarterback San Diego Chargers
The Chargers are still in this wild card chase in the AFC at 5-6. San Diego pulled off a huge win, beating the Kansas City Chiefs, a very good football team. How good was Rivers on Sunday? With his team trailing by four points with 1:22 remaining in the game, Rivers led a seven play, 78-yard drive that culminated in a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds remaining. Rivers finished with 392 yards passing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions in San Diego’s 41-38 win. Now we know from past experiences that Philip Rivers is a very good quarterback. Would I put him up in the elite status.....no. But is he up there as one of the best in the game....yes. He showed me Sunday that he still has something left in the tank.

Worst:
Geno Smith, Quarterback New York Jets
This is infuriating to no end, it really is. The rookie quarterback was dreadful in the Jets’ 19-3 loss to Baltimore, completing 9 of 22 passes for 127 yards and throwing two key second half interceptions to Ravens cornerback Corey Graham. Smith has only thrown one touchdown in his past six games (along with 10 interceptions during that time). After the game, head coach Rex Ryan did not commit to starting the second-round pick in the team’s Week 13 game versus Miami next Sunday. Geno has thrown 8 touchdowns on the season, but 18 interceptions. That's been a problem with the Jets this year, they can't be a pass first offense I'm sorry but they really can't be. They are built to be a running team and they don't do that enough. Smith isn't the type of Quarterback I can look at and say he is going to be the guy to build my team around. You need to give a decent QB something to work with at receiver and the Jets didn't. Some of this is Smith's fault for making bad decisions with the ball, but at the same time he can only do so much with the targets he has to throw to, and those targets aren't all that great. It's pathetic to watch at times it really is.

Best:
Josh Gordon, Wide Receiver Cleveland Browns
Despite losing his starting quarterback Jason Campbell to a concussion in the third quarter, the Browns wideout set a team record with 237 yards receiving in Cleveland’s 27-11 loss to the Steelers. Gordon was targeted by Campbell and his replacement Brandon Weeden a combined 17 times. He caught 14 of those passes, including one for a late game touchdown. To say that Gordon was in a groove on Sunday would be an understatement. The win helped keep Cleveland, at least for the moment, above water.

Worst:
Greg Jennings, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings
Now I love Greg Jennings, i think he one of the best wide outs in the game today, when he's on his game. Sunday, in a return to Green Bay, he wasn't exactly on his game. Actually he wasn't much of a factor at all in this ballgame. He was targeted three times by Christian Ponder, catching two passes for 29 yards (and hearing loud boos from the Green Bay fans on the first one.) His biggest impact ended up coming on a 3rd and 5 from the Minnesota 44 late in overtime, when he dropped what would have been a sure first down for the Vikings. A continued drive could have set up kicker Blair Walsh for a potential game-winning field goal try but instead Minnesota was forced to punt as their defense held on to preserve a 26-26 tie.

Best:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Secondary
Already playing without suspended safety Dashon Goldson, the Bucs defense suffered another setback when Darrelle Revis didn’t return for the second half after suffering a groin injury. No worries. The team finished with four interceptions, including a crucial late game pick by rookie Johnthan Banks off a Calvin Johnson deflection that sealed Tampa Bay’s 24-21 win.

Worst:
Bruce Carter and Jeff Heath, Defensive Backs Dallas Cowboys
The two Cowboys defenders didn’t bother to touch Giants tight end Brandon Myers after he caught a ball and fell to the ground at the Dallas 8-yard-line on a 4th & 3 play late in the third quarter. Myers got up and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. The defensive lapse allowed to Giants to narrow the Cowboys’ 21-6 lead and start a rally that eventually resulted in a 21-21 tie late in the fourth quarter. The only lasting consequence of the play was likely just a lecture from their coaching staff, as Tony Romo and Dez Bryant were able to lead a crunchtime drive that resulted in a game-winning Dan Bailey field goal as time expired. I know the Cowboys won the game, and the Giants couldn't stop Tony Romo on the drive late, but those two guys should be ashemd of themsleves for that kind of play. You play in the NFL that's a bush league move, that can't happen.

Best:
Karlos Dansby, Linebacker Arizona Cardinals
Arizona isn't a team to be sleeping on anymore this season. They pulled out a big blowout 40-11 win over the Colts, and Dansby had a big impact on that end result. The Cardinals linebacker picked off Andrew Luck for a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter of Arizona’s 40-11 rout of the Colts. Dansby was also his team’s leading tackler as the Cardinals dominated on both sides of the ball to improve to 7-4. Arizona is very much alive in this playoff chase in the NFC, and should make a lot of noise the rest of the way. They are a team that isn't getting much attention, when they should be for a team as good as they are.

Worst:
Trent Richardson, Running Back Indianapolis Colts
The Colts gave up a first-round pick earlier this season to acquire what they thought would be their most dominant running back since Edgerrin James. The second-year back, who was battling a calf injury all week, hasn’t run for more than 60 yards in any game since joining Indianapolis. Richardson was outrushed by both Dan Herron and his quarterback Andrew Luck against the Cardinals, gaining only 15 yards on seven carries. Richardson is a very good running back, but it seems that he hasn't been able to really find his groove since joining the Colts in that blockbuster trade. He could be that bigtime back that the Colts have looked for since James, and Richardson could be that guy for Indy. He just needs time to get healthy and find his game, he shall be just fine.

Best:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Quarterback Tennessee Titans
He's Back! The Titans’ backup quarterback hit Kendall Wright on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left to give Tennessee a 23-19 win over the Raiders and keep his team in the mix for the AFC’s sixth seed. Now this is all coming after franchise QB Jack Lockhart went down with Injury against the Jets. It left Titans fans wondering if they could be able to rebound and stay in the playoff hunt. Well it looks like that question has been answered.

Worst:
Robert Griffin III, Quarterback Washington Redskins
The Redskins were outplayed by the 49ers on Monday Night Football, falling 27-6. RG3 really hasn't looked like himself this year. Around this time last year, there was talk that he could be the next big thing in the NFL. I think he still can be, but he hasn't been able to comeback mentally from his injury last year. It's hurting the Redskins this year. He is still a very good quarterback, and will still be a factor in the NFL for a long time to come, but this year just isn't his year.

Game Of The Year Nominee
New England Patriots 34, Denver Broncos 31 (OT)
This game was hands down the best game of the week, maybe the entire season. Denver had a 24-0 lead at the half, and Tom Brady looked off, as he had trouble holding onto the football. But the 2nd half started and Tom Brady came back, helping lead the Patriots to a thrilling 34-31 overtime win. This game showed me two things. One is that Payton Manning really does seem to have trouble playing in cold weather games, going 19 of 36 for 150 yards 2 touchdowns and 1 pick. Those numbers are below what Manning has been putting up this season. What kept Denver in this ball game was the 249 rushing yards, helping keep Denver in this ballgame on offense. This could be a situation Denver could be in again come playoff time against the Patriots, so they had better really learn from it. As for New England, this game was a statement by Tom Brady. It told me that even though he had a rough start and rough first half, he can still pull out a big win when its needed. Brady, by turning the game around in the 2nd half, launched himself into the status of one one the greatest quarterbacks to every play this game.