Best:
Jamaal Charles, Running Back Kansas City Chiefs
Charles went into beast mode this week and in a very big way. Charles helped project his team into the postseason by scoring five touchdowns in Kansas City’s 56-31 win over Oakland. Charles was mostly deadly as a receiver coming out of the backfield, hauling in eight catches for 195 yards and four touchdowns, three of which were over 39 yards. He also gained 20 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Charles could have tied Gale Sayers’ 48-year-old single-game touchdown record with one more score, but Kansas City ended up giving most of the team’s fourth-quarter carries to rookie Knile Davis. The 195 yards Charles had tied him with DeShaun Jackson for the most yards in a single game this week. So yeah he was in a big time groove.
Worst:
Tony Romo, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
Here's a guy whIo just can't seem to get it done when it counts around this time of year. I'm gonna cut Romo a little bit of slack, because the guy is only human and can't do everything. It’s not Romo's fault that his defense couldn’t stop the Packers from scoring on five consecutive second-half possessions or that his team’s playcallers opted to throw the ball on second down while leading with just over two minutes remaining. But ultimately the Cowboys’ $108 million man is the one on the hook for throwing the crucial interception to Sam Shields that allowed the Packers to craft a scoring drive that brought them from a 26-3 halftime deficit to a 37-36 lead with just 1:34 remaining in the game. There was still enough time for Romo to get the Cowboys into field goal range to salvage a win, but he threw another pick, this time to Tramon Williams on the second play of the Cowboys’ final drive to seal the Dallas collapse.
Best:
Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback Miami Dolphins
This guy has shown a great deal of maturity for a 2nd year quarterback. He is a big reason that the Miami Dolphins are still hanging around in the playoff picture in the AFC. And not only that but Tannehill did something not too many can claim. He out-Brady’d Tom Brady, leading a nine-play, 60 yard drive late in the fourth quarter that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Thigpen with 1:15 remaining to give the Dolphins a 24-20 lead over the Patriots. Brady was able to get his team to the Dolphins’ 2 on the next drive before throwing a fourth-down pick with two seconds left to seal the win for Miami and Tannehill, who was 25-37 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Yes he is a big reason indeed that the Finns are still very much in the hunt.
Worst:
Eli Manning, Quarterback New York Giants
Here's a guy who's having a bad, bad year. The number 10 jersey, “aw shucks” facial expressions and throwing motion resemble the quarterback who won two Super Bowls for the Giants, but Manning’s play this season has been a horrific exhibit that has to make fans at MetLife Stadium wonder if the old Eli is gone for good. Manning threw a career-high five interceptions – three hurled into tight coverage – in the Seahawks’ 23-0 shutout of the Giants. That brings Manning’s season total to a league-leading 25. While you can blame his offensive line and receivers for some of his misfortune, Manning has to be with fellow NFC East quarterback Robert Griffin III in hoping the next two weeks go by as quickly as possible. He has been playing like a rookie, and Manning has been anything but. He has got to get it together for next season, because facts are this year is a lost cause for Big Blue.
Best:
Zack Bowman, Cornerback Chicago Bears
With All-Pro Charles Tillman on injured reserve, the Bears needed the veteran cornerback to step up and he certainly did in Chicago’s 38-31 win over the Browns. Bowman cut in front of tight end Jordan Cameron for a second quarter interception and then grabbed his second pick of the day early in the third quarter, returning it for a 43-yard touchdown to give the Bears their first lead of the game at 17-10. We all know the Bears have a good defense, one of the reasons they are always a threat to contend in the NFC.
Worst:
Mike Shanahan, Head Coach Washington Redskins
If there is any coach that is going to be shown the door at the end of the season, it's Mike Shanahan. Kirk Cousins made his coach’s decision to bench Robert Griffin III look somewhat defensible by throwing for 381 yards and three touchdowns in the Redskins’ 27-26 loss to Atlanta. Not helping the coach potentially keep his job was his team’s sloppy play, which included seven turnovers, and his failed decision to attempt a two-point conversion to win the game with 18 seconds left in the game. In a game of two 3-10 teams, it wasn’t a terrible call, but the execution certainly didn’t make the coach look any better. Neither did his postgame press conference, which Shanahan abruptly walked out of after being asked a question about team information leaking to the media. His time looks to be up in the nations capital.
Best:
Matt Cassel and Matt Asiata, Minnesota Vikings
Here we got a Vikings team that doesn't have too many stars on their ball club. Of course they have the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson, but he wasn't dressed and in the lineup for the team Sunday. Who needs healthy offensive starters? Minnesota got a combined six touchdowns from Cassel and Asiata, a third-string back who came into the team’s 48-30 win over Philadelphia with three career carries. In what ended up as a serious indictment of the potentially playoff-bound Eagles’ defense, Cassel, who held onto the quarterback job despite Christian Ponder being cleared following a Week 13 concussion, completed 26 of 35 passes for 382 yards, two touchdowns (along with one on the ground) and an interception while Asiata grinded out three touchdowns despite gaining only 51 yards on 30 carries. It wasn’t exactly Adrian Peterson-esque, but the Vikings put enough points on the board to put a potential crimp in Philly’s postseason plans. Even though the Vikings look out of it, they still put up a good performance Sunday.
Worst:
Santonio Holmes, Wide Receiver New York Jets
For once, this Jet player isn't Geno Smith. In fact it's the teams best receiver Santonio Holmes. Homes called out the Panthers secondary as the Carolina defense’s “weakest link” earlier in the week. If that’s the case, Holmes must not be a very strong receiver as he exited the Jets’ 30-20 loss with just two catches for 14 yards. In addition to the receiver’s meager numbers, Carolina cornerback Captain Munnerlyn jumped a slant pass intended for Holmes and took it back for a 41-yard touchdown nearly halfway through the fourth quarter. Jets quarterback Geno Smith attempted to throw three passes Holmes’ way on the following series, with all of them falling incomplete. Yeah Santonio good job there buddy. If you gonna run your mouth like that, at least have a good enough game to back it up, which you sure as hell didn't do. Thanks for making an ass out of yourself.
Best:
Justin Tucker, Kicker Baltimore Ravens
Thanks to his clutch kick near the end of regulation, the Ravens were able to eliminate the Jets from Playoff contention. Tucker hit a franchise record 61 yard Field Goal near the end of regulation to give the Ravens a 18-16 win over the Detroit Lions. During the game, Tucker became the first NFL kicker to kick a field goal in the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's in the same game. Tucker's 61 yard field goal also set the NFL record for longest field goal in a domed stadium. Yeah he was in a groove on Monday Night Football.
Worst:
Garrett Hartley, Kicker New Orleans Saints
Trailing by 11 with 1:51 left in the game against St. Louis, the Saints would have needed to recover an onsides kick and score a touchdown with a two-point conversion to force overtime after a kicking a 26-yard chip shot field goal on 4th and 4. The easy part ended up being too complicated for Hartley, who sailed the attempt wide left, essentially sealing his team’s upset loss.
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