With that being said, here's some of the best and worst performances from week fifteen in the NFL!
Best:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
You can't get much hotter than the way Cam Newton has played over the last year. Ever since the accident he had a year ago, he's played like a man possessed. Newton went off against the Giants on Sunday, in Carolina's 38-35 win. Newton finished the day by going 25 for 45 for 340 yards and five touchdowns. That's just throwing the ball. He also rushed for 100 yards on eight attempts. To make this day better, he even led the Panthers on a game-winning drive after the Giants came back from 28 points down to tie the game. Thanks to that performance, Carolina stayed perfect at 14-0. Newton also became the first player to produce 300 or more passing yards, five passing touchdowns and 100 or more rushing yards in a single game. Yeah this guy may have already stamped his name possibly on the MVP trophy.
Worst:
Matt Cassel, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
Some people thought that Dallas might have a chance at reaching the playoffs. Facts are they flat out stink without Tony Romo under center. They still had a chance to make noise by helping keep the Jets at least out of the playoffs. Well that didn't happen.; The Jets clawed their way to a 19-16 victory. Matt Cassel had a bad day. After completing three of eight passes, for a total of 38 yards, and tossing a terrible interception, Cassel was yanked in the second quarter in favor of Kellen Moore. Here's a guy in Moore, who was once a star at Boise State who hadn’t played in a regular-season game during his first four years in the NFL. He played better than Cassel, who now has played himself out of a starting job. Dallas is now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Moore wasn't great, but he was a hell of a lot better than Cassel, who I can't see taking another snap in the league this season.
Best:
Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receivers
Here's a team who, much like the Jets and Chiefs, are fighting for a playoff spot in the tight AFC. Sunday they had a tough task of going up against the Denver Broncos, who have a tough trio of corners in their secondary, When you have guys like Aqib Talib, Kayvon Webster, Lorenzo Doss, and Chris Harris Jr. you have a tough day. And consider the fact that the Broncos have one of the best pass defenses in the entire NFL, you'd think the opposing wide outs would have a tough day. Yeah not the boys in Pittsburgh. Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton combined to catch 32 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Denver had no answer for Brown, who hauled in 16 of his 18 targets for 189 yards and two scores, including the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Worst:
Vernon Davis, Tight End Denver Broncos
When he left San Francisco for Denver, it appears that Tight End Vernon Davis has forgotten how to catch a football. He's had one game this season where he has had over 70 yards receiving in a game. This year, he's appeared to grow alligator arms. He had a costly drop last week against the Raiders/. This Sunday against Pittsburgh, he had one catch for five yards. That's bad. He could have helped his young QB on a crucial drive had he had some courage over the middle. He dropped a pair of easy catches on Sunday. He can't seem to find his game here in Denver. I think the Broncos might miss Demaryius Thomas.
Best:
Brandon Weeden, Quarterback Houston Texans
When he was starting in Dallas, Weeden couldn't catch a break at all. He lost all three of his starts in Dallas. Now he moves on to Houston and manages to rediscover his game again. He finished the day Sunday going 11 of 18 for 105 yards and a touchdown. Dude could not prostitute himself for a win in Dallas, yet took his Texans to victory over the Colts in relief of TJ Yates. That win in relief helped to keep Houston in playoff contention. This week was a two fold win. It helped keep Houston in the hunt (as of now it put the Texans on top of the AFC South a game ahead of the Colts). It also helped bring some more confidence to Weeden's game that he can play in this league.
Worst:
Indianapolis Colts
Unless things change fast for Indy, I could see them having a possible fire sale in the offseason. The Colts lost a de facto AFC South championship game at home against the Houston Texans. You can make the excuse that Andrew Luck was out, but at least Matt Hasselbeck is their second choice. But Hasslebeck has shown in games this year that he still had a little magic left. Maybe I guess the magic has run its course? The Texans were down to their fourth quarterback this season. And the Colts still lost. The Colts are the most disappointing team in the NFL and they win that award by a mile. They need a miracle to make the playoffs. Coach Chuck Pagano has seemingly been on the hot seat for a few months. General manager Ryan Grigson might have a tough time surviving because he put together this ill-fitting roster. Losing to a beat-up Texans team at home with the division on the line is not going to make team owner Jim Irsay happy.
Best:
David Johnson, Running Back Arizona Cardinals
Arizona has clinched a division title for the first time since 2009! After putting a whipping on the Eagles, to the tune of a 40-17 thrashing, the Cards locked up that title. David Johnson was a big reason for that. Johnson finished the day with 29 carries for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also added 4 catches for 42 yards. By far the best rushing numbers of any back in the league this week. It was also the first time that Johnson had hit the 100 yard mark in a game this year. He's come close the two weeks prior, rushing for 99 and 92 yards respectively. It couldn't have come at a better time to hit the 100 yard mark in a game.
Worst:
Blaine Gabbert, Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
It was fun watching this guys progression. He had a good run pulling the 49ers back to their feet a little. At the same time you knew this was coming. Gabbert came back to reality after going on that nice little run of his. Against a Bengals team without Andy Dalton, Gabbert was unable to keep pace with AJ McCarron and his Niners got beat as Gabbert flung three interceptions. The Bengals walked away with a 24-14 win. Gabbert finished the day by going 30 of 50 for 295 yards a touchdown and those three picks. He and Kellen Moore of the Cowobys were the only two QB's this week to toss three int's this week. San Francisco wasn't going to make the playoffs but at least they had a look at what they might do in the future with the QB position. Gabbert has returned to earth a bit. Now can he bounce back next week is the big question.
Best:
Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
On Sunday, Wilson became the first quarterback in NFL history to have at least three touchdowns with no interceptions in five straight games. Two of those scores went to Baldwin. Baldwin and Jerry Rice are the only players in NFL history to have at least 10 touchdown receptions in a four-game stretch. Rice did that in 1987. Good company for Baldwin. The Seahawks kept winning, taking out the Cleveland Browns 30-13. The Wilson-Baldwin connection might keep the Seahawks winning in the postseason, too. Wilson finished the day going 21 of 30 for 249 yards and those three TD tosses. Baldwin finished with four catches for 45 yards, two of those came for scores. I know I said earlier that Cam Newton can make a strong claim for MVP and rightfully so. But with the way Wilson has played over the last few weeks, he has made a strong claim for putting his name in the hat as well.
Worst:
Buffalo Bills Defense
You would think that with a guy like Rex Ryan running this football team, that their defense was going to be good. Yeah that hasn't really happened this year. Washington’s offense had its way with Buffalo’s terrible defense, racking up 431 yards, 23 first downs and 35 points. Kirk Cousins was tremendous, passing for four touchdowns and rushing for another, and the secondary of Buffalo was clueless trying to defend DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed and Co. For all the talk that Rex does, I would hope that his team would be able to back it up. He had that ability with the defense when he was running the Jets. That's not the case here with Buffalo. To most people, it's obvious that the players are quitting on him. If Rex can't keep his players he won't last in Buffalo.
There you have it the best and worst of Week Fifteen!
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