That's just some of what went down in the NFL last week. Here's the best and worst of the week that was in the National Football League!
Best:
Brandon Marshall, Wide Receiver New York Jets
Is this guy good or is this guy good. He became the first Jets receiver to catch 100 passes in a single season, as he hauled in eight passes for 118 yards and a pair of scores Sunday against the Patriots in the Jets 26-20 OT win. Those two TD scores proved to be huge, as it helped the Jets take control late in the football game, for a little while at least. He's had over 1,000 receiving yards in every season he's played except for his rookie year in 2006 with the Broncos and last year while playing with the Bears. He's also now the first player in league history to have six seasons of 100 or more catches (he had done it three times in Denver and twice in Chicago). If it wasn't for his great catches late, the Jets might not have even been able to get to overtime against the Pats.
Worst:
Bill Belichick, Head Coach New England Patriots
I'm not arguing the greatness of the coach here, he's going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he decides to retire. What has me scratching my head here. Why the hell would you choose to kick the damn ball off in Overtime? I understand that the Jets defense has been putting pressure on your QB all day, but you do have Tom Brady taking the ball under center. He's going to the Hall Of Fame right along with you there Bill. And you had a chance to lock up home field throughout the playoffs. But no that didn't happen. The Jets took the ball right down the field and scored, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Best:
Tim Hightower, Running Back New Orleans Saints
His team is out of the playoff race, but Highitower is still writing a pretty good story right here. Think about it. In 2011 he tore his ACL. That injury and a subsequent infection kept him out of football for three seasons. For anybody in the NFL, more so for a running back, that an eternity. You won't find many players who are out of the game for three years, but Hightower pulled it off. On Sunday, Hightower's story got even better, with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a Saints win. He looks a lot quicker than most 29-year-old backs. He looks quicker than plenty of 22-year-old backs, too. He's making a statement to say he could stick around next season to make a pretty good tandom with Mark Ingram when he comes back healthy.
Worst:
Eli Manning, Quarterback New York Giants
Again there's nothing really wrong with the guy, he's in the top ten among career touchdowns at 292. But he's had a rough go of it this year. Not totally his fault this year when his top weapon is available to him. Eli and the Giants got ROCKED by the Vikings on Sunday Night 49-17. Manning finished the day going 15 of 29 for 234 yards and one touchdown. He was also picked off three times and was sacked four more times. When you finish the night with a Quarterback rating of 50.7, you know you had a bad night. This is the lowest QBR he's had all season long. Don't get me wrong I think he's still a very good quarterback, but not having weapons around hurts his game. You could tell Beckham being out with the suspension hurt his game this week against the Vikings.
Best:
Atlanta Falcons
Yes the season is pretty much over for the Atlanta Falcons this year, but hey at least they went out with a bang this week. The Carolina Panthers hadn't lost a regular season game in over a year. They came into this matchup at 14-0. They left it at 14-1. This one is the biggest of the eight that the team has had this year. Matt Ryan finished throwing for 306 yards and one score. Julio Jones had that HUGE TD catch which he grabbed over the head of Panther Linebacker Luke Kuechly, who to his credit did his damndest to knock the ball away. But Jones had the TD catch, and finished the day with 9 grabs for 178 yards and the one score. With Carolina, they still sit atop of the NFC and have secured a bye week. However, a huge dose of humble pie served by none other than their divisional rivals pretty much stinks, despite the team’s secure postseason status.
Worst:
Chip Kelly, Head Coach Philadelphia Eagles
Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey hey, Goodbye. His time is now done in Philly. After the Eagles get beat by Washington on Saturday, giving the Redskins the NFC East title, Kelly is out as the team's coach. Chip Kelly’s club doesn’t just lose when they go down. They absolutely tank. His style is too up and down to get any flow from week to week. That’s the only explanation for his Eagles scoring big one week and getting boat raced the next. Kelly’s offense puts too much pressure on his own defense. Here's an even bigger kicker with Chip. When he first got to Philly two years ago, they had a good team and managed to make the playoffs. However over the last two seasons his team has tanked bigtime. A lot of the moves he made this past offseason is what cost him his coaching job in Philly this year.
Best:
Ryan Mallett, Quarterback Baltimore Ravens
You would think that without Joe Flacco under center that Baltimore would be having problems. Well they didn't on Sunday, as the knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-17. When you can shut down a high powered team like Pittsburgh that says a lot. As for Ryan Mallett, he must have gained some maturity from somewhere after being run off from Houston. He filled in nicely for Baltimore with a 274 yard game along with a TD throw that helped the Ravens possibly ruin Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes. The Ravens defense held the high-powered Steelers’ passing game in check in the most shocking upset of the week. Mallett finished the day going 28 of 41 for those 274 yards and a touchdown. Not bad for a guy who has gotten the royal run around this season
Worst:
Johnny Manzel, Quarterback Cleveland Browns
Well at least he can run the ball. Johnny Manziel had a nice day running the ball, but not so much in tossing it to actual receivers. When it comes to rushing the ball, he carried the ball eleven times for 108 yards. Those 108 yards were the 2nd most rushing yards in the entire league, behind Tim Hightower of the Saints. His passing game however, wasn't nearly as good. He only completed 13 of 32 passes against Kansas City. He hended the day with 136 yards throwing and an interception. Not a good percentage in case you’re new to this passing thing. Johnny Football lost his cool as time ran out as he was trying for the epic comeback. Got to throw it to the sidelines, my man, if you have zero timeouts.
Best:
Jeff Fisher, Head Coach St. Louis Rams
Somehow, this guy always finds a way to be able to keep his job. Here we are again, everyone. I can’t quite believe it. At times, I thought we wouldn’t reach the dizzy heights we’ve become so accustomed to. Nevertheless, Jeff Fisher once again upset the odds and negotiated the St Louis Rams to seven wins. With a victory next week against the lowly San Francisco, they will finish with a 5-1 record in the division. That record includes a sweep of Seattle and handing Arizona one of just their two defeats all season. Within the perennially strong divisional record lies Fisher’s greatest card in his game of coaching longevity. He offers hope, potential for the next step. As we’ve seen from three straight seasons of hovering below .500, though, that hope is closely followed by underwhelming inconsistency.
Worst:
Seattle Seahawks
No way Russell Wilson could continue his historic run of three plus touchdowns per game forever. I never imagined his Seahawks getting dropped by the Rams, though. Wilson finally threw an interception and only had two touchdown passes in a loss that could come back to haunt them.
There you have it some of the best and worst of the week that was in the NFL!
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