Best:
Myles Garrett, Defensive End, Cleveland Browns
When you get taken as the first overall pick in the NFL draft, there are high expectations around you and what you can do. Myles Garrett had plenty to live up to. He missed the first four games of this season, due to a high ankle sprain. When he finally got into a game, the Browns 17-14 loss to the Jets on Sunday, he made his impact. Garrett hauled down Josh McCown on a fierce stunt up the middle. A bit later on, Garrett made his second sack of the season. This means that, in just one game, Garrett is already tied for the team lead in sacks on Cleveland’s defense with Emmanuel Ogbah and James Burgess. Welcome to the NFL, rookie, the future looks go for the man.
Worst:
New York Giants
In a battle of 0-4 teams between the Giants and Chargers it was a game of who was going to break first. It turned out to be the Giants, literally In addition to the fact the Giants lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 27-22, New York was decimated by injuries. Wide receivers were dropping like flies in this game for the Giants. The biggest ones were Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, bot of whom fractured their ankles, need to have surgery and are done for the season. Sterling Shepard also left the game with an ankle injury. Dwayne Harris was carted off the field during the game as well and was determined to have a fractured foot. If it wasn't bad enough that the Giants now sit here at 0-5 on the season, some of their best players are starting to drop like flies. It doesn't look good for Big Blue right about now. More like big Black and Blue
Best:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
It's been a very weird year for Cam Newton, both on the field and off. Off the field, he made some comments about a female reporter he shouldn't have and has since apologized for it. On the field, it has been a very up and down season. Last week he had a good week, so he decided to repeat the performance this week. Carolina pulled off the 27-24 win over the Lions, with Newton having a good day. Newton was 26 of 33 for 355 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 27-24 win. He didn’t have his best receiver, tight end Greg Olsen, so he just hit tight end Ed Dickson for 175 yards. There had been some questions as to how well Newton was feeling when the year started, because he really looked off his game. Cam now seems to be back on his game and the Panthers are sitting at 4-1.
Worst:
Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers
He has been one of the best QB's in the game for a long time, but on Sunday, in a 30-9 loss to the Jaguars, Ben Rothlisberger had himself a bad day. He went 33 of 55 for 312 yards. What's worse is he was picked of five times and two of which were returned for touchdowns. He’s only thrown two in a game one other time in his career, and that occurred back in 2006 when he was a third-year pro. When it was all said and done, Big Ben threw five interceptions and failed to throw single touchdown. According to NFL Research, this marks a new career low for the long-time Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. If the Steelers are to really get themselves back to being a major threat, they need Big Ben to find his old form again!
Best:
T.Y. Hilton, Wide Receiver Indianapolis Colts
Some wide receivers, when their quarterbacks get hurt, go into hiding. T.Y. Hilton has done the total opposite. He is doing everything in his powers to try and keep the Colts hanging around until Andrew Luck gets back from injury. Indy walked away with a 26-23 win over the 49ers on Sunday, and Hilton was a huge reason for that. He finished the day with seven catches for 177 yards. He didn't find the endzone, but his huge day heled get the Indy offense rolling. In the Colts’ win over the Browns two weeks ago, he had seven catches for 153 yards. Hilton is third in the NFL in receiving yards, behind Antonio Brown and A.J. Green, and that’s with Jacoby Brissett and not Luck at quarterback.
Worst:
Eric Ebron, Wide Receiver Detroit Lions
Detroit had high hopes for Eric Ebron to be a big threat in Detroit. But is he a star? Not even close. At least not yet. Detroit dropped a tough game against Carolina, with the Panthers walking away with a 27-24 victory. Matthew Stafford started the game off hot, hitting on four of his first five attempts. Then, from Carolina’s 12-yard line on third-and-10, Stafford put a pass right into the hands of Ebron in the middle of the end zone. Only Ebron couldn’t hang on. The dropped pass cost Detroit four points (assuming the extra point was made) in a game that was ultimately decided by three points. Ebron finished with just one catch on four targets for six yards. For the season he’s caught just 12 passes on 23 targets. And aside from one glorious first half against the New York Giants in Week 2, the tight end might as well be invisible in Detroit’s offense. He was supposed to be a big key in the Lions offense, but he hasn't been a factor
Best:
Leonard Fournette, Running back Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars lead the AFC South with a 3-2 record and they have looked great at times this year, including Sunday in their 30-9 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. One of the biggest reasons, was rookie Leonard Fournette. He finished the day with 28 carries and a league best 181 rushing yards to go along with a pair of scores. One of the big plays of the day was Fournette outrunnning the entire Steelers defense for a 90-yard score. A lot of what you saw from him Sunday is a reason why he was selected 4th overall in the draft. His running ability, combined with Jacksonville’s defense, is the reason why people have this Jacksonville team pegged as a playoff team.
Worst:
Nick Folk, Kicker Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay had done more then enough to come away with a win over the New England Patriots. Sadly that didn't happen, as the Patriots won 19-14. A good chunk of the blame is going to fall on kicker Nick Folk, who missed three field goals, two of which he absolutely should have made, in the Patriots win. If you remember, Folk was the guy who took over for Roberto Aguayo, who was cut this summer after the Bucs traded up into the second round last year to draft him. Through four games this season, the veteran kicker has now connected on just 6-of-11 field goals, and he’s missed two extra points. This is a problem though, because Tampa Bay won't have a kicker if they let Folk go, so they almost seem like they are stuck with him no matter what.
Best:
Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback Green Bay Packers
The Dallas Cowboys are a good football team. But there are few players better with the game on the line then Aaron Rodgers. He had 1:13 left in the ballgame, down by three. He did his thing. The Packers pulled off a 35-31 victory over Dallas. Rodgers, who didn’t have all that great an overall game, going 19 of 29 for 221 yards and three touchdowns. When it came down to it, Arron did Aaron things, calmly engineered a nine-play drive that went 75 yards in just over one minute. He finished off the drive with a gorgeous back-shoulder pass over the top of rookie cornerback Jourdan Lewis. Rodgers looked human for the most part in this one, but much like Brady, when the game is on the line and you need a big comeback drive, leave it to Rodgers to get the job done. Aaron Rodgers is good late in games, nobody can dispute that, and this win just went to further prove it.
Worst:
DeShone Kizer, Quarterback Cleveland Browns
Its a tough job, being a quarterback in Cleveland. Since 1999, the Browns have used 26 different men to start a game for the Browns. DeShone Kizer didn't fare very well on Sunday against the Jets, a 17-14 win for New York. For the second game in a row, Kizer was shown the bench in the 2nd half. Unlike last weekend, Kizer didn’t even play in the second half. After turning the ball over twice inside the New York Jets’ five-yard line and completing just 8-of-17 passes for 87 yards, he got the hook at halftime. As noted by NFL Research, the two turnovers inside his opponent’s five-yard line marks the first time since 2009 that an NFL quarterback had done so. Through four-plus games, Kizer has now turned the ball over 13 times, which is, by far, the most in the NFL. Some guys can hang in the NFL and some guys can't. Kizer is proving that he's not quite ready yet for the NFL.
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