Best And Worst Of NFL Week Fifteen

Things have started to get more and more interesting around the National Football League, as some crazy things went down in week fifteen. The game of the week lived up to the hype and then some, which could spell great things for the playoffs should the two teams meet again. As for the rest of the games, well some went well while others not so much. Todd Gurley and Kareem Hunt both went off in wins. Eli Manning had an amazing game, but you almost kind of feel bad for him because of the way things ended for the Giants. Of course the definitive rule on what is and isn't a catch strikes again, this time costing the Steelers a win. With that being said, here's some of the best and worst from week fifteen in the NFL.

Best:
Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has embarked on something I didn't think was possible for them, they have won three games in a row. The Niners now sit at 4-10 thanks to their 25-23 win over the Titans. Jimmy Garoppolo was pretty good on the day, going 31 of 43 for 381 yards and a touchdown, which was pretty much the only offensive hope that the team had this week. The 49ers scored seven times in eight opportunities on Sunday, they didn’t turn the ball over once and racked up 23 first downs. If the 49ers are smart, they need to lock this guy up soon, because he may very well be the answer that this team has been looking for under center. San Francisco would be foolish not to get Garoppolo locked up fast, as they may have finally found the answer that fits their offensive system perfectly.

Worst:
Players Scoring Touchdowns Late
There were a couple of instances where the rule book's definition of what is and isn't a catch strikes again. First, there was the game of the year between the Steelers and Patriots. new England got the win to wrap up their 9th division title, but it was the play near the end that got them the title. Pittsburgh Tight End Jesse James seemed to have a touchdown, but the ruling on the play was that this wasn’t a catch. Yes, James had control of the ball, and maintained that control of the ball as he brought it across the goal line. We’re often told a play is a touchdown the very instant the ball breaks the plane of the goal line, but not here: James was “going to the ground,” and therefore, had to control the ball through his initial contact with the turf to register a catch. Since the ball jostled and hit the ground when James’s arms crashed down, the pass was incomplete. He never really had possession of the ball, so we have what we have. Then, in the Sunday night game between the Cowboys and Raiders, Oakland QB Derek Carr had a similar thing happen to him. He tried reaching for the pylon late in the game and fumbled the ball out through the end zone, which is a touchback. Had he just gone out of bounds it would have given Oakland a golden chance to pick up a win, but it was to no avail. Just bad rule interpretation and mismanagement all the way around this week.

Best:
Todd Gurley, Running Back Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles absolutely rolled to a win over the Seahawks, dominating from start to finish in a 42-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle, without K.J. Wright and with Bobby Wagner hobbled, was helpless to stop him. Gurley went off, romping for a total of 152 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, adding another 28 yards and a touchdown on three catches. By the time Gurley was taken out of the game, Los Angeles had opened up a 40-0 lead. Los Angeles now sits at 10-4 and are the top team in the NFC West, which is one of the toughest divisions in all of football to play in. Gurley has been a total beast all season and I will go so far to say that right now it looks like Gurley could be a possible front runner for MVP of the league. With two weeks to go in the season, Gurley already has 257 carries for 1,187 yards and 13 scores. He is a big reason why Los Angeles sits where they are and he was a big reason why the Rams were able to do what they did against the Seahawks.

Worst:
Russell Wilson, Quarterback Seattle Seahawks
After carrying the team for the last couple of weeks, it seems like Russel Wilson might have finally reached his breaking point this week. Seattle hasn't given him much support, yet somehow the Seahawks have manged to hang around in the NFC West. The last two weeks however, going up against a top flight defense, Wilson has come back down to earth and looked human. The Los Angeles Rams totally dominated the Seahawks, running away with a huge victory, as mentioned above. Wilson was sacked seven times for 71 yards and at one point threw a pass behind himself while getting dragged to the turf by Aaron Donald. He also lost one of two fumbles and endured a safety in the fourth quarter. Wilson finished with 71 net passing yards and did throw the one touchdown pass, but by the time he threw it, the game was already over. This was one of the worse losses by the Seahawks in recent memory and I feel bad for Russel for having to carry the team and not get much relief.

Best:
Rob Gronkowski, Tight End New England Patriots
Gronk had to sit out last week because of the suspension for his actions in Buffalo. When he came back this week, in New Englands 27-24 win over the Steelers, Gronk did Gronk things. Tom Brady threw for 298 yards, and guess what, half of that went to Gronkowski. Gronk finished with nine catches for 168 yards and also hauled in the two-point conversion that gave the Patriots the three-point lead heading into the final moments of the game. Gronk came up with clutch catch after clutch catch throughout the football game. He did what he does best, dominate a game from start to finish. Good on ya Gronk.

Worst:
New York Giants Special Teams
This was a bit of a crazy game on Sunday between the Giants and Eagles. Philly won 34-25 and that was with Nick Foles under center. Eli had a massive day, throwing for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Still it wasn't enough to get the Giants their 3rd win of the season. The Eagles defense took advantage of mishaps by the Giants special teams. The Giants had a field goal, extra point and a punt all blocked in this game. To allow any of these things is a failure. To allow all three in a game, essentially costing yourself 11 points in a game you lost by five, is as bad as starting Geno Smith over Eli Manning.

Best:
Carolina Panthers Offense
A lot of the talk on Sunday had been about the return of Aaron Rogers in the matchup with Carolina. The Panthers deserve a lot of credit for being able to expose the holes in the Green Bay defense. Carolina walked away with a 31-24 victory, eliminating Green Bay from playoff contention for the first time since 2008 and their big weapons were on full display on Sunday. Cam Newton threw four touchdown passes and went for 242 yards. Greg Olsen reintroduced himself finishing with 116 yards on nine catches and a touchdown. Finally Christian McCaffrey had 18 touches and a touchdown, finishing the day with a total of 136 yards. With this explosion win over the Packers, it pulled the Panthers record to 10-4, which tied them with the Saints for the top record in the NFC South with two weeks left to go in the regular season.

Worst:
Cincinnati Bengals
The report came out early Sunday that Marvin Lewis was leaving the team after fifteen years as the head coach of this team. A few hours after this announcement was made, the team decided not to come out and play against the Vikings. Minnesota away with a 34-7 over the Bengals, and Cincy looked just awful in this one. Andy Dalton threw two inexcusable interceptions, the first of which was thrown in the vicinity of four Vikings defenders for a pick-six. The entire offense accounted for just eight first downs and 161 yards. Oh and lets not forget about how bad the defense looked. Case Keenum was nearly perfect, Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon combined for 242 total yards. Kyle Rudolph sealed the win with a score late. Lets face the facts not only was this an embarrassing loss for the Bengals, but in reality its a continuation of what we’ve seen all year from this club. It just seams like the Bengals have quite on their management and coaching staff, which could possibly explain why Lewis is leaving at the end of the season.

Best:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville didn't have Leonard Fournette against Houston on Sunday, but it didn't really matter. Jacksonville rolled to a 45-7 win over Houston, thanks to big days from Keelan Cole and Jaydon Mickens. Cole caught seven passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Mickens was the guy who got all the scoring going, catching Blake Bortles’ first two touchdowns. He finished with four catches for 61 yards after coming into the game with just one career reception for 11 yards. This was more then just another win to Jacksonville. It clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2007. Long suffering Jaguar fans can now rejoice, tasting playoff football after such a long wait has to be one hell of a feeling

Worst:
Mitch Trubisky Quarterback Chicago Bears
Chicago had to rely a lot on Trubisky on Sunday in their 20-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, mainly because they couldn't really run the football. So what did that mean? It meant that Mitch Trubisky had to throw the ball 46 times in this game, going 31 of 46 for 314 yards a touchdown and three picks. All three interceptions, two of which came at the hands of Darius Slay, were ones Trubisky would like to have back. He also struggled with accuracy throughout the game, missing badly on many of his incompletions. So, while Bears fans have been begging their team to let the rookie loose, it backfired when it finally did. It took a long time this year for Mitch to finally get under center, and when he has, he has shown the marks of a rookie. Just give him time though, and I think this kid can have the kinks worked out and be a pretty good quarterback.