Best:
Marshawn Lynch, Running Back Oakland Raiders
Oakland had a little trouble getting the air attack on Sunday against the Giants, which had a lot to do with Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper not being there. So it was the ground game that got going in the Oakland 24-17 win. Oakland’s offense went through Marshawn Lynch, who had started to look like the beast mode of old. He finished the day rushing for 101 yards and one touchdown on just 17 carries. One of those was a 51 yard romp in the opening quarter that looked like a flashback from his days in Seattle. Lynch also added 20 yards on one reception. He was the biggest reason why Oakland won by a touchdown over the hapless New York Giants. Beast mode went into full effect from the start and the Giants had no way of stopping it.
Worst:
Blaine Gabbert, Quarterback Arizona Cardinals
Blaine had showed up a little in his first couple of games, throwing five touchdowns and three picks. But the bad Blaine Gabbert decided to make an appearance for the Cards on Sunday. Following a Rams field goal, on his first attempt of the game, Gabbert threw up a putrid attempt deep down the right side of the field that never had a chance. It was picked off by Lamarcus Joyner, and seven plays later the Rams punched in a touchdown to take an early two-score lead. He later threw a pick six to Alec Ogletree that easily lead to the 32-16 win by the Rams. It was a hell of a time for Bad Baline to decide to show up
Best:
Tarik Cohen, Running Back, Chicago Bears
It was one of the weirdest plays of the year when it started out, but boy did it turn out to be a big play indeed for the Bears on Sunday. I know the final score didn't go the way the Bears wanted, as they fell 15-14 to the San Francisco 49ers, but this play was one of the highlights of the year in Chicago. With just under six minutes left in the first half, Cohen caught a punt at his own 39 yard line, ran backwards to his own 24, being chased by about seven of the 49ers, and somehow managed to turn the ball upfield, outrace all of them and score a touchdown. He outran everybody to get to the endzone and put six points on the board for Chicago. Not much else really went right for the Bears, but this was the biggest highlight on the day for the boys from the Windy City.
Worst:
Rob Gronkowski, Tight End New England Patriots
There's no argument that Rob Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends in all of the game of football. What happened on Sunday in the Patriots win over the Bills was just disgusting. He was ticked off about officials not giving him calls and took a vicious, dirty cheap shot on rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White, who ended up suffering a concussion during the incident. The worst part about it all is that White was laying on the ground when Gronkowski laid into him, giving him a forearm shiver to the head. It was a cheap shot that's for sure and Gronk has gotten a one game suspension from the league for it, which was a good call by the league. This was a surprise outburst from a guy who usually has more control over his emotions then that.
Best:
Alfred Morris, Running Back, Dallas Cowboys
There had been some thought as to how well the Cowboys were going to play this week with no Zek Elliott in the lineup. Well there's no real need to worry, as Morris showed some life and potential for life in the Dallas run game when Zek isn't there. Dallas pulled out a 38-14 win over the Redskins on Thursday night, and Morris was a big part of that attack. He had 27 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown. He was making Redskins defenders look just silly and he was on his game. Morris showed that he still has plenty left in the tank and that Dallas can hold on till Zek comes back into the mix.
Worst:
DeShone Kizer, Quarterback Cleveland Browns
Its been a rough going of it for Cleveland football fans. The Browns are now one loss away from becoming the first NFL team ever to start 0-13 in consecutive seasons. Sunday, they went to 0-12 after falling to the Chargers 19-10, and Cleveland did a good job on defense to hold that Chargers offense to just one touchdown. It was rookie QB DeShone Kizer who had a rough going of it late in the ballgame. Kizer turned the ball over on each of his final two drives, down by nine points. First he fumbled the ball when Joey Bosa came screaming off the edge and took him down for a sack. Then, Kizer threw his only interception of the game. That was all she wrote. Now at 0-12, the Browns appear destined to set a new mark for futility in the NFL and another No. 1 overall draft pick next April.
Best:
Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
Welcome to San Francisco Jimmy Garoppolo. He didn't blow everybody away in the win but he was a part of the 49ers 15-14 win over the Bears, and he did have an impact in this football game. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 293 yards. Not earth shattering numbers by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a good beginning. And Garoppolo made one huge play. Just before the two-minute warning, on third-and-9, Garoppolo’s 33-yard pass to Trent Taylor was the play of the game. The calm, accurate strike over the middle set up the game-winning field goal. It was a solid enough performance to make one thing. All the 49ers sent over to New England was a second round pick. This guy could be the answer in San Francisco. Is it too early to tell? Yes. But was it a good start? Yes it was.
Worst:
Vance Joseph, Head Coach Denver Broncos
He looked like he couldn't get the Broncos ready to play on Sunday, and at the way the Broncos are going, they might not win another game this season. Denver fell 35-9 to the Dolphins and were badly outplayed in this football game. Denver’s offense was absolutely dreadful, this time with Trevor Siemian back as starter. Denver’s only touchdown was from the defense. The offense gained just 14 first downs. Its not all on the coaching staff. The Broncos have three quarterbacks and they’ve all been terrible. However, Denver had practically the same quarterbacks last season and a different coaching staff went 9-7. A 3-13 mark will be tough to take. The Broncos have never lost 13 games in a season. The blame has to land somewhere, and its gonna fall on the coach.
Best:
Frank Gore and Larry Fitzgerald
Both guys have had hall of fame careers and will one day end up in Canton. That's not for quite a while yet, lets just enjoy what we have from these two great players while we have them right now. Gore and Fitzgerald both moved up their respective all time lists this week. Gore passed Hall of Famers Jerome Bettis and Ladainian Tomlinson on Sunday to take the No. 5 spot on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. He finished with 61 yards on just 13 carries, bumping his career total up to 13,697 yards. As for Fitzgerald, he moved up the ranks on the NFL’s all-time receiving yards list. Moving into fourth place to eclipse the great Isaac Bruce, Larry Legend caught 10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.
Worst:
Julio Jones, Wide Receiver Atlanta Falcons
Last week Julio Jones went off in a big way against Tampa Bay, snagging passes for 253 yards. This Sunday at home against one of the best defensive secondaries in the league, Jones was darn-near invisible. He caught just two passes on six targets for a total of 24 yards. In a game that was decided by five points, that definitely stands out as a big reason the Falcons lost, falling 14-9 against Minnesota. Atlanta had a bad day all around offensively, so not all the blame should fall on the shoulders of Julio Jones, but his no showing is a reason why Atlanta came up short on Sunday.
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