Best:
Aaron Darnold, Defensive Lineman Los Angeles Rams
When you hear the name Aaron Daronld, you expect to see impressive defensive stats next to his name. That should be a given with the paycheck he signed over the offseason. But his numbers were a little low going into the Rams 39-10 win over the 49ers. Darnold did a lot to change that perception and then some in Sunday's win. Donald racked up eight solo tackles, six tackles for a loss and four sacks, along with a forced fumble and recovery. In one good day, Darnold doubled up his season totals. When Darnold is on his game, he can be a real terror for opposing players. Just like what we saw with him a year ago, it really feels like he’s only going to get better the more he plays. He seems like he's starting to hit his stride and become the dominating player that the Rams expected when they gave him the big contract.
Worst:
San Francisco 49ers Turnovers
Going into this week's game against the Rams, San Francisco already lead the NFL in turnover differential at a -11. By the time the day was done, we talked about it above what the Rams did in the win, but it also falls on the poor offensive play of the 49ers. San Fran had four more turnovers, while not taking the ball away from Los Angeles. San Francisco now sits at -15 in the turnover department. C.J. Beathard, while a very tough guy, is also human and has become prone to turning the football over. He threw two interceptions and coughed up two fumbles, one of which was recovered by the Rams. Lets not forget that the Rams took advantage of those mistakes, scoring a total of 24 points off those four turnovers
Best:
Kerryon Johnson, Running Back Detroit Lions
Detroit tried to get back to a .500 record against Miami on Sunday. They got it in a big way, beating the Dolphins 32-21. Matthew Stafford miss only four throws the entire game and, just as important, was hit only twice. That's not the whole story. Kerryon Johnson was a huge reason for the win as well. He had the best day of any running back in the NFL this week, racking up 179 total yards on 21 touches. Of that insane total, 158 yards came on the ground. Yes he never managed to cross the goal line, but he still had a huge impact on the game, allowing Stafford and the receiving crew to open up the pass game as well as they did. And yes, lots of credit goes to the much-improved offensive line there's no doubt there. A big reason that Detroit’s offense is clicking now is that it finally have a bigtime running back in Johnson, who figures to be leaned on heavily from here on out.
Worst:
Justin Tucker, Kicker Baltimore Ravens
It a general thought around the NFL that Justin Tucker is the best kicker in the game today. Going into Sunday's game against the Saints, Tucker had converted on 222 extra points in his career. So it was a pretty safe bet that, after Baltimore had scored at the end of the game, they were an extra point away from overtime. It was a lock with how good a kicker Tucker is on extra points. Until Sunday. He missed his first career extra point, helping the Saints walk away with a 24-23 win over the Ravens. This loss has to sting worse then the others have this season. Mr Automatic shows he is human afterall. Kind of tough to take for a guy this good.
Best:
New York Giants Wide Receivers
Look I know it hasn't been good for the Giants the last few weeks and it didn't get any better Monday night. It was a 23-20 loss to the Falcons that dropped the Giants to 1-6 on this miserable season. There was one good thing to kind of take away from this performance on Monday, and that was the play of the wide receiving core of Odell Beckham Jr and Sterling Sheppard. Both of whom had over 100 receiving yards. Sterling Sheppard had 5 catches for 167 yards, while Odell had 8 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. This is why I feel bad for them. Atlanta had the 32nd ranked defense in the entire league and the Giants still couldn't get the victory. And when you have two guys in Sheppard and Beckham that put up offensive performances like that it makes one wonder.
Worst:
Cleveland Browns Defense
At the beginning of the year, Cleveland had a defense that looked like it might be able to hang around a while and keep the Browns in a lot of games. Last two weeks however, haven't been that good. In the Bucs 26-23 overtime win over the Browns, Cleveland couldn't stop a beach ball. Tampa Bay gained 456 yards, converted half of their third- and fourth-down attempts and racked up 34 total first downs in the game. If there was any good for the Browns defense, they did force Jameis Winston into three turnovers, and four total in this game. Because Cleveland’s defense couldn’t stop this attack, the Bucs ended up running 26 more offensive plays than the Browns, that defense ended up wasting a pretty good game from rookie Baker Mayfield. But the fact that Cleveland got roasted for 456 total yards and allowed Tampa to run that many plays has got to drive Cleveland fans, and the Browns offense for that matter, crazy.
Best:
Adam Thielen, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings
Sunday was a big day for both the Vikings and Adam Thielen. Not only did the Vikings blow out the Jets in a 37-17 win, Thielen also set himself into the history books. He had nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Those 110 yards pushed him to seven straight games with 100 or more receiving yards to start the season. That performance tied former Houston Oilers receiver Charlie Hennigan for the record. Through the first seven games, Thielen already has 67 catches for 822 yards and five touchdowns, which are eye popping numbers. Those receiving yards are tops in the league by ten over Julio Jones of Atlanta. Thielen can break the record next weekend against the Saints.
Worst:
Sam Darnold, Quarterback New York Jets
We talked above what the Minnesota offense can do, which is why they are considered a Super Bowl Favorite coming out of the NFC. Lets not take anything away from their defense, who now seemed to have hit their stride after getting off to a slow start. They put pressure on rookie Sam Darnold, who really looked off in this game. The Jets rushing game was non existent, which caused Darnold to have to throw more then he wanted to on this day. He had pressure in his face all day long and his numbers reflected that. He finished with 206 yards passing, going 17 of 42 passing. Darnold finished with one touchdown and three interceptions. It was a rough game, but it’s one he’ll learn from. Now he's got to go back to the video room, learn from his mistakes and get ready to face the Bears defense on Sunday.
Best:
Kareem Hunt, Running Back Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday night was supposed to be a showcase game for two good teams, the Bengals and Chiefs. Cincinnati didn't show up, Kansas City did, walking away with a 45-10 win. Kareem Hunt had himself a night, showing everybody, on a prime time stage now less, why he's one of the best backs in the game today. Hunt had a stretch in the opening quarter where it looked like he was a man possessed. His first big run saw Hunt gain 21 yards after breaking multiple tackles and hurdling over a defender. One play later, he scored the game’s first touchdown. By the time the night was over, Hunt had three total touchdowns and finished with 145 total yards on 20 touches. Patrick Mahomes has been playing great this year, he threw for another four TD's in this game. If it wasn't for the play of Patrick Mahomes this season, it would be a safe bet that Kareem Hunt would be the MVP in the NFL this year, he's been that good and then some.
Worst:
Buffalo Bills Defense
There weren't high expectations for the Bills going into Sunday's game against the Colts. It was a blowout win for Indy, who walked away with a 37-5 win. Yes the Bills managed to score only 5 points in this football game. LeSean McCoy was hurt after just two carries, and Derek Anderson wasn't very good in replacing Josh Allen under center. It wasn't all on that pathetic excuse of an offense, because the Buffalo defense was worse. Buffalo's D had kept them in games most of the time this year, but it no showed against the Colts, allowing the Indy run game burst to life with a 220-yard, one touchdown performance. In turn, it allowed Andrew Luck to throw for 156 yards and four tocuhdowns
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