Best:
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
In a win that the Colts needed, they got it over Miami, beating the Dolphins 27-24. A huge reason for that was the play of Andrew Luck, who's been rolling over the last month. The only downside is he was picked off twice, but overall he finished the day strong. Luck went 30 of 37 for 343 yards and three touchdowns. Luck has helped lead the Colts to a five game winning streak, and Luck has thrown at least three touchdown passes in every game since week three. He's playing at a very high level right now and its been a big help for the Colts. Indy needed him to step up and be a leader and he's done that for the most part this year. He's not quite at an MVP level but he's in the discussion can the Colts get to the post season. Luck has shown so far this year that he can still play and isn't really feeling the effects of his past injury issues.
Worst:
Jalen Ramsey, Cornerback Jacksonville Jaguars
Heading into the start of the year, Ramsey made headlines by running through a list of Quarterbacks and who was trash and who wasn't. He called Buffalo Bills starter Josh Allen trash. Well, Allen got his revenge, as Buffalo beats Jacksonville 24-21. Allen burned Ramsey more often then not on Sunday. Sure, Ramsey did intercept Allen off in the second quarter, but it was negated by his illegal contact penalty. Then Allen would rip off a gorgeous 75-yard touchdown pass, one of his three scores on the day. Allen lead Buffalo to it's second win in a row and Jacksonville its seventh loss in a row. For Ramsey doing all the trash talking he did in the preseason and then having his team turn in the performances that it has, it means that the Jags are in fact the trash in the league. Ramsey was running his mouth and his team hasn't been delivering. It's funny that the guy doing all the talking ended up with the egg on his face this week.
Best:
Philip Rivers, Quarterback Los Angeles Chargers
Rivers is playing at a level he's not been accustomed to in the past. Los Angeles beat the tar out of Arizona, coming away with a 45-10 win and Rivers played a huge role in that game. Rivers completed his first 25 passes Sunday. he closed out the day going 28 of 29 for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Both of those achievements have never been done before. Nobody had ever completed more than 23 straight passes to start the game, and Rivers’s 96.6 completion percentage is the highest in league history. It is true that some players have managed a 100 percent completion rating, but never on more than 10 attempts. Rivers threw the most passes in a game with just one incompletion. He's playing at a very high level and if the Chargers can manage to make the playoffs, then Rivers could be in the discussion for MVP this year.
Worst:
Graham Gano, Kicker Carolina Panthers
Carolina dropped a heartbreaker in against Seattle on Sunday, falling to the Seahawks 30-27. This was a game where Carolina made a few mistakes. Having the play backfire going for it on fourth and five early. Newton getting picked off in the endzone to stop the opening drive of the second half stung. Carolina was in it all the way despite this, right up till the end. Carolina had a chance to win it with less then two minutes left in the game. This set the table from Graham Gano, who's usually reliable. He wasn't at this moment, missing a kick that would have won it for the Panthers. Seattle then stormed down field and hit the winning field goal as time ran out. Gano's miss killed the Panthers and put a serious damper on their playoff hopes.
Best:
Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver Dallas Cowboys
Dallas needed to show a little bit of a pulse, giving their fans hope that they may actually be a playoff team. They got it on Thanksgiving day, beating Washington 31-23 and the offense was a big factor again. Amari Cooper made his first big impact game since coming over from the Raiders, finishing this game with eight catches, two of which went for touchdowns and 180 yards. That 180 was second most in the NFL this week, just behind the 189 of JuJu Smith-Schuster of Pittsburgh. Dallas has been looking for a prime time receiver since Dez's production started to slip and they may have found their guy in Cooper. Hell, Amari's production has been going down over the final two seasons while in Oakland. Now he may have found a system that works for him again in Dallas and it looked in in the win over Washington.
Worst:
New York Giants Play Calling
This was a game that Big Blue had to have, in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. They looked well on their way in the first half, going up 19-3 at one point. It was a first half that was dominated by rookie running back Sequan Barkley. He had a 51 yard touchdown run at one point. The way the Giants looked going into the half, the felling was they were going to run away with the game. That plan went right out the window the moment the Giants stopped the running game. Barkley had a total of 13 carries on the day, three in the second half. Pat Shurmur decided to stop using the run game and try and go to nothing but Eli. Well it didn't work. Philadelphia scored 22 of the final 25 points on the afternoon. I give up trying to figure out what the hell the Giants are trying to do sometimes, they can't even figure it out. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Should have kept giving the ball to Barkley but they didn't and it cost them.
Best:
Sony Michel, Running Back New England Patriots
He had himself a day against the Jets. new England rolled in the second half, walking away with a 27-13 win over the Jets. Michel was a big reason for that, finishing with 21 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown. He carved up the Jets defense like Swiss cheese and helped the Pats pull away in the second half. New England needed a bounce back week. They were coming off a tough loss to the Titans and had two weeks to brood over it. Coming out of the bye, they got more then they really bargined for from the Jets at the start. But thanks to the pounding running of Michel, New England was able to pull away in the 2nd half and take the game. If New England hopes to go deep in the playoffs again this year, performances like this can be very helpful most of the rest of the way.
Worst:
Pittsburgh Turnover Machine
This one should have been easy to figure out. not only did the Steelers fall to Denver 24-17, but the second half of this game was a disaster for the Black and Gold. Four turnovers on the day, three of them coming and the second half, two of which lead to Bronco scores. The Steelers had taken a lead, thanks to Ben Roethlisberger connecting with JuJu Smith-Schuster on a 97-yard touchdown strike. The next drive, Ben tried to force feed Antonio Brown, overshooting his star by a considerable amount for his first of two interceptions. Two plays later, Denver tied the game up. Denver would take a lead after capitalizing on a James Conner fumble. Pittsburgh tried to tie the game up, with Ben trying to get the ball to Brown, who wasn't even close to being open in the endzone. That was game. With the way the Steelers played Sunday, it hurts their chances even more of not only getting a top seed in the AFC but even remotely having a deep playoff run.
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