Best:
Derrick Henry, Running Back Tennessee Titans
Tennessee pulled itself to over .500 at 7-6 thanks to a huge 30-6 win over Jacksonville. A big reason for that was the performance of running back Derrick Henry. To get the party started, in the middle of the second quarter, Henry ripped off a 99 yard touchdown run. On that run, he stiff-armed A.J. Bouye into oblivion and broke multiple other tackle en route to the score. That was just the tip of the iceburg. By the time the day was done, Henry finished with 238 yards rushing and a mind blowing four touchdowns. Jacksonville has been hit or miss on defense this year, and Henry just lit them up like a Christmas tree. Tennessee is hanging around in the playoff race and Henry is hitting his stride and becoming a big threat as a back in this game. Good on ya for this day mate.
Worst:
Pittsburgh Steelers
This is not the time of year you should be slipping up, especially if you are one of the teams considered a favorite for the Super Bowl. They went into Oakland on Sunday looking to right the ship. They were down three with time running down and had a shot at the end of the game to at least force overtime. Then kicker Chris Boswell slipped on a potential game-tying field goal as time expired, allowing Oakland to walk away with a 24-21 victory. Pittsburgh has now lost two straight games and is fading on a possible lock for postseason play. They now sit at 7-5-1 and have Baltimore (7-6), Cleveland (5-7-1), and Cincinnati (5-8) breathing down their necks. Injuries have been an issue, but this would be an epic collapse if Pittsburgh coughed up the AFC North. They need to stop shooting themselves in the foot and step their game up to distance themselves from the rest of the divison. Having Big Ben miss a little time due to injury and having Joshua Dobbs play as awful as he did isn't a good sign in the stell city.
Best:
Saquon Barkley, Running Back New York Giants
Another day at the office for Saquon Barkley. He helped the Giants roll in a big way to a 40-16 win over the Redskins. The line for Barkley on the day was as follows: 18 carries for 197 yards and a touchdown. At one point, Barkley ripped off a 78-yard run for a score, which marked the fifth time this year that Barkley had a scoring run of 50 or more yards. That just so happen to tie Randy Moss for the most 50 or more yard scoring plays in a year by a rookie. It also put him over the 1,000 rush yard mark for the year, something a rookie hasn't done in quite some time. The Giants were looking for a special, game breaker time player. They got one in Barkley. When many people counted them out, New York is still managing to hang around in this playoff race. Things are heating up for the Giants, who are still going to have to win out to have a chance. With Barkley playing the way he has over the last few games, he's got a real shot to power them into the post season. He's been very, very good this year.
Worst:
Mark Sanchez, Quarterback Washington Redskins
We talked above a little about how things went between the Giants and Redskins. While it was good for Big Blue, not so much for Washington. Mark Sanchez was a part of that, showing why he was a free agent until there was a need for him in the Nations Capital. He was sacked five times, finished the day going 8 of 15 for 27 yards and two picks, one of which was returned for a touchdown. It lead to the Giants blowing the doors off the Skins. In the end, he mercifully was pulled in favor of Josh Johnson in the second half. There had been complaints all over the place against Washington for why Colin Kaperknick hadn't been signed when the Redskins starting losing signal callers to injury. They instead of Colin, pluck Sanchez off the heap. What he did on Sunday showed why teams hadn't signed him. Things are going from bad to worse in Washington, as the division race is slipping away fast.
Best:
George Kittle, Tight End San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco went into battle with the Denver Broncos on Sunday, a game which the Niners dominated to the tune of a 20-14 win. A big reason San Francisco walked away with the victory was the play of their tight end George Kittle. Kittle has had a major coming out party and a monster day on Sunday. Kittle had seven catches for 210 yards, four yards short of the NFL record for yards by a tight end. Of those 210 yards, 85 of them came on a monster TD grab. Kittle averaged 30 yards a catch on the day, something that you'd normally see out of speedy wide receivers. Kittle can hang with some of the fastest receivers in football. Kittle broke the 49ers franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season by a tight end. Oh and there are still three more games left to play. There's no telling how far this Kittle kid can go in this league. Not bad for a second-year former fifth-round pick out of Iowa.
Worst:
Josh Allen, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen is a man of many talents, both good and bad. One thing he's really good at is running the football. Over the last three weeks, Allen has ran for 321 yards, most over a three week stretch by a QB since Michael Vick in 2006. That's great. But here's the thing, Allen is a quarterback. He's paid to pass the football. He wasn't very good at that on Sunday's 27-23 loss to the Jets. Yes he went 13 of 26 for 206 yards. But he never tossed a touchdown, was sacked three times and threw two horrible interceptions. Both came during times when the Bills needed to respond to a Jets touchdown. On the season, the rookie is completing just over half his passes. Even worse, he has thrown just five touchdown passes and has nine interceptions. That’s a horrible ratio. This could be growing pains in Buffalo, Josh needs to just learns to hang onto the ball better.
Best:
Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver Dallas Cowboys
Dallas came up big when it needed to, beating the Eagles 29-23 on Sunday. Sure Dak Prescott wasn't at his best on the day. He had three turnovers and missed a golden chance late on a deep ball with Michael Gallup. He made up for it in a big way, hooking up with midseason pickup Amari Cooper. Cooper was the real story on the day, helping Dallas to their overtime win. He with a massive game. He finished with 10 catches for 217 yards and three scores. Those scores came late in the 44th quarter and the winner in overtime. Since joining Dallas, Cooper has found his game again, with 40 catches for 642 yards and six touchdowns. His season has pulled a complete 180 since the trade to Dallas, and now he's a big reason why the Cowboys hare hanging around in the hunt in the NFC East title picture.
Worst:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
I kind of feel bad for Christian McCaffrey here, who had a pretty good day in what turned out to be a losing effort. Cleveland beat Carolina 26-20 and Cam Newton has looked off again this week. As a matter of fact, Newton has been missing practice all year with a lingering issue in his throwing shoulder. Sunday, he looked like something was getting to him, other than the Browns defense. Newton went 26 of 42, which is astounding considering his shoulder issue. He failed to throw a single touchdown, had one interception and once again his ineffectiveness as a passer cost his team a game. Carolina has now lost five straight games and sits at 6-7. Looks like their playoff hope is pretty much out the window.
Best:
Miami Dolphins Home Luck
This rivalry game between the Dolphins and Pats was entertaining from start to finish. Both quarterbacks looked good at times and both teams made big plays when needed. It look as if New England was going to walk away with its 10th win of the year. tom Brady lead a big drive near the end of the game. He drove his offense on a perfectly executed four-minute drill that went 10 plays and resulted in a field goal to take a five-point lead with just 16 seconds left on the clock. Looks like a lock win for the Pats right? WRONG. Ryan Tannehill threw a short pass to Kenny Stills, who then lateraled to DeVante Parker, who then lateraled to Kenyan Drake. Normally, these last-gasp plays end in disaster. This one did, too. For the Patriots. Rob Gronkowski, who was on the field for this play for some weird reason, couldn’t catch Drake near the end zone, and the running back scored the game-winner with zeroes showing on the clock. Not only did this play keep the Dolphins in the playoff hunt, it was the longest game-winning touchdown with no time remaining on the clock in modern NFL history.
Worst:
Jameis Winston Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You saw a tale of two games from Winston on Sunday against New Orleans. The good was the fact that he threw a pair of touchdowns, both of which went to Cameron Brate, his tight end. It was of big help to Tampa, as they built a 14-3 lead on the Saints. Then the wheels came falling off. New Orleans woke up and steamrolled the Bucs, walking away with a 28-14 win. Winston had his flashes, which we touched on. Then he had a bad second half. All told, Winston, who’s has been really struggling and is fighting for his job, went just 18 of 28 for 213 yards. His second-half performance, which was average at best, was capped off by an interception on Tampa Bay’s final possession. Even worse, Winston got into a heated argument with his center, Ryan Jensen, during this game. That shows a poor attitude. Can't have that happening in this league.
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