What a week. The Browns completed the largest road comeback in NFL history, Tom Brady looked revived (against a good Bengals defense too), Russell Wilson played the game of his life, and Tony Romo juked out J.J. Watt, among others. It was a week filled with tight games in the 4th quarter as well.
With all this in mind, let’s get to the best from Week 5.
NFL Week 5 Awards
Best QB: Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)
With all respect to Peyton Manning’s record night, in which he threw for a career high 479 yards and eclipsed 500 touchdowns (the 2nd QB to do so since the legendary Brett Favre), Russell Wilson played the best game of the week in terms of quarterbacks.
Despite “only” throwing for 201 yards and 2 TD, Wilson carried the passing and running game of the Seahawks, running for 122 yards (a record for quarterbacks on Monday Night Football), and a touchdown.
But make no mistake. Wilson isn’t just a running QB. In the 2nd quarter, Wilson avoided Redskins pressure and threw a beautiful 36-yard deep ball bomb to TE Cooper Helfet (his first catch of his career). It’s the best throw I’ve ever seen Wilson make (his deep ball is underrated), and on the very next play, he ran the ball in for the touchdown.
But the one play we’ll all remember came late in the 4th quarter, on 3rd and 4 at the 50-yard line. The Redskins front 7 managed to get through the struggling Seahawks OL, and it appeared as if Wilson was going to be cornered for a sack.
But somehow, Wilson managed to stay on his feet long enough to find Marshawn Lynch for a short pass, which Lynch turned into a 30-yard play. It was the combination of bad Redskins defense and outstanding athleticism from Russell Wilson (you can say that in general about Wilson’s night). The stuff legends are made of.
Wilson also had 3 Percy Harvin TD passes called back on horrible penalty calls, which more than make his case. Pro Football Focus also gave Wilson a +5.2 grade for the night, citing that he became “the focal point of the Seahawks attack.” I couldn’t agree more.
The Seahawks escaped 27-17, despite some of the worst officiating I’ve ever seen. Wilson finished with a QBR of 81.7 and a passer rating of 127.3, and he’s continuing on his path to becoming an elite quarterback.
Honorable Mentions: Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady.
Best Running Back: Arian Foster (Houston Texans)
Despite the Texans losing 20-17 to the Cowboys (which also featured another outstanding rushing performance from DeMarco Murray), it was clear Arian Foster was the best running back from week five.
Foster became the heart of the Texans offense once again, rushing for 157 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 6.8 yards per carry. He was outstanding, and it’s nice to see him returning to the star running back he is after missing part of 2013 with an injury. Foster is as likeable on the field as he is off.
Honorable Mentions: DeMarco Murray, Ben Tate, Branden Oliver, Eddie Lacy
Best Wide Receiver: Demaryius Thomas (Denver Broncos)
With the help of Peyton Manning controlling the strings, Demaryius Thomas rebounded from a struggling start to 2014 with an explosive performance in week five. With 8 receptions for 226, 2 touchdowns, and 28.3 yards per catch, Thomas’ talented yard after catch skills, combined with Peyton’s precise and accurate arm, sealed a 41-20 Broncos victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Thomas’ best play came on an 86 yard touchdown catch, in which Peyton got the ball to him in a split second, and Demaryius Thomas managed to get his finger tips on his ball, never looking back and running for the touchdown. What do we say again? Only winners get wings.
Honorable Mentions: Percy Harvin (yeah I included him here for obvious reasons), DeSean Jackson, Golden Tate, Vincent Jackson, Andre Ellington
Best Tight End: Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots)
Welcome back, Gronk. For now.
Rob Gronkowski made it clear that he’s the NFL’s best tight end when healthy, catching 6 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, with 16.7 yards per catch as well. And with Tom Brady playing his best game of 2014 (which doesn’t say much, but it certainly helps that he played great on Sunday Night), he and Gronk ensured a blowout 43-17 victory over the Bengals at Foxboro.
Honorable Mentions: Greg Olsen, Julius Thomas, Antonio Gates, Tim Wright
Defensive Player Of The Week: Bobby Wagner (Seattle Seahawks)
Linebacker Bobby Wagner has always been a good player, but he made his presence felt on Monday Night, leading the Seahawks defense and taking control. Wagner recorded 8 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 deflected passes (including a memorable pass deflect in the first half to prevent a Redskins first down), and 1 QB hit.
With so many all stars on the Seahawks defense, Bobby Wagner is emerging as quite possibly the focal point, continuing to have games such as the one he did on Monday Night, where his foes couldn’t get anything done with him in the way.
Best Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots)
No contest really. Gostkowski was perfect on Sunday Night, kicking for 5/5 (including a long of 48), as well as 4/4 from XP. Adam Vinatieri who? The Patriots have another great kicker in Stephen Gostkowski.
Biggest Upset: Buffalo Bills
There wasn’t really anything you would call a massive upset in week 5 (except the Browns record setting road comeback victory), but the Bills win over the Lions is close enough, considering Detroit was expected to win.
Buffalo’s offense was mostly unspectacular, with the exception of Sammy Watkins, who caught 7 passes for 87 yards, including an off-target pass from QB Kyle Orton (taking over for EJ Manuel), which helped set up the game winning 58-yard field goal from Dan Carpenter.
The defense for the most part made it brutal for the Megatron-less Lions and Matthew Stafford, recording 6 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 5 deflected passes, 4 QB hits, a forced fumble, and an interception. And while Orton wasn’t particularly good, his 308 passing yards on the day (and a touchdown) advanced the ball well enough for the Bills to secure a 3-2 record and first place in the AFC east (for now).
Best Team: Green Bay Packers
It helps to play against Christian Ponder, but the Packers were dominant last Thursday.
Aaron Rodgers of course had a masterful game, and despite not throwing much, he made sure his passes counted, throwing 3 touchdowns on the night, including a beautiful 66-yard deep bomb to Jordy Nelson.
Eddie Lacy rebounded after having a disappointing start to the season, rushing for 105 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 8.1 yards per carry, constantly avoiding tackles and making fools out of the Vikings defense.
Let’s face it, the Packers defense isn’t very good, and they faced a bad QB in Christian Ponder, but they made sure Minnesota never had a chance from the very start, and FEASTED on Thursday Night. The defense recorded 73 tackles, 6 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 8 deflected passes, SIXTEEEN QB HITS (that’s right, 16), 1 forced fumble, and 2 consecutive interceptions, including a pick six from newcomer and veteran Julius Peppers.
The entire Vikings team looked lost without Teddy Bridgewater, and the Packers buried Minnesota 42-10 at home. How’s that for discount double-checking?
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