BEST OF THE BEST: NFL WEEK 5
By Adrian Manguit
Eagle News Service, Florida Bureau
Week 5 provided exciting performances from the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles and a gruesome ankle injury to New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., ending his season and possibly the team’s hopes for a playoff berth. Here’s a look of the NFL’s top and under performing teams of the week.
AFC Offensive Player of the Week: Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars (Courtesy: AFP)
Fournette was a man among boys going against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. The rookie running back went for 181 yards rushing with two touchdowns, breaking a 90-yard long run during the closing moments of the game. Fournette is one of the main reasons Jacksonville has been on the rise in the NFL power rankings.
AFC Defensive Team of the Week: Jacksonville Jaguars
This won’t be the last time you see the Jaguars mentioned in this week’s “Best of the Best” article. Jacksonville’s defense proved it was legit this past Sunday against a Steelers offense that includes Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell. The Jaguars defense, led by second-year player, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, picked off Big Ben five times, which has never been done in the veteran quarterback’s historic career. Todd Wash, the Jaguars defensive coordinator, has his team playing at an elite level at the moment.
NFC Offensive Player of the Week: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
{Courtesy: AFP)
His stats might not jump off the page, but Rodgers continues to blow minds with his last minute heroics. Rodgers passed for 221 yards, going 19-29 in passing attempts, with three touchdowns. The most important touchdown came in the closing minutes against the Dallas Cowboys, as he drove his team down the field, passing the winning touchdown to Davante Adams with less than 30 seconds to go.
NFC Defensive Team of the Week: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles put the strangle-hold on the Arizona Cardinals offense, winning 34-7. Carson Wentz continues to impress by leading the offense; however the defense made headlines this past weekend, led by defensive line of Timmy Jernigan, Vince Curry, and Brandon Graham. They gave the aging Carson Palmer all he could handle, sacking the quarterback three times, disrupting the signal-caller throughout the game.
Teams Trending Up: Jacksonville Jaguars, (AFC South, 3-2 ) and Philadelphia Eagles, (NFC East, 4-1)
Here they are again! The Jaguars have won three games this season, which matches their total wins last season. New head coach, Doug Marrone looks like he has the Jaguars on the right path to the playoffs. Marrone has recognized that he has a top running back that can lead the offense and a stifling defense that can get his team to the playoffs. The question will continue to be if Blake Bortles can be a game manager and reduce his game-costing mistakes.
The Eagles are in the driver’s seat in the competitive NFC East, which includes the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins. They are arguably the most complete team in that division, with a potent offense led by Wentz and a defense that can keep things close, only being beaten by the only undefeated team in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Teams Trending Down: New York Giants, (NFC East, 0-5) and Arizona Cardinals, (NFC West, 2-3)
The Giants were on the brink of their first win against the L.A. Chargers. However, the old gunslinger, quarterback Philip Rivers had other ideas. Rivers led his team in the fourth quarter to beat the Giants 27-22. All the momentum that the Giants had during the game was sucked out of the stadium as wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was seen crying on the turf fracturing his ankle during the fourth quarter. Beckham is scheduled for season-ending ankle surgery later this week. Three other wide receivers, Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard and Dwayne Harris went down during the game, which isn’t good news for an already struggling Giants offense. Head Coach Ben McAdoo may want to update his resume.
Arizona Cardinals GM, Steve Keim was very strong with his words during a local radio station interview about the team’s poor performance, saying:
“It was disappointing in a lot of different ways. This was the worst loss since the NFC championship game two years ago.”
The Cardinals need to right the ship if they want to contend in the NFC West, as the L.A. Rams continue to show improvement with a new head coach and young roster full of talent.