Moving The Chains: A Weekly Review Of The NFL

Hero Of The Week:
Tavon Austin

Austin is certainly a hero if you had him (and started him) in your fantasy football team this week. Austin finally went off against the Colts, leading the Rams to an upset win on the back of a historic performance. He accumulated 314 all-purpose yards (second-most in Rams history), scored on a 98 yard punt return (second-longest in Rams history and third-longest in NFL history), and caught two passes for 57 and 81-yard touchdowns. Sunday's performance saw him join Gale Sayers and Randy Moss as the only rookies in NFL history to score three touchdowns longer than 55 yards in a single game.

Villain Of The Week:
Richie Incognito
Still. For reasons highlighted in this article. Of course, it's entirely possible that Incognito is the scapegoat in this story, but - right now - the evidence doesn't look too good.

Game Of The Week:
Jaguars and Buccaneers get their first wins

On Sunday, the Jaguars briefly became the not-worst team in Florida. They finally got a W against Tennessee team who lost Jake Locker early to a season-ending injury. The jubilation on the sidelines, and from Jaguars fans online, was a great sight.
A few hours later, however, Tampa Bay got their first win against the reeling Miami Dolphins. It's tough to root for the Bucs with Greg Schiano in charge, but this was a great result for their fans.

Fail Of The Week:
Bengals Hail Mary

I resisted the temptation to refer to this as a 'fail' mary (get it?), and it has nothing to do with the Bengals. No the fail of the week comes courtesy of the Ravens defensive backs, particularly James Ihedigbo - who could and should have picked the ball off or batted it down, but instead tipped it straight into AJ Green's hands.



My Team:

The Giants continue to win, and they continue to win ugly. Despite the poor quality of opposition, a three-game win streak is a three-game win streak. The defence have undeniably played well - Sunday marked their third game without conceding a touchdown. They also added Terrell Pryor to the list of talented runners they've managed to shut down - joining a list that includes Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy and Matt Forte.

The offense and special teams, however, were largely a nightmare. Andre Brown - on his return from two broken legs - posted 115 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown and was a bright spot. Eli Manning threw one pick but largely played smart football, and his receivers were dependable when called upon. So where's the problem? Unsurprisingly it is the offensive line. Eli Manning was sacked three times, and his confidence appears shot behind this unit. Special teams - blocked punt aside - was a disaster, and Steve Weatherford's punting was poor.

Regardless of their record, the Giants are playing the worst football in the NFC East, and I find it hard to envision a situation where they end up anywhere near the playoffs.