Bobby Rainey
This part of my weekly take is becoming a shrine for unlikely players who have blown up in a big way. I don't really have reason to change that, what with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers riding Bobby Rainey (who?) to a 41-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Rainey was a fixture on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad, before moving to Cleveland and getting released in week 7 of this season. He was added to the ever-changing running back unit in Tampa Bay, and helped the Bucs win their first game last week, before posting 167 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against the Falcons. Hero.
Villain of the Week
Saints-49ers Officials
'Villain' is probably a bit harsh, but the 49ers were robbed on Sunday night.
Ahmad Brooks' sack of Drew Brees was perfectly-timed. The Saints were down by 3 and driving for the winning score. Brooks nailed an oblivious Brees and forced a fumble that was recovered by Patrick Willis. All the Niners had to do was run out the clock, right?
Wrong. Brooks delivered a clean hit - he avoided Brees' helmet, neck and didn't use his hands in the tackle - but was flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving the Saints the ball and a first down. Undoubtedly a violent collision, but a legal one. The Saints drove down the field and tied the game on their way to a victory.
UPDATE:
The refs in the Panthers/Patriots game were just as bad. This blatant pass interference wasn't called.
Game of the Week
Broncos Beat Chiefs
In arguably the biggest game of the season, the Broncos asserted their dominance and let the Chiefs know who really ran the show in the AFC West. The phenomenally-talented Broncos offense overcame the phenomenally-talented Chiefs defense and exposed some truths about the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure, they're a good football team - but they are unsurprisingly not as unstoppable as their 9-0 record suggested: their offense is pedestrian and cannot keep up with the best, and their pass rush might not be as scary as once though. The quintessential 'statement' game.
Fail of the Week
Buffalo Bills
Yep, in the face of an epic, tornado-spewing, storm making its way across the northern part of the states, the Buffalo Bills decided to proceed with unfolding a giant star-spangled banner across the field before kick-off. Yay Patriotism. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the ridiculously strong winds caused the flag to tear.
My Team
It's a good time to be a Giants fan. For now. Sure, it's nice to keep winning, but - defence aside - the New York Giants still look unconvincing. The win against Green Bay was solid, arguably dominant, but Green Bay are a heavily flawed team. Much the same way Minnesota, Philadelphia and Oakland were.
The reality of the situation is that the last few sloppy wins have come against bad teams, and you can hold all talk of playoffs until the Giants beat a decent opponent. How about next Sunday vs. the Dallas Cowboys?
The defense has been the bright spot during this four-game win streak, and they added Eddie Lacy (14 carries, 27 yards, 1 TD) to the list of running backs they've kept under a lid this season. Despite this, it is slightly alarming that Packers' third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien was able to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns on a much-improved Giants secondary. An abberation, perhaps? The Giants have been lucky to face Josh Freeman, Matt Barkley (and not Nick Foles), and Terrell Pryor in recent weeks but the real tests will be against Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Matt Stafford and Robert Griffin III in the next few weeks.
In terms of performances, however, a number stood out: Eli Manning delivered his most complete game this season, Jason Pierre Paul showed signs he might 'be back' with one of the most impressively athletic interceptions you'll see all year, Jon Beason delivered another, and Victor Cruz made a number of big plays on his way to a 110-yard performance.
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