NFL Tuesday Morning Football - Top Performers from Week Four

It feels strange to think/say/write it, but we are already a quarter of the way through the 2014 NFL season.

It's already been filled with drama and talking points; from domestic violence scandals and a swathe of of injuries to star players across the league, to teams with surprising records (both good and bad) and a hilarious South Park parody featuring the Washington Redskins.

For UK fans, week four will be dominated by talk of the NFL's first of three annual soujourns across the pond. The Miami Dolphins' destruction of the Oakland Raiders at Wembley was an impressive team performance, but there have been a number of phenomenal individual performances over the last three weeks, and that didn't change in week four. Let's take a look at who lit the league up this week:

Teddy Bridgewater

We'll officially declare the Matt Cassel "era" over in Minnesota. Cassel's fractured foot has put him out of action for a while, and Bridgewater's performance on Sunday may mean we never see the former Patriots quarterback in a Vikings uniform again. Bridgewater starred in one of the most impressive rookie quarterback debuts in recent years, leading the Vikings to a win over the Atlanta Falcons. Bridgewater was calm and composed all game, passing for 317 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a rushing touchdown.

Andrew Luck

Arguably the league's MVP at the quarter mark, Luck has - despite his team's 0-2 start - been in stellar form, and Sunday saw him bring his touchdown total for the season to 13. Against AFC South rivals the Tennessee Titans, Luck completed 29-of-41 passes, threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns. Only three NFL quarterbacks have thrown more through the first four games of a season since 1960 - Kurt Warner and Don Meredith (14) and, of course, Peyton Manning (16). With Luck and J.J. Watt, the 2014 MVP race could easily come from the AFC South.

DeMarco Murray

As someone with DeMarco Murray in his fantasy football team, I am well aware of the calibre of his performances this season. If you've been hiding under a rock, you'll not be aware that Murray has rushed for 534 yards and five touchdowns. He's also lost three fumbles but those numbers mean that Murray is on pace for 2,136 yards and the crown to Eric Dickerson's three-decade old single-season rushing title. Obviously, we're only in September, but his 149 yard, two-touchdown game against the Saints will help him on his way.

Steve Smith

Whether it's Katherine Grainger finally winning her Olympic gold medal at her fourth and final summer games, Kurt Warner resurrecting his career in Arizona and leading the franchise to their first Super Bowl, or Derek Jeter hitting a walk-off single in his final appearance at Yankee stadium, sports fans love a storyline. In the NFL, a whole load of fuss is made whenever this situation unfolds: 'X legendary player returns while playing for a new team to Y team that they spent most of their career with'. In recent years we have seen Peyton Manning face the Indianapolis Colts, Brett Favre returning to Lambeau as a Viking and - on Sunday - Steve Smith suiting up for the Baltimore Ravens against the Carolina Panthers. Smith stuck it to his former team of 13 seasons with seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Larry Donnell

As I wrote in my review of the New York Giants' rout of the Washington Redskins on Friday, the Giants now have a force at tight end. No-one is crowning the 2011 undrafted free agent out of Grambling State the next Jimmy Graham, but by the end of the year he could be regarded as one of the league's most potent offensive threats. Through four games Donnell has 25 receptions (tied for 7th in the league and 3rd among tight ends) for 236 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those came in one game, as Donnell caught touchdown passes on three of his first five receptions on Thursday night. His huge frame gives Eli Manning a crucial presence in third down and red zone situations, something the New York Giants have missed since Martellus Bennett departed for Chicago in 2013.

The Worst Contracts In The NFL Right Now

One of the hot topics on people's lips as we head towards the regular season is the debate around Andy Dalton. The Bengals' signal-caller clearly possesses the talent worthy of his status as a franchise quarterback, but his struggles in the post-season (shared by the rest of the team) have led elements of the Bengals fanbase to turn against the face of their franchise.

Dalton is in a contract year, and should the Bengals go all the way, or at the very least progress further than the wildcard round, he could command a big-money contract due to the salaries of his contemporaries. It's a precarious position for franchises - they feel compelled to pay their quarterback big money despite overlooking their performance in previous years and in fear of losing them to a rival. Why would any franchise cut a super bowl-winning quarterback, right?

In short, we're looking at another Joe Flacco. Often, teams become enamoured with a player who simply isn't worth the money, or are forced into tight corners by rapidly escalating league salaries. On that note, let's take a look at the worst contracts in the NFL at the moment.

Joe Flacco

Flacco is a perfectly competent quarterback. He epitomises the expression 'solid-but-unspectacular', and is worthy of the Ravens' continued trust in him. He isn't, however, worth the gargantuan $120.6 million six-year contract he signed following Baltimore's super bowl win in 2013. His play, unsurprisingly, never returned to the level it was in the 2012 playoffs, and now his contract weighs like an albatross around the Ravens' neck. They're locked into the deal until the 2016 season, during which Flacco will have a staggering cap hit of $28.6 million, and in 2017 they can either pay him £31.2 million or losing $15.3 million in dead money. For all his successes over the past few years, general manager Ozzie Newsome dropped the ball on this one.

Michael Oher

The real-life protagonist of the inspirational book and movie The Blind Side, Oher has failed to develop into the elite left tackle he was touted as coming out of college. Oher was limited to right tackle for the majority of his time in Baltimore and left for greener pastures at the end of last season. The Tennessee Titans answered the call, and Oher signed a four-year $20 million deal with $6 million guaranteed. The Titans can get out of the contract after a year, but the drafting of Michigan's Taylor Lewan could see Oher relegated to the bench.

Dwayne Bowe

Dwayne Bowe appears to be coasting on the reputation he forged during the 2010 season. After posting 1,162 yards and 15 touchdowns that season, Bowe has managed to produce a paltry 13 in three seasons since. The five-year $56 million contract - with $20 million guaranteed - he signed in March 2013 made him the third highest-paid receiver in the league, and allowed the Chiefs to franchise tag Branden Albert (who left after the season anyway). A lot of money for a player who has failed to maintain

Jason Hatcher

Question: how does a peripheral defensive lineman like Jason Hatcher end up with a four-year contract worth $27.5 million with a $9 million signing bonus and $10.5 million guaranteed? Answer: the Washington Redskins. Who else could it be? Hatcher was a lone bright spot on an otherwise poor Dallas Cowboys defence last year with 11 sacks (he had accumulated only 16 in his previous seven seasons), and it's no coincidence that the boom in production coincided with the Cowboys' shift to a 4-3 defence. The 32 year-old Hatcher will likely struggle to recapture this form in a 3-4 defense, especially after being sidelined with a knee injury.

Karlos Dansby

Dansby doesn't appear on this list because of his production; it's hard to argue to with 114 tackles and 6.5 sacks accumulated as part of a ferocious and underrated Cardinals defensive unit last season. He appears on here because he's about to turn 33 and the Cleveland Browns offered him a four-year $24 million contract, with $14 million guaranteed. The formula for winning championship usually involves getting younger, and the Browns failed spectacularly in this regard. It's entirely possible Dansby will be solid for the Browns in 2014, but that doesn't change the fact that they paid superstar money for someone who could realistically be out of the league before his contract expires.