Another crazy Sunday of NFL football is now in the books, with two overtime games and a pair of heart-racing finishes in the late afternoon matchups highlighting a highly entertaining slate of Week 6 games.
Here are the best and worst players from Sunday’s action:
Best
1. RB Chris Ivory, New York Jets: Teammate Brandon Marshall called Ivory the “best running back in the league right now” earlier this week. The 222-pound back bolstered Marshall’s argument against the Redskins, rushing for a week-high 146 yards and gaining a career-high 196 yards in New York’s 34-20 win. Ivory is now averaging an NFL-best 115.0 rushing yards per game to start 2015.
2. WR DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans: Despite Julio Jones’ historic start to the season, Hopkins is now the NFL’s lead dog at receiver. He caught 10 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-20 win over the Jaguars, making him the first receiver to post three consecutive games with at least nine catches and 145 yards and giving him an league-high 726 receiving yards through six games. Hopkins is on pace for almost 2,000 receiving yards.
3. QB Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions: Detroit is finally in the win column, thanks largely to the work of Stafford. The Lions quarterback threw for a season-high 405 yards and four touchdowns during Detroit’s overtime win over the Bears. He gave the Lions a lead late in the fourth quarter with a score, and then set up the game-winning field goal in overtime with a deep heave to Calvin Johnson. All this from a quarterback who was benched early in the second half last week.
4. DE Cameron Wake, Miami Dolphins: Miami’s All-Pro defensive end finally woke up on Sunday. After one assisted tackle and zero sacks over his first four games, Wake exploded in the first half of the Dolphins’ 38-10 win over the Titans, registering four sacks during the first 30 minutes. He also forced two fumbles and tallied two other tackles for losses. Wake’s revival played a big part in Miami snapping its three-game losing streak.
5. QB Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers: His comeback attempt came up just short, but Rivers otherwise sliced and diced the Packers defense, throwing for a career-high 503 yards on 43 completions and out-dueling Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field. He became just the third quarterback to throw for over 500 yards and lose since 2006. A chance to get to overtime in Green Bay was lost when Rivers’ 65th attempt of the contest was broken up by Packers rookie Damarious Randall in the end zone on fourth down.
Worst
1. QB Mike Vick, Pittsburgh Steelers: Sunday might be one of the last times we see Vick on an NFL field. He completed just three passes for six yards before exiting Pittsburgh’s 25-13 win over the Cardinals with a hamstring injury. Landry Jones relieved Vick and played exceedingly well, throwing for two scores. Who knows if Vick will be healthy for Week 7, but it seems likely that the Steelers will either start a returning Ben Roethlisberger or give the keys to Jones. Pittsburgh punted on five of its seven possessions with Vick in the game on Sunday.
2. QB Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans: The rookie quarterback faced the fury of Miami’s revived defense. Mariota took five sacks, threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles as the Titans were blown out by 28 points at home. He also absorbed a nasty hit from Oliver Vernon, who took down the rookie with a blow to his knee. Mariota did not miss a snap before being pulled late in the game, but he will undergo a MRI on Monday, per Pro Football Talk.
3. RB Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers: It was a tough homecoming for the Wisconsin native. Playing at Lambeau Field for the first time, Gordon fumbled twice and briefly left the game with an injury. The Chargers later benched him in favor of Branden Oliver and Danny Woodhead. The former Badger star has now fumbled four times in six appearances, with five games under 60 yards rushing.
4. QB Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs: His boxscore looked good enough, but don’t let the numbers fool you. Smith was left helpless without running back Jamaal Charles against the Vikings, leading the Chiefs to 10 points on 11 drives. Kansas City punted on its first six possessions and went into half time with just 43 total yards. Smith’s llone touchdown came on a bubble screen against a heavy blitz. He isn’t even a good game manager minus his dynamic running back.
5. RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings: Give Peterson 27 touches most Sundays and he’ll likely find himself in the “Best” category. Not this week. “All Day” was shut down all day, carrying 26 times for 60 yards and catching one pass for minus-three yards against the Chiefs. Never before Sunday had Peterson carried 26 or more times in a game and gained fewer than 97 yards. Of his 26 attempts, 19 went for three or fewer yards. He also fumbled once and had a few other close calls holding onto the football.