NFL Week 15 awards: Aaron Rodgers, Packers put in work
Stud of the week: Aaron Rodgers. It’s one thing, in the spirit of R-E-L-A-X, to declare that your team is poised to run the table. It’s another thing to sling a frigid 60-yard completion to Jordy Nelson in the final minute to set up the game-winning field goal at Soldier Field. Sure, Rodgers didn’t throw for a touchdown (or a pick), and his 252 yards against the Chicago Bears marked his third straight game under 300. But he made the biggest play when his team needed it the most. And look who suddenly has the longest winning streak in the NFC? The Green Bay Packers have won four in a row since Rodgers proclaimed that his team could win them all. Next up: The Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau on Saturday. As much as Rodgers is the centerpiece, Green Bay’s surge has been emboldened by the emergence of a running game that relieves some of the pressure off the quarterback. The Packers rushed for a season-high 226 yards against the Bears – including 162 from converted receiver Ty Montgomery – to illustrate that Rodgers won’t have to win ‘em all by himself.
Defensive player of the week:Bruce Irvin. Usually, it’s Khalil Mack closing out the victory for the Oakland Raiders with a big play at the end of a game. For the playoff-clinching win at San Diego, it was Mack’s bookend linebacker. Irvin had two sacks, six tackles and a forced fumble on Sunday, and made two huge plays to help snuff out the San Diego Chargers’ desperate drive in the final minute. Maybe Irvin simply needed to tap into his inner Mack. After sacking Philip Rivers on second down, Irvin applied the pressure that led to Reggie Nelson’s game-sealing interception. Such has become the mark of an evolving defense that has had a big-play role in Oakland’s seven fourth-quarter comeback victories this season. The Raiders D ranks 30th in the NFL for yards allowed, but in crunch time it has had a different persona. Oakland hasn’t given up a single point this season in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
Special teamer of the week:Chris Boswell. Here’s how the Piitsburgh Steelers (9-5) got their points in the comeback victory at the Cincinnati Bengals that kept them a game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North: Six points from wide receiver Eli Rogers, on a 24-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger. Six field goals from Boswell. And these were no easy kicks, especially with temperatures below freezing. Check out the distances: 45, 49, 49, 40, 49, 30. With zero misses.
Clutchzpah moment: Ryan Succop. The Tennessee Titans kicker -- with maybe a frozen foot in more ways than one, given the conditions and an Andy Reid timeout -- came up big in the clutch by nailing the 53-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Kansas Chiefs. Strikingly, Succop made the kick on his second try, getting a reprieve after Reid’s timeout superseded an initial try that sailed way short. He also bailed out Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey, who inexplicably called for a two-point conversion attempt (which failed) rather than trying for a game-tying PAT with 3:12 on the clock.
Rookie of the week:Ezekiel Elliott. The NFL’s rushing leader ran for a season-high 159 yards in the bounceback victory for the Cowboys against the Bucs, while also igniting a surge that resulted in $182,000 in online donation pledges to the Salvation Army with his creative touchdown celebration. Elliott set a franchise rookie record with his 13th rushing TD in the second quarter, then proceeded to hop into one of the huge red kettles behind the end zones. What power of suggestion. The Salvation Army said donations over the next 12 hours spiked 61% from the previous week. As for the footballing, with his seventh 100-yard game Elliott increased his season total to 1,551 yards – 327 more than Tennessee’s DeMarco Murray – which puts him on pace to win the NFL rushing crown while challenging Eric Dickerson’s NFL rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards from 1983.
Comeback player of the week:Cam Newton. The NFL’s reigning MVP was the face of a flashback performance by the defending NFC champs, who delivered a serious blow to Washington’s playoff hopes on Monday night. While Newton (21-of-37, 300 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) snapped a pitiful string of four consecutive games without completing even half of his passes with his highest-rated performance (101.2) since Week 2, he still couldn’t catch a break from referee Walt Coleman’s crew. Once again, officials missed a helmet-to-helmet shot on Newton that further fuels the notion of a double standard when it comes to protecting Carolina’s quarterback. In the same game, scrambling Kirk Cousins drew a flag on Kawann Short despite the shove occurring while Washington’s quarterback was still inbounds.
Unsung hero:Marcus Cannon. The New England Patriots’ right tackle did major work while matched up frequently against reigning Super Bowl MVP Von Miller during the 16-3 win at Denver that allowed New England to clinch its record eighth consecutive division title. Miller had zero sacks, zero quarterback hits. It was quite the reversal from the last time New England visited, in the AFC title game in January, when Miller abused Cannon to lead a siege on Tom Brady.
This week’s genius:Bill O’Brien. With the AFC South lead hanging in the balance, the Houston Texans coach benched Brock Osweiler after the high-priced quarterback helped the Jaguars jump to a 13-0 lead by throwing picks on back-to-back drives in the second quarter. Tom Savage came off the bench to spark the comeback (23-of-36, 260 yards) and draws the nod for his first NFL start in Saturday night’s tilt against Cincinnati, with Houston (8-6) facing a potentially division-deciding game against Tennessee in the season finale. O’Brien’s move comes despite the four-year, $72 million contract (with $37 million guaranteed) Osweiler inked with the Texans in March. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but this development has been brewing, as the Texans rank 30th for passing yards and Osweiler is tied for the second-most interceptions in the NFL with 16.
How ya like me now?Dak Prescott. After a week of rumbling following his worst game of the season, the Cowboys rookie completed 88.9% of his passes (32 of 36), which marks the second-best single-game mark in NFL history by a quarterback with at least 30 attempts. Only Rich Gannon had a higher percentage (34-of-38, 89.5%) during his MVP season for Oakland in 2002. Prescott owns five of the top six completion games among Dallas rookies, with Troy Aikman the exception on that list.
Did you notice? Without Julio Jones, who was sidelined with a sprained toe for a second consecutive week, the Falcons ravaged the 49ers for 550 yards – including 248 rushing -- and cracked 40-plus points for the second week in a row. Taking up the slack for Jones’ absence was Aldrick Robinson, a fourth-year vet who produced his first career 100-yard game (4 catches, 111 yards).
Stat’s the fact: The NFL’s oldest rivalry, Packers vs. Bears, extends to the league’s second season in 1921, when one of the franchises was known as the Chicago Staleys. After Sunday’s result, the series is tied, 93-93-6. It’s the first time the series has been even since 1933 (11-11-4).
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 15