Like we did last week, and every week before that, here are the five best and worst plays from Week 9 of the 2011 NFL season. We’ll start with....
NFL Week 9, Best And Worst: Patrick Peterson’s Punt Return Is Great, The Chiefs Are Not
From Patrick Peterson’s walk-off punt return to the Chiefs’ awful game against the former winless Dolphins, here are the top-five best and worst plays from Week 9 of the 2011 season.
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The Best:
| No. 5: A.J. Green Makes a Big Catch on Third Down |
The Cincinnati Bengals were driving down the field early in the fourth quarter and they were down by three points to the Titans in Nashville. The Bengals found themselves in a third-and-18 situation from the Titans' 27-yard line. In the past, the best option for the Bengals would have probable been to send the field goal unit on the field on third down, but with guys like A.J. Green on the field, that's not the case anymore.
That's because when rookie quarterback Andy Dalton throws the ball within 10 feet of Green, Green makes a play.
Just watch:
The Dalton-Green duo is a huge reason the Bengals are the top team in the AFC right now.
| No. 4: Tim Tebow > Carson Palmer? |
The Raiders were favored in Week 9 when they were set to host the 2-6 Denver Broncos. Carson Palmer had a week off in Week 8 to get used to his new receivers and learn the playbook and even though Darren McFadden was to be sidelined again, he still had Michael Bush in the backfield behind him.
Coming off a nasty 45-10 thrashing in front of their home crowd at the hands of the Detroit Lions, the Broncos didn't seem to have much hope at getting their first division win in Oakland.
Well, Tim Tebow finished the game with 124 yards through the air with two touchdowns and another 118 yards on the ground. Compare that to Carson Palmer's 332-yard game in which he threw three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Who was better?
| No. 3: The Chargers Recover an Onside Kick |
Down by two touchdowns to the undefeated Packers in the fourth quarter, the Chargers decided to attempt an onside kick, and this is what happened (about 2:30 into the video):
In the end, the onside kick didn’t get the Chargers a win, but you have to give it to them for going for it.
| No. 2: Eli Beats Pats, Again |
Remember when the Patriots finished the 2007 season with a 16-0 record and then made it all the way to Super Bowl XLII only to lose to Eli Manning and the New York Giants on a last-minute touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress? Of course you do.
The two teams didn’t play each other until Week 9 of the 2011 season, when the Giants traveled to Foxborough to face the Patriots.
It wouldn't be a repeat of Super Bowl XLII, would it? (hint: you can see Eli's game-winning touchdown pass to Jake Ballard at 3:40 in the video)
| No. 1: Patrick Peterson Has Things to Do and Doesn't Have Time for OT |
The two teams were tied at 13 a piece when the clock ran out in the fourth quarter and the game went into overtime. The Rams got the ball first but were forced to punt. As it turned out, they would have been better off going for it on fourth-and-seven because Patrick Peterson went into beast mode.
And the worst:
| No. 5: Marcus Thomas Does Not Belong on Dancing With the Stars |
Chad Ochocinco, Hines Ward and quite a few other NFL players, both retired and active, have starred on "Dancing With the Stars" where they've shown off their athleticism on the dance floor instead of on a football field. Just because some NFL players have participated, and Emmitt Smith and Ward even won, doesn't mean that all NFL players can dance.
When the Raiders were called on a false start, Broncos defensive lineman Marcus Thomas showed off his moves.
Watch:
| No. 4: Dez Bryant Can't Score a TD Without the Ball |
With six minutes left before half time, the Dallas Cowboys led the Seattle Seahawks, but only by three points. That's when wide receiver Dez Bryant stepped up and decided he was going to score a touchdown to give the Cowboys a bigger lead. Unfortunately, he forgot one major thing about scoring touchdowns -- the ball.
The Cowboys won, but neither Bryant nor Miles Austin helped much.
| No. 3: Philip Rivers Digs Hole and Can't Get Out |
Before halftime of the Packers-Chargers game, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who leads the league with 14 interceptions, threw not one, but two pick-sixes. One was to safety Charlie Peprah and the other was to Tramon Williams. He threw another interception in the game to complete the turkey.
Even though he threw four touchdown passes in the game, if you take away his two pick-sixes, the Packers aren’t undefeated anymore.
| No. 2: Mark Sanchez Gets Two for Flinching |
In an unusual penalty, the New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was called for holding during the Jets win over the Bills on Sunday. The team was lined up in a wildcat formation and Sanchez was lined up as a wide receiver opposite of Bills cornerback Drayton Florence.
Even the best offensive linemen hold sometimes so I can let that slide, what I can’t let slide is the look of pure terror on Sanchez’s face when it looked like Florence was going to fire across the line and hit him.
| No. 1: The Chiefs |
The Chiefs came into Week 9 as heavy favorites. They were not only riding a four-game winning streak, but they were playing against Matt Moore and the winless Miami Dolphins at home. Everybody that needed help on their fantasy team just started going out and grabbing Chiefs players. I'm sure even their equipment manager made his way on a few rosters, especially in the deeper leagues.
All those people that put their faith in the Chiefs got burnt though because they were terrible on offense and defense and at the end of the day, Matt Moore even looked good.
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