Ten weeks of NFL action are in the books and either your team is pushing for a playoff spot or you’re waiting for the season to end. There aren’t many in-betweens in 2013, but we can still come together to look at the top plays of the week.
NFL plays of the week: Golden Tate makes it look easy in Atlanta
The Seattle Seahawks third receiver showed his ability to make impressive catches, while Marshawn Lynch stayed in beast mode.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Showtime Tate? More like Show-off Tate
The Atlanta Hawks are struggling in 2013 and can't cover receivers. Golden Tate saw this as an opportunity to put an exclamation point on this touchdown catch.
There’s no real reason Tate couldn’t have attempted to catch this with two hands. At the worst the side judge would probably see his arm was pinned and throw a flag for pass interference. Instead he used one arm (his left hand no less) to corral the ball and keep his feet inbounds.
It was an appropriate punctuation mark against a team that eliminated Seattle from the playoffs in 2012.
Tavon Austin is super fast. No, really ... he is
It took 10 weeks but the St. Louis Rams finally worked out how to use rookie wide receiver Tavon Austin. Get the ball in his hands in space and it's over.
Using Austin like a traditional receiver hasn't paid dividends in 2013, but this throw from Kellen Clemens gave him an opportunity to show why he was so highly regarded out of West Virginia. These are NFL defensive backs and they can't say within 15 yards of him in a footrace.
Sometimes you’ll see a GIF sped up to show a play quickly, but this one doesn’t need to be.
This was the defining moment in the Jaguars’ first win and naturally made out list of plays.
Will Blackmon ripped the ball from Fitzpatrick's hands and returned it 21 yards for the biggest touchdowns of the team's season. It ensured the Titans continued their odd knack of losing to winless teams after they were the first win of the 2011 Indianapolis Colts -- who were 0-13 when the teams met.
Well, that was embarrasing
When will defenders learn to stop trying to tackle Marshawn Lynch around the shoulders? It's the football equivalent of launching groin-first at a charging bull -- it's going to hurt, and you're going to look foolish.
Look at this play. There's nothing the Falcons defender can do, and even the guy with the down marker takes a step back because of his unfettered fear.
Not the play of the week: KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!
It feels weird to say this about the Saints, but what in the actual hell, New Orleans? Seriously.
We totally understand that you’re American’s party town next to Las Vegas, and that carries a certain beaded cache that needs to be upheld. That said, can we lay off the friggin’ mascots that look like the cutting room floor from a Guillermo Del Toro snuff film?
First you trot out the nightmare bird now we have this Buddha / fat Goldust shimmying its heart out in horrific fashion.
Stop.
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