NFL plays of the week: Giovani Bernard touchdown and Packers fumble seal game for Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals found a way to manage tight situations and appear twice in our best plays of the week.

Sep 24, 2013, 2:00 PM UTC

James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.

Speed is the story behind this week's top plays, with some teams getting out to fast starts and others lagging behind. The Cincinnati Bengals best managed to handle split-second moments and slow the game down, rewarding them with two clips in this week's roundup.

Giovani Bernard enters The Matrix

This is one of those plays where field position is everything. Move Bernard back 30 yards and this is a comedic face-plant and a costly fumble, but at the goal line it becomes an otherworldly play.

At first that seems like hyperbole, but think of the situation here. The rookie is in mid-air, against an extremely tough team and arguably the toughest test the Bengals will face this year. He has the confidence to lay out after being hit, without being guaranteed that momentum would carry him into the end zone.

There were questions when the Bengals made Bernard the first running back off the board in the 2013 draft, but the team looks wise just six months later.

Justin Hunter's 'Welcome to the NFL' moment is a good one

The theme of big plays by rookies continues, as former University of Tennessee hero Justin Hunter made a huge play in front of the Titans crowd.

Jake Locker hasn't has many opportunities to throw deep this season -- he's completed passes for 30+ yards on just three occasions -- but this 34-yard touchdown was his most impressive on the season.

One fumble to rule them all

We return to Cincinnati for a double-fumble that sealed the game for the Bengals.

It's fourth-and-inches with the Packers desperate to keep their drive alive. It's a close game, Aaron Rodgers had struggled and Green Bay just need something to go right -- it's not their day.

Not only does rookie Johnathan Franklin fumble, but the Bengals then drop the recovery in the only way that could have allowed the ball to bounce perfectly for the return for a touchdown.

You say we’re tanking? Well ... TRICKERY!

The old “pretend-we’re-not-tanking-by-throwing-the-unexpected-pass” trick, eh?

Cleveland was almost universally written off as punting on the season when it traded running back Trent Richardson earlier in the week, but the Browns didn't get the memo. This fake field goal led to a second Jordan Cameron touchdown of the day and helped seal an unlikely victory over Minnesota.

NOT THE TOP PLAY: Set ... huh?

The New York Jets are a 2-1 football team, but there are bound to be some skeletons in their closet. This play would have been right out of the Mark Sanchez playbook.

Hands down the best part of this GIF is Jets center Nick Mangold, who snaps the ball to nobody before glancing around -- unsure of why he's not being hit or why nobody is moving.

This is how the Giants play now, not you, Jets. Get with the program!