Bleacher Report's Week 12 NFL Awards

It was another wild week in the National Football League.

Week 12 began with the Oakland Raiders finally, mercifully getting off the schneid, with Tony Sparano's team playing inspired football in a four-point win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

In fact, it was almost too inspired.

The week ended with the Buffalo Bills hosting the New York Jets in Detroit, forced from Ralph Wilson Stadium by the snow that pounded Buffalo last week.

In between, there was action galore, including another statement win by the New England Patriots and a huge NFC West victory for the Seahawks in Seattle.

As we do every week here at Bleacher Report, the National Lead and Division Lead Writers have gathered to dispense some imaginary hardware for the best and worst of the week that was.

Here's what they had to say, with Bleacher Report's Week 12 NFL Awards.

Team of the Week

Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

Winner: New England Patriots (9 votes)

The New England Patriots aren't playing around.

For the third straight game, the Patriots beat a team that entered the day in first place. For the third straight game, the Patriots didn't just beat a division leader.

They pounded them.

The victims in Week 12 were the Detroit Lions, whose parting gift for their trip to Beantown was a 34-9 beatdown.

A T-shirt would have been nice but nope—just the beating.

It isn't only the Patriots' seven-game winning streak that's been so impressive. It's that there isn't a team in the NFL more able (or willing) to completely change its personality based on matchups.

Against the Indianapolis Colts, the Patriots rode Jonas Gray's power running. With Gray in coach Bill Belichick's doghouse and New England facing Detroit's league-best defense, the Patriots flipped the script, attacking Detroit's secondary through the air.

Quarterback Tom Brady told The Associated Press (via ESPN) that the Patriots' win streak has been a team effort, saying, "Everyone is linked together, so we all feed off each other—offense, defense, special teams."

NFL National Lead Writer Ty Schalter was a bit more effusive in his praise:

"

What the New England Patriots are doing after their lucky-to-be-2-2 start is incredible. They’re not just cruising through one of the most difficult stretches any team in the NFL will face all season long, they’re getting stronger every week. For the fifth or sixth time this season, the Patriots happened to catch a strong team on their worst game of the year; that’s not happenstance.

"

The Patriots don't have any time to rest on their laurels, however. Week 13 brings with it a trip to Lambeau Field for a potential Super Bowl preview against the Green Bay Packers.

Others receiving votes: Oakland Raiders (4 votes), Denver Broncos (1 vote), Seattle Seahawks (1 vote)

Coach of the Week

Steven Senne/Associated Press

Winner: Bill Belichick, New England Patriots (6 votes)

Before we get to this winner, a note on one of this week's runners-up in the form of some dap from AFC West Lead Writer Christopher Hansen:

"

There is no job in the NFL more difficult than Tony Sparano's right now. The Raiders are not a good team, but unlike some of the other bad clubs in the league, they are more likely to hire a new head coach next year. Sparano is basically a lame duck trying to keep a group of veterans from just going through the motions.

Sparano is also handicapped by his offensive coordinator and can't realistically take on play-calling duties when he still has to coach the offensive line. To his credit, the Raiders have stayed together and are playing hard.

The culmination of Sparano's work resulted in his team's first victory Thursday night over the Kansas City Chiefs—a much better team than his squad. For that, he deserves coach of the week honors.

"

However, it was the NFL's greatest villain (in some eyes anyway) who brought home Coach of the Week honors in Week 12.

Bill Belichick has the New England Patriots grinding teams into dust right now. And the Patriots aren't beating tomato cans either—they're pounding playoff contenders like punching bags.

However, as he always does, Belichick had little to say about his team's recent roll while speaking with the team's website.

"

Well, nobody is happier than I am when we win, but right now all that doesn't really mean anything going into Green Bay. [They're a] great football team, very well coached. I think Coach [Mike] McCarthy does as good a job as anybody we play against, anybody in this league. They have a great quarterback; they have a real good football team. This will be a huge challenge for us this week and [it's] not really on how relevant the last week or some week is to this game. This is just going to be all about us being able to prepare and play well in Green Bay against a great football team that's certainly great in that stadium. [They're] very well coached and they're always tough, but they're playing real good football right now.

"

We're on to Green Bay, folks.

I hope Billy Boy packed an extra hoodie. It gets chilly at Lambeau Field in December.

Others receiving votes: Mike Pettine, Cleveland Browns (4 votes), Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks (2 votes), Tony Sparano, Oakland Raiders (2 votes), John Fox, Denver Broncos (1 vote)

Goat of the Week

USA TODAY Sports

"Winner:" Mike Smith, HC, Atlanta Falcons (11 votes)

Ah, the Goat of the Week. The award no one wants to win.

In Week 12, AFC East Lead Writer Erik Frenz nominated Miami cornerback Jimmy Wilson for this "honor" after a less-than-stellar outing in the Dolphins' 39-36 loss to the Denver Broncos.

"

Jimmy Wilson didn't single-handedly lose the game for the Dolphins; that blame is shared among the entire defense. However, three penalties on the day, including two on the Broncos' go-ahead scoring drive, were enough to swing the game.

"

However, this week's runaway "winner" wasn't a player.

Some would argue he wasn't a coach in Week 12, either.

In fact, Falcons head coach Mike Smith admitted to reporters Monday (via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com) that his clock management late in Atlanta's two-point loss to the Cleveland Browns Sunday played a part in the team's defeat:

"

Before I open up for questions, I would like to address the last 55 seconds of the game. After reflecting and analyzing on how that played out, I would have done some things differently, given the opportunity to think about it through the night and doing some analyzing. I didn't do the things that needed to be done to put our guys in the best position to win the game. There's lot of plays in a football game that can affect the outcome, and I didn't do my best to help us win yesterday.

"

For Smith to admit his mistake may be admirable, but it isn't going to do much to quiet the increasing calls for him to lose his job.

Nope. Not going to quiet those at all.

Others receiving votes: Dominic Raiola, OL, Detroit Lions (3 votes), Jimmy Wilson, CB, Miami Dolphins (1 vote)

Rookie of the Week

USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants (14 votes)

Like it was going to be anyone else.

The New York Giants may have lost the game to the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night, but all anyone can talk about afterward is Beckham's performance.

It wasn't just that Beckham hauled in 10 passes for 146 yards and two scores. No, that doesn't come close to covering it.

Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com did the best he could to describe Beckham's second scoring grab of the night:

"

Like a swimmer at the start of a backstroke race, the 5-foot-11 receiver threw his body back toward the ball, stretched out his right arm as if it were made of Play-Doh, and caught the pass with three of his gloved fingers as he crash-landed in the short corner of the end zone.

Beckham's left hand never touched the ball as the receiver pulled it in and pressed it against his stomach. The moment the official raised his arms in touchdown form, millions of witnesses in TV rooms everywhere turned to family and friends and said exactly what Victor Cruz tweeted:

'That's the best catch I've ever seen.'

"

Cruz's sentiment was shared by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan, according to Zack Cox of NESN (via Fox Sports):

"

Yeah, I saw it, and I couldn't believe it. I kind of started laughing out loud. Ironically ... just before that they were showing those catches of him in the pregame, and then all of a sudden he did it again. To do it on a ball like that -- the the ball was almost behind his head, and it barely even bobbled in his hand. It like stuck and then just started rolling and he got it to his body. That was unbelievable. That guy is going to be a hell of a player.

"

Just in case you were off the planet and didn't see the catch, here you go.

Actually, that video does a better job making Beckham's case for Rookie of the Week than I could.

Others receiving votes: Joel Bitonio, OL, Cleveland Browns (1 vote)

Best QB Performance

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Winner: Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys (7 votes)

Sunday night's game against the New York Giants was a perfect opportunity for the Dallas Cowboys to get an early start on one of their patented December swoons.

Instead, the Cowboys stormed back from a 21-10 deficit to emerge with a 31-28 victory, moving to a perfect 5-0 on the road this season in the process.

Quarterback Tony Romo was a big part of the comeback, throwing for 275 yards and four touchdowns. As ESPN.com's Todd Archer reports, the Week 11 bye couldn't have come at a better time for the 34-year-old:

"

The Romo who played Sunday against the Giants looked a lot different from the Romo who played Nov. 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Romo moved much more freely against the Giants than he did against the Jaguars, which was his first game playing through two transverse process fractures in his back.

The Cowboys also felt more comfortable with him moving out of the pocket on designed plays. Romo said he feels better and expects to be back closer to normal in a week or two.

The challenge Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles is the quick turnaround. He has been limited in his practice work since the second week of the season as he rested and rehabbed his surgically repaired back, but there is no time for rest this week.

"

The short turnaround is far from ideal, but Dallas fans can take solace in this. In seven Thanksgiving Day starts, Romo is 6-1 with 18 touchdowns passes against only six interceptions.

In fact, given those numbers Romo has a puncher's chance of showing up in this very space again next week.

Others receiving votes: Tom Brady, New England Patriots (6 votes), Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (2 votes)

Best RB Performance

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Winner: C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos (8 votes)

It almost isn't fair.

It was bad enough that the Denver Broncos have Peyton Manning at quarterback and a wealth of options in the passing game.

Now, even though the Broncos have suffered injuries to both Ronnie Hillman (foot) and Montee Ball (groin) in the backfield, the Denver ground game continues chewing up yardage.

The latest Denver back to feast on an opposing defense is C.J. Anderson, who gashed a stout Miami D for 167 yards in a Broncos win in Week 12.

The second-year pro told Joan Niesen of Sports Illustrated that he's just making the most of the opportunity he's been given.

"I have a lot of confidence in myself, and I play at a high level," Anderson said. "I expect big things from me, no matter where I went: first round, fifth round, seventh round, undrafted."

One thing's for sure. If the undrafted Anderson keeps running like this, he isn't going to be headed back to the bench anytime soon.

Others receiving votes: Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers (3 votes), Matt Forte, Chicago Bears (2 votes), Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens (2 votes)

Best WR Performance

USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants (10 votes)

OK, so we've established already that Odell Beckham Jr. had a pretty good game for the New York Giants in Week 12.

In fact, some breathless observers went so far as to call Beckham's second-quarter grab the greatest catch in NFL history.

Not so fast, at least in the opinion of Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports. Schwab believes that Beckham's catch is up there, but in his view David Tyree's "helmet catch" in Super Bowl XLII against the then-undefeated Patriots still takes the cake:

"

If your top criterion is importance, the Helmet Catch by David Tyree wins in a landslide. His basically won the Super Bowl. Beckham’s came in a Week 12 loss during a terrible season for the Giants. And it’s not fair to call Tyree’s catch lucky. The amount of strength and concentration needed to keep control of the ball with Patriots safety Rodney Harrison all over him, and then pin it to his helmet and still maintain the catch, is incredible. It might not have the jaw-dropping effect of Beckham’s catch, but it was the whole package: biggest stage, remarkable play, instant 'wow' factor.

The Helmet Catch wins. It’s still the greatest catch of all time, and probably the greatest play in NFL history. It’ll be tough to knock that one off in our lifetimes.

And just think, this means Eli Manning has been the quarterback for the two greatest catches in NFL history.

"

In addition to all the superlatives, Beckham's grab also gave birth to a number of memes, and it's a fair bet we'll be seeing it again (and again) on all the "best of" highlight shows over the next month or so.

Others receiving votes: Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys (3 votes), Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos (2 votes)

Best TE Performance

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Winner: Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans (6 votes)

Not a whole lot has gone right for the 2-9 Tennessee Titans in 2014. However, as AFC West Lead Writer Christopher Hansen points out, tight end Delanie Walker's play has been an exception:

"

There isn't a better tight end in the league getting as little recognition as Delanie Walker. He's currently fourth in yardage and second in yards after the catch among tight ends and has forced 14 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which is second only to Martellus Bennett. Walker isn't a bad run-blocker either as he boasts a PFF run-blocking grade better than any of the top 15 tight ends in reception yards.

Sunday he had 155 receiving yards against the Philadelphia Eagles—the most by any tight end this season. Walker accumulated that yardage on just five receptions. In other words, Walker was making big plays as his team trailed the Eagles by double digits. Big plays were exactly what the Eagles were trying to limit, and Walker made them anyway. For the best receiving performance of the year by yardage by a tight end, Walker deserves some recognition.

"

Well, I reckon that just about covers it, doesn't it?

Others receiving votes: Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys (4 votes), Tim Wright, New England Patriots (2 votes), Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (2 votes), Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (1 vote)

Best Defensive Performance

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Winner: Calais Campbell, DE, Arizona Cardinals (8 votes)

It's hardly a surprise that a 3-4 defensive end won the award for the best defensive performance of Week 12.

However, for once that player wasn't J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans.

No, this week the honor goes to Calais Campbell of the Arizona Cardinals, who piled up three sacks of Russell Wilson in the Redbirds' loss to the Seattle Seahawks Sunday.

Of course, to hear what Campbell told ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss, he should have done better.

"There's some plays I left out there, that’s just part of the game," he said. "For the most part, just went hard and left it all on the field."

That makes twice in the last three games that Campbell has had multiple sacks, and the 28-year-old appears fully recovered from the MCL sprain he suffered on a chop block against the Denver Broncos back in October.

Others receiving votes: Brandon Browner, CB, New England Patriots (5 votes), Justin Houston, OLB, Kansas City Chiefs (2 votes)

Best Decision

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Winner: New England Patriots' defensive game plan (5 votes)

A lot has been said about the New England Patriots' ability and willingness to alter their offensive attack in order to best exploit their opponents' weaknesses.

However, the Patriots defense hasn't exactly been holding the team back, either.

Just as on offense, Bill Belichick isn't afraid to flip the script defensively. Against the Detroit Lions, that meant putting cornerback Brandon Browner on Calvin Johnson, while Darrelle Revis put the clamps on Golden Tate.

After the Lions talked trash earlier in the week, Browner told Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald he and Revis had the last word:

"

We’re always up for the challenge. All throughout the week, they had some of the comments that their defense said. Personally, we don’t line up with their defense, but we took that as a challenge. You guys think you’re the best, but we’re confident that we can compete with the top defenses across the league.

"

As Eric Wilbur of Boston.com reported, it was hardly a fluke against a struggling offense:

"

So maybe that's your 'yeah…but' to emerge from this game. The Lions haven't scored a touchdown since Matt Stafford’s last-second score against the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago. Was it really as complete a defensive effort for New England as one might initially think? Can the Patriots go to Green Bay and win in a shootout at Lambeau, or is New England's defense really ready for its (next) most imposing task of the season?

Denver. Pass, A-plus.

Indy. Pass, A-plus.

Detroit. Pass, A-plus.

Yeah. It’s ready.

"

We'll find out just how ready (again) Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Others receiving votes: Denver's commitment to the run vs. Miami (4 votes), Cincinnati taking away the short passing game against Houston (2 votes), Browns not easing Josh Gordon into lineup (2 votes), Oakland Raiders' defensive game plan vs. Chiefs (1 vote), Patriots throwing in bunches vs. Lions (1 vote)

Worst Decision

USA TODAY Sports

"Winner:" Mike Smith's clock management (14 votes)

I almost feel bad for piling on Mike Smith, but when this many voters single out a gaffe as the worst of the week there's not a lot else to do.

Smith's iffy timeout late against the Cleveland Browns wasn't the only decision in that game that raised eyebrows among our panel. AFC West Lead Writer Christopher Hansen's nomination read in full:

"

Mike Smith icing Billy Cundiff's 60-yard field-goal attempt at end of the half and Mike Pettine trying it again and nearly allowing a Devin Hester return TD. Then Mike Smith's refusal to let Pettine be the coaching goat.

"

Kevin Patra of NFL.com believes that Smith's triumph in the dunce competition with Pettine may be the last nail in his coaching coffin in Atlanta:

"

Trailing the Cleveland Browns 23-21, the Falcons were moving into position to kick a field goal for the win. After picking up seven yards on a second-and-9 play, the Falcons sat at the Cleveland 35-yard line. However, instead of milking the clock before running a third-down play, coach Mike Smith called a timeout, stopping the clock with 55 seconds remaining.

On the subsequent play, Matt Ryan's deep pass to Devin Hester fell incomplete, stopping the clock with 49 seconds left. After Matt Bryant banged the 53-yard field goal home, Atlanta took a 24-23 lead. However, the 44 seconds left on the clock would come back to haunt Smith, as the Browns drove down the field in the remaining time to snatch the 26-24 win. ...

Attempting to get closer is smart. Using a timeout so the other team wouldn't makes zero sense. Why do the opponent a favor? If the Browns had one fewer timeout, perhaps their game-winning drive would have gone a bit different.

Smith's job status has been in question since the outset of the season. Their blown lead in London stoked the flames under his seat. Sunday's botched clock management and its subsequent faulty rationalization adds kindling to the fire.

"

At this point, it's awfully hard to argue with him.

Others receiving votes: Jim Caldwell settling for field goals against the Patriots (1 vote)

Player of the Week

USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants (8 votes)

It's Odell Beckham Jr.'s week. After bending himself like, well, you know and making the catch of the year against the Dallas Cowboys, it's hardly a surprise that the rookie earned Player of the Week honors in Week 12.

Granted, the vote wasn't unanimous, with NFL National Lead Writer Mike Tanier singling out Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson:

"

I voted for Tony Romo as the top quarterback this week, but Wilson earns my top player vote. He was given almost nothing to work with once again on Sunday: a terrible line, few weapons, a game plan that seems to be built on the wishful thinking that opponents are still afraid of every fake wide receiver screen.

Wilson reminds me of Randall Cunningham at times this year, running around to make two or three highlight plays and hoping the defense does the rest. Pete Carroll needs to fix some of the problems around Wilson so he can do more traditional quarterbacking. For now, he is carrying the offense on his back while running for his life, and he produced the big win that kept the Seahawks' season from becoming a catastrophe.

"

But, the only thing surprising about Beckham earning another accolade (the third from our panel this week) might be this: Even after hearing the rookie's name approximately 14 million times over the past 48 hours, Solomon Wilcots of CBS Sports referred to Beckham on-air as "Ladell."

Then, as Bleacher Report's Dan Carson pointed out, Wilcots was savaged on social media—by people who got his name wrong.

If that doesn't put a bow on Week 12, what will?

Others receiving votes: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots (4 votes), C.J. Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos (1 vote), Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins (1 vote), Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks (1 vote)