NFL1000: Ranking the Top 1,000 Players from Week 14

That Aaron Rodgers and Le'Veon Bell top the NFL1000 charts for Week 14 is no surprise. The surprises come later.

But to focus on Rodgers and Bell first: The Green Bay Packers' quarterback turned in a masterful performance against a Seattle Seahawks defense that has played him tough in recent years, and it wasn't because of Earl Thomas' injury-related absence. Thomas is by far the league's best deep coverage defender, but Rodgers didn't test the middle of the field often. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 13 of his 18 completions (in 23 attempts) were outside the numbers.

Instead, Rodgers was satisfied to pick apart Seattle's cornerbacks (especially Jeremy Lane) with deep strikes to the boundary, averaging 10.7 yards per attempt. And he did that with an injured calf that affected his mobility. Given the Seahawks' excellence in sideline pass defense, this may be even more disconcerting for the franchise's near future.

As for Bell, the Pittsburgh Steeler continued to blow up enemy defenses on a no-matter-what basis, generating 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries and adding four receptions for 62 yards against an overmanned Buffalo Bills defense. No back in the league has Bell's combination of patience, explosiveness through the hole, second-level speed to power and versatility throughout the offense.

Bell currently ranks third in the league in yards from scrimmage (1,616) behind Davis Johnson and Ezekiel Elliott, which is pretty incredible when you consider that he missed the first three games of the season after missing a random drug test.

Johnson will most likely become the third back in league history to gain over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in a season, but Bell, incredibly enough, has an outside shot—he has 1,053 rushing yards and 563 receiving yards with three games to go. It's time to consider Bell as a serious NFL MVP candidate.

New York Giants cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie have been playing at a high level all season, but what they did against Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night put the duo near the top of this week's NFL1000—Jenkins is third and Rodgers-Cromartie is sixth. Dez Bryant didn't help Prescott much, as the rookie quarterback had his first multi-interception game, but Jenkins, Rodgers-Cromartie and the entire Giants secondary presented Prescott with problems he couldn't solve.

According to our scouts' game-charting, Jenkins allowed two completions on nine targets, giving Bryant all he could handle. Actually, more than he could handle—Bryant had one catch on nine total targets. Pro Football Focus has Rodgers-Cromartie allowing four catches on seven targets…for a grand total of 46 yards. Rookie cornerback Eli Apple got in on the act as well, allowing just two catches on five targets for 31 yards. Ian Wharton, our NFC cornerbacks scout, believes Jenkins has played as well as any cornerback in the league this year. He's certainly been a lockdown artist of late.

Part of Bleacher Report's NFL1000 player rating methodology is the ability to look at our grades from week to week (as you, dear reader, can) and suss out which patterns are turning into trends and which are flukes in the relatively small sample size of an NFL season.

There are many ways to dissect and learn from what the NFL presents on the field every week, and the NFL1000 goes as deep as any to tell you just what's going on out there.

With a 17-person crew of experienced evaluators, we'll comb through the game tape each week to bring you concise, clear evaluations of every player in the NFL. We'll tell you which rookies are rising and which undrafted players are coming out of nowhere to make an impact. We'll tell you which players are falling in performance and why.

There is no predetermined narrative with these grades. No mysterious "clutch factor." No tweaked-out quarterback ratings that defy explanation. Our grades are based on pure scouting, and lots of it. We grade the key criteria for each position based on a series of attributes and add in a score for positional importance.

In the case of a tie, our scouts ask, "Which player would I want on my team?" and adjust accordingly.

Is it a subjective process? Of course—that's what scouting is, and as we like to say, ties are no fun.

Each player is evaluated and graded by our crack team of scouts, who possess more than 100 combined years of experience in playing, front-office work, coaching and media. Cian Fahey, John Middlekauff, Alex Kirby, Mark Schofield, Duke Manyweather, Ethan Young, Joe Goodberry, Justis Mosqueda, Charles McDonald, Zach Kruse, Derrik Klassen, Jerod Brown, Ian Wharton, Kyle Posey, Mark Bullock, Chuck Zodda and Doug Farrar have watched tape for months to bring you these grades, and we'll be bringing you player grades based on the game action every week.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 14 of the 2016 NFL season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Methodology

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The NFL1000 team of scouts was given a series of important attributes to grade for every player in their positional review. Using a grading scale starting at 0 and going up to anywhere from 10 to 50 based on the position and the attribute, our scouts have graded each player based on their own expertise and countless hours of tape review over the years. Our evaluators were given specific positional assignments based on their proven fields of expertise. 

• Doug Farrar: Lead scout
• Cian Fahey: Quarterbacks
• John Middlekauff: Running backs/fullbacks
• Marcus Mosher: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Mark Schofield: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Duke Manyweather: Offensive tackles
• Ethan Young: Offensive guards/centers
• Joe Goodberry: AFC defensive ends
• Justis Mosqueda: NFC defensive ends
• Charles McDonald: Defensive tackles
• Zach Kruse: 3-4 outside linebackers
• Derrik Klassen: 4-3 outside linebackers
• Jerod Brown: Inside linebackers
• Kyle Posey: Cornerbacks
• Ian Wharton: Cornerbacks
• Mark Bullock: Safeties
• Chuck Zodda: Special teams

Every NFL player with snaps in offensive and defensive roles is observed and graded based on a multitiered process that marks specific attributes per position. As we're combing through All-22 footage to assess each performance, there are additional factors to consider.

We'll adjust for opponent based on the obvious notion that the cornerback we're grading is doing a better job if he's shutting down Antonio Brown than if he's negating the efforts of a seventh-round rookie receiver.

We'll also adjust for players with multiple responsibilities in the course of a game and over the course of time. Think of guys like Mike Daniels and Michael Bennett on the defensive line—how they seamlessly switch from gap to gap. Or how cornerbacks such as Chris Harris and Tyrann Mathieu dominate outside and in the slot. Or how receivers such as Doug Baldwin and Larry Fitzgerald bedevil cornerbacks from multiple field positions.

That's more important than ever in today's NFL, and we pay attention to it.

We will not adjust for injuries. If a player is underperforming because of an injury, that's part of his performance, fair or unfair, and it needs to be graded accordingly.

Grading any player is a subjective process, but with a series of attributes per position and a specific direction as to what to grade and how, we'll work to make it as definitive as possible.

Top 50 Overall from Week 14

Elsa/Getty Images

Beyond the placement of two Giants cornerbacks in our top six, there were a few more surprise names in this week's NFL1000 rankings.

Cornerback Casey Hayward has been the star of the San Diego Chargers' secondary since Jason Verrett went down with a torn ACL in October, but against the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, free safety Dwight Lowery was the man with a plan. Lowery allowed one catch on three targets, saving San Diego's defense from several big plays by sticking to tight end Greg Olsen like glue.

An injury might be good news in a weird way for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a chest injury felled strong safety Chris Conte, who had been a liability in coverage (to be kind) prior to going down, Keith Tandy stepped in over the last two games and has availed himself well. Against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Tandy allowed just one catch for six yards on five targets, adding seven tackles on the day. Tampa's defense will need a shot in the arm down the stretch, and our top-ranked strong safety this week might be just the ticket.

Two defenders stood out in the Chicago Bears' generally unimpressive ranks Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Registering a sack, two quarterback hurries and five stops, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski got a big bump this week in our rankings. The rookie from West Virginia had a relatively quiet start to the season, but he's showing up well lately with a nose for the ball and increasing efficiency when breaking through blockers.

Cornerback Cre'von LeBlanc is likewise becoming a name to know. The undrafted rookie from Florida Atlantic allowed three catches on eight targets for 24 yards, an interception and an opposing quarterback rating of 6.3. He's played 606 snaps this season, acquitting himself well outside and in the slot. Add in the continued excellence of linebacker Leonard Floyd and the Bears might be tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the NFL's best defensive draft in 2016 if Kwiatkoski and LeBlanc hold up.

Top 50 Overall from Week 14

Rank	Player	Pos	Team	NFL1000 Score	LW	Moving
1	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB	85	15	↑
2	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	85	5	↑
3	Janoris Jenkins	CB	NYG	85	603	↑
4	Geno Atkins	DT	CIN	83	159	↑
5	Tyron Smith	LT	DAL	83	6	↑
6	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	CB	NYG	82	729	↑
7	Trent Williams	LT	WAS	82	NR	↑
8	Johnny Hekker	P	LA	82	17	↑
9	Joe Thomas	LT	CLE	80	32	↑
10	Ryan Kerrigan	3-4 OLB	WAS	80	93	↑
11	Tom Brady	QB	NE	80	178	↑
12	Bryan Bulaga	RT	GB	80	35	↑
13	Dwight Lowery	FS	SD	80	470	↑
14	Keith Tandy	SS	TB	80	66	↑
15	Deion Jones	ILB	ATL	80	601	↑
16	Ndamukong Suh	DT	MIA	80	592	↑
17	Sean Lee	4-3 OLB	DAL	80	597	↑
18	Matt Bosher	P	ATL	80	409	↑
19	Maurkice Pouncey	C	PIT	79	50	↑
20	Leonard Floyd	3-4 OLB	CHI	79	212	↑
21	Cam Newton	QB	CAR	79	415	↑
22	David Bakhtiari	LT	GB	79	55	↑
23	Quinton Spain	OG	TEN	78	NR	↑
24	Cameron Wake	4-3 DE	MIA	78	318	↑
25	Marcus Gilbert	RT	PIT	78	18	↓
26	Casey Hayward	CB	SD	78	9	↓
27	Jason Peters	LT	PHI	78	54	↑
28	Jeremy Hill	RB	CIN	77	185	↑
29	Mitchell Schwartz	RT	KC	77	84	↑
30	Josh Sitton	OG	CHI	77	NR	↑
31	Carlos Hyde	RB	SF	77	74	↑
32	Trent Murphy	3-4 OLB	WAS	77	330	↑
33	Kurt Coleman	SS	CAR	77	NR	↑
34	Sam Bradford	QB	MIN	77	26	↓
35	David Johnson	RB	ARI	77	7	↓
36	Travis Frederick	C	DAL	77	58	↑
37	Whitney Mercilus	3-4 OLB	HOU	77	59	↑
38	Kyle Juszczyk	FB	BAL	77	108	↑
39	Donald Penn	LT	OAK	77	25	↓
40	Cre'von LeBlanc	CB	CHI	77	989	↑
41	Nick Kwiatkoski	ILB	CHI	77	126	↑
42	Jadeveon Clowney	3-4 OLB	HOU	77	NR	↑
43	Morgan Burnett	SS	GB	77	174	↑
44	Damarious Randall	CB	GB	77	971	↑
45	Vonn Bell	FS	NO	77	606	↑
46	Nick Novak	K	HOU	77	988	↑
47	Mike Daniels	3-4 DE	GB	76	317	↑
48	Marcus Mariota	QB	TEN	76	NR	↑
49	Vic Beasley	4-3 DE	ATL	76	262	↑
50	Bobby Wagner	ILB	SEA	76	274	↑

Quarterbacks

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Familiar names topped the quarterback rankings this week. Aaron Rodgers' receivers stopped dropping his passes, so it's now less controversial to praise him, while Tom Brady's inaccuracies of previous weeks for the New England Patriots disappeared against the Baltimore Ravens. Brady fell behind Rodgers largely because of his interception, but he was spectacular aside from that one play. 

The week's quarterback play was less about who was thriving and more about who was struggling. Twenty-four quarterbacks ranked below a 70 overall this week, as the quality of quarterback play across the league was atrocious. Whether it was accuracy, decision-making, reacting to pressure or arm strength, too many quarterbacks struggled to break down the defenses across from them.

Seattle's Russell Wilson fell further than anyone. Wilson had a couple of interceptions that weren't his fault, one of which came at the end of the second quarter when he was being aggressive in search of a touchdown. Wilson's rating still fell as far as it did because he repeatedly missed throws he should have made and was all over the place in the pocket.

Early in the game, he missed a long touchdown to an open receiver down the left sideline before missing a wide-open Jimmy Graham for another big play soon after. Wilson just edged out the Cleveland Browns' Robert Griffin III, who displayed the rust you'd expect to see from a quarterback who has played so sparingly over recent years.

Griffin's decision-making was a huge problem, but he did offer some rushing value to keep his rating in that category in double digits. The low point of the day came when he forced an interception into triple coverage after a flea-flicker in his own end zone. Griffin had nobody open, but he did have a receiver single-covered on the other side of the field.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger had similar problems with turnovers. Roethlisberger's first interception appeared to be a miscommunication, but he followed that play up with plenty of interceptable passes. On at least three occasions, Roethlisberger threw the ball straight to a defender over the middle of the field. He did it twice on the same drive, with the first being dropped before the second was intercepted in the end zone.

It was a week to forget for pretty much everyone.

Grading Scale

Acc: Accuracy (Graded out of 25)

Arm: Arm Strength (Graded out of 25)

Press: Pressure/Run Threat (Graded out of 20) (Pressure weighted at 15, run threat at 5)

Dec: Decision-Making (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Quarterback Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Acc	Arm	Press	Dec	Pos	Ovr
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	22	22	15	16	10	85
2	Tom Brady	NE	22	21	14	13	10	80
3	Cam Newton	CAR	16	23	15	15	10	79
4	Sam Bradford	MIN	18	20	14	15	10	77
5	Marcus Mariota	TEN	17	21	14	14	10	76
6	Matt Ryan	ATL	16	19	14	15	10	74
7	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	17	19	14	14	10	74
8	Andy Dalton	CIN	16	19	13	14	10	72
9	Trevor Siemian	DEN	15	19	12	14	10	70
10	Andrew Luck	IND	16	20	11	12	10	69
11	Matt Barkley	CHI	15	18	13	13	10	69
12	Alex Smith	KC	16	19	12	12	10	69
13	Carson Palmer	ARI	16	20	11	11	10	68
14	Carson Wentz	PHI	15	18	13	12	10	68
15	Tyrod Taylor	BUF	15	19	13	11	10	68
16	Jameis Winston	TB	15	18	12	12	10	67
17	Matthew Stafford	DET	14	19	12	12	10	67
18	Colin Kaepernick	SF	15	18	12	12	10	67
19	Joe Flacco	BAL	14	20	12	10	10	66
20	Philip Rivers	SD	15	16	13	11	10	65
21	Drew Brees	NO	15	18	12	10	10	65
22	Dak Prescott	DAL	14	18	11	11	10	64
23	Kirk Cousins	WAS	14	17	11	12	10	64
24	Eli Manning	NYG	14	18	10	11	10	63
25	Bryce Petty	NYJ	13	18	12	10	10	63
26	Matt Moore	MIA	14	17	10	11	10	62
27	Blake Bortles	JAX	13	18	11	10	10	62
28	Derek Carr	OAK	12	18	9	12	10	61
29	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	14	18	10	9	10	61
30	Brock Osweiler	HOU	13	17	10	10	10	60
31	Jared Goff	LA	12	18	10	10	10	60
32	Robert Griffin III	CLE	11	17	12	10	10	60
33	Russell Wilson	SEA	10	18	10	10	10	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Running Backs

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Le'Veon Bell was far and away the NFL's best running back in Week 14. He outgained the Bills by himself and has thrown his hat in the MVP conversation with his play over the last month. He is the league's most complete running back, as there isn't anything he cannot do. He dominated in every facet of the game, churning out one of the more highlight-worthy performances of the year. The Steelers are the front-runner in the AFC North, and Bell is the biggest reason why. 

The Cincinnati Bengals' Jeremy Hill and San Francisco 49ers' Carlos Hyde both had big games against bad defenses. Hyde shredded the New York Jets for 193 yards on 17 carries, going untouched on many of his big runs. He continues to run hard even as the 49ers' season heads in the wrong direction. While he might never be a star in the NFL, he clearly has the talent to be a productive player if he can stay healthy.

The Arizona Cardinals' David Johnson had another solid all-around game, racking up 80 yards on 20 carries and chipping in an additional five catches for 41 yards, despite the struggles of quarterback Carson Palmer and the bad weather in Miami. The Houston Texans' Lamar Miller basically put a nail in the Indianapolis Colts' coffin while the Jets' Bilal Powell helped make sure the 49ers will go down as an all-time bad run defense. Powell destroyed San Francisco to the tune of 179 total yards after Matt Forte went out with an injury early in the game, and he even scored a walk-off touchdown in overtime.

The Oakland Raiders' Latavius Murray and New England Patriots' LeGarrette Blount both had strong games between the tackles and ran hard against two tough defenses. Murray might have had his best outing of the year against the Kansas City Chiefs, keeping the Raiders in the game as quarterback Derek Carr struggled. Both Blount and Murray have made themselves a lot of money heading into unrestricted free agency in 2017.

Grading Scale

In: Inside Running (Graded out of 25)

Out: Outside Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Running Back Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	In	Out	Rec	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	23	21	18	17	6	85
2	Jeremy Hill	CIN	19	18	17	17	6	77
3	Carlos Hyde	SF	21	18	16	16	6	77
4	David Johnson	ARI	19	18	17	17	6	77
5	Lamar Miller	HOU	20	18	16	16	6	76
6	Bilal Powell	NYJ	19	18	17	16	6	76
7	DeMarco Murray	TEN	19	18	16	17	6	76
8	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	19	18	16	16	6	75
9	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	19	18	15	17	6	75
10	Latavius Murray	OAK	20	18	15	16	6	75
11	Kenneth Dixon	BAL	18	17	17	17	6	75
12	LeGarrette Blount	NE	21	17	15	16	6	75
13	Todd Gurley	LA	18	16	17	17	6	74
14	Doug Martin	TB	18	17	16	17	6	74
15	Jordan Howard	CHI	18	17	16	16	6	73
16	Duke Johnson	CLE	17	17	17	16	6	73
17	Ryan Mathews	PHI	18	18	16	15	6	73
18	Chris Thompson	WAS	17	19	15	16	6	73
19	Jay Ajayi	MIA	18	17	16	16	6	73
20	Ty Montgomery	GB	18	17	17	15	6	73
21	LeSean McCoy	BUF	16	16	18	17	6	73
22	Thomas Rawls	SEA	18	18	16	15	6	73
23	Charles Sims	TB	16	18	17	16	6	73
24	Tevin Coleman	ATL	16	17	17	16	6	72
25	Frank Gore	IND	17	14	17	17	6	71
26	Robert Kelley	WAS	19	15	15	16	6	71
27	Matt Asiata	MIN	17	15	16	17	6	71
28	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	16	17	17	15	6	71
29	Tim Hightower	NO	17	16	16	16	6	71
30	Zach Zenner	DET	17	15	16	16	6	70
31	Alfred Blue	HOU	18	16	15	15	6	70
32	Jalen Richard	OAK	18	16	15	15	6	70
33	Darren Sproles	PHI	17	15	16	16	6	70
34	Derrick Henry	TEN	17	16	15	16	6	70
35	Terrance West	BAL	15	15	17	17	6	70
36	T.J. Yeldon	JAX	17	15	16	16	6	70
37	James White	NE	15	15	18	16	6	70
38	Mike Gillislee	BUF	17	16	16	15	6	70
39	Christine Michael	GB	17	16	15	16	6	70
40	Dion Lewis	NE	17	16	16	15	6	70
41	Kenneth Farrow	SD	16	15	17	16	6	70
42	Dwayne Washington	DET	17	15	15	16	6	69
43	Spencer Ware	KC	17	15	15	16	6	69
44	Wendell Smallwood	PHI	17	16	15	15	6	69
45	Alex Collins	SEA	15	15	17	16	6	69
46	Mark Ingram	NO	17	15	15	16	6	69
47	Robert Turbin	IND	16	14	16	16	6	68
48	Rashad Jennings	NYG	16	15	16	15	6	68
49	Paul Perkins	NYG	16	16	15	15	6	68
50	Fozzy Whittaker	CAR	15	16	16	15	6	68
51	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	16	15	14	16	6	67
52	Travaris Cadet	NO	14	15	17	15	6	67
53	Jeremy Langford	CHI	15	14	15	16	6	66
54	Shaun Draughn	SF	16	14	15	15	6	66
55	Devonta Freeman	ATL	15	14	15	16	6	66
56	Damien Williams	MIA	15	14	16	15	6	66
57	Lance Dunbar	DAL	14	15	16	15	6	66
58	James Starks	GB	15	14	15	16	6	66
59	Corey Grant	JAX	15	14	16	15	6	66
60	Terron Ward	ATL	16	14	15	15	6	66
61	Jonathan Grimes	HOU	15	14	15	15	6	65
62	Devontae Booker	DEN	15	14	15	14	6	64
63	Charcandrick West	KC	15	14	14	15	6	64
64	Justin Forsett	DEN	15	13	14	15	6	63

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Giovani Bernard—injury
• C.J. Anderson—injury
• Ameer Abdullah—injury
• Theo Riddick—injury
• Eddie Lacy—injury
• Chris Ivory—injury
• Jamaal Charles—injury
• Adrian Peterson—injury
• Shane Vereen—insufficient snaps
• DeAngelo Williams—injury
• Melvin Gordon—insufficient snaps
• Matt Forte—insufficient snaps

Fullbacks

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Baltimore Ravens' Kyle Juszczyk had one of the best receptions you will see from a fullback on Monday Night Football. He broke multiple tackles and showed his speed in the open field on his 40-yard catch, the longest of his four-year career. He is the Ravens' most consistent weapon and excelled against the Patriots despite his teammates' struggles.

The New Orleans Saints' John Kuhn had an impressive all-around game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, contributing both by carrying the ball and catching it out of the backfield. He has been consistent this season as a lead blocker. 

Aaron Ripkowski helped get the Green Bay Packers' run game get on track against a stout Seattle defense. Ripkowski also continues to get carries and is emerging as a key part of the Packers offense that appears to be peaking at the right time.

Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien singled out Jay Prosch after the game as being a player who helped his team beat the Indianapolis Colts. His key blocks helped spring Lamar Miller for a big day against a divisional rival, solidifying his status as one of the league's best blocking fullbacks.

In Marcel Reece's first game of the year for the Seattle Seahwaks, he showed he can still be a playmaker in the passing game, coming up with a big 31-yard catch.

Grading Scale

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 50)

Run: Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Fullback Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Blk	Run	Rec	Pos	Ovr
1	Kyle Juszczyk	BAL	44	17	12	4	77
2	John Kuhn	NO	43	17	10	4	74
3	Aaron Ripkowski	GB	44	17	9	4	74
4	Patrick DiMarco	ATL	44	15	9	4	72
5	Jay Prosch	HOU	44	15	9	4	72
6	Zach Line	MIN	43	16	9	4	72
7	James Develin	NE	44	15	9	4	72
8	Marcel Reece	SEA	40	17	11	4	72
9	Mike Tolbert	CAR	43	15	9	4	71
10	Jalston Fowler	TEN	44	15	8	4	71
11	Jamize Olawale	OAK	42	15	9	4	70
12	Jerome Felton	BUF	43	15	8	4	70
13	Roosevelt Nix	PIT	43	14	8	4	69
14	Paul Lasike	CHI	42	15	7	4	68
15	Dan Vitale	CLE	42	15	7	4	68
16	Anthony Sherman	KC	41	14	8	4	67

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Michael Burton—insufficient snaps
• Will Tukuafu—inactive

Wide Receivers

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Few NFC wide receivers stood out in Week 14, as many of the typical stars were limited to modest games.

Even the New York Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. had a few drops that cost his team—one that would've been a surefire touchdown and another that would have converted a third down. One of the true surprises this week and this season at receiver is Davante Adams of the Packers. Adams caught four passes for 104 yards, with the biggest one being a 66-yarder down the sideline for a score. Adams and Jordy Nelson are starting to come into their own, which is helping the Packers offense click.

Over in the AFC, Jarvis Landry impressed for the Miami Dolphins, catching four passes for 103 yards, including a standout 71-yard catch-and-run on a mesh concept crossing route where he picked up a strong block from teammate Kenny Stills downfield.

Some receivers shined in losing efforts, including Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders for the Denver Broncos and T.Y. Hilton for the Colts.

One of the younger receivers who continues to surprise is the Jets' Robby Anderson. The undrafted wide receiver out of Temple seems to have a great relationship with current starting quarterback Bryce Petty, and the speedster also shows great ability at the catch point on contested throws, as evidenced by his 40-yard reception on 3rd-and-18 in the third quarter and on his 26-yard catch in overtime to help set up the game-winning score.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 25)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Wide Receiver Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Davante Adams	GB	19	18	16	12	9	74
2	Jarvis Landry	MIA	19	20	14	12	9	74
3	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	20	17	17	11	9	74
4	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	19	21	12	12	9	73
5	Jordy Nelson	GB	19	18	14	12	9	72
6	Marqise Lee	JAX	19	20	13	11	9	72
7	Kenny Stills	MIA	19	20	11	13	9	72
8	Antonio Brown	PIT	19	19	13	12	9	72
9	DeSean Jackson	WAS	18	18	17	10	9	72
10	Taylor Gabriel	ATL	18	17	17	10	9	71
11	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	20	18	12	12	9	71
12	T.Y. Hilton	IND	20	19	11	12	9	71
13	Julian Edelman	NE	18	20	12	12	9	71
14	Cameron Meredith	CHI	17	17	15	12	9	70
15	Adam Thielen	MIN	18	18	14	11	9	70
16	Tyler Boyd	CIN	18	18	12	12	9	69
17	Cole Beasley	DAL	18	17	14	11	9	69
18	Tyreek Hill	KC	18	18	13	11	9	69
19	Brandin Cooks	NO	18	17	14	11	9	69
20	Sterling Shepard	NYG	18	18	13	11	9	69
21	Brandon Marshall	NYJ	17	18	12	13	9	69
22	Jordan Matthews	PHI	18	18	12	12	9	69
23	Dontrelle Inman	SD	18	18	11	13	9	69
24	Mike Evans	TB	18	17	13	12	9	69
25	Pierre Garcon	WAS	17	17	14	12	9	69
26	Steve Smith Sr.	BAL	18	18	11	12	9	68
27	Golden Tate	DET	18	17	13	11	9	68
28	Marvin Jones	DET	17	17	14	11	9	68
29	Anquan Boldin	DET	17	18	12	12	9	68
30	Tavon Austin	LA	17	17	15	10	9	68
31	Quincy Enunwa	NYJ	17	17	12	13	9	68
32	Robby Anderson	NYJ	16	20	12	11	9	68
33	Tyrell Williams	SD	18	18	11	12	9	68
34	Jeremy Kerley	SF	16	17	15	11	9	68
35	Aldrick Robinson	ATL	17	16	13	12	9	67
36	Mike Wallace	BAL	17	17	13	11	9	67
37	Sammy Watkins	BUF	17	19	11	11	9	67
38	Willie Snead	NO	17	17	13	11	9	67
39	Tyler Lockett	SEA	17	16	15	10	9	67
40	Tanner McEvoy	SEA	17	17	12	12	9	67
41	Josh Bellamy	CHI	18	14	14	11	9	66
42	Deonte Thompson	CHI	16	16	14	11	9	66
43	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	17	17	11	12	9	66
44	Chris Conley	KC	16	17	12	12	9	66
45	Kenny Britt	LA	17	16	13	11	9	66
46	Stefon Diggs	MIN	16	17	13	11	9	66
47	Chris Hogan	NE	17	17	11	12	9	66
48	Doug Baldwin	SEA	17	15	13	12	9	66
49	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	16	16	11	13	9	65
50	Justin Hardy	ATL	16	17	12	11	9	65
51	Brandon LaFell	CIN	16	16	11	13	9	65
52	Randall Cobb	GB	16	16	13	11	9	65
53	Will Fuller V	HOU	16	16	11	13	9	65
54	Malcolm Mitchell	NE	17	16	11	12	9	65
55	Amari Cooper	OAK	17	16	11	12	9	65
56	Paul Turner	PHI	16	16	13	11	9	65
57	Quinton Patton	SF	16	16	13	11	9	65
58	Jamison Crowder	WAS	16	16	13	11	9	65
59	Ted Ginn Jr.	CAR	16	17	12	10	9	64
60	Devin Funchess	CAR	15	15	13	12	9	64
61	Corey Coleman	CLE	16	15	12	12	9	64
62	Mike Thomas	LA	16	16	13	10	9	64
63	Michael Crabtree	OAK	16	16	11	12	9	64
64	Nelson Agholor	PHI	16	16	12	11	9	64
65	Cobi Hamilton	PIT	15	15	11	14	9	64
66	Pharoh Cooper	LA	16	17	12	10	9	64
67	Breshad Perriman	BAL	16	16	11	11	9	63
68	Dez Bryant	DAL	16	15	10	13	9	63
69	Terrance Williams	DAL	16	15	11	12	9	63
70	Keith Mumphery	HOU	15	15	11	13	9	63
71	Phillip Dorsett	IND	18	13	11	12	9	63
72	Bryan Walters	JAX	16	15	11	12	9	63
73	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	14	15	13	12	9	63
74	Eli Rogers	PIT	16	15	11	12	9	63
75	Russell Shepard	TB	15	16	12	11	9	63
76	Kamar Aiken	BAL	15	15	11	12	9	62
77	Alex Erickson	CIN	15	14	12	12	9	62
78	Brice Butler	DAL	17	15	10	11	9	62
79	Allen Robinson	JAX	15	14	11	13	9	62
80	Brian Quick	LA	15	15	12	11	9	62
81	DeVante Parker	MIA	15	15	11	12	9	62
82	Brandon Coleman	NO	15	15	12	11	9	62
83	Victor Cruz	NYG	16	16	10	11	9	62
84	Michael Floyd	ARI	15	15	11	11	9	61
85	Robert Woods	BUF	15	14	11	12	9	61
86	Cody Core	CIN	15	14	11	12	9	61
87	Terrelle Pryor Sr.	CLE	14	14	11	13	9	61
88	Donte Moncrief	IND	15	14	11	12	9	61
89	Chester Rogers	IND	15	15	11	11	9	61
90	Albert Wilson	KC	14	14	11	13	9	61
91	Charone Peake	NYJ	15	15	11	11	9	61
92	Seth Roberts	OAK	15	13	11	13	9	61
93	Rishard Mathews	TEN	15	14	11	12	9	61
94	Marquise Goodwin	BUF	14	14	11	12	9	60
95	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	14	14	11	12	9	60
96	Jordan Taylor	DEN	15	14	11	11	9	60
97	Bennie Fowler	DEN	14	14	11	12	9	60
98	Jeremy Maclin	KC	15	14	11	11	9	60
99	Travis Benjamin	SD	15	13	11	12	9	60
100	Justin Hunter	BUF	14	14	11	11	9	59
101	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	13	15	11	11	9	59
102	Cody Latimer	DEN	14	14	11	11	9	59
103	Arrelious Benn	JAX	14	14	11	11	9	59
104	Andre Holmes	OAK	14	14	11	11	9	59
105	Jermaine Kearse	SEA	14	14	11	11	9	59
106	Tajae Sharpe	TEN	14	14	11	11	9	59
107	Brandon Tate	BUF	14	14	11	10	9	58
108	Rashard Higgins	CLE	14	14	11	10	9	58
109	Josh Huff	TB	13	14	11	11	9	58
110	Harry Douglas	TEN	14	14	11	9	9	57
111	J.J. Nelson	ARI	14	12	11	10	9	56
112	Charles Johnson	MIN	13	13	11	10	9	56
113	Torrey Smith	SF	12	12	10	12	9	55
114	Philly Brown	CAR	12	12	10	11	9	54
115	Andre Roberts	DET	12	12	10	11	9	54
116	Laquon Treadwell	MIN	12	12	10	11	9	54
117	Freddie Martino	TB	12	12	10	11	9	54
118	Ryan Grant	WAS	12	12	10	11	9	54
119	Paul Richardson	SEA	12	12	10	10	9	53

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Alshon Jeffery—suspension
• John Brown—injury
• Julio Jones—injury
• Mohamed Sanu—injury
• Eddie Royal—injury
• A.J. Green—injury
• Allen Hurns—injury
• Michael Thomas—injury
• Eric Decker—injury
• Jalin Marshall—injury
• Darrius Heyward-Bey—injury
• Keenan Allen—injury
• Kendall Wright—injury
• Danny Amendola—injury
• Markus Wheaton—injury

Tight Ends

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Two of the best performances of the week came from the same team in Week 14.

Zach Ertz and Trey Burton of the Philadelphia Eagles both had nice games as they combined for 17 catches for 177 yards. Burton could've had an even bigger game, as Carson Wentz just missed him down the field for what would've been a 50-yard touchdown. Burton and Ertz are average blockers at best, but they are difficult matchups for safeties and linebackers.

Greg Olsen continues to be the most consistent receiving option for the Panthers, as he caught four passes for 87 yards.  

On the AFC side of the ledger, the Chiefs' Travis Kelce continued his impressive run of late, catching five passes for 101 yards, his fourth straight game with over 100 yards receiving. He remains a dangerous threat throughout any given play, from his route running to his ability after the catch.

Two Tennessee Titans tight ends, Delanie Walker and Anthony Fasano, flashed in specific traits this week. Walker was impressive after the catch, including a nifty dip move along the sideline to evade two Broncos defenders. The Titans rode their running game to the win, and with his work as a blocker, Fasano was a big reason why.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 20)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Tight End Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Travis Kelce	KC	15	19	14	19	6	73
2	Tyler Eifert	CIN	15	19	12	20	6	72
3	Greg Olsen	CAR	16	18	14	17	6	71
4	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	17	17	14	17	6	71
5	Zach Ertz	PHI	17	18	14	16	6	71
6	Jason Witten	DAL	16	18	13	17	6	70
7	Trey Burton	PHI	17	17	15	15	6	70
8	Delanie Walker	TEN	13	18	15	18	6	70
9	Martellus Bennett	NE	12	18	13	19	6	68
10	Jack Doyle	IND	13	18	12	19	6	68
11	Daniel Brown	CHI	15	16	14	17	6	68
12	Dion Sims	MIA	12	18	11	20	6	67
13	Charles Clay	BUF	13	18	13	17	6	67
14	Cameron Brate	TB	14	16	14	17	6	67
15	Jordan Reed	WAS	15	17	12	17	6	67
16	Eric Ebron	DET	15	17	13	16	6	67
17	Gary Barnidge	CLE	13	17	11	19	6	66
18	Antonio Gates	SD	13	18	12	17	6	66
19	Blake Bell	SF	13	16	14	17	6	66
20	Will Tye	NYG	15	16	12	17	6	66
21	Anthony Fasano	TEN	12	15	11	21	6	65
22	Jesse James	PIT	12	16	11	20	6	65
23	C.J. Fiedorowicz	HOU	12	17	11	19	6	65
24	Hunter Henry	SD	12	16	12	19	6	65
25	A.J. Derby	DEN	13	17	11	18	6	65
26	Ladarius Green	PIT	13	17	11	18	6	65
27	Neal Sterling	JAX	14	17	11	17	6	65
28	Lance Kendricks	LA	14	16	12	17	6	65
29	Jimmy Graham	SEA	15	15	12	17	6	65
30	Dennis Pitta	BAL	12	17	11	18	6	64
31	Garrett Celek	SF	13	14	13	18	6	64
32	Richard Rodgers	GB	14	15	12	17	6	64
33	Ed Dickson	CAR	15	16	11	16	6	64
34	Jerell Adams	NYG	15	15	12	16	6	64
35	Ben Koyack	JAX	12	15	11	19	6	63
36	Clive Walford	OAK	12	16	11	18	6	63
37	Mychal Rivera	OAK	13	16	11	17	6	63
38	Levine Toilolo	ATL	12	14	12	18	6	62
39	Brandon Bostick	NYJ	12	15	11	18	6	62
40	Brandon Myers	TB	12	14	12	18	6	62
41	Nick Boyle	BAL	12	16	11	17	6	62
42	Ryan Hewitt	CIN	11	14	11	19	6	61
43	Ryan Griffin	HOU	12	14	11	18	6	61
44	Rhett Ellison	MIN	12	15	11	17	6	61
45	Kellen Davis	NYJ	12	15	11	17	6	61
46	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	NYJ	12	15	11	17	6	61
47	Brent Celek	PHI	12	15	11	17	6	61
48	Jermaine Gresham	ARI	12	15	12	16	6	61
49	John Phillips	NO	13	14	11	17	6	61
50	Tyler Kroft	CIN	11	14	11	18	6	60
51	Alex Ellis	JAX	11	14	11	18	6	60
52	Demetrius Harris	KC	11	14	11	18	6	60
53	David Johnson	PIT	11	14	11	18	6	60
54	Sean McGrath	SD	11	14	11	18	6	60
55	Phillip Supernaw	TEN	11	14	11	18	6	60
56	Austin Hooper	ATL	11	14	12	17	6	60
57	Randall Telfer	CLE	11	15	11	17	6	60
58	Vernon Davis	WAS	12	14	10	18	6	60
59	Tyler Higbee	LA	12	14	11	17	6	60
60	Darren Waller	BAL	12	15	11	16	6	60
61	Nick O'Leary	BUF	12	15	11	16	6	60
62	Brandon Williams	SEA	13	13	11	17	6	60
63	Darren Fells	ARI	13	14	11	16	6	60
64	Coby Fleener	NO	13	14	11	16	6	60
65	Luke Willson	SEA	13	14	11	16	6	60
66	Virgil Green	DEN	11	14	11	17	6	59
67	Matt Lengel	NE	11	14	11	17	6	59
68	Nick Vannett	SEA	13	13	11	16	6	59
69	Jared Cook	GB	13	14	12	14	6	59
70	Logan Paulsen	CHI	11	13	11	17	6	58
71	Dwayne Allen	IND	11	14	11	16	6	58
72	Stephen Anderson	HOU	11	14	11	14	6	56
73	Temarrick Hemingway	LA	11	12	10	16	6	55
74	Gavin Escobar	DAL	13	13	10	13	6	55

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Troy Niklas—injury
• Jacob Tamme—injury
• Zach Miller—injury
• Josh Hill—injury
• Vance McDonald—injury
• Jordan Cameron—injury
• Rob Gronkowski—injury
• Crockett Gillmore—injury
• Maxx Williams—injury
• Marcedes Lewis—injury
• Julius Thomas—injury

Left Tackles

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Tyron Smith of the Cowboys was the NFL's top left tackle in Week 14. The All-Pro was once again dominant against a very good Giants defense. It seems like a weekly occurrence to see Smith finish blocks off with violence in pass protection and in the running game.

Giants rookie corner Eli Apple felt the power of Smith firsthand when the rookie had the unfortunate task of being the force defender on a perimeter run.

The Washington Redskins' Trent Williams returned from his four-game suspension and didn't seem to show any sign of rust at all against Philadelphia. His impressive display of elite agility in pass protection and explosive power in the running game landed him as our second-ranked left tackle of the week.

When Week 14 concluded, the Browns found themselves 0-13 after losing to AFC North division foe Cincinnati. There aren't many positives for the Browns, but future Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas continues to be as consistent as they come. Thomas has maintained his status as a premier pass protector, and it seems as if he has gotten better and better in the running game as the seasons continue to pile up. That was the case in Week 14 against the Bengals, which earned Thomas our third slot.

Ranking at No. 4, Green Bay's David Bakhtiari was outstanding against Seattle as the Packers cruised to a 38-10 victory over the Seahawks. 2016 has seen Bakhtiari establish himself as an elite-level pass protector, and in Week 14, he gave up two pressures in 59 snaps and was solid as a run-blocker. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Left Tackle Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Tyron Smith	DAL	19	21	18	17	8	83
2	Trent Williams	WAS	20	20	17	17	8	82
3	Joe Thomas	CLE	20	19	15	18	8	80
4	David Bakhtiari	GB	20	19	14	18	8	79
5	Jason Peters	PHI	19	18	17	16	8	78
6	Donald Penn	OAK	20	19	15	15	8	77
7	Duane Brown	HOU	19	19	16	14	8	76
8	Russell Okung	DEN	18	20	15	15	8	76
9	Ronnie Stanley	BAL	20	18	14	16	8	76
10	Jake Matthews	ATL	18	21	15	14	8	76
11	Cordy Glenn	BUF	19	19	15	14	8	75
12	Nate Solder	NE	19	19	15	14	8	75
13	Branden Albert	MIA	18	19	15	15	8	75
14	Andrew Whitworth	CIN	17	20	16	14	8	75
15	Taylor Lewan	TEN	17	19	16	15	8	75
16	Terron Armstead	NO	19	16	15	16	8	74
17	Taylor Decker	DET	18	19	14	15	8	74
18	Eric Fisher	KC	17	19	15	15	8	74
19	Donovan Smith	TB	18	19	16	13	8	74
20	Alejandro Villanueva	PIT	18	19	14	14	8	73
21	Cyrus Kouandjio	BUF	18	18	15	14	8	73
22	Mike Remmers	CAR	18	18	15	14	8	73
23	Charles Leno Jr.	CHI	18	17	14	16	8	73
24	Anthony Castonzo	IND	18	18	15	14	8	73
25	D.J. Humphries	ARI	18	18	14	14	8	72
26	Greg Robinson	LA	17	17	15	14	8	71
27	Zane Beadles	SF	17	17	15	14	8	71
28	Ben Ijalana	NYJ	16	18	15	13	8	70
29	T.J. Clemmings	MIN	16	18	14	13	8	69
30	George Fant	SEA	16	17	13	15	8	69
31	Kelvin Beachum	JAX	16	17	14	13	8	68
32	King Dunlap	SD	17	17	13	12	8	67
33	John Wetzel	ARI	16	16	13	13	8	66
34	Ereck Flowers	NYG	13	17	15	12	8	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jared Veldheer—injury
• Michael Oher—injury
• Luke Joeckel—injury
• Matt Kalil—injury
• Ryan Clady—injury
• Joe Staley—injury
• Ty Nsekhe—insufficient snaps

Right Tackles

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Green Bay's Bryan Bulaga claimed our top ranking among right tackles in Week 14.

This may sound like a broken record, as we stress this weekly, but Bulaga has been outstanding all season, and his performance this year ranks among the best offensive tackles in the NFL regardless of left or right designation. Against Seattle, Bulaga was strong as a run-blocker, turning defenders out of the holes and consistently moving the point of attack. In pass protection, the 27-year-old tackle surrendered two pressures in 59 snaps.

Pittsburgh's Marcus Gilbert was our No. 2-ranked right tackle in Week 14. He showed tremendous strength, power and explosion at the point of attack against Buffalo and demonstrated great agility and patience in pass protection too, which has seemed to be the norm week in and week out.

Kansas City's Mitchell Schwartz checks in as our third-ranked right tackle in Week 14. He had the difficult task of going head-to-head with Oakland's Khalil Mack, who has been a terror for offensive tackles and quarterbacks, but Schwartz held his own, surrendering two pressures on 55 plays.

What was impressive about Schwartz's performance: Despite battling a nagging ankle injury, he still looked smooth in pass protection and was able to effectively transition from his kick-slide into anchoring against Mack's "speed-to-power" and "long-arm" pass-rushing moves. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Right Tackle Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Bryan Bulaga	GB	20	21	16	16	7	80
2	Marcus Gilbert	PIT	20	21	15	15	7	78
3	Mitchell Schwartz	KC	19	20	16	15	7	77
4	Marcus Cannon	NE	18	20	16	15	7	76
5	Riley Reiff	DET	18	20	16	14	7	75
6	Morgan Moses	WAS	18	19	16	15	7	75
7	Ja'Wuan James	MIA	19	20	15	14	7	75
8	Ricky Wagner	BAL	19	18	16	14	7	74
9	Jake Fisher	CIN	19	18	15	15	7	74
10	Bobby Massie	CHI	18	18	15	16	7	74
11	Jack Conklin	TEN	17	21	16	13	7	74
12	Eric Winston	CIN	19	19	15	13	7	73
13	Austin Pasztor	CLE	18	20	15	13	7	73
14	Ryan Schraeder	ATL	18	19	15	14	7	73
15	Doug Free	DAL	17	20	15	14	7	73
16	Zach Strief	NO	17	20	16	13	7	73
17	Jordan Mills	BUF	18	19	15	13	7	72
18	Donald Stephenson	DEN	18	18	14	15	7	72
19	Trai Turner	CAR	17	19	16	13	7	72
20	Trenton Brown	SF	17	19	16	13	7	72
21	Gosder Cherilus	TB	17	18	14	15	7	71
22	Austin Howard	OAK	17	19	15	13	7	71
23	Chris Clark	HOU	17	18	15	14	7	71
24	Bobby Hart	NYG	18	17	13	15	7	70
25	Rob Havenstein	LA	17	19	14	13	7	70
26	Allen Barbre	PHI	17	17	15	14	7	70
27	Jermey Parnell	JAX	17	17	14	14	7	69
28	Brent Qvale	NYJ	17	17	15	13	7	69
29	Jeremiah Sirles	MIN	17	18	13	13	7	68
30	Joe Barksdale	SD	17	17	14	13	7	68
31	Bradley Sowell	SEA	16	17	14	13	7	67
32	Joe Reitz	IND	16	17	14	13	7	67
33	Ulrick John	ARI	16	17	13	13	7	66
34	Matt Tobin	PHI	16	16	13	13	7	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Daryl Williams—injury
• Cedric Ogbuehi—insufficient snaps
• Derek Newton—injury
• Andre Smith—injury
• Breno Giacomini—injury
• Garry Gilliam—injury
• Demar Dotson—injury
• Halapoulivaati Vaitai—injury
• Lane Johnson—suspension

Offensive Guards

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

It was nice to hear from an old friend at the guard position, so to speak, in Jonathan Cooper.

It seems like it has been a while since we have seen Cooper on the field. In case you haven't kept up with the waiver wire, Cooper is with his third team: the Browns. Cleveland really needed some good news up front after stabilizing interior force John Greco suffered an injury—and Cooper delivered this week.

The most impressive thing about Cooper was his quickness and aggressiveness in his jump sets. He also showed off great punch and power at the point of attack. He looks as healthy as he has been in his NFL career. If he keeps it up, the Browns could have a dynamic running game the rest of the way. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Offensive Guard Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Quinton Spain	TEN	17	21	19	14	7	78
2	Josh Sitton	CHI	17	19	19	15	7	77
3	Xavier Su'a-Filo	HOU	16	18	18	16	7	75
4	James Carpenter	NYJ	17	19	18	14	7	75
5	Jonathan Cooper	CLE	16	18	17	16	7	74
6	Max Garcia	DEN	18	17	17	14	7	73
7	Andrew Norwell	CAR	18	16	17	15	7	73
8	T.J. Lang	GB	17	17	17	15	7	73
9	Marshal Yanda	BAL	18	16	17	15	7	73
10	Jeff Allen	HOU	16	18	18	13	7	72
11	Andy Levitre	ATL	17	17	18	13	7	72
12	Zack Martin	DAL	17	16	17	15	7	72
13	B.J. Finney	PIT	16	18	17	14	7	72
14	Kevin Pamphile	TB	18	16	17	14	7	72
15	Vadal Alexander	OAK	17	18	18	12	7	72
16	Mike Iupati	ARI	17	16	17	14	7	71
17	Alex Boone	MIN	17	15	16	16	7	71
18	David DeCastro	PIT	17	16	16	15	7	71
19	Jack Mewhort	IND	18	15	16	15	7	71
20	Larry Warford	DET	18	15	17	14	7	71
21	Clint Boling	CIN	19	15	16	14	7	71
22	Zac Kerin	MIN	15	18	16	15	7	71
23	Brian Winters	NYJ	16	16	16	16	7	71
24	Gabe Jackson	OAK	16	17	16	14	7	70
25	Isaac Seumalo	PHI	15	18	16	14	7	70
26	Richie Incognito	BUF	16	16	17	14	7	70
27	Josh Kline	TEN	16	17	17	13	7	70
28	Chris Reed	JAX	18	15	17	13	7	70
29	Andrew Tiller	SF	16	17	16	14	7	70
30	Ali Marpet	TB	15	17	16	15	7	70
31	Michael Schofield	DEN	17	16	15	15	7	70
32	Kevin Zeitler	CIN	17	17	17	12	7	70
33	Brandon Scherff	WAS	15	17	16	14	7	69
34	Orlando Franklin	SD	16	16	17	13	7	69
35	Lane Taylor	GB	18	15	14	15	7	69
36	Chris Scott	CAR	18	15	16	13	7	69
37	Jahri Evans	NO	18	16	16	12	7	69
38	Marshall Newhouse	NYG	16	16	16	14	7	69
39	Joshua Garnett	SF	13	18	17	14	7	69
40	Jonotthan Harrison	IND	18	14	16	14	7	69
41	Zach Fulton	KC	17	15	17	13	7	69
42	Jermon Bushrod	MIA	16	15	16	14	7	68
43	Andrew Donnal	LA	15	16	16	14	7	68
44	Laken Tomlinson	DET	17	14	15	15	7	68
45	Spencer Drango	CLE	15	16	16	14	7	68
46	Ronald Leary	DAL	15	16	17	13	7	68
47	Laremy Tunsil	MIA	16	14	16	15	7	68
48	Ted Larsen	CHI	17	15	15	14	7	68
49	Vladimir Ducasse	BAL	17	14	15	14	7	67
50	Rodger Saffold	LA	16	15	16	13	7	67
51	Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	KC	15	14	14	17	7	67
52	Arie Kouandjio	WAS	15	15	16	13	7	66
53	Chris Chester	ATL	14	15	16	14	7	66
54	Shaq Mason	NE	14	15	16	14	7	66
55	Germain Ifedi	SEA	12	17	16	13	7	65
56	Spencer Pulley	SD	16	13	14	15	7	65
57	John Miller	BUF	13	15	16	14	7	65
58	Mark Glowinski	SEA	13	15	15	14	7	64
59	D.J. Fluker	SD	14	15	16	12	7	64
60	Stefen Wisniewski	PHI	14	15	15	13	7	64
61	John Jerry	NYG	14	15	16	12	7	64
62	Brandon Fusco	MIN	14	14	15	13	7	63
63	Earl Watford	ARI	12	13	16	13	7	61
64	Joe Thuney	NE	12	14	12	16	7	61
65	Andrus Peat	NO	11	15	14	14	7	61
66	Joe Haeg	IND	12	13	13	15	7	60
67	A.J. Cann	JAX	11	14	15	12	7	59

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Ramon Foster—injury
• John Greco—injury
• Kelechi Osemele—injury
• Kyle Long—injury
• Shawn Lauvao—injury
• Zane Beadles—insufficient snaps
• Denver Kirkland—insufficient snaps
• Brandon Brooks—insufficient snaps
• Justin Pugh—insufficient snaps
• Alvin Bailey—insufficient snaps
• Oday Aboushi—insufficient snaps
• Joel Bitonio—insufficient snaps
• Evan Mathis—insufficient snaps
• La'el Collins—insufficient snaps
• J'Marcus Webb—insufficient snaps

Centers

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Le'Veon Bell will get most of the credit for his explosive stat line against the Bills.

While there is no questioning his dynamic play, a great performance up front, led by Maurkice Pouncey, made it possible. Both guards (backup B.J. Finney and David DeCastro) also did a nice job.

Pouncey had no problem getting to the second level and finding his assignment against the Bills front. His impressive blend of power and athleticism in space makes him an ideal candidate for second-level work. The Steelers did a great job of putting him in position schematically to find and redirect the Bills' interior linebackers. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Center Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Maurkice Pouncey	PIT	18	20	18	17	6	79
2	Travis Frederick	DAL	18	19	18	16	6	77
3	Mitch Morse	KC	17	18	17	18	6	76
4	Greg Mancz	HOU	17	19	18	15	6	75
5	Ryan Kelly	IND	19	16	16	16	6	73
6	Cody Whitehair	CHI	16	18	16	16	6	72
7	Daniel Kilgore	SF	16	18	17	15	6	72
8	Ben Jones	TEN	18	17	16	15	6	72
9	Ryan Groy	BUF	18	17	17	14	6	72
10	Wesley Johnson	NYJ	16	17	17	15	6	71
11	Graham Glasgow	DET	18	15	17	15	6	71
12	Weston Richburg	NYG	16	18	17	14	6	71
13	Corey Linsley	GB	17	16	17	14	6	70
14	Rodney Hudson	OAK	16	16	17	15	6	70
15	Jeremy Zuttah	BAL	16	17	17	14	6	70
16	Tyler Shatley	JAX	19	14	17	13	6	69
17	Alex Mack	ATL	17	15	16	15	6	69
18	Tim Lelito	NO	16	17	17	13	6	69
19	Joe Hawley	TB	18	15	16	14	6	69
20	David Andrews	NE	18	15	16	14	6	69
21	Tim Barnes	LA	16	16	17	13	6	68
22	Matt Paradis	DEN	14	17	17	14	6	68
23	Justin Britt	SEA	15	16	16	15	6	68
24	Cameron Erving	CLE	15	16	15	15	6	67
25	A.Q. Shipley	ARI	15	16	15	15	6	67
26	Jason Kelce	PHI	14	16	15	16	6	67
27	John Sullivan	WAS	16	15	15	14	6	66
28	Anthony Steen	MIA	15	15	14	15	6	65
29	Tyler Larsen	CAR	16	14	13	15	6	64
30	Marcus Martin	SF	15	14	16	13	6	64
31	Nick Easton	MIN	16	14	14	14	6	64
32	Matt Slauson	SD	15	13	15	14	6	63
33	Russell Bodine	CIN	12	15	16	12	6	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• John Greco—injury
• Max Unger—injury
• Brandon Linder—injury
• Nick Mangold—insufficient snaps
• Travis Swanson—insufficient snaps
• Mike Pouncey—insufficient snaps
• Ryan Kalil—insufficient snaps
• Eric Wood—insufficient snaps

3-4 Defensive Ends

Al Bello/Getty Images

As we get deeper into the winter, running games matter more, for both those on the fringe of playoff hopes and those who want to go on title runs. Interior defensive linemen, 3-4 defensive ends, are some of the premier run-stoppers in the sport, and there's no doubt some of these talented linemen swung games in their teams' favor this week.

Against possibly the worst offensive line in the NFL, Mike Daniels of the Green Bay Packers had one of the best games in his career Sunday, giving the Russell Wilson-led Seahawks just their second loss of 10 points or more in the quarterback's five-year career.

Arizona's Calais Campbell was part of a force that held Miami running back Jay Ajayi to just 2.4 yards per carry, while his young clone, San Francisco's DeForest Buckner, held the New York Jets to just three points in the first half.

Quietly, Akiem Hicks of Chicago is having an amazing season. He came from a Canadian college football team and is on his third team in two seasons, but the 27-year-old is on a two-year contract, meaning that he could be in for a huge payday if the Bears don't hop on an early restructure soon. 

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 15)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 30)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Defensive End Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Mike Daniels	GB	13	17	24	15	7	76
2	Calais Campbell	ARI	14	16	23	14	7	74
3	Akiem Hicks	CHI	14	19	20	14	7	74
4	Stephon Tuitt	PIT	12	17	22	13	7	71
5	DeForest Buckner	SF	12	16	21	15	7	71
6	Emmanuel Ogbah	CLE	12	16	18	16	7	69
7	Chris Jones	KC	13	17	19	13	7	69
8	Christian Ringo	GB	11	16	21	14	7	69
9	Dean Lowry	GB	12	16	21	13	7	69
10	Joey Bosa	SD	13	16	19	13	7	68
11	Ziggy Hood	WAS	13	13	19	16	7	68
12	Frostee Rucker	ARI	11	15	20	14	7	67
13	Timmy Jernigan	BAL	12	15	20	12	7	66
14	Jonathan Bullard	CHI	11	15	19	14	7	66
15	Cornelius Washington	CHI	12	14	19	14	7	66
16	Ronald Blair	SF	11	15	20	13	7	66
17	Derek Wolfe	DEN	11	13	20	14	7	65
18	Arthur Jones	IND	10	12	22	14	7	65
19	Tenny Palepoi	SD	10	14	21	13	7	65
20	Sheldon Richardson	NYJ	12	13	20	13	7	65
21	Chris Baker	WAS	12	13	19	14	7	65
22	Lawrence Guy	BAL	10	14	20	13	7	64
23	Muhammad Wilkerson	NYJ	12	12	20	13	7	64
24	Josh Mauro	ARI	11	14	19	13	7	64
25	Ricky Jean-Francois	WAS	11	13	19	14	7	64
26	Corey Liuget	SD	11	13	19	13	7	63
27	Mitch Unrein	CHI	10	14	19	13	7	63
28	Henry Anderson	IND	11	12	19	13	7	62
29	Denico Autry	OAK	10	13	18	14	7	62
30	Karl Klug	TEN	11	13	18	13	7	62
31	DaQuan Jones	TEN	10	13	19	13	7	62
32	Jamie Meder	CLE	8	13	16	16	7	60
33	Jared Crick	DEN	9	13	19	12	7	60
34	Joel Heath	HOU	10	13	18	12	7	60
35	Christian Covington	HOU	8	13	19	13	7	60
36	Leger Douzable	BUF	9	12	17	14	7	59
37	Carl Nassib	CLE	11	12	16	13	7	59
38	Xavier Cooper	CLE	10	12	17	13	7	59
39	Antonio Smith	HOU	10	12	18	12	7	59
40	Kendall Reyes	KC	9	14	17	12	7	59
41	Angelo Blackson	TEN	9	12	18	12	7	58
42	Ricardo Mathews	PIT	9	12	17	12	7	57
43	Adolphus Washington	BUF	9	12	16	12	7	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jurrell Casey—inactive
• Billy Winn—insufficient snaps
• Arik Armstead—injury

4-3 Defensive Ends

Eric Espada/Getty Images

Cameron Wake continues to be amazing and is our highest-graded 4-3 defensive end. His first step, his hands, his leverage and his agility make him one of the premier speed-rushers in the NFL, and he made life miserable for quarterback Carson Palmer and the Cardinals offense.

Coming in second this week, Vic Beasley continues his meteoric second NFL season. He continues to show why writing off speed-rushers after Year 1 is silly. These types require good hand usage to keep themselves free and keep their speed/agility around the arc. Beasley looks like he's going to be a terrorizing threat to all offenses for a long time. 

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Defensive End Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Snap	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Cameron Wake	MIA	26	13	18	13	8	78
2	Vic Beasley	ATL	23	13	18	14	8	76
3	Noah Spence	TB	21	15	17	14	8	75
4	Khalil Mack	OAK	21	15	16	14	8	74
5	Everson Griffen	MIN	21	14	17	14	8	74
6	Cameron Jordan	NO	21	15	15	15	8	74
7	Michael Bennett	SEA	19	15	17	15	8	74
8	Andre Branch	MIA	22	14	14	15	8	73
9	Mario Addison	CAR	22	14	14	15	8	73
10	Olivier Vernon	NYG	21	16	15	13	8	73
11	Brandon Graham	PHI	20	15	15	15	8	73
12	Robert Ayers	TB	22	14	14	15	8	73
13	Benson Mayowa	DAL	20	15	14	15	8	72
14	Tyrone Crawford	DAL	21	14	15	14	8	72
15	DeMarcus Lawrence	DAL	20	14	16	14	8	72
16	Danielle Hunter	MIN	20	14	16	14	8	72
17	Cliff Avril	SEA	20	14	16	14	8	72
18	Frank Clark	SEA	20	14	16	14	8	72
19	Dwight Freeney	ATL	20	14	15	14	8	71
20	Kerry Hyder	DET	20	15	14	14	8	71
21	Romeo Okwara	NYG	19	15	15	14	8	71
22	Marcus Smith	PHI	18	15	15	14	8	70
23	Brooks Reed	ATL	19	15	13	14	8	69
24	Ezekiel Ansah	DET	18	14	17	12	8	69
25	Paul Kruger	NO	19	15	13	14	8	69
26	Ryan Russell	TB	19	14	14	14	8	69
27	Wes Horton	CAR	18	14	14	14	8	68
28	Devin Taylor	DET	19	13	14	14	8	68
29	Ethan Westbrooks	LA	19	14	13	14	8	68
30	Eugene Sims	LA	20	14	13	13	8	68
31	Kasim Edebali	NO	18	14	15	13	8	68
32	Cassius Marsh	SEA	19	14	14	13	8	68
33	William Gholston	TB	19	13	14	14	8	68
34	Yannick Ngakoue	JAX	20	12	14	13	8	67
35	Jason Jones	MIA	20	12	12	15	8	67
36	Jack Crawford	DAL	17	14	14	14	8	67
37	Matt Longacre	LA	18	14	14	13	8	67
38	Brian Robison	MIN	20	12	14	13	8	67
39	Darryl Tapp	NO	19	13	14	13	8	67
40	Trey Flowers	NE	20	13	12	13	8	66
41	Ryan Delaire	CAR	19	14	12	13	8	66
42	William Hayes	LA	19	12	13	14	8	66
43	Connor Barwin	PHI	18	14	14	12	8	66
44	Vinny Curry	PHI	17	12	14	14	8	65
45	Steven Means	PHI	17	14	13	13	8	65
46	Kony Ealy	CAR	18	13	12	13	8	64
47	Carlos Dunlap	CIN	19	13	12	11	8	63
48	Dante Fowler	JAX	17	13	13	12	8	63
49	Anthony Zettel	DET	16	12	13	14	8	63
50	Chris Long	NE	17	12	11	14	8	62
51	Michael Johnson	CIN	19	11	12	11	8	61
52	Jabaal Sheard	NE	16	12	12	13	8	61
53	Will Clarke	CIN	17	11	12	12	8	60
54	Tyson Alualu	JAX	16	15	10	11	8	60

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Margus Hunt—insufficient snaps
• Jared Odrick—inactive
• Mario Williams—inactive
• Lorenzo Mauldin—inactive
• Charles Johnson—injury
• Adrian Clayborn—injury
• Robert Quinn—injury
• Jason Pierre-Paul—injury

Defensive Tackles

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Cincinnati's Geno Atkins and Miami's Ndamukong Suh led the Week 14 NFL1000 defensive tackle rankings with dominant games against the Browns and Cardinals, respectively. Atkins had his way with Cleveland's offensive line, finishing with two sacks, one quarterback hit and four hurries to go along with a bevy of run stops. Suh led the way for the Dolphins defensive line as it battered a weak Cardinals front. Suh had one of his best performances of the season as he controlled his gap rushing the passer and versus the run. 

The Panthers' Kawann Short and Vernon Butler beat up the Chargers' interior offensive line this week. Orlando Franklin and D.J. Fluker were constantly caught out of position against the pair of defensive tackles. Short started off the game with two sacks in the first quarter, including a strip-sack that led to a drive where Carolina scored.

Jacksonville's Sen'Derrick Marks had his best game of the season against the Vikings. Marks has always been quick off the snap this season but often failed to convert on his penetration. This week was different, as he finally finished the plays he disrupted. This was a vintage Marks performance we haven't seen since his knee injury in 2014.

The Falcons duo of Grady Jarrett and Ra'Shede Hageman put forth a great effort against the Los Angeles Rams. Hageman had his best pass-rushing performance since last season's upset of the Panthers in Week 16. Jarrett had another fine game defending the run and an impressive tackle down the field where he caught up to Tavon Austin on a screen pass.

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Defensive Tackle Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Geno Atkins	CIN	20	23	19	14	7	83
2	Ndamukong Suh	MIA	19	21	21	12	7	80
3	Kawann Short	CAR	18	19	17	13	7	74
4	Aaron Donald	LA	19	17	19	12	7	74
5	Fletcher Cox	PHI	17	19	17	13	7	73
6	Grady Jarrett	ATL	17	16	19	13	7	72
7	Sen'Derrick Marks	JAX	19	15	17	13	7	71
8	Linval Joseph	MIN	16	15	20	13	7	71
9	Nick Fairley	NO	19	16	17	12	7	71
10	Leonard Williams	NYJ	17	16	19	12	7	71
11	Stephen Paea	CLE	18	16	17	12	7	70
12	Malcom Brown	NE	18	15	18	12	7	70
13	Gerald McCoy	TB	16	17	18	12	7	70
14	Maliek Collins	DAL	16	16	18	12	7	69
15	Tony McDaniel	SEA	16	15	19	12	7	69
16	Ra'Shede Hageman	ATL	17	17	15	12	7	68
17	Malik Jackson	JAX	17	16	17	11	7	68
18	Al Woods	TEN	16	14	18	13	7	68
19	Corey Peters	ARI	17	15	17	11	7	67
20	Vernon Butler	CAR	16	16	17	11	7	67
21	Jordan Phillips	MIA	16	15	18	11	7	67
22	Damon Harrison	NYG	16	14	19	11	7	67
23	Eddie Goldman	CHI	16	14	17	12	7	66
24	T.Y McGill	IND	17	15	16	11	7	66
25	Earl Mitchell	MIA	15	16	17	11	7	66
26	Tom Johnson	MIN	16	16	15	12	7	66
27	Johnathan Hankins	NYG	16	15	16	12	7	66
28	Brandon Williams	BAL	16	15	16	11	7	65
29	Star Lotulelei	CAR	15	15	16	12	7	65
30	Letroy Guion	GB	15	15	17	11	7	65
31	Hassan Ridgeway	IND	16	16	15	11	7	65
32	Rakeem Nunez-Roches	KC	15	16	15	12	7	65
33	Vincent Valentine	NE	16	15	17	10	7	65
34	Terrell McClain	DAL	14	15	17	11	7	64
35	Abry Jones	JAX	14	15	17	11	7	64
36	Michael Brockers	LA	14	13	19	11	7	64
37	Jarran Reed	SEA	15	14	17	11	7	64
38	Ahtyba Rubin	SEA	14	15	17	11	7	64
39	Damion Square	SD	15	16	15	11	7	64
40	Danny Shelton	CLE	14	15	16	11	7	63
41	Cedric Thornton	DAL	16	15	14	11	7	63
42	Kenny Clark	GB	16	14	16	10	7	63
43	D.J. Reader	HOU	16	14	15	11	7	63
44	Dontari Poe	KC	16	15	14	11	7	63
45	Dominique Easley	LA	16	13	17	10	7	63
46	Alan Branch	NE	15	14	16	11	7	63
47	Austin Johnson	TEN	14	13	17	12	7	63
48	Vince Wilfork	HOU	15	11	17	12	7	62
49	Justin Ellis	OAK	14	12	18	11	7	62
50	Cullen Jenkins	WAS	16	13	15	11	7	62
51	Rodney Gunter	ARI	14	13	17	10	7	61
52	Michael Pierce	BAL	15	13	16	10	7	61
53	Deshawn Williams	CIN	15	14	15	10	7	61
54	Haloti Ngata	DET	15	14	15	10	7	61
55	Shamar Stephens	MIN	14	14	15	11	7	61
56	Sheldon Rankins	NO	15	13	15	11	7	61
57	Bennie Logan	PHI	15	14	14	11	7	61
58	Daniel McCullers	PIT	14	13	16	11	7	61
59	Clinton McDonald	TB	14	13	16	11	7	61
60	Akeem Spence	TB	15	14	15	10	7	61
61	Tyeler Davison	NO	13	13	16	11	7	60
62	Dan Williams	OAK	12	12	17	12	7	60
63	Jonathan Babineaux	ATL	14	13	14	11	7	59
64	Tyson Jackson	ATL	13	11	16	12	7	59
65	Domata Peko	CIN	13	12	16	11	7	59
66	Courtney Upshaw	ATL	14	13	13	11	7	58
67	Marcell Dareus	BUF	15	13	13	10	7	58
68	Paul Soliai	CAR	12	13	15	11	7	58
69	Sheldon Day	JAX	13	14	14	10	7	58
70	Cam Thomas	LA	12	14	14	11	7	58
71	David Onyemata	NO	14	12	15	10	7	58
72	Jay Bromley	NYG	13	13	15	10	7	58
73	Deon Simon	NYJ	14	13	14	10	7	58
74	Beau Allen	PHI	13	15	13	10	7	58
75	Pat Sims	CIN	12	12	15	11	7	57
76	A'Shawn Robinson	DET	14	13	13	10	7	57
77	Jordan Hill	JAX	13	12	14	11	7	57
78	Tyrunn Walker	DET	12	14	12	11	7	56
79	Mike Purcell	SF	14	11	13	11	7	56
80	Glenn Dorsey	SF	16	12	11	10	7	56
81	Destiny Vaeao	PHI	13	12	13	10	7	55
82	Jerel Worthy	BUF	13	12	12	10	7	54
83	David Parry	IND	12	13	11	10	7	53
84	Sylvester Williams	DEN	12	13	11	9	7	52
85	T.J. Barnes	KC	12	11	12	10	7	52
86	Jihad Ward	OAK	11	12	11	9	7	50

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Darius Latham—injury
• Stacy McGee—injury
• John Jenkins—inactive
• Kyle Love—inactive
• Sharrif Floyd—injury
• Zach Kerr—inactive
• Steve McLendon—injury
• Javon Hargrave—injury
• Kyle Williams—injury
• Khyri Thornton—injury

3-4 Outside Linebackers

Ralph Freso/Getty Images

Week 14 was a showcase in how the 3-4 outside linebacker position can be a defining factor in big games. Just look at Ryan Kerrigan of the Redskins. Close to a number of sacks all afternoon, Kerrigan finally got home on Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz—delivering a strip-sack late in the fourth quarter to preserve Washington's win in Philadelphia. He finished with the week's top pass-rushing and overall grades. 

Kerrigan wasn't alone.

Jadeveon Clowney's strip-sack of Andrew Luck in the red zone was a defining moment in the Texans' win over the Colts. With the Packers hurting at outside linebacker, Datone Jones and Jayrone Elliott both delivered sacks during Green Bay's blowout win over the Seahawks. Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan piled on the pressure to help the Titans beat the Broncos in a big game.

Winning big games often requires disrupting the opponent's passing game. Teams that did it best in Week 14 were able to score huge victories.

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Cvg	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ryan Kerrigan	WAS	28	13	11	20	8	80
2	Leonard Floyd	CHI	26	16	9	20	8	79
3	Trent Murphy	WAS	25	14	10	20	8	77
4	Whitney Mercilus	HOU	27	13	9	20	8	77
5	Jadeveon Clowney	HOU	26	14	9	20	8	77
6	Melvin Ingram	SD	25	15	9	19	8	76
7	Von Miller	DEN	19	18	10	21	8	76
8	Justin Houston	KC	22	17	9	20	8	76
9	Brian Orakpo	TEN	25	12	11	19	8	75
10	Datone Jones	GB	25	14	9	19	8	75
11	Lorenzo Alexander	BUF	21	12	13	20	8	74
12	Jayrone Elliott	GB	23	13	9	21	8	74
13	Bud Dupree	PIT	25	13	8	19	8	73
14	Pernell McPhee	CHI	22	15	9	19	8	73
15	Cam Johnson	CLE	24	14	9	18	8	73
16	Dee Ford	KC	23	14	9	18	8	72
17	Derrick Morgan	TEN	25	12	10	17	8	72
18	Trent Cole	IND	21	13	9	18	8	69
19	Markus Golden	ARI	21	13	10	17	8	69
20	DeMarcus Ware	DEN	21	12	9	18	8	68
21	Matt Judon	BAL	20	13	9	18	8	68
22	Preston Smith	WAS	20	12	10	18	8	68
23	Elvis Dumervil	BAL	21	11	9	18	8	67
24	Jamie Collins	CLE	21	12	6	20	8	67
25	Terrell Suggs	BAL	20	13	9	17	8	67
26	James Harrison	PIT	19	12	10	18	8	67
27	Willie Young	CHI	19	13	10	17	8	67
28	Shane Ray	DEN	22	11	9	16	8	66
29	Chandler Jones	ARI	20	12	9	17	8	66
30	Clay Matthews	GB	20	11	10	17	8	66
31	Ahmad Brooks	SF	21	11	10	16	8	66
32	Chris Landrum	SD	21	12	9	16	8	66
33	Kyle Emanuel	SD	17	14	9	17	8	65
34	Tamba Hali	KC	18	12	9	17	8	64
35	Akeem Ayers	IND	18	10	12	16	8	64
36	Aaron Wallace	TEN	21	10	9	16	8	64
37	Eli Harold	SF	19	10	10	17	8	64
38	Aaron Lynch	SF	21	10	9	16	8	64
39	Albert McClellan	BAL	17	12	10	16	8	63
40	Shaquil Barrett	DEN	19	11	9	15	8	62
41	Julius Peppers	GB	18	11	9	16	8	62
42	Jerry Hughes	BUF	18	11	9	16	8	62
43	Alex Okafor	ARI	18	11	9	16	8	62
44	Shaq Lawson	BUF	17	12	8	16	8	61
45	Curt Maggitt	IND	19	10	9	15	8	61
46	Akeem Dent	HOU	15	12	10	15	8	60
47	Erik Walden	IND	17	11	6	18	8	60
48	David Bass	TEN	16	10	9	16	8	59
49	Corey Lemonier	CLE	16	9	9	15	8	57
50	Brandon Spikes	BUF	16	10	8	15	8	57

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Za'Darius Smith—injury
• Nick Perry—injury
• Kyler Fackrell—injury
• John Simon—injury
• Robert Mathis—injury
• Lavar Edwards—injury
• Frank Zombo—insufficient snaps
• Jarvis Jones—insufficient snaps
• Arthur Moats—insufficient snaps
• Anthony Chickillo—insufficient snaps
• Tank Carradine—inactive
• Kevin Dodd—injury

4-3 Outside Linebackers

Rob Leiter/Getty Images

One player stood well above his peers this week. It was an abnormally lackluster week for linebacker play, but Dallas' Sean Lee did not fall in line with the pack.

He balled out on Sunday Night Football in the Cowboys' narrow loss to the Giants. New York's rushing attack was held to fewer than three yards per carry, largely due to Lee's efforts. The 30-year-old linebacker found himself in the Giants backfield a handful of times Sunday night, including once on a critical 3rd-and-2 in which Lee was able to knife into the backfield and stop the Giants from converting a first down.

When not making plays behind the line of scrimmage, Lee was minimizing run plays that managed to find their way past the line of scrimmage. By night's end, Lee racked up 18 tackles, most of which were of the impactful variety, not cleanup plays. 

On the flip side, the Falcons running game abused both Rams linebackers. Mark Barron and Cory Littleton were the lowest-graded players this week, seeing as both were major liabilities in the running game. While Barron occasionally has great games, it continues to look more and more like the Rams need to address their linebacker positions.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Sean Lee	DAL	20	23	8	23	6	80
2	Lavonte David	TB	19	20	7	19	6	71
3	Vontaze Burfict	CIN	18	19	9	19	6	71
4	Thomas Davis	CAR	17	20	7	20	6	70
5	Karlos Dansby	CIN	18	19	7	19	6	69
6	Bruce Irvin	OAK	18	17	10	18	6	69
7	DeAndre Levy	DET	19	18	7	18	6	68
8	Rob Ninkovich	NE	18	17	9	18	6	68
9	Jonathan Casillas	NYG	17	17	9	19	6	68
10	Telvin Smith	JAX	15	19	8	19	6	67
11	Myles Jack	JAX	18	17	8	18	6	67
12	Devon Kennard	NYG	16	19	7	19	6	67
13	Jordan Jenkins	NYJ	16	17	10	18	6	67
14	De'Vondre Campbell	ATL	18	17	7	18	6	66
15	Chad Greenway	MIN	16	18	7	19	6	66
16	Keenan Robinson	NYG	17	18	7	18	6	66
17	Daryl Smith	TB	16	19	7	18	6	66
18	Shaq Thompson	CAR	16	17	7	19	6	65
19	Nigel Bradham	PHI	17	16	8	18	6	65
20	Spencer Paysinger	MIA	19	16	7	17	6	65
21	Philip Wheeler	ATL	15	16	10	17	6	64
22	Damien Wilson	DAL	16	17	7	18	6	64
23	Dan Skuta	JAX	15	18	7	18	6	64
24	Neville Hewitt	MIA	17	16	7	18	6	64
25	Stephone Anthony	NO	16	17	7	18	6	64
26	Darron Lee	NYJ	16	14	9	18	6	63
27	K.J. Wright	SEA	13	18	7	19	6	63
28	Vincent Rey	CIN	17	15	7	17	6	62
29	Mychal Kendricks	PHI	16	15	7	18	6	62
30	Josh Bynes	DET	14	17	7	18	6	62
31	Anthony Barr	MIN	16	15	8	16	6	61
32	Dannell Ellerbe	LA	15	16	8	16	6	61
33	Kyle Van Noy	NE	14	16	7	17	6	60
34	Shea McClellin	NE	16	15	8	15	6	60
35	Mike Catapano	NYJ	14	16	8	16	6	60
36	Michael Morgan	SEA	15	15	7	17	6	60
37	Paul Worrilow	ATL	15	15	7	16	6	59
38	Donald Butler	MIA	15	14	7	16	6	58
39	Malcolm Smith	OAK	12	15	7	18	6	58
40	Cory Littleton	LA	15	14	7	15	6	57
41	Mark Barron	LA	15	14	7	14	6	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Justin Durant—insufficient snaps
• Kyle Wilber—insufficient snaps
• Antwione Williams—insufficient snaps
• Arthur Brown—insufficient snaps
• Josh Forrest—injury
• Jelani Jenkins—injury
• Craig Robertson—injury
• Jaylon Smith—injury

Inside Linebackers

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Week 14 began with two of the best teams in the AFC squaring off on Thursday Night Football. The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders have drastically different defenses, but both have managed to stand out as challengers to the Patriots' assumed AFC crown. Unfortunately, despite winning the game, the Chiefs may have suffered their biggest loss of the season, as inside linebacker Derrick Johnson suffered a torn Achilles and was placed on injured reserve.

Few positions have been hit harder by injury than the inside linebacker group, with multiple stars missing games throughout the year. The Chiefs had already compensated for the loss of one starter inside, and they'll have to do it again as they continue to play through January. 

Seattle Seahawks inside 'backer Bobby Wagner is just behind a couple of rookies at the top. Early in the season, it wasn't clear how talented Wagner was. I thought an elite defensive line might be protecting him. After nearly a full season of impressive performances, Wagner has convincingly changed my mind. It's time to start discussing him as the best or close to it.

Wagner shows a tremendous amount of athleticism and hustle that go unnoticed with the talent around him. He's hard-hitting and relentless in pursuit, with range to play sideline to sideline. With no clear holes in his game, Wagner may be just enough to compensate for the loss of safety Earl Thomas.

Other highlights include Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Shazier, who looks fully recovered from nagging injuries. He showed no fear attacking the line of scrimmage against a Bills team that could've used a linebacker like that to stop Le'Veon Bell.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Defense (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 35)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Inside Linebacker Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Deion Jones	ATL	23	29	11	11	6	80
2	Nick Kwiatkoski	CHI	19	30	11	11	6	77
3	Bobby Wagner	SEA	19	29	11	11	6	76
4	David Harris	NYJ	20	29	10	11	6	76
5	Ryan Shazier	PIT	19	29	11	9	6	74
6	Deone Bucannon	ARI	20	28	10	10	6	74
7	Eric Kendricks	MIN	20	26	10	11	6	73
8	Wesley Woodyard	TEN	17	28	10	11	6	72
9	Kwon Alexander	TB	20	27	10	9	6	72
10	Zaire Anderson	DEN	18	28	10	10	6	72
11	Jake Ryan	GB	18	28	9	11	6	72
12	Jordan Hicks	PHI	18	27	9	11	6	71
13	Ramik Wilson	KC	18	27	9	11	6	71
14	Paul Posluszny	JAX	17	28	11	9	6	71
15	Avery Williamson	TEN	16	27	10	12	6	71
16	Denzel Perryman	SD	18	27	9	10	6	70
17	Will Compton	WAS	17	27	10	10	6	70
18	Zach Orr	BAL	17	26	10	11	6	70
19	Mason Foster	WAS	17	26	10	11	6	70
20	C.J. Mosley	BAL	16	25	11	11	6	69
21	Dont'a Hightower	NE	17	24	11	11	6	69
22	Joe Thomas	GB	18	24	10	11	6	69
23	Lawrence Timmons	PIT	18	25	10	10	6	69
24	Benardrick McKinney	HOU	17	25	10	10	6	68
25	Nick Bellore	SF	17	26	9	10	6	68
26	Sio Moore	ARI	16	26	9	11	6	68
27	Anthony Hitchens	DAL	16	26	9	11	6	68
28	Brian Cushing	HOU	17	25	9	10	6	67
29	Jatavis Brown	SD	18	24	9	10	6	67
30	Nathan Stupar	NO	16	25	9	11	6	67
31	Kevin Minter	ARI	17	24	9	11	6	67
32	Martrell Spaight	WAS	16	25	10	10	6	67
33	Chris Kirksey	CLE	16	25	9	10	6	66
34	Michael Wilhoite	SF	17	24	9	10	6	66
35	Mike Hull	MIA	17	24	9	10	6	66
36	Perry Riley Jr.	OAK	17	25	8	10	6	66
37	Max Bullough	HOU	16	26	8	10	6	66
38	Antonio Morrison	IND	17	23	9	10	6	65
39	Gerald Hodges	SF	16	23	11	9	6	65
40	Preston Brown	BUF	16	24	9	10	6	65
41	Josh McNary	IND	16	25	8	10	6	65
42	Derrick Johnson	KC	16	23	9	11	6	65
43	Alec Ogletree	LA	18	22	11	8	6	65
44	Tahir Whitehead	DET	15	24	9	10	6	64
45	Todd Davis	DEN	17	22	9	10	6	64
46	A.J. Klein	CAR	16	23	10	9	6	64
47	John Timu	CHI	17	23	9	9	6	64
48	Rey Maualuga	CIN	15	24	9	10	6	64
49	Sean Spence	TEN	16	22	9	10	6	63
50	Korey Toomer	SD	15	24	9	9	6	63
51	Kelvin Sheppard	NYG	16	23	9	9	6	63
52	Edwin Jackson	IND	16	21	9	10	6	62
53	Demario Davis	CLE	13	24	9	10	6	62
54	Corey Nelson	DEN	15	21	9	10	6	61
55	Zach Brown	BUF	19	16	9	8	6	58
56	Daniel Sorensen	KC	18	15	8	9	6	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Luke Kuechly—injury
• Danny Trevathan—injury
• Brandon Marshall—injury
• Blake Martinez—injury
• Kiko Alonso—injury
• Joshua Perry—insufficient snaps
• Su'a Cravens—insufficient snaps
• Jerrell Freeman—suspension
• D'Qwell Jackson—suspension

Cornerbacks

Rob Leiter/Getty Images

The top of the cornerback board is filled with surprises, as young players crashed the crowd of familiar faces. Both conferences had a raised level of play last week, culminating in several exciting finishes. Let’s look at some of the highly graded players.

Amid the Dak Prescott-Tony Romo debate, the Giants defense—specifically the cornerbacks—largely contributed to Prescott's struggles in Week 14. Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant had problems whenever matched up against Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins has been arguably the best cornerback in the NFL this season after being less consistent on a weekly basis in past years.

Jenkins allowed just two completions on seven targets and only one first down. He also had an interception, and five targets were either in position or shut down. He's as dominant as any corner in the league right now.

Cre'Von LeBlanc of the Chicago Bears was the suprise performer of the week. LeBlanc has been finding his footing after being thrust into a bigger role because of injuries, and he was excellent against Detroit despite the Lions' solid corps of receivers. LeBlanc allowed only three completions on eight targets, including snaps in press, off-man and the slot. He's physical, versatile and intercepted his first pass this week. 

A.J. Bouye continues his unheralded yet impressive season. The Colts challenged Bouye five times, and he responded by allowed only one catch. He was lucky one target wasn’t a catch when he was out of position, but on the day, Bouye was stellar. He broke up one pass and was in position on each of his other targets.

Oakland's David Amerson received a contract extension in July, and I’m not sure there was a need for that. He has underwhelmed this year, and on Thursday night, he was a disaster. He gave up seven of eight targets and was responsible for 146 yards allowed. One hundred and forty-six. He was victim of four first downs, three catches over 20 yards—one that was a long TD—and looked a step slow all night.

One guy who is going to get paid big money in free agency and deserves it is Buffalo's Stephon Gilmore. He gave up two catches on six targets, and the 29-yarder was a comeback turned into a long catch against some guy named Antonio Brown. His interception was a thing of beauty, as he was physical with Brown throughout the route and was rewarded by beating the wideout to the spot where he was supposed to finish. Gilmore has been one of the better corners in the league.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

React: Reaction/Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Cornerback Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	React	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Janoris Jenkins	NYG	27	26	18	5	9	85
2	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	NYG	24	24	20	5	9	82
3	Casey Hayward	SD	24	24	16	5	9	78
4	Cre'von LeBlanc	CHI	21	23	19	5	9	77
5	Damarious Randall	GB	22	22	19	5	9	77
6	A.J. Bouye	HOU	23	22	16	5	9	75
7	TJ Carrie	OAK	22	22	17	5	9	75
8	Jimmy Smith	BAL	22	21	16	6	9	74
9	Chris Harris Jr.	DEN	21	22	16	6	9	74
10	Malcolm Butler	NE	22	22	16	5	9	74
11	Patrick Peterson	ARI	20	21	18	5	9	73
12	Stephon Gilmore	BUF	21	22	16	5	9	73
13	Josh Norman	WAS	22	20	17	5	9	73
14	Terrance Mitchell	KC	20	21	16	6	9	72
15	Xavier Rhodes	MIN	20	20	18	5	9	72
16	Richard Sherman	SEA	19	20	18	6	9	72
17	Adam Jones	CIN	20	21	16	5	9	71
18	Nickell Robey-Coleman	BUF	20	20	16	5	9	70
19	Aqib Talib	DEN	20	20	16	5	9	70
20	Trumaine Johnson	LA	19	20	17	5	9	70
21	Robert Alford	ATL	20	19	16	5	9	69
22	Marcus Peters	KC	19	19	16	6	9	69
23	Darrelle Revis	NYJ	20	20	16	4	9	69
24	Sean Smith	OAK	20	20	15	5	9	69
25	LeShaun Sims	TEN	20	19	15	6	9	69
26	Briean Boddy-Calhoun	CLE	19	20	15	5	9	68
27	Lamarcus Joyner	LA	17	18	18	6	9	68
28	Jimmie Ward	SF	18	18	17	6	9	68
29	Brice McCain	TEN	19	19	16	5	9	68
30	Ronald Darby	BUF	19	18	16	5	9	67
31	Bradley Roby	DEN	19	19	15	5	9	67
32	Juston Burris	NYJ	18	19	16	5	9	67
33	Josh Shaw	CIN	18	18	16	5	9	66
34	Joe Haden	CLE	18	18	16	5	9	66
35	Anthony Brown	DAL	18	17	17	5	9	66
36	Darius Slay	DET	18	19	15	5	9	66
37	Vontae Davis	IND	18	18	16	5	9	66
38	Dre Kirkpatrick	CIN	19	18	15	4	9	65
39	Steven Nelson	KC	17	18	16	5	9	65
40	Bobby McCain	MIA	17	17	16	6	9	65
41	Vernon Hargreaves	TB	16	17	17	6	9	65
42	Brent Grimes	TB	18	18	15	4	9	64
43	Jalen Collins	ATL	17	17	15	5	9	63
44	Tavon Young	BAL	17	17	15	5	9	63
45	Bryce Callahan	CHI	17	16	16	5	9	63
46	Jalen Ramsey	JAX	16	17	15	6	9	63
47	Byron Maxwell	MIA	17	17	15	5	9	63
48	Terence Newman	MIN	16	17	16	5	9	63
49	Buster Skrine	NYJ	17	16	16	5	9	63
50	Tracy Porter	CHI	16	16	16	5	9	62
51	Logan Ryan	NE	16	16	15	6	9	62
52	Marcus Williams	NYJ	16	17	15	5	9	62
53	Leodis McKelvin	PHI	17	15	16	5	9	62
54	Tramaine Brock	SF	16	17	15	5	9	62
55	Brandon Carr	DAL	16	14	16	6	9	61
56	Orlando Scandrick	DAL	15	15	16	6	9	61
57	Robert Nelson Jr.	HOU	17	15	15	5	9	61
58	William Gay	PIT	17	16	15	4	9	61
59	Trevor Williams	SD	17	16	14	5	9	61
60	Rashard Robinson	SF	16	16	15	5	9	61
61	Javien Elliott	TB	14	16	16	6	9	61
62	Jamar Taylor	CLE	16	15	15	5	9	60
63	Ladarius Gunter	GB	16	15	15	5	9	60
64	Kareem Jackson	HOU	15	16	15	5	9	60
65	Delvin Breaux	NO	15	16	15	5	9	60
66	Eli Apple	NYG	16	14	15	6	9	60
67	Artie Burns	PIT	16	15	15	5	9	60
68	Trovon Reed	SD	16	15	15	5	9	60
69	Nevin Lawson	DET	16	15	14	5	9	59
70	Darryl Morris	IND	15	15	15	5	9	59
71	Aaron Colvin	JAX	15	15	15	5	9	59
72	Sterling Moore	NO	14	14	16	6	9	59
73	Tyvon Branch	ARI	16	14	14	5	9	58
74	Marcus Cooper	ARI	14	16	14	5	9	58
75	Brian Poole	ATL	14	15	15	5	9	58
76	Shareece Wright	BAL	14	16	15	4	9	58
77	Adairius Barnes	DET	14	15	15	5	9	58
78	Mike Jordan	LA	15	14	15	5	9	58
79	Leonard Johnson	CAR	14	14	15	5	9	57
80	Quinten Rollins	GB	14	15	14	5	9	57
81	Rashaan Melvin	IND	13	15	15	5	9	57
82	Tony Lippett	MIA	14	14	15	5	9	57
83	Jalen Mills	PHI	13	15	15	5	9	57
84	Ross Cockrell	PIT	14	14	15	5	9	57
85	James Bradberry	CAR	13	14	14	5	9	55
86	Prince Amukamara	JAX	14	13	14	5	9	55
87	B.W. Webb	NO	13	14	14	5	9	55
88	Nolan Carroll	PHI	13	14	14	5	9	55
89	DeShawn Shead	SEA	13	15	13	5	9	55
90	Daryl Worley	CAR	13	13	13	6	9	54
91	Deiondre Hall	CHI	14	13	13	5	9	54
92	Jerraud Powers	BAL	13	13	13	5	9	53
93	Captain Munnerlyn	MIN	13	13	14	4	9	53
94	Bashaud Breeland	WAS	13	14	12	5	9	53
95	Cyrus Jones	NE	12	12	14	5	9	52
96	Quinton Dunbar	WAS	12	13	13	5	9	52
97	Jeremy Lane	SEA	13	12	12	5	9	51
98	Brandon Williams	ARI	12	11	13	5	9	50
99	Jason McCourty	TEN	12	11	13	5	9	50
100	David Amerson	OAK	10	11	13	5	9	48
101	Justin Bethel	ARI	10	11	10	5	9	45

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Desmond Trufant—injury
• Alterraun Verner—insufficient snaps
• Trae Waynes—insufficient snaps
• Morris Claiborne—injury
• Craig Mager—injury
• Brandon Flowers—injury
• Johnathan Joseph—injury
• DJ Hayden—injury
• Eric Rowe—injury
• Darqueze Dennard—insufficient snaps
• Patrick Robinson—injury
• Phillip Gaines—insufficient snaps
• Darryl Roberts—insufficient snaps

Free Safeties

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Jets safety Marcus Gilchrist suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third quarter of the Jets' win over the 49ers. It added injury to insult after a terrible first half in which he struggled with his tackling. His main problem was stopping his feet as runners approached him. On a long run by Carlos Hyde, Gilchrist had the opportunity to tackle him for a relatively small gain. But he stopped his feet completely, allowing Hyde to run past him to the edge and down the sideline.

To his credit, Gilchrist managed to catch up to Hyde and made a tackle to save the touchdown, but he should have made it a lot earlier in the play. A few plays later, Colin Kaepernick kept the ball on a run. Gilchrist came up to make a tackle but again stopped his feet as the quarterback nearly burst past him. Gilchrist just managed to hang on, but he allowed Kaepernick to pick up more yards than he should have, surrendering the first down in the process. 

In the second quarter, Gilchrist stopped his feet again as he approached Hyde on another run. This time, he managed to push Hyde out of bounds to save what would have been a touchdown, but again, Gilchrist had an opportunity to save yards and failed.

Chargers free safety Dwight Lowery had an impressive week against the Panthers. He matched up well against Greg Olsen, one of the better receiving tight ends in the game. He was able to stay close to Olsen on an out route in the first quarter, forcing quarterback Cam Newton to look elsewhere. In the second quarter, Lowery again stuck tight to Olsen but this time in the end zone. That took him away from Newton, who had to resort to scrambling after his favorite target was covered.

Later, Lowery matched up against Olsen on a fade route in the end zone but again stayed right with him to him and forced Newton to look elsewhere. A few series later, Lowery did a fantastic job undercutting a slant route to Olsen in the end zone—he broke up a pass and saved a touchdown. The play came on third down. So not only did he stop the Panthers from scoring, but he forced them to kick a field goal.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 10)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Free Safety Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Dwight Lowery	SD	26	24	6	16	8	80
2	Vonn Bell	NO	24	24	6	15	8	77
3	Ricardo Allen	ATL	23	23	5	16	8	75
4	George Iloka	CIN	23	24	5	15	8	75
5	Lardarius Webb	BAL	22	24	4	16	8	74
6	Tre Boston	CAR	23	23	5	15	8	74
7	Darius Butler	IND	24	23	4	15	8	74
8	Corey Graham	BUF	22	21	6	16	8	73
9	Andre Hal	HOU	23	23	5	14	8	73
10	Reggie Nelson	OAK	22	21	6	16	8	73
11	Kevin Byard	TEN	21	22	6	15	8	72
12	D.J. Swearinger	ARI	20	23	5	15	8	71
13	Jairus Byrd	NO	22	21	5	15	8	71
14	Byron Jones	DAL	21	21	5	15	8	70
15	Ron Parker	KC	21	21	5	15	8	70
16	Isa Abdul-Quddus	MIA	20	21	5	16	8	70
17	Devin McCourty	NE	21	21	4	16	8	70
18	Mike Mitchell	PIT	21	20	5	16	8	70
19	Corey White	BUF	22	20	5	14	8	69
20	Adrian Amos	CHI	20	19	6	16	8	69
21	Darian Stewart	DEN	21	20	5	15	8	69
22	Glover Quin	DET	21	21	4	15	8	69
23	Maurice Alexander	LA	21	20	5	15	8	69
24	Duron Harmon	NE	21	21	4	15	8	69
25	Steven Terrell	SEA	20	21	5	15	8	69
26	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	GB	20	20	4	16	8	68
27	Anthony Harris	MIN	20	21	4	15	8	68
28	Leon Hall	NYG	21	20	4	15	8	68
29	Antoine Bethea	SF	20	21	5	14	8	68
30	Kentrell Brice	GB	19	20	5	15	8	67
31	Tashaun Gipson	JAX	20	20	4	15	8	67
32	Rodney McLeod	PHI	20	22	4	13	8	67
33	Bradley McDougald	TB	20	19	5	15	8	67
34	Rashad Johnson	TEN	19	18	5	17	8	67
35	Corey Moore	HOU	18	19	5	16	8	66
36	Michael Thomas	MIA	18	19	5	16	8	66
37	Deshazor Everett	WAS	19	19	5	15	8	66
38	Jeff Heath	DAL	19	19	4	15	8	65
39	Justin Simmons	DEN	19	18	5	15	8	65
40	Ed Reynolds	CLE	18	18	5	15	8	64
41	T.J. Green	IND	18	18	5	15	8	64
42	Cody Davis	LA	19	18	4	15	8	64
43	Andrew Adams	NYG	18	17	5	15	8	63
44	Ibraheim Campbell	CLE	17	18	4	15	8	62
45	Marcus Gilchrist	NYJ	17	18	4	14	8	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Clayton Geathers—injury
• Harrison Smith—injury
• Nat Berhe—injury
• Will Blackmon—injury

Strong Safeties

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Buccaneers safety Keith Tandy was the surprising standout this week. After starting safety Chris Conte went down injured, Tandy stepped in last week with an impressive showing that earned him a 76 overall grade. This week, he improved his performance, earning an 80 overall grade after a strong afternoon against a potent Saints offense. Tandy made his presence felt all day in the running game.

But his biggest plays came in coverage. 

Tandy had two highlight-reel plays in the fourth quarter, and both resulted in interceptions. On the first, Tandy lined up as part of a two-deep safety look. The Saints ran a slant-flat route combination. Tandy recognized the play and read it perfectly, breaking on the slant route before Drew Brees even began his throwing motion. Breaking on it that early resulted in Tandy's overrunning it, but he did well to reach back and tip the pass, allowing the corner covering the receiver to intercept it.

On the Saints' final drive, they faced 4th-and-1 and needed a score to win the game. Tandy again lined up as part of a two-deep safety look. This time, the Saints bunched three receivers tightly together to the left of the formation—Tandy's side of the field. The Saints used two of the receivers to clear a path for the third receiver to run an arrow route to move the chains. Like before, Tandy recognized the route early and broke on it before Brees released the ball. He closed the distance quickly and jumped the route, making an interception to seal the game for the Bucs.

Panthers safety Kurt Coleman was also impressive. The Panthers had been rotating Tre Boston and Michael Griffin at the other starting safety spot, meaning Coleman would change roles depending on who was in the game alongside him. But this week, Carolina rightly made the decision to stick with Boston at free safety, allowing Coleman to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

He stood out as a blitzer. The Panthers schemed well, and he came free a couple of times, forcing Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers to rush his throws. But Coleman also managed to generate pressure on his own. In the third quarter, he ran over a running back in pass protection on his way to Rivers, who wisely threw the ball away before Coleman could get to him.

He finished the game strongly in coverage too. In the fourth quarter, he bracketed Antonio Gates on 3rd-and-3, taking away one of Rivers' most reliable targets in a tight situation. He nearly had an interception later, when he stayed on top of a deep shot to Gates.

A few plays later, though, Coleman came through with an interception. He did a fantastic job of peeling off his coverage assignment and made up a lot of ground on a deep ball to a receiver who came from the far side of the field. Coleman pulled in the interception, killing off any hope the Chargers had of a comeback.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 25)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Strong Safety Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Keith Tandy	TB	22	22	15	15	6	80
2	Kurt Coleman	CAR	19	21	15	16	6	77
3	Morgan Burnett	GB	20	19	16	16	6	77
4	Keanu Neal	ATL	19	19	16	15	6	75
5	Daniel Sorensen	KC	19	19	15	16	6	75
6	Patrick Chung	NE	20	20	14	15	6	75
7	Eric Weddle	BAL	19	19	15	15	6	74
8	John Cyprien	JAX	18	19	16	15	6	74
9	Eric Berry	KC	19	18	15	16	6	74
10	Kam Chancellor	SEA	18	18	16	16	6	74
11	Shawn Williams	CIN	18	19	15	15	6	73
12	Jaquiski Tartt	SF	19	18	15	15	6	73
13	Tony Jefferson	ARI	17	18	16	15	6	72
14	Barry Church	DAL	18	18	15	15	6	72
15	Donte Whitner	WAS	18	17	15	15	6	71
16	Rafael Bush	DET	17	17	15	15	6	70
17	Bacarri Rambo	MIA	19	16	14	15	6	70
18	Andrew Sendejo	MIN	17	18	14	15	6	70
19	Landon Collins	NYG	17	18	14	15	6	70
20	Nate Allen	OAK	17	16	15	16	6	70
21	Da'Norris Searcy	TEN	18	17	14	15	6	70
22	Daimion Stafford	TEN	17	17	15	15	6	70
23	Roman Harper	NO	17	16	15	15	6	69
24	Deon Bush	CHI	16	17	14	15	6	68
25	T.J. Ward	DEN	15	17	15	15	6	68
26	Calvin Pryor	NYJ	16	17	14	15	6	68
27	Malcolm Jenkins	PHI	16	17	14	15	6	68
28	Robert Golden	PIT	16	16	14	16	6	68
29	Tavon Wilson	DET	16	16	14	15	6	67
30	Quintin Demps	HOU	16	16	14	15	6	67
31	Rontez Miles	NYJ	16	16	14	15	6	67
32	Sean Davis	PIT	15	17	15	14	6	67
33	Duke Ihenacho	WAS	16	17	14	14	6	67
34	Mike Adams	IND	15	16	14	15	6	66
35	Jahleel Addae	SD	15	16	14	15	6	66
36	James Ihedigbo	BUF	15	16	14	14	6	65
37	Tramon Williams	CLE	15	16	14	14	6	65
38	T.J. McDonald	LA	15	15	14	15	6	65
39	Adrian Phillips	SD	15	15	14	15	6	65
40	Harold Jones-Quartey	CHI	14	14	14	15	6	63
41	Eddie Pleasant	HOU	14	14	14	14	6	62

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Karl Joseph—injury
• Chris Conte—injury
• J.J. Wilcox—injury
• Kenny Vaccaro—suspension

Kickers

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Houston's Nick Novak has had a fairly quiet 2016, as the veteran kicker has been firmly in the middle of the pack as far as accuracy and leg strength throughout much of the year. This week, he takes home the top kicker honors. He made five field goals, including a 52-yarder, and the only extra point he attempted.

Novak had strong years in 2012 and 2013 with the Chargers but has been merely adequate over the three seasons since. He lacks elite leg strength but will occasionally have one of these performances, proving he is a quality kicker who can produce exceptional production once or twice a year. 

Carolina's Graham Gano and Baltimore's Justin Tucker are in a tie for second. Tucker had a 34-yard attempt blocked by the Patriots on Monday Night Football, but context is critical to understanding this play. Shea McClellin hurdled the long snapper and was three yards away from Tucker as he struck the ball, giving him an unwinnable scenario.

Kickers and punters cannot be graded down because of blocking miscues, just as a running back tackled at the mesh point cannot be docked for losing yardage. While statistics can present a decent picture, the reasons for those statistics are often more important and, in this case, provide critical pieces of information that do not show up in the box score.

On the other end of the ledger, Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro had his worst week as a pro, missing two extra points and a 41-yarder, each one due to different mechanical issues. Catanzaro is having a difficult third season, making just 76.2 percent of his field goals to this point after being at 87.9 percent or above in each of his first two seasons.

While Cardinals fans may be frustrated, Catanzaro has a capable leg and typically has consistent mechanics, making his recent struggles something the team will likely see if he can work out in the offseason. However, Arizona will likely bring in some camp competition.

Buffalo's Dan Carpenter continues to struggle on extra points, missing his fourth of the year despite being 10-of-10 on field goals under 40 yards. Carpenter has now missed 10 extra points in the last two years, and the result is statistically significant, suggesting there is a mental hurdle for him at this point.

San Francisco's Phil Dawson, who missed two field goals against the Jets, also struggled this week, as did Dallas' Dan Bailey and Washington's Dustin Hopkins, who are likely to only have quick visits to the bottom five before bouncing back.

Grading Scale

Pwr: Kick Power (Graded out of 40)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 40)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Kicker Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Pwr	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Nick Novak	HOU	33	38	3	3	77
2	Graham Gano	CAR	31	38	3	3	75
3	Justin Tucker	BAL	33	36	3	3	75
4	Matt Prater	DET	34	34	3	3	74
5	Ryan Succop	TEN	33	34	3	3	73
6	Nick Folk	NYJ	32	34	3	3	72
7	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	30	35	3	3	71
8	Wil Lutz	NO	32	33	3	3	71
9	Roberto Aguayo	TB	31	34	3	3	71
10	Matt Bryant	ATL	30	34	3	3	70
11	Chris Boswell	PIT	31	33	3	3	70
12	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	31	32	3	3	69
13	Andrew Franks	MIA	31	31	3	3	68
14	Josh Lambo	SD	32	29	3	3	67
15	Mason Crosby	GB	30	29	5	3	67
16	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	31	30	3	3	67
17	Connor Barth	CHI	30	30	3	3	66
18	Cody Parkey	CLE	31	29	3	3	66
19	Brandon McManus	DEN	31	29	3	3	66
20	Cairo Santos	KC	31	29	3	3	66
21	Steven Hauschka	SEA	31	29	3	3	66
22	Greg Zuerlein	LA	31	28	3	3	65
23	Robbie Gould	NYG	30	29	3	3	65
24	Jason Myers	JAX	33	25	3	3	64
25	Kai Forbath	MIN	29	29	3	3	64
26	Adam Vinatieri	IND	29	24	3	3	59
27	Mike Nugent	CIN	30	22	3	3	58
28	Dustin Hopkins	WAS	31	20	3	3	57
29	Dan Bailey	DAL	30	21	3	3	57
30	Dan Carpenter	BUF	30	19	3	3	55
31	Phil Dawson	SF	30	17	3	3	53
32	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	31	5	3	3	42

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Punters

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Another week, another top-five spot for the Rams' Johnny Hekker, who had the highest grade for a punter this time. There is pretty much no punt that does not reside in Hekker's magical bag of tricks, as he has the ability to hit booming spirals out of his own end zone or carefully place a ball just on the edge of the goal line in a pin-deep situation. Hekker is creating some separation from the rest of the punters in the race for the top punter of 2016, and he is a joy to watch at his best.

Matt Bosher faced Hekker in Week 14, and the Falcons punter proved up for the challenge, turning in the second-best performance at the position and a phenomenal outing in his own right. Bosher does not typically punt with this directional control, as his beg leg is typically his calling card. He was able to place the ball well this week, though still not up to the level of Hekker.

New Orleans' Thomas Morstead (No. 3) put on another strong performance and rounds out the top five with New England's Ryan Allen (No. 4) and Dallas' Chris Jones (No. 5), who moved up from the middle of the pack, where they have spent most of this year. 

At the bottom of the list, Seattle's Jon Ryan struggled to generate any power in frigid conditions in Green Bay, as the longest punt of his day was just 42 yards, even with two punts coming from within his own 35-yard line. Ryan has struggled to produce the same kind of distance he has in previous years, and this was an unfortunate continuation of that trend. His directional ability remains consistent, but he is not hitting the ball with the power he used to.

Minnesota's Jeff Locke, Green Bay's Jacob Schum, Arizona's Drew Butler and San Diego's Drew Kaser also had a rough time in Week 14. These four have consistently ranked near the bottom throughout the season. Locke's Achilles' heel has been his ball placement, while Kaser and Butler have struggled to generate meaningful distance. Schum has had below-average power as well. Of the four, Kaser has the potential to break out, but he continues to lack the consistency he showed in preseason.

Grading Scale

Dist: Kick Distance (Graded out of 20)

Hang: Kick Hang Time (Graded out of 20)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 45)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 5)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Punter Rankings Week 14

Rank	Player	Team	Dist	Hang	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Johnny Hekker	LA	18	17	41	3	3	82
2	Matt Bosher	ATL	20	16	38	3	3	80
3	Thomas Morstead	NO	17	19	34	3	3	76
4	Ryan Allen	NE	17	13	40	3	3	76
5	Chris Jones	DAL	13	16	38	3	3	73
6	Shane Lechler	HOU	19	13	33	3	3	71
7	Kevin Huber	CIN	19	13	32	3	3	70
8	Tress Way	WAS	14	17	33	3	3	70
9	Brad Nortman	JAX	12	19	33	3	3	70
10	Donnie Jones	PHI	18	15	31	3	3	70
11	Bryan Anger	TB	18	16	28	3	3	68
12	Sam Koch	BAL	13	13	36	3	3	68
13	Matt Palardy	CAR	14	14	32	3	3	66
14	Britton Colquitt	CLE	13	10	35	3	3	64
15	Pat McAfee	IND	11	17	30	3	3	64
16	Marquette King	OAK	10	15	33	3	3	64
17	Sam Martin	DET	15	13	28	3	3	62
18	Matt Darr	MIA	13	12	31	3	3	62
19	Lachlan Edwards	NYJ	12	15	29	3	3	62
20	Bradley Pinion	SF	8	15	33	3	3	62
21	Pat O'Donnell	CHI	15	12	27	4	3	61
22	Riley Dixon	DEN	9	10	36	3	3	61
23	Dustin Colquitt	KC	12	14	29	3	3	61
24	Brett Kern	TEN	15	10	29	3	3	60
25	Brad Wing	NYG	13	11	30	3	3	60
26	Colton Schmidt	BUF	11	14	27	4	3	59
27	Jordan Berry	PIT	14	13	25	3	3	58
28	Drew Kaser	SD	7	10	33	3	3	56
29	Drew Butler	ARI	13	11	25	3	3	55
30	Jacob Schum	GB	8	13	28	3	3	55
31	Jeff Locke	MIN	9	11	28	3	3	54
32	Jon Ryan	SEA	6	8	28	3	3	48

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Andy Lee—injury