NFL Weekly Awards: the Best and Worst From Week 3

The GTFO “Performer(s) of the Week”

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The GTFO “Performer(s) of the Week” Award goes to the individual(s) that had the most productive week.

• Michael Vick—Vick continues to prove head coach Andy Reid right for naming him his starter. Vick threw for 291 yards and three TDs, while running for 30 yards and a touchdown. He is continually becoming more and more accurate with his arm, and that only makes his legs more dangerous. Vick has the Eagles in first place in the NFC East with divisional foe Washington Redskins coming to town next week.
  
  
• Anquan Boldin—Boldin single-handedly out-scored the Cleveland Browns, catching three TDs among his eight receptions for 142 yards. Joe Flacco is becoming more and more comfortable with Boldin, and he is proving he can be the No. 1 receiver now that he is no longer playing in the shadows of Larry Fitzgerald.

The GTFO “Surprise(s) of the Week”

The GTFO “Surprise(s) of the Week” are awarded to the players, teams, or coaches that did something that was unexpected.

• St. Louis Rams—Weren’t the Washington Redskins supposed to fly through the Rams? I think they were looking one week ahead to Philadelphia one week too soon. Quarterback Sam Bradford did an excellent job managing the game as the Rams held the ball nearly 10 minutes longer than the Redskins. The Rams are just six points away from being one of the few surprise 3-0 teams. With Seattle and Detroit as their next two opponents, the Rams have a legitimate chance at having a winning record after five weeks.

The GTFO “Idiot(s) of the Week”

The GTFO “Idiots of the Week” Award goes to the players, coaches, or teams who proved to make a fool of themselves and/or their team. 

• Garrett Hartley/Sean Payton—Hartley has been the most inconsistent kicker in the league through three weeks, hitting just 57 percent of his kicks. None of his misses were more costly than the 29-yarder in overtime, which would have won the game.
  
• His shank was what led to Sean Payton earning co-honors. Hartley’s Super Bowl heroics are a distant memory, and he better start putting three points on the board when the Saints put him out there or he could be unemployed very soon.
  
  Payton may not deserve this award, but it was his actions that cost the Saints a three-point overtime loss to Atlanta. Just before Matt Bryant attempted a 41-yard game-winning field goal, Payton called a last second time out.
• While this is very common in the NFL, his Saints defense blocked the kick that didn’t matter, making him the “Idiot of the Week” when Bryant ended up sending it through the uprights to give the Falcons the victory.

The GTFO “Team(s) of the Week”

The GTFO “Team(s) of the Week” Award goes to the team that looked the best during the given week.

• Pittsburgh Steelers—Last week they were our “Surprise of the Week,” and now they’re our “Team of the Week.” Charlie Batch was starting at QB this week, so surely the defense would have to hold the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to under 10 points for the Steelers to win, right? Well, Batch threw three TDs in the first half, and the defense returned an interception in the second half to give the Steelers the 38-6 victory.
  
  
• Kansas City Chiefs—The Chiefs are everyone’s surprise 3-0 team. Surely the Chiefs weren’t going to go to 3-0 and the 49ers weren’t going to fall to 0-3, right? Well, the Chiefs did everything they needed to do to change that. Matt Cassel threw for 250 yards and three TDs, while Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles each had 90-plus yards to lead the team’s 207 yard rushing attack. The defense did its job, holding the 49ers to just 251 total yards.
  
• Chicago Bears—Another mostly unexpected 3-0 team. The Bears weren’t supposed to beat the Packers if you asked the Vegas odds-makers, or Uncle Rico. Instead, they hung in there all night because of Packers penalties and stellar defense. Despite a questionable coaching decision, the Bears were right there at the end of the game and did just enough to get the win.

The “GTFO Moment(s) of the Week”

The “GTFO Moment of the Week” goes to the player, team, coach, or referee that had the best or worst single play or moment during the given NFL week.

• Leon Washington Kick-Off Returns—Leon Washington had a 101-yard kick-off return to start the second half to give Seattle the 17-0 lead. Fast forward a quarter and a half, and the game was tied at 20-20 when the Chargers kicked off to Washington again. Washington proceeded to run his way into the record book with another KO return, this time 99 yards. This would be prove to be the game-winning touchdown as the Seahawks won 27-20.

Enjoy this video of Leon Washington’s kick off returns live from the Seahawks game. The creepy commentator fan is a bonus!