Bleacher Report's NFL Awards Week 10: Handing out Hardware

Another Sunday is in the books, and now it's time to hand out the awards for some of the best and worst of the NFL’s Week 10.

In addition to the standard awards for best and worst players and games, this week will include some special awards for illogical play and a new nickname for one of the league’s underachievers.

However, before we begin, it is important to take a moment to give support to American’s armed forces on this Veteran’s Day weekend. The sacrifices made by our nation’s servicemen, women and veterans (along with their families) can never be overlooked, and times like this weekend are an important opportunity to give thanks for what they do.

For more ways on how to support our nation’s troops and veterans, the NFL has established the “Salute to Service” with links to donate to the USO, Wounded Warriors Project and the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Here are the awards for the action of Week 10.

Game of the Week: Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints

The opening contest of the season between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints lived up to its hype. With the Saints winning 26-23 in overtime, there was a lot to like about Sunday’s action.

Both quarterbacks were sensational, with the Falcons' Matt Ryan and Saints' Drew Brees each tossing for over 300 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

While much of the post-game conversation revolved around the overtime play calling of the Falcons head coach Mike Smith (we’ll get to that in just a minute), there’s no doubt this close game will only create more anticipation for the team’s rematch on Dec. 26.

Honorable mention: San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Stinker Game of the Week: Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

As I said last week, any Indianapolis Colts game from here on out is the odds-on favorite to take the Stinker Game of the Week prize. This week’s Colts game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars fit this bill nicely.

Quarterbacking on both sides was less than stellar, and after the first half, it seemed that the Colts just decided to not show up.

The Colts will surely be disappointed in their play, as Sunday’s game was one of the few opportunities the Colts had to avoid a winless season. They will get one more chance against the Jaguars in Week 17, in the final game of the year.

Dishonorable mention: Cleveland Browns vs. St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers vs. Tennessee Titans

“Nice Catch, Guy!” Award: Jonathan Baldwin

There are catches…and then there are catches. Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin’s grab was definitely in the latter category.

Working against Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins, Baldwin was able to somehow come down with this catch behind Dawkins' back.

The only problem: a Chiefs penalty wiped away the reception. A disappointing outcome to one of the most sensational catches of the year.

Interestingly, the catch is very similar to one made by the University of Alabama’s Tyrone Prothro a few years ago.

Honorable Mention: A.J. Green

Heck of a catch from the rookie, who appeared to do a serious number on his leg in the process of making this grab.

“What Now?” Award: Washington Redskins

The offense of the Washington Redskins has hit rock-bottom, only scoring 20 points in its past three contests. The only thing lower than the team's offensive production is the job approval rates for members of Congress.

The Redskins' loss down in Miami ensured the first five-game losing streak of head coach Mike Shanahan’s career, something he was willing to make desperate moves to avoid.

The question remains: “What now?”

Coach Mike Shanahan has to hope that his offense can find a way to get its act together. Neither quarterback Rex Grossman nor John Beck can handle the load, so finding a long-term passer option in next year's draft will be a top priority.

The rest of the squad will most likely find itself in a semi-audition for what will surely be a mass clearing in the offseason.

Moral Victory of the Week: Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals, who were 6-2 and the No. 1 seed in the AFC, had faced criticism that it could not continue its inspired play against its division rivals (I wasn’t sold on them, either).

Playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals put together a solid performance that should make its opponents think twice about taking them lightly. Even better, they’ll get another shot at the Steelers in only a few weeks.

With Cam Newton struggling (he was beyond atrocious for both the Carolina Panthers and my fantasy football team Sunday with his play against the Tennessee Titans), Dalton may see himself as the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Upset of the Week: Seattle Seahawks vs. Baltimore Ravens

Entering Sunday’s matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, it wouldn’t have been far off to predict the Ravens to completely mop the floor with the Seahawks.

However, the day belonged to the Seattle Seahawks. Getting out to an early 10-0 lead, the ‘Hawks would never let the Ravens take the lead. Kicker Steven Hauschka had a career game, kicking five field goals, while Marshawn Lynch had 109 yards on the afternoon.

The defense caused three Ravens turnovers, and were successful in limiting Baltimore’s time of possession.

For the Seahawks, the win is an encouraging sign after a humbling 2-6 start, but at the same time a detriment to a team that may be more interested in getting a better draft slot than hopelessly chasing the red-hot San Francisco 49ers.

For the Baltimore Ravens, however,  the loss will prompt some major soul-searching to find out why they couldn’t beat down on the inferior competition.

While wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers will do a lot for the Ravens' egos/playoff tiebreaker scenarios, those wins are devalued with a loss like they had on Sunday.

Celebration of the Week: David Nelson

While there is certainly precedent for players celebrating big players with cheerleaders, few can match up with the celebration of Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Nelson Sunday. Scoring a touchdown, he went over and delivered the touchdown to a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

The twist: the cheerleader, Kelsi Reich, was his girlfriend. While there was some talk that he might use the game to propose to Reich, the gesture Nelson made won him a rave review.

While the Bills' performance Sunday was far from exemplary, falling to the Cowboys 44-7, Nelson's celebration was certainly a memorable part of the afternoon

Call of the Week: Mike Smith

They say fortune favors the bold, but it’s clear that the decision from Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith to go for it on fourth down deep in his own territory was not the best one.

Initially bringing out his punter, he called a timeout before bringing out his offense to give it a shot. After a reactionary timeout from the Saints, the scene was set.

A rush from running back Michael Turner up the middle was stuffed easily, giving the Saints the ball on the Falcons 29. The Saints would go on to win on a chip shot 26-yard field goal from kicker John Kasay.

While in hindsight it may seem like a slap in the face of the defense for assuming it can’t hold off an opposing score, I can understand Smith’s reasoning when he thought his offense could get the push necessary to advance the ball one yard.

Michael Turner up to that point had averaged 4.4 yards per carry, and the team had already converted two earlier fourth down attempts.

While it’s easy to rip the call after its failure, at the time of the play I can understand his confidence in his offense.

Fake-out of the Week: David Akers

After a disappointing red-zone stop led to a field goal, the San Francisco 49ers were not going to let the New York Giants enjoy the opportunity to get the ball back late in the first half.

Instead of sending the following kickoff the Giants’ way, they instead went with an onside kick. Niners kicker David Akers set the team up with a beauty.

Akers bounced the kick to the left side, where it was handled easily by the Niners' Delanie Walker. The Giants defenders, whose leanings had tipped off Harbaugh to try the fake-out, were helpless as the Niners were able to take control.

Scoring a field goal off the resulting drive, the Niners were able to take the win (along with their first 8-1 record since 1997) over the Giants by a score of 27-20.

Mr. Belding Award: AFC West

Watching the members of the AFC West beat each other, one can only sound like Saved by the Bell’s Mr. Belding in asking one question.

“Hey hey hey…what is going on here?”

As pointed out by Bill Simmons this week:

The Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders, who beat the San Diego Chargers, who beat the Denver Broncos, who beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Raiders (trying saying that in one breath).

With Oakland (5-4) holding a slight lead over the rest of the division (currently at 4-5), this should be a fun race to watch in the second half of the year.

Nickname Change of the Week: Philadelphia Eagles

After Sunday’s loss to the John Skelton-led Arizona Cardinals, the 3-6 Philadelphia Eagles “Dream Team” moniker must now be replaced with the “Sleep Apnea Team.”

The condition restricts breathing during sleeping, creating a choking feeling that shifts a person in and out of sleep. This choking feeling, if not properly diagnosed, can lead to deadly heart attacks, stroke and diabetes.

Speaking of late choking, the Eagles’ loss Sunday was their fifth blown fourth-quarter lead of the year.

Bomb Award: Houston Texans

There are many words to describe the Houston Texans 30-9 domination of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, but conservative is not one them. Each of the Texans' first two touchdowns were plays of 78 yards or more.

The Texans first score, a pass to Jacoby Jones, went 80 yards for the touchdown, followed by a second quarter 78-yard touchdown reception by running back Arian Foster.

What makes this even more impressive is that these happened without all-world wide receiver Andre Johnson on the field.

Does Not Compute Award: Tim Tebow

There’s a lot to say about taking victories over flashy numbers, but the passing numbers Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow put up Sunday were atrocious.

Completing two of only six passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, Tebow was able to take his team past the bumbling Kansas City Chiefs 17-10. While his 43 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown did help, I’m still having a tough time computing how he could have won with such a lousy performance.

The performance Tebow put up was probably the worst line I’ve ever seen from a winning quarterback since the immortal Jake Delhomme put up a 12.7 passer rating (four interceptions do that) in the Carolina Panthers 17-6 win over the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 9, 2008.

That Was Not Smart Award: Detroit Lions

Time and time again, the Chicago Bears Devin Hester serves as a reminder for all opposing punters: Kick it out of bounds. Despite entering the game with an NFL-record 11 punts returned for touchdowns, Hester still gets the ball kicked his way.

That was the case Sunday, as the Detroit Lions thought they could get away with putting one in his direction. Instead, Hester slid to the left, got to the outside, and burned the Lions for an 82-yard touchdown return.

It was a great play by Hester, but for Detroit, the play was not very smart.

Alarm Clock Award: DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson found an unusual excuse for missing the Philadelphia Eagles’ game Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals: He had overslept a team meeting Saturday.

For a team that was desperate for a deep option in the passing game (especially after the injury to Jeremy Maclin), Jackson’s actions could not be any more selfish and self-serving.

With the free time he had Sunday, hopefully he found himself a better alarm clock.

MVP: Tom Brady

Trying to avoid the first three-game losing streak in seemingly forever, the New England Patriots got an MVP performance out of its quarterback, Tom Brady.

Throwing for 329 yards and three touchdowns, Brady was brilliant in controlling the pocket, and he was amazingly accurate in finding his tight end Rob Gronkowski for a pair of tough touchdown passes.

With the Patriots defense getting a lot of negative attention (though certainly not for its performance Sunday night), having a dynamic quarterback like Brady is even more crucial.

Honorable Mention: DeMarco Murray, Arian Foster, Devin Hester, the entire Chicago Bears defense

LVP: Matthew Stafford

It was a rough night for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was hoping to get his team on the right track with a win over the Chicago Bears. Stafford threw four brutal picks, with two of them returned for easy touchdowns.

On his last interception, a cheap face-mask grab also led to a nasty scuffle that will likely result in major fines on both sidelines.

Overall, a disastrous day for someone the Lions desperately need to excel.

(Dis)honorable Mention: Cam Newton, Rex Grossman, DeSean Jackson