Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City - 28 carries, 198 yards, 2 TD
Last week I nominated him for a Dirty Sock, not because of his performance but because his constant whining did nothing but lead to another huge loss. Today, he justified his complaints as the Chiefs beat the Broncos.
Brett Favre, QB, NY Jets - 24/34, 289 yards, 6 TD, 1 Int
It is amazing how everyone jumped off the Jets/Favre bandwagon after losses to the Patriots and Chargers. Look, the Jets are good and Favre is great and although they may not quite be an elite team, they will continue to destroy bad defenses like those of the Cardinals. Most people already knew that Favre likes Jericho Cotchery who had two touchdowns today. And now Laverneaus Coles is in the works with three touchdowns against Arizona. Don't underestimate the Jets.
Santana Moss, WR, Washington - 8 catches, 145 yards
You probably are not hearing it for the first time here, but the NFC East is a very tough division. Just when it looked as if the Cowboys were unstoppable, the Redskins completely outplay them. Jason Campbell threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Clinton Portis ran for 121 yards. And the Redskins defense came up with a late interception to seal the win. After scoring in the first three games, Moss did not find the endzone today. But he still had a big game against a tough rival.
Earnest Graham, RB, Tampa Bay - 20 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD
If you take Graham's numbers and add them to the 63 yards that Warrick Dunn ran for, you'd think the Bucs won in a landslide. But that was not the case against the Packers. It took that running game along with some really good defense to overcome the play of their quarterback. After throwing 67 times in a victory in Chicago last week, Brian Griese completed just 15 of 30 passes on Sunday with three interceptions. So Tampa won with a good running game and a strong defense despite their bad quarterback play. Sound familiar?
Lance Moore, WR, New Orleans - 7 catches, 101 yards, 2 TD
Apparently Drew Brees really doesn't care who he throws the ball to as long as they are open. Moore had the best game on Sunday among nine different guys that caught a pass against the 49ers. Robert Meachem had 99 yards and scored. Devery Henderson had just one catch but it went for 81 yards. What's even stranger? Reggie Bush had five catches but for only 7 yards.
Jake Delhome, QB, Carolina - 20/29, 294 yards, 2 TD
As long as Jake is healthy the Panthers should be pretty good. Muhsin Muhammad had a great day with 147 yards and a touchdown. Steve Smith also scored and had 96 receiving yards. And while the running game is good for the team it stinks from a fantasy perspective. DeAngelo Williams had 16 carries for 57 yards. Jonathan Stewart had 14 carries for 52 yards. However, the edge might go to the rookie Stewart as he scored for the fourth time this year.
The Game Used Sock Award
Andre Johnson, WR, Houston - 3 catches, 38 yards
For the second week in a row Johnson was a non-factor for the Texans. Last week he had just two catches for 29 yards in the loss to the Titans. And today he didn't do much better in the loss to the Jaguars. Sure, he's the top receiver on the team and perhaps the only star so he's seeing a lot of tough coverage. But five catches in two weeks is unacceptable. He's dropping catches that his shaky quarterback can't afford to lose. And he is just not stepping up when the team needs him to. He may be able to turn things around and finally help this franchise win, but for now all he gets is a stinky sock.