Week 13 NFL Top Performers
Posted: Thursday December 03, 1998 12:15 AM
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Career bests achieved by Marshall Faulk vs. the Ravens: 267 total yards, 192 yards rushing and a 68-yard TD run Vincent Laforet/Allsport |
Before you go thinking this page is getting elitist, scroll down to the
long line of 100-yard receivers this week -- we usually cut it off at the
best 10 guys each week, but we let anybody with 100 yards onto the list.
This week, that means SEVENTEEN honorees -- we apologize if it took a while
to download this one. At least four of these players have no business being
on this list, but then again, it is Week 13, so best of luck explaining
these: - Colts receiver Torrance Small didn't have
more than 50 yards in any game this year until Sunday's 153-yard effort
filling in for an injured Marvin Harrison. Small
actually had a 200-yard game as a Saint in 1994.
- Seahawks receiver James McKnight had one
game with better than 32 yards receiving (a whopping 66 yards at that)
before gaining 113 this week, including a 55-yard touchdown and a crucial
catch to set up Seattle's game-winning kick. McKnight had more yards Sunday
than he did in any of his first three seasons.
- Packers receiver Bill Schroeder had been
close to 100 this year and actually made our list with previous weeks of 97
and 93 yards. Schroeder had just two NFL catches for 15 yards entering this
season, but has made the most of injuries to the Packers receivers.
- Redskins tailback Stephen Davis had a total
of 90 receiving yards (that's one game over 10 yards rushing, one game over
10 yards receiving) this year before he picked up 110 in Washington's upset
of Oakland.
Top Ground Gainer
Colts tailback Marshall
Faulk is making a great case to be in the Pro Bowl in February. The AFC
already has Denver's Terrell Davis, but after
that, you make a strong case for Faulk being the most valuable tailback.
Say what you want about Eddie George, Curtis Martin or rookie Fred Taylor, but Faulk has
the numbers to justify a trip to Hawaii.
Entering the week, he had an NFL-high 62 receptions, and he accounted for
45.4 percent of Indianapolis' offensive yards, more than any other NFL
player. Sunday's game was arguably his best in five years as a Colt -- a
career-high 192 yards on just 17 carries (that's 11.3 yards a carry) and
another 75 receiving yards on seven receptions. In the first quarter, he
scored on a 68-yard run -- the longest of his career, besting a 65-yard run
he had last month -- and a 34-yard touchdown reception, his third this
year. Faulk reached the 1,000-yard plateau rushing for the fourth time in
five years, and he now has 1,823 total yards, a career best, with four
games remaining. Offensive Outburst Award
Yes, yes, 19 teams passed on Randy Moss in the NFL
Draft. Bad, bad decision, as you might have heard. As if general managers
around the league weren't already kicking themselves, Moss is visiting one
NFL opponent each weekend and giving them a personal workout, showing them
how fast he can run, how high he can jump, how he can really be an impact
player in the NFL.
This week, the Cowboys got to see Moss -- they also showcased their No. 1
pick, defensive end Greg
Ellis, who wowed everybody with his one tackle.
Moss only had three catches in Minnesota's Thanksgiving victory over the
Cowboys, but he made the most of it, with three touchdowns -- 51, 56 and 56
yards -- to give him an NFL-best 11 scoring grabs this year. He also took
the league lead (if only for two days) with 1,014 receiving yards, joining
Green Bay's Antonio
Freeman as the only receivers with over 1,000 yards.
Moss' impact on the 11-1 Vikings continues to grow with each week -- next
up is Chicago, which gave up a 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a
31-28 loss to the Vikes in September. Losing Effort Award
Two AFC East quarterbacks share the honor this week -- that's right,
co-winners for the first time ever -- in Indy's Peyton Manning and
Buffalo's Doug Flutie.
Manning directed the Colts to a 17-3 first-quarter lead and threw two more
touchdowns before he watched the Ravens end the game with 17 unanswered
points for a 38-31 victory. Manning set career highs with 357 passing yards
and matched his best with three touchdown passes, making nine straight
games with a scoring strike. Oddly enough, Manning has thrived in the
fourth quarter this year -- nine of his 16 previous touchdown passes came
in the fourth quarter, often with the Colts trailing big late in games.
This week, it was Flutie, however, who found himself down 14-0 early before
leading the Bills to a 21-17 lead. He, too, however, had to watch on the
sidelines as Drew
Bledsoe drove the Patriots 82 yards in the final two minutes to steal
victory away from Buffalo. Flutie passed for 339 yards and two touchdowns,
marking the sixth game this year in which he's had more than one touchdown
pass and one or fewer interceptions. Top Rushing Performances
Marshall Faulk, Colts, 17 carries, 192 yards
Jamal Anderson, Falcons,
31 carries, 188 yards
Garrison Hearst, 49ers, 20
carries, 166 yards
Darick Holmes, Packers, 26
carries, 163 yards
Napoleon Kaufman, Raiders,
17 carries, 152 yards
Curtis Martin, Jets, 21 carries, 110 yards
Corey Dillon, Bengals, 16
carries, 107 yards
Priest Holmes, Ravens, 22
carries, 103 yards
Adrian Murrell, Cardinals,
13 carries, 77 yards
Bam Morris, Chiefs, 15 carries, 76 yards
Eddie
George, Oilers, 19 carries, 76 yards
Top Passing Performances
Troy Aikman, Cowboys,
34-57, 0 INT, 1 TD, 455 yards
Randall Cunningham, Vikings,
17-35, 1 INT, 4 TD, 359 yards
Peyton Manning, Colts, 27-42, 1 INT, 3
TD, 357 yards
Doug Flutie, Bills, 21-39, 0 INT, 2 TD, 339 yards
Brett Favre, Packers,
20-33, 2 INT, 2 TD, 321 yards
Jon Kitna, Seahawks,
24-39, 1 INT, 2 TD, 298 yards
Vinny Testaverde, Jets,
16-21, 0 INT, 2 TD, 255 yards
Dan Marino, Dolphins, 22-40,
1 INT, 3 TD, 255 yards
Steve Young, 49ers, 19-33,
0 INT, 2 TD, 253 yards
Jake Plummer, Cardinals,
20-37, 2 INT, 1 TD, 250 yards
Drew Bledsoe, Patriots, 28-43, 1 INT, 3
TD, 246 yards
Top Receiving Performances Eric Moulds, Bills, 8
catches, 177 yards
Randy Moss, Vikings, 3 catches, 163 yards
Torrance Small, Colts, 9 catches, 153 yards
Herman Moore, Lions, 8
catches, 148 yards
Ike
Hilliard, Giants, 6 catches, 141 yards
Terrell Owens, 49ers, 5
catches, 140 yards
Michael Irvin, Cowboys, 10
catches, 137 yards
Cris
Carter, Vikings, 7 catches, 135 yards
Bill Schroeder, Packers, 5
catches, 128 yards
Derrick Alexander, Chiefs,
6 catches, 116 yards
James McKnight, Seahawks, 5 catches, 113 yards
Jimmy Smith, Jaguars, 7
catches, 110 yards
Stephen Davis, Redskins, 7 catches, 110 yards
Wayne Chrebet, Jets, 7
catches, 107 yards
Terry Glenn, Patriots, 8
catches, 104 yards
O.J.
McDuffie, Dolphins, 9 catches, 102 yards
Frank Sanders, Cardinals,
6 catches, 100 yards
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