Top performers from Week 13
A threesome stood out above all others yesterday.
Another chaotic Sunday has come and gone in the NFL. Like every other before it, there was upsets, blowouts and of course, nail-biting finishes. With just four weeks remaining, the consequences from 60 minutes of football grow immeasurably.
Without further ado here are just some of the men who dragged their team toward victory. In most cases they walked away with a W, but there were a select few stars who fought valiantly in the face of defeat.
TOM BRADY
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady led the Bucs to a thrilling 33-27 overtime win vs. Buffalo, passing for 363 yards and two touchdowns. Crucially, the seven-time Super Bowl winner threw no interceptions, amassing a 105.6 rating. In a rare feat, Brady added a rushing touchdown in as the Bucs soared to 10-3.
Brady — already the league's all-time leader in passing yards (83,338) and passing touchdowns (617) — surpassed Drew Brees (7,142) for the most completions in NFL history, adding another record to a list longer than St. Nicholas’
TB12 has 4,134 passing yards through 13 weeks, his 13th career season with at least 4,000 passing yards, surpassing Brees (12 seasons) and Philip Rivers (12) for the second-most 4,000-yardage seasons all-time.
PATRICK MAHOMES
Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes shone brightly in Kansas City’s 48-9 demolition of AFC West rival Las Vegas. The Raiders never stood a chance as Mahomes completed 20 of 24 pass attempts — 83.3% completion rate — for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes’ zero turnovers will please Andy Reid to no end, as the Chiefs claimed their sixth win in a row.
Kansas City is the first defense since Seattle’s 2014 legion of boom to allow fewer than 10 points four times across a five-game stretch. Including yesterday’s victory, the Chiefs have held their opponents to nine points in three straight games (Cowboys, Broncos & Raiders) from Weeks 11-13. Their defensive hot streak began with a blanketing of an Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers back in Week 9.
Mahomes has 10 career games with a passer rating of 130-or-higher (minimum 20 attempts), taking the mantle from former Ram & Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and current quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson for the most during their first five seasons.
JUSTIN HERBERT
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert put on a show during his team’s 37-21 blitzing of the lowly New York Giants. The sophomore passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns for a 133.1 quarterback rating.
The 23-year-old is the fourth-youngest player to reach 8,000 passing yards in NFL history. Only the Saints’ Jameis Winston (22 years, 361 days), Panthers’ Sam Darnold (23 years, 212 days) and former Patriot Drew Bledsoe (23 years, 236 days) reached the mark at a younger age.
The Oregon product is the second-youngest player to reach 60 career touchdown passes in NFL history. Only Hall of Famer Dan Marino (23 years, 78 days) reached the mark at a younger age.
Herbert is the first player ever in the National Football League to throw for 30 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons.
Week 1 AFC players of the week announced
The 4-0 AFC West is well represented with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby chosen.
After a pulsating start to the 2021 NFL season, three players were selected as a class above the rest in the American Football Conference.
The 4-0 AFC West is well represented with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby chosen. Alongside, game-winning Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. Each were respectively voted the offensive, defensive and special teams players’ of the week.
Mahomes helped his Kansas City Chiefs to another miraculous hometown comeback, defeating the Cleveland Browns 33-29 despite trailing by two scores in the final quarter. The 25-year-old completed 27 of 36 pass attempts for 337 yards and three touchdowns. Tom Brady’s heir apparent threw no interceptions, amassing a 131.4 QBR. What’s more, Mahomes got himself a rushing touchdown too.
The Chiefs’ No.15 has now achieved six Offensive Player of the Week Awards, overtaking Joe Montana for the most by a Kansas City quaterback.
Mad Maxx Crosby was an integral component to the Raiders’ gutsy overtime victory against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. The Eastern Michigan alum had two sacks, six tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss as the Raiders christened Allegiant Stadium.
Crosby has won the award twice previously, once as a defensive player (Week 11: 2019) and the other for his Special Teams work all the back in Week 17, 2020. In what is sure to be a humbling moment for the resilient 24-year-old, Crosby has now accrued more Player of the Week Awards than any Eastern Michigan player in history.
Fairytales can come true, right? If you’re a non-believer, just find rookie kicker Evan McPherson. The Alabama-born specialist slotted a 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and wasn’t close to being done there. McPherson followed it up with a 33-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in Cincinnati’s overtime victory over Minnesota.
The Bengals’ newest hero is only the second rookie kicker in NFL history to make a game-winning field goal with no time remaining in overtime. Miami’s Jason Sanders (October 14, 2018) is the co-owner of the prestigious record.
At 22 years and 53 days old, McPherson also became the youngest kicker in NFL history to kick a game-winner in overtime. Want another record?
McPherson is the first rookie kicker to win Special Teams Player of the Week since Indianapolis’ Rodrigo Blankenship in Week 11 of the 2020 season.