Best & Worst Of NFL Week Nine

We've just cleared the halfway point of the National Football League season, and its already starting to help clear up the playoff picture around the league just a little bit. Some teams are starting to pick up steam after slow starts. Miami has won three straight games and are now back at the .500 mark. The New York Giants have also won three straight games, now sitting at two games over .500 and are only two back of first place in the division. On the other end of the spectrum, we’re seeing teams that started hot taking turns for the worst, like the Minnesota Vikings, who have now lost three in a row after starting the season unbeaten. Then there's the Philadelphia Eagles who have lost two straight and have fallen to .500. Week nine also meant a good week for some of the mediocre teams in the league, like the Panthers, Lions, Colts and Ravens all picking up some measure of respectability. Here's just some of the best and worst of week nine in the NFL.

Best:
Jason Witten, Tight End Dallas Cowboys
Well well well, look who finally decided to show up. Jason Witten has been known throughout his career as one of the best pass catching tight ends in the game. This year, he had been quite for the most part, except for a decent game against the Giants in week one. Well in week nine, a Cowboys 35-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, Witten had his best game of the year so far. He had eight catches (on just 10 targets) for 134 yards and a touchdown. That’s more yards than he’s had in any two games combined this season. Oh and also more catches than in all but one game this year. I know it was against the Cleveland Browns but still those are solid numbers no matter who was catching the passes. Witten can do a little bit of it all all and had himself a week and showed that he can still be a very effective pass catcher.

Worst:
Travis Kelce, Tight End Kansas City Chiefs
Under normal circumstances, you might not consider Kelce to make this list. But with what happened this week in the Chiefs win over the Jaguars. Kelce got so mad at a referee for failing to call what he thought was pass interference that he was flagged, causing him to yank a towel out of his back pocket and throw it at the referee. That earned him another flag (although the referee had already used his flag, forcing him to use his hat) and ejection from the game. Kelce had to leave the field, will probably get fined, and, worst of all, he got made fun of by the Jaguars as he left the field. You'd think that a guy with that kind of talent level, who had a pretty good week last week over in London, he'd be able to keep his cool and stay on the field to be able to help out his football team. Didn't happen this week, and Kelce was kicked out of the game because he wasn't able to use his head.

Best:
Mark Ingram, Running Back New Orleans Saints
It's been no secret around the league that Mark Ingram is a very solid running back. He's become one of the stars in this league at the running back spot and Sunday in the Saints 41-23 victory over the 49ers, you saw why. Ingram had 15 carries for 156 yards and a score in the victory. Sure, he's not as flashy as a guy like say for example Adrian Peterson, but Mark Ingram can produce in his own right. His stat line from Sunday is a very good indication of that. Ingram had the 2nd most rushing yards of any running back in the league in week nine, the only back who ran for more yards was Melvin Gordon of the Chargers (he ran for 198). Ingram is a good back and should not be taken for granted. Now lets see if he can keep this kind of play up next week against a very tough Denver defense.

Worst:
Carson Wentz, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
When the season started, Carson Wentz looked great through the first three weeks of the season. The second overall pick from this years draft came out like a house of fire at the start, looking like he might blow off the doors in Philly and make that team his outright. Well. since then, Carson has seemed to hit the wall. He's thrown five picks the last five games, including two in the Eagles 28-23 loss to the Giants. The worst aspect is that his two interceptions came on consecutive drives, and both led directly to touchdowns for the Giants. It was just an ugly game for the rookie, who appears to be overthinking things midway through the season instead of playing without a care in the world. He has the talent to make a great QB, he's got eight TD's on the year but he really has seemed to slow down the past few games.

Best:
Dallas Cowboys Offense
We already talked about a part of this offense before with Jason Witten. Let us not forget the other two bigtime players that had a major hand in the Boys big win over the Browns on Sunday. First, there's Ezekiel Elliott, who had a strong day against the Browns. Zek finished with 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. This kid continues to make the most out of every opportunity Dallas’ amazing offensive line gives him. Then there's the Cowboys other surprise strar rookie, Quarterback Dak Prescott (feels like I've been saying this a lot lately). Dak Prescott was nearly flawless Sunday, finishing with 247 yards, while going 21 of 27 to go along with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He rebounded nicely after struggling in Week 8. Dallas has been one of the top teams in the NFC and with the way the Boys have been playing as of late I see no reason to make any player changes unless somebody gets hurt.

Worst:
Jacksonville Jaguars Offense
Lets face facts, the Jaguars offense really has stunk up the Joint the last couple of weeks. Jacksonville came up short in a 19-14 loss to Kansas City. Blake Bortles threw an early interception that lead to quick points by Kansas City. He's not the only one to make mistakes on this day for the Jacksonville offense. Chris Ivory, Bryan Walters and T.J. Yeldon all coughed up the ball, resulting in three recovered fumbles for Kansas City’s defense. Jacksonville now sits at 2-6 on the season, and there is not a single reason to believe Bortles is going to turn his season around, and head coach Gus Bradley, who now has a career coaching record of 14-42, has never given us any reason to trust he knows how to help the franchise become a winner.

Best:
Odell Beckham Jr, Wide Receiver New York Giants
OK I know he's had people on his case because he's been more of a diva this year then a superstar wide receiver. Don't get me wrong, this guy has all the talent in the world to be the best in the game. He showed up this week in a big way against the Eagles. Beckham didn’t explode with a huge game yardage-wise, as he finished with four catches for 46 yards, but half of his catches were for touchdowns. In the process, he made some history by becoming the first player since 1967 with 30 receiving touchdowns in his first 35 games. It wasn't the biggest yardage day of his career, he had one of those earlier this year against Baltimore. But his two scores came at a big time and helped the Giants, who were without Victor Cruz, to their third straight win. New York’s offense has the potential to become one of the most dangerous in the NFL from week to week. We got a taste of what it can accomplish in Week 9 against a very good Philadelphia defense. Now they just need to keep it rolling against the Bengals on Monday night.

Worst:
Chris Boswell, Kicker Pittsburgh Steelers
Boswell is a decent kicker, but he's horrible when it comes to on-side kicks. On Sunday, Pittsburgh came up short against the Ravens, falling 21-14. Boswell had the worst onside kick attempt in history. No, really, in all of football history. I defy you to find a worse decision to one, try this soccer trick, then find worse execution of any athletic move in any sport. It went viral after the mishap and I really don't think he's going to be trying that silly move again anytime soon.