Two weeks into the 2013 season and one-fourth of the 32 teams are unbeaten. But which players had the best performances this past Thursday, Sunday and Monday?
We are back once again to take a look at the best of the best position-wise, this time for Week 2. While you can debate the choices, keep in mind that it won’t always be strictly about the numbers. And on occasion, we will be taking a look ahead as well as give a history lesson or two. Bottom line here is that we will continue to do our "best."
Aaron Rodgers, Darren McFadden And Mario Williams Earn Top 10 Honors In NFL's Week 2 Slideshow
QB Aaron Rodgers
It would be harder to be sharper than Rodgers was Sunday against the Redskins. Despite being sacked three times in the first quarter, Rodgers completed 34-of-42 passes for 480 yards and four scores. It marked the 20th time in his last 33 regular-season games that the Green Bay quarterback threw at least three touchdown passes. Amazingly, after throwing just one touchdown pass in his first three NFL seasons (2005-07), Rodgers is just 22 scores shy of 200 career TD tosses. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers also came up huge in his team’s win at Philadelphia.
RB Darren McFadden
When the former first-round draft choice is on the field, he's one of the best running backs in the league. But keeping McFadden on the field throughout his career has been the issue for the Raiders due to his numerous injuries. On Sunday vs. the Jaguars, McFadden totaled 129 yards rushing on 19 carries and was also the team's top receiver with four receptions (28 yards) in the Silver and Black's 19-9 victory.
WR Julio Jones
For some the choice may be Chargers wideout Eddie Royal, who caught seven passes for 90 yards and three scores in his team's win over the Philadelphia Eagles. But Julio ran roughshod through the St. Louis Rams’ schoolyard Sunday, hauling in 11 passes for 182 yards, including a score that covered 81 yards for Atlanta. Jones has now scored 18 touchdowns in his past 22 regular-season games.
TE Martellus Bennett
It was a tough call this week considering the performances of both Jimmy Graham (Saints) and Antonio Gates (Chargers). But Bennett has already caught three touchdown passes in two games with the Bears, equaling the team's touchdown production from that position a year ago. On Sunday against the Vikings, Bennett totaled seven grabs for 76 yards and scored the team's first and last touchdowns of the game. The second score came with 10 seconds to play, helping the Bears edge the Vikings, 31-30.
Offensive Line: Bengals
It was a good night for Marvin Lewis' team as his offense rolled up 407 total yards against the always formidable Steelers' defense in a 20-10 victory. The Bengals rang up 79 plays and stayed balance in terms of the run (34) and pass (45). More importantly, quarterback Andy Dalton wasn't sacked and the Cincinnati running game rolled up 127 yards as the Bengals got a rare home win over the Steelers.
DE Mario Williams
Rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel is getting a lot of love for his Buffalo's 24-23 come-from-behind win over Carolina and rightfully so. But it's hard to overlook what Williams did Sunday. The first overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft totaled six stops and 4.5 sacks in the team's one-point victory. Also worth noting is Kansas City Chiefs second-year nose tackle Dontari Poe, who was imposing against the Cowboys, as well as Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.
LB Daryl Smith
The new-look Baltimore defense rebounded from a rough season debut at Denver as Smith and company made amends in a tough 14-6 win over the Cleveland Browns. The inside linebacker totaled 11 tackles (8 of those via assist), 1.5 sacks and knocked down a pair of passes. It will be interesting to watch the defending Super Bowl champions evolve on the defensive side of the football this season.
CB Brent Grimes
New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos safety Tony Carter and Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings all had good weeks. But Grimes came up big at Indianapolis as the Dolphins made in two straight road wins in 2013. The former Falcon totaled five tackles, knocked down three passes and picked off Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in the end zone in the fourth quarter as Miami held on for a 24-20 win.
Special Teams: Bears
While it is tempting to just mention kick returner Devin Hester, the Bears' kick-coverage teams had a say as well. Although he didn’t score, Hester totaled five kickoff returns for a whopping 249 yards, setting up a short field for Jay Cutler and company. And linebacker Blake Costanzo clinched Chicago's 31-30 win over the Vikings by stripping and recovering the ensuing kickoff following the Bears’ game-winning touchdown drive.
Coach: Mike McCoy
After the Bolts looked like dolts by squandering a 28-7 lead a week ago in a loss to the Texans, McCoy's Chargers were supposed to wilt in Philadelphia on a short week and an early game on the East Coast. But quarterback Philip Rivers was on his game and the San Diego offense rolled up 539 yards of total offense in a huge 33-30 victory over the Eagles, handing McCoy his first victory as an NFL head coach.
-- Read more of Russell S. Baxter at ProFootballGuru.com. Follow him on Twitter @BaxFootballGuru.
