Sept. 30 | Mort's September Top-Five Lists
Editor's Note: Chris Mortensen offers his usual array of NFL top-five lists to summarize Week 4.
Best Games
1. Chiefs 17, Ravens 10 -- You just knew, when the Ravens had to re-kick because of
an offsides penalty, that Dante Hall was about to do some fourth-quarter damage.
2. Texans 24, Jaguars 20 -- Dom Capers can be my coach anytime.
3. Raiders 34, Chargers 31 -- The Silver & Black overcame a 14-point deficit and came to
life ... looking like the AFC champions.
4. Bengals 21, Browns 14 -- Down 14-0 at the half, coach Marvin Lewis rallied his Corey Dillon-less troops and won his first game on the road against the Bengals' ultimate rivals, if there is such a thing.
5. Broncos 20, Lions 16 -- It made you watch a game you figured you could turn off.
Most Impressive in Victory
1. Colts 55, Saints 21 -- When you start to feel embarrassed for a team, the team that's
doing the embarrassing has had a pretty good night.
2. Titans 30, Steelers 13 -- They only had the ball for 24 minutes, but QB Steve McNair did
the most with it while the defense came up with two interceptions (one for a TD) and a safety.
3. Eagles 23, Bills 13 -- A huge road win against a talented Buffalo team settles things down
for Philly.
4. Panthers 23, Falcons 3 -- For a Carolina team that lost to Atlanta by a two-game
cumulative 71-0 last season, this was as one-sided as it gets.
5. Chiefs 17, Ravens 10 -- It wasn't domination, but it was a road win against a Ravens
squad that was primed for a big one.
Best Performance: Quarterback
1. Peyton Manning, Colts -- He connected for a six-pack and finished with a perfect QB
rating of 158.3 (although I must ask: Does "158.3" sound like perfection?).
2. Gus Frerotte, Vikings -- This throwing it up to Randy Moss was a lot of fun for Gus,
and thus he had a 157.2 QB rating.
3. Steve McNair, Titans -- He threw 16 passes and completed 15 for three TDs in big road
win against Steelers. The one incompletion could have been pass interference.
4. Brett Favre, Packers -- When he has fun, we have fun.
5. Rich Gannon, Raiders -- Maybe it was the Chargers' defense, but this Rich Gannon
was the MVP last year.
Best Performance: Running Back
1. Ahman Green, Packers -- Yeah, there really are times when he looks like Bo Jackson,
and he did Monday night.
2. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers -- His 187 yards, not to mention a TD pass to Drew
Brees, almost singlehandedly beat the Raiders.
3. Stephen Davis, Panthers -- Maybe the Redskins couldn't afford to keep him, but the
Panthers are reaping the benefits. He gashed the Falcons for 153 yards on 21 carries.
4. Jamal Lewis, Ravens -- I'm not sure that anybody in the NFL runs with the sort of
power that Lewis again displayed against the Chiefs.
5a. Troy Hambrick, Cowboys -- This is Pavlov's ... er, Parcells' theory ... Hambrick is
running like a thoroughbred all of a sudden, and not a dog. That was 127 yards on 24
rushed and one TD vs. Jets.
5b. Anthony Thomas, Bears -- It was in another sorry defeat, but the Thomas (13-for-110)
I saw Monday night - -especially on that 67-yard TD run -- was the rookie of the year in
2001. If I were coach Dick Jauron, I'd be riding Thomas until he wears out.
Best Performance: Wide Receiver
1. Randy Moss, Vikings -- He brought his game Sunday, and nobody's better when he
does that.
2. Marvin Harrison, Colts -- As if he needed to remind us, Harrison (6-for-158, 3 TDs) is
still the smoothest of the smooth.
3. Tory Holt, Rams -- In the midst of whatever the Rams are, Holt (12-for-133, 1 TD)
continues to rise among the league's best.
4. Tim Brown, Raiders -- Those Chargers will make you young again (6-for-110, 1 TD).
5. Jerry Rice, Raiders -- Right, Jerry? (7-for-118).
Best Plays
1. Dante Hall's 97-yard TD return -- Hall's return broke Baltimore and kept the Chiefs unbeaten. It
came on a second-chance return (penalty), and special-teams coach Fran Gansz called a
different return, despite some dissent from Dick Vermeil.
2. Randy Moss' jump-ball catches -- Moss made two jump-ball catches for the Vikings, but it was his seemingly
simple 59-yard TD catch from Gus Frerotte that showed his incomparable speed in which
he never broke stride despite looking back.
3. Brian Westbrook's 62-yard TD run -- Westbrook's run for the Eagles, before the final two-minute mark,
killed any gasp Buffalo had left.
4. Rocky Boiman's interception and TD return -- Boiman not only filled in admirably for injured Titans LB Peter Sirmon by forcing a safety, but he also made a diving interception of a Tommy Maddox pass and scrambled to his
feet quick enough to make a 60-yard TD return that broke the Steelers' backs.
5. Troy Edwards catch-and-run for TD -- Edwards, now a Jaguars WR, took an off-target pass from Byron Leftwich and
turned it into an 82-yard catch-and-run for the rookie QB's first NFL TD pass.
Best Games: Week 5
1. Indianapolis Colts at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Are you kidding me? A possible
Super Bowl preview and coach Tony Dungy's return to Tampa.
2. Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs -- An AFC West shootout for bragging rights
and a 5-0 record.
3. Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles -- It's a great opportunity for the Eagles
to show they're the team to beat in the NFC East, and a chance for coach Steve Spurrier's Redskins to
serve notice that it's really a new season.
4. Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers -- It's coach Mike Holmgren going back to Lambeau
again, this time with an undefeated team.
5. Miami Dolphins at New York Giants -- Well, it's a Super Bowl possibility, too.
