We wrap up the sixth Sunday of the NFL season by looking at a handful of players who exceeded expectations and a handful who failed to deliver.
Surprises
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: It's not as though expectations weren't at a relatively high level for Wilson, who's had a decent start to his career. But few expected him to perform like that against the Patriots. The rookie looked like an experienced veteran, leading the Seahawks to an upset victory over the Patriots with a 293-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception outing. And now the Seahawks are tied for the top spot in the NFC West.
Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns: It was a great week for rookie quarterbacks, with Wilson, Robert Griffin and Ryan Tannehill all performing well. Weeden also had a superb performance in his first career victory, posting a 92.7 passer rating against a very good Bengals defense.
Shonn Greene, New York Jets: 94, 23, 40, 34, 26. Those were Greene's total rushing tallies during the first five weeks of the season. He nearly double that total with a 161-yard, three-touchdown day against the Colts. Is he finally going to start living up to expectations in New York?
Daryl Richardson, St. Louis Rams: 99 yards on only 13 touches. Not bad at all for the rookie seventh-round pick, who appears as though he could be ready to take the reins from Steven Jackson.
Lorenzo Alexander, Washington Redskins: The super backup made a huge impact on regular snaps for a thin Washington linebacking corps Sunday, picking up 1.5 sacks and five tackles in an impressive victory over the Vikings.
Disappointments
Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers: Gore was averaging 5.5 yards per carry and was leading the league's most lethal rushing attack prior to Sunday. But he and Kendall Hunter combined for only 62 yards on 12 carries against the Giants. In their defense, the Niners weren't able to run much because they fell behind early. Thus, I'm disappointed in the entire team, which laid an egg in a huge home game.
Reggie Bush, Miami Dolphins: Bush wondered after the game if it was the worst performance of his career. Actually, he's been held under 17 yards on 18 occasions, but never on 12 carries. The Dolphins won despite the running game Sunday. Bush did have 44 yards receiving, but it was still a poor, poor effort.
Arian Foster, Houston Texans: Only 29 yards on 17 carries against a sub-par run defense. The Texans were disappointing right across the board.
Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs: Tough week for running backs with big reputations. Charles became the latest back to struggle with Tampa Bay's defensive front, managing just 40 yards on the ground in another tough effort for the Chiefs.
Trent Cole and Jason Babin, Philadelphia Eagles: It's about time the entire Philadelphia Eagles' pass rush makes this list, and Cole and Babin are the faces of that unit. After leading the league in sacks with 50 last year, the Eagles' defense was held sack-less for the third straight week in a tough loss to the Lions.
