Top 5 QB Performances of Week 10

Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was an easy choice for our “Player of the Week” award  after showering his team’s most bitter rivals with six first-half touchdowns en route to a 55-14 victory at Lambeau. But even though Rodgers was dominant, this wasn’t the best week for quarterbacks, as it was extremely difficult to choose the fifth and final QB performance to highlight.

Cleveland Browns QB Brian Hoyer

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan received strong consideration, but I ultimately decided to go with Brian Hoyer, who was efficient despite missing his two best pass-catchers this past week with both Jordan Cameron and Andrew Hawkins inactive. That didn’t seem to stop the resilient Hoyer, who moved the chains with success by getting the ball to veteran Miles Austin for five of his 15 completions. He finished with a quiet but solid performance in a crucial Thursday Night Football game, clearly outshining Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton, who had one of the worst games in franchise history. Meanwhile, Hoyer completed 15 of 23 passes for 198 yards, averaging 8.6 yards per attempt. It was another tidy performance for Hoyer, who continues to do a good job of efficiently managing the Browns offense, which is built on a three-headed backfield of Terrance West, Isaiah Crowell, and veteran Ben Tate.

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Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

I already gushed about him enough in the “Player of the Week” piece linked above, but it never hurts to keep sending praise towards one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the history of the game. It just seems like Rodgers can’t miss this season, and the fact that he had six TDs, no picks, and an average of 11.7 yards per attempt tells you all you need to know about his sheer dominance on Sunday Night Football. While the Chicago Bears defense is dreadful, he played so well that he would have put up big numbers on anyone.

Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning

We all knew this one was coming, since there was simply no way for the Oakland Raiders to calm Peyton Manning down at all. C.J. Anderson surprised them by racking up yardage on the ground and through the air, but Manning’s 340 passing yards came as no surprise. He had two picks, but he also had five touchdowns and averaged a solid 7.7 yards per attempt. It really wasn’t his finest performance, but he played well and used all of his weapons to good effect on the overmatched Raiders defense.

Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo

Showing no ill-effects on his two fractured transverse processes, Tony Romo helped Dez Bryant give the Cowboys something to think about by hitting up his stud receiver for six receptions, 158 yards, and two TDs on just eight targets. Unlike Brandon Weeden, Romo knows how to take advantage of a top-ten receiver, and he rode Bryant, Jason Witten, and standout running back DeMarco Murray, who is also in the final year of his deal, to an easy win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Like Rodgers, Romo could have easily put up bigger numbers this week, but the Cowboys weren’t about to ask him to do too much or run up the score. Romo was an impressive 20-27 with three TDs, no picks, and 9.1 yards per attempt before allowing Weeden to come in and toss an eight-yarder.

New York Jets QB Michael Vick

If you told me we would have a top five QB performance this week from the Pittsburgh Steelers-New York Jets game, then I would obviously say, “Yeah, Ben Roethlisberger sure is on fire.”

Big Ben was indeed on fire in garbage time, but Michael Vick earns a spot on this admittedly weakened top five, though his efficient display should not be downplayed. While the Steelers defense was injured and predictably played like a hot mess of blown assignments, Vick deserves to be commended for being a playmaker and a game manager in the same game (mostly the latter, though, due to the nature of their easy victory). His effortless 67-yard bomb to T.J. Graham? Vintage playmaker Vick. His controlled play to help keep the Jets ahead? Game manager. Vick is clearly a significantly better quarterback than Geno Smith, whose days are, barring an unfortunate injury to the new starter, over as a starting QB for the Jets.