15 games are in the books. What plays will we remember? Gregg Rosenthal chooses the five throws that define the week every Monday
We could choose Eli Manning finding Victor Cruz for 80 yards in a play reminiscent of the back-breaking play Cruz made against the New York Jets late last year. But that was single coverage against Ronde Barber. Too easy. Instead, we'll show the last of Manning's endless array of big plays. Look at the pressure on him. Look at Hakeem Nicks' catch. That's a championship-level play to finish off a comeback.
The St. Louis Rams suddenly run an exciting offense. Led by Sam Bradford and Brian Schottenheimer. They could easily be 2-0. Sam Bradford's resurgence is one of the early stories of this season. I choose this throw because it displayed Bradford's decisiveness and accuracy on Sunday against the Washington Redskins. He's making some tight throws, and his wide receivers are making plays for him. It wasn't that long ago when Bradford was the cool new rookie on the block.
First came the blood. Then came the decisive touchdown to put the Detroit Lions away. Alex Smith is no longer just around for the ride. The guy is tougher than a $2 steak.
Michael Vick has taken a lot of hits and turned the ball over a lot of times in two games. Yet the Philadelphia Eagles are still 2-0 because he's played his best with the game on the line. This throw and catch to DeSean Jackson was sensational on both ends. It was very Manning-to-Manningham. Vick made mistakes Sunday, but he also made the plays that make him so fun to watch.
Every week in this segment, we are allowed one "cheat." Our great video team puts together highlight packages of players and it would be crazy not to ignore it. In this case, we're going to show Andrew Luck's first game-winning touchdown drive. A very cool moment in the career of a guy we'll be writing about for the next decade.
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