Each week on "Only the Best," we highlight some of the best plays, performances and moments from the previous Sunday.
We just witnessed the ugliest, season-altering day of injuries of the NFL season. But it wasn't all darkness in Week 7.
The Genocoaster, for instance, was on the incline. The Jets rookie quarterback will continue to make mistakes, but Geno Smith also will continue to make plays like this one that Mark Sanchez could never, ever make. There are a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL who couldn't pull off this throw.
(And a lot of wide receivers who couldn't make the catch. Bravo, David Nelson.) Consider the following:
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Robert Mathis recorded his 39th career sack fumble on Sunday against his old teammate Peyton Manning. That ties Jason Taylor for the all-time NFL record. (The stat started being recorded in 1982.)
Mathis is one of the most underrated defensive players of his generation. He just has five fewer career sacks than his more celebrated ex-teammate Dwight Freeney. Mathis leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks through eight games. His speed around the edge looks like it did 10 years ago.
The San Francisco 49ers have won four consecutive games by at least 10 points for the first time since 1997, when Steve Mariucci was the coach. I didn't fully buy in to this team's offensive re-emergence until I saw Colin Kaepernick completing beautiful passes like this against a quality defense.
Occasionally, I'm going to present a video just because the hit was too awesome to ignore. There's a good chance this will be the last you hear of Washington Redskins' special-teamer Jose Gumbs this year, but he earned it.
Robert Griffin III's burst, accuracy and touch all looked to be back against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. In Jordan Reed, the Redskins have found a huge new weapon.
I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why Jason Hatcher isn't a Defensive Player of the Year candidate after half of the season. He is carrying the Dallas Cowboys defensive line week after week.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 7 game.
