Josh McCown is your Week 5 AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Yes, that Josh McCown. The one Cleveland Browns fans spent all summer wringing their hands over.
That Josh McCown put up 457 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing score in the Cleveland Browns' 33-30 win over division rival Baltimore Ravens, setting a Browns franchise record for pass yards in a game.
McCown is the first quarterback in Browns history with 300-plus passing yards in three straight games and leads the NFL in passing yards since Week 3 (384.7 average over the three-game span). For the season, McCown is just one of six quarterbacks to average 300 passing yards per game (300.8) joining the likes of Tom Brady (346.8), Drew Brees (326.0), Philip Rivers (322.6), Ben Roethlisberger (304.0) and Andy Dalton (303.6).
He might not be a Hall of Famer, but McCown has proven the last several weeks that when he's in a groove, he can still sling the pigskin with precision. This week, his big day finally got the Browns a big win over a hated Ravens squad.
Other award winners from this week...
AFC
Colts safety Mike Adams' two interceptions bookended Indianapolis' Thursday night win. Both picks thwarted potential Houston Texans' scoring drives. Adams was Johnny-on-the-spot for each of his takeaways. The first came on a pass that went through Arian Foster's hands and caromed into Adams' lap. The second the safety played center field on Brian Hoyer's ill-fated heave late in the contest. Adams also added four tackles.
Bengals kicker Mike Nugent booted two field goals and three extra points as Cincinnati stormed back from a deep fourth-quarter deficit for the win over Seattle. The kicker's 42-yard field goal that banged off the left upright and through kept the Bengals undefeated. Of course, Mother Earth played a part in that fortune, as well.
NFC
Giants quarterback Eli Manning led a last-minute drive to give his NFC East-leading squad a thrilling Sunday night victory. Manning picked apart the 49ers' secondary to the tune of 441 yards on a whopping 54 throws. His 41 completions were a New York Football Giants single-game record. Manning's performance came without his top-two targets, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randal, for a large part of the fourth quarter. His needle-threading pass to tight end Larry Donnell for the game-winning score was a thing of beauty.
Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox almost single-handedly beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The mashing defensive end blew up play after play, compiling three sacks and six tackles in the win. The bulldozing pass rusher also forced two fumbles, recovering one.
Tampa Bay punt returner Bobby Rainey had two huge returns that both set up Buccaneers' touchdowns in Sunday's win. Rainey's 58-yard return in the first half allowed the Bucs to build an early lead. His 25-yarder late in the game set up the touchdown that put the contest away and ended up becoming the game-winning score.
