Ben Roethlisberger set the bar high a few weeks ago when he threw six touchdown passes in a game. Twice. And then, Aaron Rodgers answered the call with six touchdown passes in one half. So, who is going to be the quarterback who throws six touchdown passes in a quarter?
(Check the Bears' schedule ... nope, it won't be Teddy Bridgewater.)
So Rodgers is the king of the mountain at the moment with his six touchdowns. He did say he wanted to go for the record, which has left me kind of torn. As I mentioned in my Like/Dislike column, this is the kind of stuff I would rip Peyton Manning for.
But I kind of like what Rodgers is doing here. First of all, Rodgers came out and admitted it. He put it out there on Front Street like a rational human being. I mean, a lot of us are Madden gamers, and we'd probably all want to do the same thing. Rodgers just verbalized it. The difference here is Peyton would want to do the same thing (and keep poor Brock Osweiler on the bench), but then go out in his press conference and claim he only cared about the team's win (which even the most ardent of Peyton fan boys would admit is clearly not the case).
So I'm going to give Rodgers the benefit of the doubt. And I would even advocate a coach taking the chance to go for it. Give him two cracks at it during the beginning of the third quarter and see what happens. He's lined up against professionals, so put the onus on them to stop Rodgers.
Rodgers was rewarded, though, with an invitation to the most exclusive party in all of football: Club 99. He is now one of just a few players who have the perfect 99 rating in Madden. You might recall Richard Sherman had his membership revoked recently, and it doesn't look like it will return any time soon after Odell Beckham Jr. smoked him in Seattle. In fact, Sherman took another hit down to 97 OVR. Beckham is up two to 80 OVR.
Who else is moving and shaking this week?
Moving on up
Mark Sanchez is up to a 78 OVR after his massive game against the Panthers on Monday night. Of course, "massive" might be overselling it. But it was good to see Sanchez go out and perform at a high level in his first action in quite some time. It's kind of like when you haven't played Madden in a while and you're rusty. But Sanchez was pretty good.
I don't know if you've heard, but Carson Palmer is out for the rest of the season. Drew Stanton is in. He took a one-point boost to 75 OVR. Michael Vick is up, too. So in other words, pretty much anybody who has taken a snap for the New York Jets over the past couple of years has received a boost.
Except you, Geno Smith.
Just for giggles, Tim Tebow should have received a boost.
Moving on down
Poor Red Dalton. He took a tumble in the ratings this week with a -2 drop to 83 OVR. Ironic, of course, because -2 was pretty much what he gave to fantasy enthusiasts in that Thursday night game against the Browns. That was awful. He also took poor Mohammed Sanu down with him (down to 82 OVR). It really wasn't as steep as I had expected it to be, though. Jeremy Hill had no movement.
Great Caesar's Ghost
Rob Gronkowski is just outside of Club 99, waiting to get in. Yeah, I've seen him at the clubs before, and I can understand if you don't want to let him in. But come on, guys, Gronkowski is Club 99 material. I'll vouch for him.
Great Caesar's Ghost II
Rodgers said he strained his back in the win over the Bears because he spent too much time on the sidelines.
"My low back was actually hurting ... I think I attributed that to standing around the entire time as the second half went on, not [from] anything that happened on the field ... The guys took really good care of me on the field. I barely got touched all game, but my back actually got a little tight on the sideline ... I forgot what a strain that can be to stand there and watch."
Forget you, Rodgers. Now that might be a little unnecessary.
Six bold predictions for Sunday
EA Sports
6. The Eagles beat the Packers. First of all, forget you Rodgers for that comment. (Although, I would laugh if the situation was reversed and Jay Cutler said it.) But the Packers had it way too easy against the Bears. And Rodgers really does excel in "all-good" mode. I'm curious to see how he reacts in this one. And yes, I might be a little motivated by the last comment.
5. The Chicago Bears will allow fewer than 50 points this week. Which will be a win! Actually, the Bearswill win. Just when you want to write off the Bears, they will rebound with a monster performance.
4. Philip Rivers will lead the Chargers to a big win over the Raiders this week. He'll pass for 259 yards with one touchdown (to Antonio Gates) and he will quietly let Kellen Clemens play in relief and he'll be content with the win. He won't need to go out and try to humiliate the Raiders and prove what a great player he is by repeatedly throwing touchdown passes against them because he is a good person.
3.Peyton Manning will be the (expletive) who wants to try to throw six touchdowns in one quarter.
2. The Cardinals will rally behind Stanton. Teams rally behind their injured stars all the time. Will Stanton be the guy to lead his team to the Super Bowl? I'm not sure I'm ready to make that proclamation at this point. But for one week, at home, against one of the best teams in the NFC, the Cardinals will win. And is it my imagination, or does it seem like the Lions play at Arizona every year?
1. And in the big game of the week, it's the Colts and Patriots once again. The Colts are so close. The team is really good. But the Patriots just seem to be that team which will exert its will over an opponent. (I know, I had written the Patriots off earlier. Sue me.) I expect Darrelle Revis to be on T.Y. Hilton to limit him. Luck will be forced into a few mistakes and the Patriots end up as the winners.
You can follow Adam Rank on Twitter @adamrank. Gamer tag: KickedBoar591 *