NFL1000: Ranking the Top 1,000 Players from Week 14

December 15, 2016   ·   Doug Farrar   ·   Jump to comments

That Aaron Rodgers and Le'Veon Bell top the NFL1000 charts for Week 14 is no surprise. The surprises come later.
But to focus on Rodgers and Bell first: The Green Bay Packers' quarterback turned in a masterful performance against a Seattle Seahawks defense that has played him tough in recent years, and it wasn't because of Earl Thomas' injury-related absence. Thomas is by far the league's best deep coverage defender, but Rodgers didn't test the middle of the field often. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 13 of his 18 completions (in 23 attempts) were outside the numbers.
Instead, Rodgers was satisfied to pick apart Seattle's cornerbacks (especially Jeremy Lane) with deep strikes to the boundary, averaging 10.7 yards per attempt. And he did that with an injured calf that affected his mobility. Given the Seahawks' excellence in sideline pass defense, this may be even more disconcerting for the franchise's near future.
As for Bell, the Pittsburgh Steeler conti...

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