With all the games, backstories, injuries and developments in a given week in the NFL, it’s tough to know what to watch on Sunday. Here are five things to watch this week:
No. 1 pick to watch
After a messy and at times very ugly start, the game appears to be slowing down for Jameis Winston.
The much-scrutinized No. 1-overall pick is coming off the best game of his young career last week, when Winston completed 21 of 29 passes for 297 yards and two TDs in a 31-30 loss to the Redskins.
Winton had a 128.1 rating in that game and will be looking for his third consecutive game with a rating of 120 or better when the 2-4 Buccaneers travel to face the Falcons in a must-win for Tampa Bay, if it hopes to have a chance of remaining in the NFC South race.
The impressive upturn has come on the heels of Winston’s low point, when he threw four interceptions in a 37-23 division loss to the Panthers at home in Week 4.
Maybe all Winston needed was permission to let it fly. His yards per pass attempt skyrocketed each of the past two weeks to 11.00 and 10.24, respectively, after hovering around six in his first four starts.
Draft class to watch
Rick Spielman probably won’t win the NFL’s Executive of the Year award, but the veteran Vikings general manager definitely would be the leading contender if there were a Drafter of the Year honor.
Minnesota is 4-2 heading into Sunday’s visit to the Bears and still is within striking distance of the red-hot Packers in the NFC North, with the considerable help of two later-round Spielman picks last May.
Inside linebacker Eric Kendricks, a second-rounder from UCLA taken 45th overall, came out of nowhere to win Defensive Rookie of the Month after a dominant October in which he recorded at least one sack in all three games. Kendricks, the third inside linebacker taken in the draft, also had at least one tackle for lost yardage in every game last month.
Spielman and the Vikings are also getting a huge boost from fifth-round pick Stefon Diggs, who essentially has unseated veteran Charles Johnson with consecutive 100-yard receiving games.
Diggs, a Maryland product and the 19th wide receiver selected, has 19 catches for 324 yards and one touchdown in just three games.
Spielman might have misfired with first-round pick Trae Waynes, a Michigan State cornerback who couldn’t win a starting job and has done little in his first six NFL games. But Kendricks and Diggs are helping Spielman more than make up for it.
Ageless wonder to watch
Talk all you want about what Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have been able to do in their late 30s, but what Oakland’s Charles Woodson is accomplishing at age 39 is nothing short of incredible.
Woodson this week became the oldest defensive back to win one of the NFL’s monthly awards when he claimed AFC Defensive Player of the Month thanks to three interceptions and four pass breakups in just three games in October.
Woodson, who switched to safety in 2012 after 14 seasons as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, will face the Jets on Sunday as one of just three players in league history to record an interception after his 39th birthday (joining Darrell Green and Clay Matthews Jr.)
Even more incredible is that Woodson, whose four interceptions overall are tied for the NFL lead, suffered a separated shoulder earlier this season. So much for taking a leisurely victory lap.
Woodson appears almost certain to make the Pro Bowl — heck, a first-team All-Pro selection might not be out of the question — and that, too, would be historic. No player over age 38 has ever been voted to the Pro Bowl.
Maybe Woodson wasn’t joking earlier this season when he said he has at least 10 more years of NFL football in him.
Comeback kid to watch
Chris Johnson is leaving the Jets a bit red-faced for getting rid of him with his ongoing career revival with the Cardinals.
Heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Browns in Cleveland, Johnson already has three 100-yard rushing games and is second in the NFL in rushing with 567 yards. He also is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, a figure he hasn’t been near over a full season since averaging 5.6 yards a rush during his 2,006-yard season with the Titans in 2009.
That’s a far cry from the paltry numbers Johnson put up last year in his lone season with the Jets, when he rushed for career-low 663 yards and one TD in 16 games while also dealing with off-field issues.
Of course, it helps that Johnson has Carson Palmer in front of him instead of Geno Smith and Michael Vick. Palmer is tied for the NFC lead in passing yards (2,012) and tops the entire league in TD passes (16).
Potential eyesore to watch
If you’re looking for an example of how turnovers can ruin a team’s season, Sunday’s matchup between the Chargers and Ravens provides two of them.
San Diego is just 2-5 and Baltimore is an embarrassing 1-6 despite a host of offensive players on both teams putting up huge numbers.
The Chargers’ Philip Rivers leads the NFL with 2,452 passing yards and is tied for the third in the league with 15 TD passes, and favorite target Keenan Allen is No. 1 in the NFL with 62 receptions and tied for third with 690 receiving yards.
The Ravens’ Joe Flacco is tied for third in the AFC with 1,857 passing yards, running back Justin Forsett is third in the conference with 493 rushing yards and receiver Steve Smith Sr. (41 receptions for 588 yards and three TDs) continues to turn back the clock.
But both teams’ seasons essentially already are over thanks to turnovers. With San Diego at minus-6 in turnover margin for the season and Baltimore at minus-7, it could be an especially sloppy day of football in Baltimore.