NFL News & Analysis

Lowest-graded player at every position in NFL Week 5

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 9: Brock Osweiler #17 of the Houston Texans looks on as he warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on October 9, 2016 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

With Week 5 in the books, it's time to reflect back on the individual performance of every NFL player. We saw some great games this past weekend, many of which featured fantastic individual outings. However, in this piece, we're taking a look at the opposite end of the spectrum, highlighting the lowest-graded player at every position.

Week 5 offense

Quarterback: Brock Osweiler, Houston Texans, 33.6 overall grade

It’s no secret to anyone that watched the game that Brock Osweiler struggled against the Vikings' defense on Sunday. That said, the numbers are still staggering. When he was under pressure, Osweiler completed just 5-of-20 passes for 60 yards and an interception. He looked uncomfortable all day, and though he recorded just one pick on the stat sheet, he made many more dangerous throws that could have resulted in turnovers.

Running back: LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots, 43.9

While this game was largely centered around the Tom Brady show, the Patriots' rushing attack struggled to get going against an under-appreciated Browns' front-seven. Blount was given the ball 18 times and came away with just 37 yards to show for it. If you take away the 13-yard run he had on his first carry of the day, he averaged a minuscule 1.4 yards per carry after that.

Wide receiver: Julian Edelman, New England Patriots, 43.9

It’s strange to see Edelman on this list, considering his quarterback passed for over 400 yards, but yet here we are. Edelman looked good early on, but at the end of the day, managed five catches for 35 yards (on 10 targets), and just 16 of those were after the catch. He also had two big dropped passes.

Wide receiver: Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals, 44.0

Michael Floyd didn’t play a ton of snaps against the 49ers, but was basically invisible when he was actually on the field. Floyd was targeted just three times all game, and failed to a catch a single pass. He also had one drop.

Slot receiver: Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals, 47.9

It wasn’t a day to remember for Boyd, who spent most of his time in the slot and was effectively shut down. He caught just three-of-five targets for 33 yards against the Cowboys, and recorded one dropped pass on the day. He also failed to gain a single yard after the catch.

Tight end: Garrett Celek, San Francisco 49ers, 30.6

It was an all-around struggle for Garrett Celek, as he caught just one pass on four targets for 4 yards, also dropping two passes. Celek surrendered five tackles in the run game.

Left tackle: Billy Turner, Miami Dolphins, 26.1

Turner was essentially a turnstile in this game, allowing pressure at an alarming rate against a Titans' defense that hasn't been all that good. He surrendered three sacks, two hits, and three hurries.

Left guard: Dallas Thomas, Miami Dolphins, 35.9

Like Turner, Dallas Thomas also had a rough day at the office. The Dolphins' guard surrendered a QB hit, three QB hurries, two tackles, and allowed his blocking assignment to disrupt Miami's rushing attack on quite a few snaps.

Center: Matt Slauson, San Diego Chargers, 37.0

Matt Slauson wasn’t great in either aspect of the game on Sunday. He allowed a hit and three hurries when pass protecting, as well as two tackles and a couple of other poor run-blocking plays.

Right guard: Alvin Bailey, Cleveland Browns, 42.9

Bailey surrendered three tackles in the run game and two hurries in the pass game. He was beaten often by a Patriots' line that shut down the Browns' run game—and offense in general.

Right tackle: Ty Sambrailo, Denver Broncos, 32.5

Sunday provided a pass-blocking nightmare from Sambrailo, as he allowed three sacks and two QB hurries on the day. He also had a handful of plays where he was beaten cleanly.

Week 5 defense

Edge defender: Sam Acho, Chicago Bears, 38.0

Acho had a couple of clean-up or unblocked pressures that made his numbers look better than he actually performed on Sunday. In reality, he didn’t make a single defensive stop or even a tackle in 59 snaps on the afternoon.

Interior defender: Kendall Langford, Indianapolis Colts, 35.7

Langford couldn’t rush the passer from the interior, as he failed to record a single pressure in a game for the second time this year. He also had a hard time beating blocks in the run game.

Interior defender: Akeem Spence, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 36.3

Akeem Spence was consistently moved out of the way and rendered ineffective by the Panthers’ offensive line. He finished with just one stop on the day and was unable to really contribute positively at all.

Edge defender: Chris Long, New England Patriots, 37.9

Long was near invisible on the Patriots' pass-rush, ending up with just two QB pressures (one of which was a clean-up play) and missing a tackle on the quarterback. He also allowed two big catches in coverage for 25 total yards.

Linebacker: D’Qwell Jackson, Indianapolis Colts, 26.4

D'Qwell Jackson had a tough time in coverage on Sunday, allowing all four targets he saw to be completed for 49 yards (and some big first downs). What really knocked him onto this team, though, were his four missed tackles on the day.

Linebacker: Rey Maualuga, Cincinnati Bengals, 29.1

Rey Maualuga didn’t miss any tackles against the Cowboys, but that’s only because he was rarely in a position to make one. He had just one tackle in the entire game, despite playing 46 snaps. Maualuga also allowed a touchdown in the passing game.

Cornerback: Ross Cockrell, Pittsburgh Steelers, 32.5

Ross Cockrell recorded two pass defenses, but that’s about where the good ends for him. He was targeted a team-high 11 times, and allowed seven receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Cockrell also missed two tackles on the day.

Cornerback: Johnathan Joseph, Houston Texans, 33.4

Johnathan Joseph didn’t play many snaps, but when he was on the field, the Vikings attacked him. Minnesota recorded four catches on four targets for 74 yards and a touchdown when throwing into Joseph's coverage, a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating.

Slot corner: Quandre Diggs, Detroit Lions, 39.9

Quandre Diggs allowed all five targets his way to be caught for 65 total yards and a touchdown.

Safety: Eric Reid, San Francisco 49ers, 37.0

Most of Eric Reid’s problems came in the run game, where he failed to provide really any help in the box, and was frequently blocked out of plays and off of contain.

Safety: Aaron Williams, Buffalo Bills, 40.1

Williams struggled in coverage on Sunday, as he was late to help over the top a couple of times and allowed a big 28-yard reception as the primary coverage man. He also missed two tackles.

Week 5 special teams

Punter: Brad Wing, New York Giants

Brad Wing averaged just 39.2 yards per punt against the Packers, and almost all of them were poorly located.

Kicker: Roberto Aguayo, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rookie Roberto Aguayo’s game-winning kick doesn’t change the fact that if he had just made the easy 33- and 46-yard field goals earlier in the game, he wouldn’t have needed it.

Kick returner: Jeremy Kerley, San Francisco 49ers

Jeremy Kerley tried to return three punts in his game, and didn’t gain a single yard on any of them. What’s worse is that he fumbled one such attempt.

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