12 most amazing individual NFL performances of 2015

With only one game left to play in 2015, we can safely say that 2015 will go down as a pretty amazing year for the NFL.

For the first time in NFL history, four teams — the Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots — started the season 7-0 or better. The Panthers got to 14-0 before finally losing. But what were some of the notable individual performances?

Well, Colin Kaepernick threw two pick sixes in the first 5:57 of the San Francisco 49ers Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals, the fastest anyone had done that since 1925. But we don’t need to focus on that kind of history here, only the good.

Before we get to the 12 most amazing individual NFL performances of 2015, we should establish some ground rules.

1. While the 2015 NFL season started in September, 2015 started in January. So, any performance that’s happened since New Year’s Day is eligible.
2. The performances can span multiple weeks. While most will focus on an individual game, some will go over two games, or even more.

On that note, let’s get started.

12. Ryan Tannehill, Weeks 6-7 

The Miami Dolphins’ play in Dan Campbell era has been inconsistent, to say the least, but the first two games were good. Actually, for certain members of the team, they were historically good.

Tannehill completed his seven final passes in a Week 6 victory over the Tennessee Titans, then completed his first 18 in Miami’s Week 7 victory over the Houston Texans, putting his name in the record books.

Forget about the quarterbacks of bygone eras for a second, just think about some of the quarterbacks that this guy has played with. That record isn’t held by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees. Nope, it’s held by Ryan Tannehill.

The fact that he’s had a topsy-turvy career, and has an outside chance at breaking some slightly more dubious records this season makes this record even more amazing. For 25 passes in October, the NFL had never seen a more accurate passer than Ryan Tannehill.

11. Travis Benjamin, Weeks 1-2 

A 54-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Manziel to Benjamin was the only touchdown the Browns had in an otherwise completely forgettable loss in the season opener to the New York Jets. Still, it was the first step to putting Benjamin in rather rarefied air.

The following week, Benjamin had three touchdowns: A 60-yard reception from Manziel to open the scoring, a 50 yarder from Johnny Football to close the scoring, with this beauty in between them.

That’s four scores of 5o yards or more in three weeks, something that hadn’t been done since 1963, pulled off by the legendary Jim Brown. Any time you do something that puts your name next to Jim Brown’s, you’ve done something well. That’s exactly what Travis Benjamin did.

10. Charles Woodson, Week 5 vs. Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson are forever linked. Woodson edged Manning for the Heisman Trophy in 1997, both were drafted in 1998 and if Manning retires this year, both men will be enshrined in Canton at the same time.

Coming into their Week 5 showdown, Manning was one quarterback that Woodson had never intercepted, which changed late in the first half when Woodson intercepted Manning in the end zone. But Woodson was not done.

The second was a history-making interception, as it made Woodson the oldest player in NFL history to record two interceptions in a single game. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they’d lose this game. They would get a measure of revenge in an October rematch aided by another historical day from a defender when Khalil Mack recorded five sacks.

While Manning is certainly past his prime, the fact that these interceptions came against him makes this all the more remarkable.

Manning and Woodson are two of the final players drafted in 1998 that are still in the league, so it’s fitting that they’d be in the history books together in 2015.

9. Thomas Rawls, Week 11 vs. San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the worst teams in the league all season, so it seemed likely that the Seattle Seahawks would defeat them in Week 11. Still, Seattle entered the game with some questions. They were only 4-5 and were without star running back Marshawn Lynch.

Enter Rawls.

Rawls rushed for 209 yards on 30 carries with one touchdown, adding three receptions for 46 yards and another score.

Of course, he would eventually suffer a season-ending injury of his own, but his performance against the 49ers helped the Seahawks right the ship and eventually earn another trip to the playoffs.

8. David Johnson, Week 15 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Members of the Philadelphia Eagles defense probably wish that 2015 just never happened. In November, Doug Martin rushed for a season-high 235 yards against them. A month later, David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals was even better.

Granted, compared to Martin’s, Johnson’s 187 yards on the ground were fairly modest. But unlike Martin, Johnson caught four passes for 42 yards. He also found the end zone three times, including this overpowering run.

You don’t see runs like that too often in the NFL. With the overall performance, Johnson also achieved something only done by one of the best players in NFL history.

We said it about Travis Benjamin, and we’ll say it again here. It’s not everyday when someone does something that’s only been done by Jim Brown. When it happens, the man who did it has probably had one of the best performances of that year.

7. Carson Palmer, Week 10 vs. Seattle Seahawks

We stick with the Arizona Cardinals, only this time we’re looking at their quarterback. By the standings, the Cardinals’ Week 10 game against the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t too important, as Arizona entered 6-2, while the Seahawks were 4-4, but looks can be deceiving. This was a very important game.

in 2014, the Cardinals looked like the class of the NFC West for the first half of the season, but lost two games to Seattle in the second half of the season. They had to settle for a wild card bid and lost that opening postseason game to the Carolina Panthers. But there was one small catch. They didn’t have Carson Palmer in either loss.

For Week 10 in 2015 they did have Palmer, and it made a huge difference. Palmer went 29-for-47 with 363 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. The game looked like an Arizona blowout, but a hard-charging Seattle team took a fourth quarter lead. The Cardinals responded when Palmer led the team on an 83-yard drive and put them ahead on a 14-yard touchdown to Jermaine Gresham.

Palmer was magnificent. Larry Fitzgerald caught 10 passes for 130 yards, while Michael Floyd had seven receptions, 113 yards, and two touchdowns. Palmer was not throwing the ball short either.

This Seattle defense may not be as good as they’ve been in the last three seasons, but throwing the ball for that many yards against them is awfully impressive.

6. Todd Gurley, Weeks 4-8

Todd Gurley’s college career ended with an ugly injury, but his talent was good enough that the St. Louis Rams still took him with the 10th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. Still, given the circumstances, a slow start would have been forgivable. It just didn’t happen that way.

But Gurley is more than just a big play back. Over his first four games as a starter, Gurley rushed for three touchdowns and 566 yards. No running back since the 1970 merger has rushed for more yards over his first four starts.

Over those four games, Gurley’s worst yardage total was 128 in a win against the Browns, while his worst yards per carry average was 5.3 in a defeat to the Packers.

These numbers are even more extraordinary when you consider that the Rams don’t exactly feature an elite offense. When it was clear that Gurley was healthy, teams were certainly making slowing him down their number one focus. It didn’t matter.

The hope now is that Gurley will stay healthy, as he promises to be one of the game’s best, most explosive offensive players for years to come.

5. Aaron Rodgers, Week 3 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Aaron Rodgers has won two MVP awards, and 2015 will not be No. 3. Still, his performance in 2015 might well be the best of his illustrious career.

As we saw in their Week 16 loss to the Cardinals, the Packers have a poor offensive line. They also have an inconsistent running game and with Jordy Nelson out all year, the receivers have been inconsistent. The 2015 version of the Green Bay Packers are the Aaron Rodgers show, which was never better than during the Week 3 Monday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rodgers went 24-for-35 for 333 yards and five touchdown passes. Three of those passes went to Randall Cobb, but a touchdown to James Jones showed how good Rodgers really is.

The pass itself was nice, but Rodgers can draw defensive lineman offsides better than anyone the league has ever seen. When a quarterback that good gets a free play, a big gain is inevitable. It also masks so many of Green Bay’s deficiencies.

The 2015 season has indeed been the Aaron Rodgers show, for better or worse, and Week 3 was the season’s best episode.

4. Antonio Brown, Week 9 vs. Oakland Raiders

Heading into their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders decided that they wouldn’t double-team receiver Antonio Brown. They may want a mulligan on that decision.

Brown torched the Raiders, catching 17 passes for 284 yards. If you’re interested in perspective, try this on for size. The 17 receptions matched the best two week run that Odell Beckham Jr. had all year, while the 284 yards were only seven yard’s short of Beckham’s best two week total.

In a single game, only six other players have caught that many passes, while only eight other guys have had that many receiving yards.

While Brown didn’t actually find the end zone against the Raiders, he did set up the winning field goal with a long catch and run.

More often than not, 35 points will win an NFL football game. But when you’re not putting multiple sets of eyes on Antonio Brown, 35 just won’t do it. Pittsburgh won the game, 38-35.

3. Cam Newton, Week 15 vs. New York Giants

If the Carolina Panthers were still going for a perfect season, the historical aspect of this game vs. the New York Giants would probably bump it up a spot or two. Even with the loss, Newton’s brilliant game can’t be any lower than this.

After the Giants tied the game late, the Panthers drove 49 yards to set up a walk-off 43-yard field goal from Graham Gano. Cam Newton accounted for all 49 yards, throwing for 37 and rushing for the other 12.

But as great as Newton was on that last drive, focusing strictly on that would be insulting, as the Carolina quarterback was phenomenal all game.

It’s hard to imagine a quarterback doing any more to help his team. Since the game was won with a walk-off field goal, everything Newton did was 100-percent needed.

The Panthers and Newton didn’t follow this effort with a great game in Week 16 against the Falcons, but games like this are why Newton is the odds-on favorite to win the MVP and why Carolina is 14-1.

2. Russell Wilson, Weeks 11-15

Despite a poor Week 16 effort against the St. Louis Rams, the Seattle Seahawks are going back to the playoffs. There was a time, though, when that was anything but certain. After a Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Seahawks were 4-5 and needed some help to make the postseason.

They got the help from the outside, as the NFC produced virtually no suspenseful playoff races. Internally, the Seahawks got the needed help from Russell Wilson, who unleashed a brilliant five-week run to lock a postseason spot up for his team.

How good was that run for Seattle’s quarterback? Really good.

It’s worth noting that the Seahawks won all five games.

If Seattle is going back to the Super Bowl, they’re going to have to do things differently than they’ve done over the past two seasons, as it will likely require three road victories.

Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but the Seahawks will have a chance to do that largely because of an unprecedented five-week stretch.

1. Tom Brady, Super Bowl XLIX vs. Seattle Seahawks

The Super Bowl is the biggest stage in American sports.

The Seattle Seahawks were the defending champions and featured the best defense the sport had seen in more than a decade. Going back to the previous season, the Seahawks had won five straight postseason games. In that run, they defeated Drew Brees, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, and Aaron Rodgers in the NFC playoffs, and they had dominated Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl.

Kaepernick was playing at an incredibly high level during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Barring a crazy vote, Newton will be the 2015 MVP, while Brees, Rodgers, and Manning are Hall of Famers. The Seahawks will go down in history as a dominant team, but a win over Tom Brady in the Super Bowl would have given Seattle a unique place in NFL history.

It just didn’t work that way.

The Patriots trailed by 10 points with just over 12 minutes left. On the first play of a New England possession, Brady was sacked for a loss of eight yards. For the rest of that possession and the next, Brady was spectacular, going 13-of-15 for 124 yards, eventually taking the lead with his second touchdown pass of the quarter and fourth of the game.

The decision to have Russell Wilson throw a pass to Ricardo Lockette on the Seahawks ensuing drive will be dissected forever. Darrell Bevel (and by extension Pete Carroll) made an awful play call, Wilson’s pass wasn’t terrible, but missed in the absolute wrong spot and Malcolm Butler made a fantastic read and play on the ball for an interception, but it didn’t quite clinch the game.

While interception gave the Patriots a chance to run the clock out without a first down, they couldn’t just take a knee.

Since Butler was tackled on the one-yard line, Brady taking a knee would have resulted in a safety, giving the Seahawks two points, the ball, and  a chance to win with only a field goal. Things were still interesting. Fortunately for New England, Brady drew Michael Bennett offsides to give the Patriots the room they needed. An ensuing fight gave the Pats 15 more yards, and the game was over.

Where Brady ranks in NFL history is in the eye of the beholder. But with his back against the wall against a tremendous team, he was significantly better than other Hall of Fame quarterbacks in similar spots. Nobody was better in 2015 than Tom Brady at the end of Super Bowl XLIX.