DG164

The photos in dread gallery #164 don't fit one specific theme, so I guess "Anything Goes" is as good a title for it than any. It's kind of a smorgasbord of some of the interesting, eventful, painful, and unusual things involving some of the NFL's players with dreads during the 2015 season.

1. Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin runs after the catch past Bills CB Stephon Gilmore during Week 1 of the preseason. Benjamin had 3 catches for 36 yards, including a 2-yard TD, in the Panthers' 25-24 road win; but those would be his only stats for the 2015 season. 5 days later he suffered a torn ACL injury in a joint practice between the Panthers and Dolphins and missed the rest of the season. Thankfully he appears to be fully recovered and has caught 21 passes in the Panthers' first 5 games of 2016.

2. Lions DE Ziggy Ansah signals for a safety (right photo) because he knows he has been held (by Raiders OT Donald Penn, left photo), and offensive holding in the end zone is a safety. It was a big play in the Week 11 game at Detroit, as the 2 points increased the Lions' lead to 18-13 midway through 4th quarter; and that ended up being the final score. I know, you can't see Ansah's dreads in the left photo and can barely see them in the right. That was often the case in 2015. From now on though, his dreads should be long enough that there won't be any problem seeing them.
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3. S D.J. Swearinger made only 1 tackle in Week 16; but he certainly made it count, separating Packers RB James Starks from the ball with a hard hit on the first play from scrimmage in the 2nd half. After recovering the fumble, the Cardinals scored a TD two plays later to up their lead to 24-0 and went on to spank Green Bay 38-8 to improve to 13-2. It was Swearinger's only FF of the season and the 5th his his career.
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4. After making the catch at the Rams' 45-yard line, Browns WR Travis Benjamin makes it to the 42 before being clobbered by S T.J. McDonald and LB Mark Barron (#26), causing him to fumble the ball. McDonald got credit for the FF, and the Rams recovered, keeping their lead at 17-6 early in 4th quarter in Week 7. The Rams won 24-6. This was one of the career high 16 tackles (10-6) Barron had in the game, which earned him a place on the Week 7 dread stars list. As a result of a position switch from S to LB early in the season, he finished the season the Rams' leading tackler with 113. But I can't say I'm a fan of those reduced dreads.
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5. Lions CB Rashean Mathis gets credit for the 9th and final FF of his career, and he has Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas to thank for it. On 3rd and 5 early in 3rd quarter in Week 3 Mathis tries to make the tackle at the Denver 41-yard line; but Thomas, still a yard short of the first down, lands on Mathis and tries to roll forward and stay on his feet. But as he does, the ball squirts out of his hand before he goes down, and the Lions recover the fumble. 5 plays later the Lions scored a TD to pull within 14-12. Rashean finished with 6 tackles (5-1), including 2 TFL, and 2 PBU in addition to the FF, but Lions lost their home opener 24-12.
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6. Thank goodness DeAngelo Williams held onto the ball on this play in Week 14, or it might have come to be known as Butt Fumble 2. As Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict is engulfed by a Steelers O-lineman, Williams runs right into the backside of that O-lineman while carrying the ball. The caption says this happened in the 4th quarter, but I don't know exactly on which of the 5 times Williams carried the ball in the 4th quarter it happened. DeAngelo rushed for 76 yards and 2 TD in the game, while Burfict led Cincinnati with 11 tackles (11-0). Steelers got the road win 33-20 in the game in which the Bengals' starting QB Andy Dalton was injured.
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7. We've all had moments like this - right? - when we know we messed something up and would like a chance to do it over. Ravens LB Courtney Upshaw had such a moment during the 4th quarter of the home game vs. the Steelers in Week 16. Upshaw has the guilty look on his face after it was announced that he was the one who was offside on 1st and goal (lined up offside), nullifying a 101-yard pick six by CB Jimmy Smith midway through the 4th quarter. Ouch. So instead of the Ravens upping their lead to 17, the Steelers scored two plays later to close within 3. Fortunately for Courtney the Ravens held on for the 20-17 victory that seriously hurt the Steelers' playoff hopes. After recording just 5 sacks with the Ravens in his first 4 NFL seasons, Upshaw signed with the Falcons during the offseason, becoming one of four LBs with dreads on their roster.  
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8. After three seasons with the Packers (including the 2013 season he spent on IR), RB DuJuan Harris was declared an unrestricted free agent in March 2015 when the Packers did not offer him a contract. 10 days later he signed with the Vikings, for whom he carried the ball 25 times (for 81 yards) during the preseason, including on this play vs. the Titans in the final preseason game. But he didn't make the team and was cut 2 days later .....
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9. ..... A week later Harris was signed to the Saints' practice squad but was cut 10 days later. Two months later (and 2 days before Thanksgiving) he was signed to the Seahawks' practice squad. And less than 2 weeks later, with the Seahawks almost out of healthy RBs, he found himself in uniform here in Week 13 - against the Vikings, no less - carrying 3 times for 7 yards in Seattle's 38-7 win. The next week, after starter Thomas Rawls went down with an injury, DuJuan got 18 carries against the Ravens (gaining only 42 yards), on one of which he fumbled on 2nd and goal. Two days later the Seahawks cut him; but apparently he made such an impression on the Ravens that they signed him to their practice squad two days after the Seahawks let him go ..... 
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10. ..... But Harris wasn't in Baltimore long enough to find a place to stay, spending just 5 days there before the 49ers signed him off the Ravens' practice squad and moved him right into the lineup. He was the game's leading rusher here in Week 16, carrying 11 times for 73 yards in a 32-17 loss at Detroit, and again in Week 17, when he rushed for 67 yards and caught 8 passes for 86 yards to make the dread stars list in a 19-16 win over the Rams.
In case you've lost count, DuJuan was on the rosters of 6 different teams in 2015, carrying the ball for just two of them and finishing with career highs of 189 yards rushing (3.9 per carry) and 9 catches for 97 yards. Already in 2016 he has been cut 3 times by the 49ers (and re-signed) and is currently on their practice squad.
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11. No relation to DuJuan, the NFL's other Harris with super long dreads also wore a different team's uniform than in previous seasons. LB Kyle Wilber welcomes WR Dwayne Harris back to Dallas, clobbering him after he returns a punt 1 yard on his first touch in a N.Y. Giants uniform during 2nd quarter in the season opener. After spending his first 4 NFL seasons with the Cowboys, Dwayne went for the big money the Giants offered him and had an outstanding season - just not on this play.
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12. With his 1st NFL reception in his sights, Titans WR Rico Richardson instead is denied, as Texans CB Johnathan Joseph gets there in time to knock the pass away on 4th and 4 during 4th quarter in Week 8. Texans went on to win 20-6. Richardson, who was a rookie in 2013, played a career high 5 games in 2015 but is still looking for that first catch. He has done well enough during preseasons to hang around but has been no factor during the regular season - so far. He was with the Chargers in training camp this season but suffered an injury (undisclosed) during practice and was released. Hopefully he'll be healthy enough to sign with somebody later on this season, because obviously I'd love to see these dreads on Sundays.
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OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD

No doubt there are many other jobs that are much more dangerous, but there's no denying that playing football for a living can be hazardous to your health. The human body just wasn't created to withstand all of the contact and collisions that occur repeatedly on the football field; and so teams' injury lists are long and keep getting longer as the season goes on. The majority of DG164 consists of photos of the hazards endured by some of the league's players with dreads in 2015.

13. Maybe he knew it, but little did anybody else suspect that when Vikings 7th year OT Phil Loadholt was carted off the field after an injury to his Achilles tendon in the first preseason game here on Aug. 15, it would be his last game in a Vikings uniform. Loadholt recovered in time to participate in the offseason practices but decided to retire just before training camp began in July: http://www.startribune.com/phil-loadholt-plans-to-retire-from-the-nfl/388121092/
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14. Things didn't go as planned for Jets rookie LB Lorenzo Mauldin in his first NFL game. Mauldin gave everyone quite a scare when he ended up at the bottom of the pile after a play early in the 4th quarter and had to be carted off the field. Fortunately it turned out that things looked worse than they actually were, as he 'only' suffered a concussion: http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-shaken-by-lorenzo-mauldin-s-injury-1.10840354
Mauldin would have to wait until Week 3 before recording his 1st tackle. Although he missed the Jets' Week 2 game at Indianapolis, he was on the field for all the rest of the games after that and finished the season with 4 sacks.
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15. Week 1 wasn't kind to WR T.Y. Hilton either, as he ices his knee after injuring it during 4th quarter of the Colts' road loss to the Bills. It was 'just' a bruised knee though; so although he missed the rest of the game, he was back on the field the next week and ended up playing in all 16 games. He didn't score his 1st TD until Week 6 though, and perhaps this injury was the reason why.
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16. Giants WR Odell Beckham finished the season opener with 5 receptions instead of 6 thanks to this crushing hit by Cowboys S J.J. Wilcox that separated him from the football on 1st and 10 late in 1st quarter. The Giants settled for a FG three plays later. Wilcox's 1st PBU of the season came with a price though, as he suffered a broken nose on the play. Not that he was going to let something as minor as that sideline him. J.J. was on the field for all 61 of the Cowboys' defensive snaps in their 27-26 home win.
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17. No pain, no gain, right? ..... With his dreads seriously reduced, Bills WR Sammy Watkins makes the 22-yard TD catch on 2nd and 3, cutting the Bengals' lead to 17-14 late in 2nd quarter in Week 6 - but he sprains his ankle on the play. Playing for the first time since injuring his calf in Week 3, Watkins finished with 4 catches for 48 yards in the 34-21 home loss to the Bengals. He didn't play again until Week 9. Despite missing three games Sammy finished with his first 1,000-yard receiving season; but sadly a broken foot he suffered during the offseason that has been slow to heal has wrecked his 2016 season. He played at less than 100% during the first 2 games of the season and not at all since then. But the Bills seem to be doing just fine without him - for now.
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18. Chargers CB Jason Verrett makes a diving tackle as Ravens WR Steve Smith runs after the catch for a 17-yard gain on 3rd and 5 late in 3rd quarter in Week 8 - a tackle that brings Smith's season to an end. Verrett, LB Melvin Ingram, and Coach Harbaugh look on as Smith is tended to after tearing his Achilles tendon on the play. The injury canceled Smith's plans to retire after the season. He's back in 2016, playing his 16th season in the league. Ironically Verrett has now suffered a season-ending injury. He's out for the rest of 2016 after tearing his ACL in the Chargers' Week 4 game vs. the Saints.
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19. Packers DT Josh Boyd's season comes to an end in Week 2 after breaking a bone and tearing ligaments in his ankle during the 2nd quarter of Green Bay's home opener against the Seahawks. Apparently the injury was serious enough that the team decided to cut him rather than bring him back for the final two years left on his rookie contract. I just read a recent article that said Boyd is now fully recovered and was going to try out for the Seahawks; so hopefully he'll be signing with somebody in the near future.
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20. Just a minor bump here, although it doesn't feel like minor to S D.J. Searinger as an official tries to comfort him during the 4th quarter of the Buccaneers' road game in Week 3 against the Texans, his former team. Swearinger was on the pregame injury report with an injured shoulder, so this might be a reoccurrence of that. There's no mention in the game box score of him leaving the game, in which he finished with 6 tackles (4-2). D.J. - short for Dayario Jamal - was released by the Texans during the offseason after 2 seasons with the team and then released by the Bucs after Week 8 of his first season with them. He signed with the Cardinals two weeks later, finished the season with them, and hopefully is there to stay.
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21. An official and Lions S Glover Quin check on the condition of CB Rashean Mathis after his tackle of RB Adrian Peterson on the 2nd play of the Vikings' opening drive in Week 7 leaves him in a daze. The NFL's often discussed concussion protocol was a failure in this case, as Mathis played 59 more snaps and made 6 more tackles before coming out of the game for good during the 4th quarter.
http://www.espn.com/blog/detroit-lions/post/_/id/20288/rashean-mathis-diagnosed-with-concussion-a-week-after-it-happened ...... Hmm ... it says "Mathis initially passed the concussion protocol", and yet the concussion was serious enough that he ended up going on IR and missed the rest of the season. This turned out to be the last game of Rashean's career. Although I would have loved seeing his dreads on the field for another season (or two), I can't complain that he decided to retire before something even worse happened to him.
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22. The Week 5 game between the Bears and Chiefs was particularly tough for me because a couple of my favorite teams each lost a RB with dreads during the 2nd half. Jacquizz Rodgers' 1st season with the Bears ended when he broke his arm, and Jamaal Charles left after tearing the ACL in his knee on his 12th carry of the game. Charles' injury seemed to put the Chiefs into as much of a funk as it did me. It came on 1st and goal just as they were about to increase their 17-3 lead on their first drive after halftime. Instead three plays later a short FG attempt was blocked, and the Chiefs proceeded to make only two more 1st downs the rest of the game as the Bears came back to win 18-17.
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23. The Bills won their Week 7 home game 30-21 over the Texans but lost a couple of their DBs with sick dreads. CB Stephon Gilmore has his dreads reduced as he is helped off (photo on left) after injuring his shoulder early in the 3rd quarter, while a pair of trainers help make sure CB Ron Brooks doesn't fall as he walks off after suffering a concussion with just 26 seconds remaining in the game. Brooks missed only 2 games, but Gilmore had to have surgery for a torn labrum and was out for the rest of the season.
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24. After his first 4 carries of the Week 17 game at Cleveland went for 1, 1, 1, and -1 yards, DeAngelo Williams' 5th carry ended up even worse, as he injured injured his ankle while gaining 6 yards early in the 2nd quarter and was carted off, missing not only the rest of this game but both of the Steelers' playoff games as well. With a chance to finish with his 3rd 1,000-yard rushing season, Williams instead finished 93 yards short of 1,000, and the Steelers had to go with their 3rd string RB for the playoffs.
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25. Although he was averaging only 3.2 yards per carry, RB Khiry Robinson had already scored a career high 4 TD in the Saints first 7 games of the season. But he would score no more, his season ending after breaking his leg on the last play before the 2-minute warning in the 1st half in Week 8. A restricted free agent during the offseason, Robinson became unrestricted after the Saints didn't offer him a contract. But after signing with the N.Y. Jets, incredibly he broke his leg again during the final preseason game, causing the team to release him. Hopefully later on this season he'll be healthy enough to play.
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26. Not everything went right for RB Devonta Freeman during the Falcons' 48-21 home win over the Texans in Week 4. No matter who you are, getting tackled by DT Vince Wilfork is always hazardous to your health. Freeman is crushed by the 325-pounder and fumbles the ball while being tackled for a 4-yard loss during the 1st quarter. Somehow Devonta was able to recover the ball, which allowed the fumble to be removed from his record, as the Texans accepted a holding penalty on the play instead. On the other 19 times he touched the ball Freeman did just fine, gaining 149 total yards and scoring 3 TD for the 2nd straight game.
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27. Vikings LB Gerald Hodges tries to rip Joique Bell's head off - helmet included - as he tackles the Lions RB for no gain after a catch on 2nd and 17 late in 1st quarter in Week 2. No penalty flag was thrown. Bell touched the ball 6 times for a total of 18 yards in the Lions' 26-16 loss.
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28. A flag was thrown on this play, as Bills LB Preston Brown tries to stop Redskins RB Matt Jones by grabbing his facemask while Jones runs for a 13-yard gain early in 4th quarter in Week 15. I don't think it happened on this play, but Jones injured his hip at some point during the Redskins' 35-25 victory and ended up missing the team's final 3 games of the season.
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Of course, players with long dreads have to deal with the additional hazard that their dreads themselves sometimes are the hazard, and that at any moment they may encounter a merciless opponent that will yank or drag them down by those dreads to make a tackle or gain an advantage on a play. Several of the moments it happened in 2015 were caught on camera .....

29. When interviewed a couple of days after this happened, Matt Jones said, "I like my hair out" - out, as in all of his locks out and flowing freely. But he probably didn't like it when Eagles DE Fletcher Cox grabbed his hair on this carry during 2nd quarter in Week 4, stopping him for a 1-yard gain on 1st and 10.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/10/08/redskins-matt-jones-explains-what-it-feels-like-to-be-tackled-by-your-hair/
Jones gave in after this and was on the field with reduced dreads for almost every game from then on; but the dreads are back "out" this season. He has fewer locks now (he cut off the locks on the sides of his head), hoping that maybe that will make them more difficult to grab. But thankfully they certainly aren't any shorter.
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30. There's no doubt about it - having his dreads reduced was jinxing the Lions. So after their record dropped to 1-7, Joique Bell decided it was time to return his dreads to normal, bunching them into a ponytail. And it didn't take long for somebody to grab them. Early in the 4th quarter of the Week 10 game at Green Bay LB Clay Matthews hangs onto Bell's dreads until help arrives and holds him to an 8-yard reception. Joique gained only 35 yards on his 16 touches in the game, but turning his dreads loose worked, as the Lions won 18-16 for their first road win against the Packers in 24 years.
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31. Vikings WR Jarius Wright's dreads aren't even long enough to be grabbed, but Cardinals S Tyrann Mathieu still finds a way to get a hold of them while driving him out of bounds late in 4th quarter on Thursday night in Week 14. The 22-yard catch and run by Wright moved the Vikings into FG range with 23 seconds to play. But the Vikings fumbled the ball away three plays later, and the Cardinals held on to win 23-20. Getting his dreads grabbed capped a game that turned out to be unforgettable (in a bad way) for Jarius. Even though he caught a season high 5 passes, after one of them he fumbled the ball at the Cardinals' 15-yard line in the 2nd quarter - the 1st fumble of his career.
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32. Beaten by Giants WR Dwayne Harris on 2nd and 3, Saints CB Kyle Wilson (who once upon a time himself had long dreads) grabs Harris' dreads in a desperate attempt to keep him from making the TD catch, but Dwayne holds on for the 20-yard TD during 4th quarter in Week 8. This was the first time Harris had scored 2 TD in one game (he had a 9-yard TD catch on 4th and 5 three minutes earlier), and it tied the game at 42. But despite his 3 catches for 37 yards, plus 100 yards worth of returns, the Giants lost 52-49. Typical Giants.
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33. Similar to Kyle Wilson in the previous photo, Texans CB Kevin Johnson figures, "What have I got to lose?"" as Bills WR Sammy Watkins makes a TD catch during 1st quarter in Week 13. It's not a catch unless the receiver maintains control of the ball when he hits the ground; so Johnson doesn't give up, hoping that by yanking on Watkins dreads he can force him to lose control. But no matter how much it hurts there's no way Sammy's giving up this touchdown. The 3-yard reception on 3rd and goal came on QB Tyrod Taylor's 1st pass of the game and capped a 7-play, 53-yard opening drive for a 7-0 lead. Watkins actually began the game with his dreads folded up a bit trying to make them shorter and harder to grab - but to no avail. Sammy made the dread stars list, finishing with 3 catches for 109 yards in Buffalo's 30-21 home win over Houston that left both teams with 6-6 records.
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34. Just because you play defense, it doesn't make you immune to getting your dreads grabbed, especially when you have dreads as long as Bills CB Stephon Gilmore. On the return of Gilmore's 3rd INT of the season early in 4th quarter during Week 11, Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski makes sure he goes no further than the Buffalo 6-yard line, not letting go of his dreads even after he is down. 
This was not the first time during the season that somebody had pulled on Gilmore's hair .....
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35. ..... In fact it was not the first time during the game. About a half hour earlier, early in the 3rd quarter, WR Brandon LaFell, worried that Gilmore might intercept a pass intended for him, grabs a handful of his dreads to discourage him from catching the ball. It's The Patriot Way, I guess. Gilmore got credit for the PBU on this 3rd and 5 play but didn't really have a shot at the INT. LaFell has just trying to make sure. Stephon's eventful 2nd half ended up with the Bills losing 20-13 as the Patriots improved to 10-0.
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36. As we saw in DG163, they were laughing about it after the game; but it certainly wasn't funny to CB Richard Sherman when it happened. Trying to return his 2nd INT of the season early in 4th quarter in Week 14, Sherman gets a block from CB Marcus Burley; but it's too late to prevent WR Chris Matthews from reaching out and getting a hold of his dreads to keep him from getting away, in front of several fascinated onlookers on the Ravens' sideline, including RB Terrence Magee and WR Marlon Brown (see the #30 and #14 on their sweat pants). Of course, a month earlier - and for the first year and a half of his career - Matthews was a teammate of Sherman and no doubt went up against him in every practice. If you watch the video in slow motion, you can see that Matthews realizes immediately that grabbing the dreads was going to be the best way to stop Sherman: http://www.seahawks.com/video/2015/12/13/seahawks-richard-sherman-intercepts-jimmy-clausen
Maybe Matthews prevented Sherman from scoring on the play, but the Seahawks got the TD anyway 4 plays later for the final points of their 35-6 victory.
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37. Two weeks later at M&T Bank Stadium another visiting player got yanked down by his dreads, and I felt like kicking LB Za'Darius Smith out of the house for doing this to RB DeAngelo Williams: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/NFLN-Z-Smith-Drags-Down-Williams-By-Hair/006c0f47-51a0-4d57-a6c4-6dd62bf12db9 ..... He violently snatches Williams down and then gets up and is all happy about it. Mercy, Z, couldn't you have at least tried to tackle him normally? It looked like you went straight for his dreads. Damn.
This tackle for a 4-yard loss during 2nd quarter was the first of 2 TFL by Smith in the game, as he later had a big sack on 3rd down. Williams made the dreads stars list, finishing with 153 total yards and 2 TD, but the Steelers lost 20-17
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38. More dread on dread crime here, this time from Week 1 of the 2015 season in College Football ..... Needing just 1 more yard to make the dread stars list, Arkansas senior WR Keon Hatcher gets that yard plus 6 more on this 7-yard reception on 3rd and 6; but he pays for it, as UTEP freshman S Adrian Hynson viciously halts his attempt to advance any further. The Razorbacks punted 5 plays later. Hatcher finished with 6 catches for 106 yards and 2 TD in Arkansas' 48-13 win. Keon suffered a season-ending foot injury the next game and used 2015 as a redshirt season. And, almost unbelievably, he had his dreads grabbed again, by Louisiana Tech, in the 2016 season opener, prompting his position coach to strongly recommend that he lose the dreads. Keon didn't want any of that but knew he had to do something. So the next week he had the dreads wrapped together (a la Cordarrelle Patterson when he was at Tennessee) but didn't like that either (neither did I). From then on he has gone to a more conventional look, banding his dreads into a ponytail. And by the way, Hynson is now an ex-dread.
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39. Embarrassed by the Rams in 2014 by a trick play that went for a 90-yard TD on a punt return, the Seahawks try the same thing for themselves midway through 1st quarter in their 2015 home opener against the Bears in Week 3; and it works for them just as well as it worked for the Rams. As punt returner Tyler Lockett pretends to catch the punt near the left sideline, drawing several members of the Bears' coverage team to him, Richard Sherman catches the punt all alone on the numbers on the right side of the field at the 17-yard line and has a lot of green in front of him ..... 
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40. ..... After getting a couple of blocks, Sherman cuts left toward the center of the field when he gets to the Bears' 40-yard line and tries to outrun P Pat O'Donnell here at the 30, as S Kelcie McCray (#33) celebrates with his armed raised in the background, thinking Sherman will score a TD .....
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41. ..... But as great a player as Richard is, the one thing he doesn't have is great speed; and by cutting toward the middle instead of staying outside, he allows LB Lamin Barrow to catch him from behind and make the tackle at the 19-yard line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0u26Ygv1aU ..... It went in the books as a 64-yard return; but as you can see if he had had better instincts and cut back outside, it would have been an 83-yard TD. The Seahawks kicked a FG 4 plays later to get on the board and went on to blank the Bears 26-0. 
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42. Rams S Rodney McLeod gets credit for the tackle but nearly gets trampled in the process as Redskins RB Matt Jones runs for a 25-yard gain on 1st and 15 midway through 2nd quarter in Week 2. After McLeod tries to make the tackle here at the 31-yard line, Jones gets knocked off balance but keeps going forward until finally going down at the 23. Jones, who earlier scored his 1st NFL TD on a 39-yard run, accounted for 51 of the yards on this 82-yard TD drive that made the score 17-0. He finished with 146 total yards as the Redskins defeated the Rams 24-10 to get their 1st W of the season.
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43. WR Larry Fitzgerald gives rookie S Anthony Harris a very rude welcome to the NFL midway through 3rd quarter on Thursday night in Week 14. After a blown coverage by CB Trae Waynes on 3rd and 8 leaves him one against two near the sideline, Harris gets pancaked by Fitzgerald at the 15-yard line and can't prevent WR Michael Floyd from finishing off a 42-yard catch and run for a TD that puts the Cardinals ahead 17-10: http://www.azcardinals.com/videos/videos/Highlight-Palmer-breaks-single-season-TD-record/ddafa89b-e3f4-4a60-8a38-dc953bf4a037 ..... Harris finished with 8 tackles (7-1) and 1 PBU in his first game in a Vikings uniform. Fitzgerald had 5 catches for 41 yards in the Cardinals' 23-20 home win.
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44. Before showing off his blocking skills in Week 14, Larry Fitzgerald got the chance to show off his hurdling skills in Week 1. They weren't all that great. Although Fitzgerald clears Saints CB Delvin Breaux after a catch during 4th quarter, he can't stay on his feet after landing and goes down at the Saints' 41-yard line. Still the catch was good for a 22-yard gain on 2nd and 8 for a big 1st down with 4:30 remaining in the game. It was the last of 6 catches by Fitzgerald in the game for 87 yards in the Cardinals' season-opening 31-19 win.
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45. Speaking of hurdling, Rams RB Todd Gurley was an outstanding hurdler in high school and often displays his form on the football field, including here in Week 10 as he goes high to clear S Antrel Rolle on the 3rd play from scrimmage. Gurley was off balance when he landed and went down trying to spin away from another defender, settling for a 31-yard reception. 3 plays later he finished off the Rams' 75-yard opening drive with a 6-yard TD run. But it would be the Rams' only TD, as the Bears roared back for the 37-13 road win.
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46. At the NFL Honors awards show after the regular season and one night before the Super Bowl Todd Gurley nervously gives his acceptance speech after being named offensive rookie of the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnZ7bK3IUCU
In only 13 games Gurley rushed for 1,106 yards - third most in the league - on 4.8 yards per carry and scored 10 TD. And he was voted by the players as the 22nd best player in the league: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d160Sk2a0Ww 
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47. After scoring a FG and a TD on their two previous drives in the 4th quarter to cut the Raiders' lead to 27-20 in Week 3, the Browns are about to get the ball back on a punt with 4:10 remaining. WR Travis Benjamin settles under the ball at the 43-yard line to make a fair catch .....
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48. ..... But he muffs the routine catch and finds himself surrounded by the enemy as he scrambles to recover the ball in time .....
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49. ..... Benjamin finishes the play dejected and lying on his back after rookie LB Neiron Ball beats him to the recovery. It was the first of 3 times Benjamin fumbled during the season: http://www.raiders.com/media-vault/videos/Raiders-Neiron-Ball-recovers-Travis-Benjamin-muffed-punt-return/47e7a826-13dd-402d-8250-24673c308e69 ..... All was not lost for the Browns at this point. They kept the Raiders out of FG range on the ensuing possession and got the ball back with 2:26 to play. But after moving from their 2-yard line to the Oakland 35, the drive ended when a pass intended for Benjamin was intercepted by Charles Woodson with 38 seconds to go. Travis's fumbling problems have only intensified in 2016 in his first season with the Chargers. He been charged with 5 fumbles already (most of them muffs) in the first 6 games. Ouch.
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50. It did not take long for RB Melvin Gordon, the Chargers' 1st round draft pick, to score his 1st NFL TD - or so we thought. On the 11th play of the Chargers' second possession of the season Gordon took the handoff on 2nd and 9 from the Detroit 21-yard line; and on what turned out to be one of his few carries all season that he was actually able to get through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary he puts a spin move on S Glover Quin to try to avoid being tackled at the 15 .....
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51. ..... Gordon almost goes down but keeps his balance and the 14-yard line and keeps going and takes it to the house for a 21-yard TD - or so we thought .....
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52. ..... Melvin then breaks out his TD dance while his teammates come to congratulate him.
However, as we all know, all scoring plays in the NFL are reviewed; and the issue with this TD can be seen in the previous photo. Although Gordon's left hand is OK, his right wrist is on the ground; and by rule, because his wrist is down, and because he made slight contact with Quin before his wrist went down, the play is over at the spot his wrist went down. So the play was changed from a highlight-reel 21-yard TD to a 7-yard run with no TD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ChC5JhJMiM
The Chargers settled for a FG 2 plays later. Little did anybody know it then - or even suspect it - but this would be the only time Gordon reached the end zone all year. That's right; unbelievably and almost impossibly Gordon, on 217 touches during his rookie season (184 carries and 33 receptions), didn't score a single TD. One of the many reasons the Chargers finished 2015 with a 4-12 record. It looks like Melvin is making up for lost time so far in 2016. Through Week 6 this season he has scored 7 TD already, which is tied for second most in the league.
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And finally, what probably was the strangest play of the season involving players with dreads .....

53. It looks like Texans OT Derek Newton is intentionally knocking the ball out of Texans RB Arian Foster's hand; but it was an accident, I think ..... On 2nd and 10 early in 2nd quarter at Atlanta in Week 3, Newton gets knocked off balance and into the backfield while trying to block LB O'Brien Schofield. And just as Foster passes by him while cutting to the right, Newton suddenly lifts his arm at the exact wrong time and knocks the ball loose .....
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54. ..... Foster scrambles after the fumble but is held back by Schofield (no penalty was called) as the ball takes a nice convenient bounce right into the hands of CB Desmond Trufant 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage .....
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55. ..... Trufant leads a pack of happy Falcons as he waltzes into the end zone for the 24-yard scoop and score that ups the Atlanta lead to 21-0: http://www.atlantafalcons.com/media-lounge/videos/Cant-Miss-Play-Truf-and-Score/ca17d94d-0fb3-429a-a4e9-cc9434542ec2 ..... Desmond just couldn't resist, going with the kick, subtle crotch grab to celebrate his 1st NFL TD. The Falcons went on to build a 42-0 lead before cruising home with a 48-21 victory.