With week 8 of 2014 NFL season in the books lets take a look at who were week 8's heroes.
Ben Roethlisberger
150 career starts and 100 wins. Big Ben brought up his century with one of the greatest quarterback performances the NFL has ever seen or ever will see. Andrew Luck finished the game with 400 yards and three touchdowns even with his two interceptions that would be enough to win almost any game of football in the NFL.
To beat Luck though Big Ben completed 40 out of 49 passes throwing for 522 yards and six touchdowns.
Even more impressive was the quality of the throws Roethlisberger was making. For the most part the Colts defenders were covering their men it was just that Roethlisberger kept putting the ball where only his guy could get it.
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Detroit Lions' Championship ambitions
Teams that win titles find a way to win games when they are missing key players are aren't playing particularly well. The Lions have done this twice in the last two games. First, they stunned the Saints at home and then this week they broke the Falcons in London.
For the first half of the game against the Falcons the Lions offense was so bad that anaemic doesn't begin to describe it.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford finished the game with 325 yards but amazingly 240 of those yards came in the second half as Stafford and the Lions roared back from a 0-21 deficit to clinch the game with a 48-yard field goal in the dying seconds.
Golden Tate
Calvin who? The Lions don't need Calvin Johnson playing as a decoy when Golden Tate is in the form he is in right now. Against the Falcons on Sunday Tate took 7 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown at an average of 21.6 yards per reception.
Anthony Barr
When you're taken as the ninth overall pick in the draft when your team needs a QB you know the pressure is on to perform. Anthony Barr lived up to the hype in week 8 though.
Not only did he get a sack and led the defense in tackles the outside linebacker also stripped the ball in overtime, recovered it and then took that recovery to the house with a 27 yard game winning TD.
Zach Mettenberger
He may not have been able to lead his team to a win at home but rookie QB Mettenberger has certainly put hat into the ring for the starting role going forward in Tennessee.
On paper the Titans wide receiver corp of Washington, Hunter and Wright has looked frisky all year and in a 30-16 defeat to the Texans Mettenberger finally got the offense to show some signs of life. The rookie finished the game just one yard shy of 300 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Brady and Gronkowski
Is there a better duo in the whole of the NFL then Brady and Gronkowski? After watching the pair of them dismantle the Bears defense it is hard to argue otherwise. Brady threw five touchdowns for 354 yards completing 30 out of 35 passes. Gronkowski was the recipient of three of those touchdowns taking his nine receptions for 149 yards. The pace and power he showed on his 46 yard touchdown was simply awe inspiring.
If the pair can stay fit then maybe the likely AFC Championship game against Denver could be something special.
Mohammed Sanu
With his 125 receiving yards Sanu got more yards than almost the rest of the Bengals wide receivers combined. Aren't you glad we told you to pick him up for your fantasy team.
Haloti Ngata
He may have ended up on the losing side by Ngata didn't put a foot wrong against the Bengals this week. He finished the game with one forced fumble, five tackles, three assists and one sack. His best moment of the day came in the red zone though.
With the Bengals hunting for a go ahead TD they chose to run it on 3rd and short. Ngata ripped past his blocker and made the diving tackle for a loss. It was great defensive line play by the Ravens man.
Mark Ingram
Brees may have thrown for 311 yards and three touchdowns but he threw for 342 in the defeat to the Lions and 340 in the loss to Dallas. The real difference maker was Mark Ingram and his return to form and fitness. Ingram rushed for 172 yards off 24 carries at an average of 7.2 yards.
Ingram made the difference not with his touchdown but by allowing the Saints to keep the Packers offense off the field enough that he couldn't turn some of those 418 passing yards into touchdowns.
In a weak NFC South the Saints are now once again favorites to win the division.
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