NFL Week 2 Superlatives: No one does team spirit like Marshawn Lynch
We’re unveiling a new feature this season – weekly NFL superlatives. It’s meant to be a lighthearted look at Sunday’s games, as we highlight best dressed, most athletic and even class clown. Here are the picks for Week 2:
Most Team Spirit: Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders
We’re only two weeks into this feature, and we’ve already highlighted Lynch twice. But it’s hard not to – the NFL is better with Lynch in it. On Sunday, he held a one-man dance party on the Oakland sideline, celebrating a late-game touchdown by his teammates, Derek Carr and Michael Crabtree. Earlier on Sunday, the Skittles-o-phile arranged for vending machines to be placed around Oakland giving free bags of the candy so he could share his favorite treat with fellow residents of his hometown.
Best Shoes: Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
Unfortunately, the NFL’s archaic uniform rules mean that players who take the time to get custom cleats made can only wear them during warm-ups without being fined by the No Fun League. So if you arrived at kickoff for the Vikings-Steelers game, you didn’t get the chance to see Diggs’ “Wheel of Fortune”-themed shoes. As the team noted on Twitter, they were money.
Best Dressed: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Speaking of money, Fitzgerald draped himself in the color of money on Saturday for the Cardinals’ trip to Indianapolis. It’s not an outlandish look like we’ve seen on some players, but it’s certainly distinctive: a double-breasted green suit and matching carry-on bag. We like it, Fitz.
[Watch on Yahoo: Ravens vs. Jaguars live from London Sept. 24]
Class Clown: Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
Bortles continues to be King of Garbage Time. With his team down 30-3 with 10 minutes left against the Tennessee Titans, Bortles went 9-for-9 for 134 yards as he led Jacksonville to two meaningless touchdowns. Before that? He was 11-for-25 for 89 yards, two interceptions and a lost fumble on a strip-sack. We’re now four years into Bortles’ career and it seems nothing has changed.
Most Athletic: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
If there was ever an NFL equivalent of Michael Jordan’s dunk from the free throw line, this might be it: Kelce took off from the 5-yard line to jump over Eagles safety Corey Graham and stretch for the goal line, giving Kansas City the go-ahead score. He immediately followed that up with one of the few touchdown celebrations that can still get a player in trouble, but we digress.
Best Smile: Jay Cutler, Miami Dolphins
Cutler isn’t exactly known as Mr. Sunshine. But after leading the Dolphins from a 17-10 deficit midway through the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers to a 19-17 win with three field-goal-producing drives, Cutler trotted off the field at StubHub Center with an honest-to-goodness grin.
Favorite Senior: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Yes, there’s a decade until Brady qualifies to receive an AARP card. But given the way he’s playing, he might still be in uniform when it arrives in his mailbox. Against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Brady was nearly flawless: 30-for-39, 447 yards, three touchdowns, no picks. According to the NFL, it was the 52nd time in his career Brady threw at least three scores with no picks, passing his old rival, Peyton Manning, for most ever.
Class Couple: Derek Carr and Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
Carr may call Khalil Mack one of his best friends, but Mack plays on defense, so Carr needs a different BFF in the huddle with him. On Sunday, that was Crabtree. Crabtree was on the receiving end of all three of Carr’s touchdown passes against the Jets, in the first, second and fourth quarters. Carr was 23-for-28 on the day, and a big reason for his high percentage was Crabtree, who caught all six passes thrown his way.
Best Two-Sport Athlete: Todd Gurley II, Los Angeles Rams
As a three-sport prep star in North Carolina, Gurley was a stellar hurdler, and on Sunday, he showed he still has perfect hurdling form, clearing Washington’s Bashaud Breeland during a sideline run that ended in a touchdown. This track coach was too happy seeing my two favorite sports in one play.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Fans prove the NFL made a big mistake moving to Los Angeles
• Pat Forde: College football coaches on the hot seat, along with ADs
• Chiefs’ star could be first player fined under new NFL rules
• Jeff Passan: The American League is about to descend into chaos
