Reggie Bush has always been a special talent, we've known that since his controversial days at USC when he was winning Heismans (before giving it back).
But in the NFL, Bush took a few years to find his footing, never really doing so with the team that drafted him, the New Orleans Saints. But last year, when Bush started fresh with the Miami Dolphins, he had a career year and actually stayed healthy for an entire season, something not many thought he could do.
On Sunday, he had what might have been the best game of his career against the sad-sap Oakland Raiders as he rushed for 26 times for 172 yards and two scores while catching three balls for 25 more yards, falling just short of the 200 total yard mark.
It helped Bush that backup Daniel Thomas was inactive, and we wouldn't expect to see Bush get a workload like that with any consistency because the Dolphins obviously want to keep him healthy, but Sunday's performance was a really promising one.
As for other pleasant surprises, look no further than St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola, the best of the many Wes Welker clones in the NFL now. He's a former Texas Tech Red Raider and was an undrafted free agent. He's an effective punt returner and lethal over the middle. On Sunday, he had a career day, catching 15 balls for 160 yards and a touchdown. If you owned him in a PPR (point per reception) league, you really raked in the points, but either way he was a beast and an obvious safety outlet for young quarterback Sam Bradford.
As for the goats, you have to look squarely at Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Not many people have ill will toward the older Manning and everyone is pulling for his comeback, but on Monday night it just didn't look very promising. Manning lacked zip and threw three first-quarter interceptions before settling in a bit and throwing for 241 yards and a score while almost rallying his team from a 20-0 deficit.
