Use the Force

Forced fumbles were all over the field in Week 5, especially in Cincinnati. Sean Smith forced one to go with his PDef and 8 tackles, and Koa Misi forced this fumble on one of his 5 tackles. It was quite a day for the Miami defense, as 5 ProUtes recorded tackles! Derrick Shelby got his first, R.J. Stanford had one, and Paul Soliai had 3 plus half a sack in Miami's 17-13 victory.

Eric Weddle forced a fumble and sacked Drew Brees on his record-setting day; Weddle also had 7 tackles in the contest.

Robert Johnson hauled in his first interception on this red zone tip drill, but the Vikings controlled the game to the point that Matt Asiata got his first two carries for 8 yards.

Brice McCain also had an interception in the end zone, and he returned it 86 yards to the opposite red zone. That's what you call flipping the field! McCain had 2 tackles, half a sack, and a PDef as Houston remained undefeated.

Paul Kruger had 5 tackles, 3 for a loss in a close game against the Chiefs.

So many candidates for ProUte of the Week, but one ran away with it: Alex Smith. In a 45-3 rout of Buffalo, Smith threw for a season-high 303 yards and 3 TDs. He added 49 yards rushing on 3 carries as San Francisco became the first NFL team ever to top 300 yards passing and 300 yards rushing in the same game. Talk about bringing balance to the force! The 49ers aren't just a dominant defense any more. The 621 total yards was a franchise-record, and it belongs to Alex Smith and Jim Harbaugh, not Joe Montana and Bill Walsh. Alex had a perfect passer rating in the first half, and he leads the league with a rating of 108.7. He's also leading the way with three ProUte of the Week Awards in the first five weeks of the season!