With Week 14 in the books, the fantasy season is officially winding down. Top performances down the stretch prove crucial when playoff spots and championships come into play. For the second straight week Westbrook owners rejoiced as he turned in an MVP-worthy showing against the Giants in a rivalry game.

The Colts looked like the Colts of seasons past as they routed Cincinnati, and Brett Favre and the Jets fired a blank in a Week 14 loss to Mike Singletary’s revitalized 49ers.

Big Bertha is here with these and the rest of the pros and cons of Week 14 action in the NFL.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
For the second straight week, B-West turned in an MVP worthy performance as his Birds upset NFC East rivals the New York Giants on Sunday. Westbrook broke big plays on two separate occasions on his way to 131 yards rushing, 72 yards receiving and two total touchdowns. He helped keep Philly’s playoff hopes alive with the outing and likely helped fantasy owners come up big in the last weeks of their regular seasons.

Runners-Up

Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
The rookie took 19 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown as his Titans beat Cleveland to move to 12-1 on the year. He added four receptions for 30 yards on top of his stellar rushing performance to ensure a big fantasy turn-out in his Week 14 gem. If Tennessee had focused more on the dash and less on the smash, his numbers could have been even bigger. Smash (LenDale White) shouldered a bulk of Tennessee’s rushing responsibilities with 24 carries for 99 yards and a score. Johnson’s play looks that much better when considering the fact that White doesn’t generally get that kind of attention.

Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts
The face of the NFL finally turned in a high-caliber stat-line as Manning and company took it to the Bengals on Sunday. Archie’s oldest threw for 277 and three scores. He also didn’t throw an interception for the sixth time this year. Manning seems to have turned it on down the stretch (with the exception of his Week 13 dud) after getting off to a slow start to ‘08. He’s turned in seven multi-score games since Indy’s Week 4 bye and likely proved very influential in the resurgence of fantasy teams from the mid-season mark on.

Brandon Marshall, WR, Denver Broncos
Marshall hauled in 11 balls for 91 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday as Denver toppled AFC West rival Kansas City. That brings his 2008 receptions total to 83. He’s only 57 catches away from his preseason prediction of 140! With three games left on the schedule, the Bronco loud-mouth would need to average nearly 20 catches a game to pull it off. The strange thing is he started off the ‘08 campaign with an 18 reception performance against the Chargers in Week 2 and was off to a good start to back up his talk. But, without catching more than nine passes in a game again until this past Sunday it seems as though this Bronco’s goals were a mile higher than he could reach.

MOST SURPRISING PERFORMANCE

Deion Branch, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Branch’s ‘08 production has been seriously hindered by his recent injuries. He’s already missed eight games this year and hadn’t scored a touchdown entering Week 14. The former Patriot caught four balls for 88 yards and two scores against his old team. Branch has been floating around on waivers/IR all year long in the fantasy world and will likely continue to do so despite his Week 14 effort.

Runners-Up

Vincent Jackson, WR, San Diego Chargers
Jackson surprised some fantasy owners by racking up 148 yards and a score. This was only Jackson’s second 100+ yard performance and only his sixth TD of ‘08. He’s performed relatively on par with what his pre-season expectations were but this monster game likely caught many owners off-guard.

Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints
In the wake of Deuce McAllister’s suspension and with Reggie Bush still not at 100 percent, Thomas has seen an increased role in the Saints offense the past few weeks. He turned in his second-career 100-yard game and scored twice as New Orleans edged out the Atlanta Falcons. If the judge upholds the NFL’s suspension of Deuce, look for Thomas to turn in another surprise performance or two before the curtain falls on ‘08.

Matt Schaub, QB, Houston Texans
In his first start since Week 9, Schaub threw for an NFL-best 414 yards as his Texans moved past the Pack on Sunday. He added two scores through the air to finish with his best statistical game of 2008. The Texans are now 6-7 after getting off to a miserable 0-4 start, thanks in small part to contributions from a healthy Schaub.
MOST DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE

Brett Favre, QB, New York Jets
Favre was a no-show for the second straight week as he threw for 137 yards and a pick as the Jets fell to the Niners over the weekend. Favre’s age is beginning to show as the season progresses and the Jets seem to be falling apart at the seams having lost two straight games now. Luckily, the seasoned vet can turn it around pretty easily as he and the Jets round out ‘08 against Buffalo, at Seattle and against the Dolphins.

Runners-Up

Marshawn Lynch, RB, Buffalo Bills
Lynch hasn’t done much all year. His struggles continued in Week 14 as he finished with 31 yards on the ground. It generally isn’t a good day in a running back’s career when his pocket-passing QB out runs him by 22 yards and only needs five carries to do so.

Laveranues Coles, WR, New York Jets
Bad games between QBs and WRs tend to go hand-in-hand. Favre was a bust and Coles followed suit with only one catch for five yards. Disappointing would be an understatement for that showing…or lack there of.

Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Addai’s lack of production stumbled into Week 14 as well. In Indy’s 35-3 win over Cincy on Sunday Addai took 10 carries for 26 yards. He’s eclipsed the 100-yard mark only once in ‘08 and hasn’t scored since Week 11.

CUTTABLE PLAYER

Anyone on the Ravens
They’re playing Pittsburgh and that’s reason enough.

WAIVER WIRE SPECIAL

Tatum Bell, RB, Denver Broncos
Denver is out yet another running back as surprise stud Peyton Hillis went down for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury. This puts the load back on Bell’s shoulders and Shanahan is out of other options to screw fantasy owners over with. The fact is, if Denver wants to run the ball they have to give it to Bell. Plan accordingly.

DREAM LINEUP
QB - Aaron Rodgers, GB
RB - Chris Johnson, TEN
RB - Brian Westbrook, PHI
WR - Brandon Marshall, DEN
WR - Vincent Jackson, SD
TE - Tony Gonzalez, KC
K - Stephen Gostkowski, NE
D/ST - Pittsburgh Steelers

NIGHTMARE SQUAD
QB - Brett Favre, NYJ
RB - Joseph Addai, IND
RB - Marshawn Lynch, BUF
WR - Hines Ward, PIT
WR - Laveranues Coles, NYJ
TE - Kevin Boss, NYG
K - Sebastian Janikowski, OAK
D/ST - Oakland Raiders

HIGHLIGHT REEL (Best Play)

Week 14 proved to be crucial for many teams in the NFL. Same can be said for many fantasy teams. A few guys showed up in big ways to make some things happen over the weekend.

The “Half Man Half Myth” Award

Ed Reed, S, Baltimore Ravens
The proportion of times Ed Reed scores when he touches the ball is astronomical. It’s amazing to me they don’t run him out of the wildcat formation and let him score all day, every day. Again he found pay dirt after scooping up a fumble and breaking tackles through opposing territory on Sunday. He added two picks on top of this play. Reed is an absolute thrill to watch and makes plays consistently. He’s one of the best defenders of this generation.

The “SORRY THERE’S NO RESET BUTTON” Award

Deshea Townsend, CB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Townsend picked off a Tony Romo pass with a minute and forty seconds left to play in regulation. He broke a tie score by returning it to the house and gave his Steelers a 20-13 win over Dallas. A big-time play in a big-time game always deserves some recognition.