Dave & Adam’s “Leaders of the Pack” for Week 8

We saw some huge numbers put up around the NFL during Week 8 with some impressive passing and receiving performances from several players. Now it’s time to narrow it down and hand out some hardware for Dave & Adam’s “Leaders of the Pack” for Week 8.

There were plenty of candidates for the Leader of the Pack at quarterback. Tom Brady was near-perfect in the Patriots’ beat down of the Bears, going 30 for 35 with 354 yards and five touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers, Nick Foles and Andrew Luck each threw for over 400 yards but all three lost their respective games. But “Big Ben” Roethlisberger topped them all with one of the best QB performances in NFL history in the Steelers’ 51-34 victory over the Colts to take home the LOTP title for Week 8.

Roethlisberger made history with his 522-yard, six touchdown performance. It set a Steelers franchise record and tied for fourth place on the NFL all-time list of single-game passing performances. He was 33 yards shy of beating the record of 554 yards set by Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. Big Ben is one of 15 passers to throw for over 500 yards in an NFL game but he becomes the first to do it twice.

Roethlisberger was part of the remarkable quarterback class of 2004 that also included Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. Dave & Adam’s carries a selection of Big Ben rookies from 2004, including a recently added Upper Deck SP Authentic rookie patch auto.

Mark Ingram of the New Orleans Saints earned the Leader of the Pack honors at running back with a career-best performance in the Saints huge win over the Packers on Sunday night. Ingram, in his second game back from injury, rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown for the best game of his NFL career. The win moved the Saints within a half game of the Carolina Panthers for first place in the NFC South.

The Saints drafted Ingram from Alabama in the first round of the 2011 draft after he won the Heisman Trophy. Be sure to check out Dave & Adam’s selection of Ingram cards, including a 2011 Panini Playbook rookie auto jersey card, or shop our selection of 2011 football products to find your own Ingram rookie.

There were no shortage of candidates for our Leader of the Pack at wide receiver as 16 players put up more than 100 receiving yards during Week 8. Jeremy Maclin of the Eagles topped the bunch with 187 yards and two touchdowns to earn the LOTP title despite being on the wrong end of a 24-20 loss against the Cardinals. It was the best single-game performance of his career. Maclin’s second touchdown, on a 54-yard pass from Nick Foles, gave Philadelphia a 17-14 late in the third quarter but they could not hold on for the win.

Maclin is off to a strong start this season after missing all of last year due to torn ACL he suffered in training camp. He has 632 yards, which is ninth best in the NFL. Maclin was a first round draft pick out of Missouri back in 2009.