Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, December 19, 2011
Week 15 of the NFL season is in the books, and Big Ten products compiled some big days. All season long, use our Big Ten NFL Stat Tracker to see how ex-Big Ten stars perform. Simply click on a player's name, and the link will lead you to his NFL.com game log. Every Tuesday, Brent Yarina singles out the best offensive, defensive and special teams performances, plus links to their NFL.com highlights. See Brent's Week 15 winners in this post.
Offense: Drew Brees, New Orleans – It was no contest this week, as Brees completed 32 of 40 passes (80 percent) for 412 yards and five TDs in New Orleans' 42-20 victory at Minnesota (watch all of Brees' Week 15 highlights!). The big day has the Purdue product only 304 yards away from passing Dan Marino's single-season passing record set in 1984. The way Brees is dissecting defenses, don't be surprised if it happens next week.
Defense: Tamba Hali, Kansas City – The Penn State product sacked likely NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers three times and forced a fumble (watch the sack-fumble!), helping the Chiefs send the Packers to their first loss of the season in a 19-14 decision.
Special teams: Zoltan Mekso, New England – The former Wolverine booted three of his four punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line in New England's 41-23 win at Denver (watch one of his punts!). Mesko only averaged 40.5 yards per punt, but he only allowed four return yards and had a net average of 39.5 yards.
Have a nominee for Brent's weekly Big Ten NFL recap? Tweet it to @BTNBrentYarina. Again, use our Big Ten NFL Stat Tracker to see how all your Big Ten products did this past week.
Brent Yarina is a web editor and blogger for BTN.com. Find all of his work here and follow him on twitter at @BTNBrentYarina.