These guys might not exactly be carrying a lunch pail to the stadium, but they did bring a blue-collar, working-man approach to the weekend's games. Take a look at all the nominees, then vote on your choice for the Hardest Working Man for Week 5.
Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks had lost their previous five road games by 14 or more points, and had lost eight consecutive games on the East Coast. With a backup quarterback -- Charlie Whitehurst -- pressed into action, hopes of ending those skids seemed dim. Enter Baldwin, the Seahawks' newfound, unheralded playmaker. Baldwin had a career-high eight receptions and 136 yards receiving, and capped the big day with a touchdown play with 2:12 left in the game that gave Seattle the lead for good in a 36-25 win. Baldwin is an undrafted free agent from Stanford, but the rookie now leads the team with 20 receptions for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
Nick Barnett, Buffalo Bills
The woes of the self-described "Dream Team" continued in Buffalo, with much of the credit rightfully directed at veteran linebacker Nick Barnett, a free-agent pickup from Green Bay this summer. Barnett had his first multi-interception game as the Bills defeated the much-ballyhooed Philadelphia Eagles 31-24. Barnett's first pick went for six, and provided Buffalo with a 21-7 cushion in the second quarter. The second interception sealed Buffalo's fourth victory in five chances. With 1:49 left in the game and the Eagles threatening to tie the game complete a comeback from a 28-7 deficit they faced in the third quarter, Barnett was the man on the spot when a Michael Vick swing pass to Jason Avant got tipped, then kicked, and the linebacker scooped up the ball before it hit the turf to seal a Bills victory.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, New England Patriots
With Tom Brady at the helm at quarterback, the Patriots are prone to pass the ball (Brady already has two 400-yard passing games this season). However, when facing the division-rival New York Jets, the Patriots opted to rely heavily on Green-Ellis to provide an offensive punch. The run-to-win philosophy paid off handsomely, Green-Ellis finished with a career-high 136 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns in the Patriots' 30-21 win. Perhaps the Patriots should consider handing the ball off to Green-Ellis more, New England is 18-1 when Green-Ellis has a rushing touchdown.
Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders
A day after maverick team owner Al Davis passed away, Janikowski -- a player the Raiders drafted in the first round in 2000, making him just the third kicker ever selected in the first round -- was four of four on field goal attempts, providing 12 points to an emotional 25-20 victory over the Houston Texans. What made the effort most notable was that three of those field goals came from 50 yards or further (54, 55 and 50 yards), and a fourth came from 42 yards out. The three 50-plus-yard field goals tied an NFL record. Janikowski now has five 50-plus-yard field goals this season, tied for 13th-most all-time in a season. The record is eight, set by Morten Andersen in 1995 and tied by Jason Hanson in 2008.
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings finally collected their first win of the season, and did so because of the powerful running of Peterson. Peterson scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, as the Vikings scored 28 points total in the quarter. It was the most points scored by a team in any quarter this season. It was the most the Vikings have scored in a single quarter since Week 13 of the 2007 season. And it was the most the Vikings had scored in the first quarter since Week 4 of the 1986 season. Peterson finished the 34-10 win with 29 rushes for 122 yards. Peterson became the first player with three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter of a game since Tim Biakabutuka did it in Week 4 of the 1999 season.
