These guys might not exactly be carrying a lunch pail to the stadium each week, 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 11.
LaGarrette Blount, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Packers might have improved to 10-0 with a 35-26 win over the Buccaneers, but Tampa Bay gave Green Bay all it could handle on Sunday. Much of trouble for the NFL's last unbeaten team was provided by Blount, who rushed for 107 yards. The highlight of his day, however, came on a 54-yard brute-force touchdown run in the second quarter during which he busted through the tackle attempts of a number of Packers defenders en route to the end zone.
Von Miller, Denver Broncos
Lost in the exhilaration of the thrilling last-minute winning touchdown run of Tim Tebow in the Broncos' 17-13 win over the Jets was the dominant display by Miller, the team's rookie linebacker. Miller had a sack, combined with teammate Elvis Dumervil for another, had nine tackles and four hits on Jets QB Mark Sanchez. Miller's sack came at a pivotal moment in the game, with 35 seconds remaining and the Jets aiming to drive down the field for a last-second winning score. Miller now has 9.5 sacks on the season, the second-highest total for a rookie through 10 games since 1960 (Julius Peppers had 11 sacks through 10 games for the Panthers in 2002).
Sidney Rice, Seattle Seahawks
Rice was nearly a one-man wrecking crew in the Seahawks' 24-7 victory over the Rams. Rice caught a touchdown pass, drew a pass interference call in the end zone that set up a field goal and, for good measure, threw a 55-yard pass when Seattle opted for some razzle-dazzle trickery under the big top in St. Louis.
Kevin Smith, Detroit Lions
Smith's rise to prominence was one of the most intriguing storylines of Week 11. Even with Jahvid Best out with an injury, Smith -- an injury-prone running back relegated to the long list of free-agent backs unsigned by teams until only recently -- was behind Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams on the depth chart heading into Sunday's game against the Panthers. Yet, when Morris started slowly and Williams turned the ball over, the Lions called on Smith to help the team surge past the Panthers. Smith responded in epic fashion to his first real game action since 2009, scoring three touchdowns, rushing for a career-high 140 yards and accounting for 201 yards from scrimmage, also a career-high total.
Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens
The confluence of the Ravens' up-and-down year and the roller-coaster rookie season of Smith meant bad things for the Bengals in a crucial AFC North showdown in Baltimore. Smith had a career-high six catches for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens' 31-24 win over the Bengals, which helped rectify the Ravens' woes following a shocking loss in Seattle a week ago. Smith's performance was somewhat reminiscent of his breakthrough game against the Rams in Week 3, during which he had three touchdown catches and 152 yards as the Ravens rebounded from another humbling loss in Week 2 to the Titans. With his efforts against the Bengals, Smith joins Ken Burrow (twice in 1971) and Randy Moss (three times in 1998) as the only rookies to have multiple games with 150-plus receiving yards and a touchdown reception since 1970.
