All our week 13 content

San Francisco 49ers 37, Arizona Cardinals 31

What you need to know

San Francisco 49ers - In overtime, both teams traded possessions , and it looked like the Cardinals were going to win, but Neil Rackers missed a 31 yard field goal left to give the 49ers the ball with 6:43 left to play. The 49ers offense ran three failed pass attempts and punted to the Arizona 12 yard line. An illegal block penalty on the Cardinals took the ball back to the team's three yard line. On the next play, the 49ers blitzed Warner and he was sacked by defensive tackle Ronald Fields, who caused the fumble that Banta-Cain recovered in the end zone for the win

Trent Dilfer had one of his better statistical games going 25 for 39 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He completed passes to six different receivers and had no interceptions. Dilfer led the 49ers offense on scoring drives 32, 18, six, 88 and 70 yards. He threw touchdown passes to Vernon Davis (two yards) and Arnaz Battle (53 yards.)

Frank Gore combined for a total of 214 the 49ers 374 total net yards and scored on a 35 yard run up the middle to give the 49ers a 31-27 lead late in the fourth quarter. Gore rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries and added 11 receptions for 98 yards. He also scored on an 11 yard run in the second quarter.

The 49ers receiving corps of Arnaz Battle and Darrell Jackson had a mediocre game going a combined six receptions for only 100 net yards. Battle did score on a pretty 53 yard touchdown pass down the left side line to give the 49ers a third quarter to 24-21 lead.

Arizona Cardinals - The Cardinals offense started hot scoring on its first possession when Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald on a 28 yard touchdown pass. It was the first time the Cardinals scored a touchdown on its first possession in 2007. On the Cardinals' next four series, the team punted twice and had two turnovers to give the 49ers a 17-7 lead. The Cardinals fought back and scored on the last play of the first half when Warner threw a 48 yard Hail Mary pass to Larry Fitzgerald, who out leaped the 49ers defenders to come down with the ball. That play gave the Cardinals a 21-17 lead into the half.

In overtime, it appeared that the Cardinals had the game won, when Warner hit little used wide receiver Sean Morey on a 62 yard reception down to the 49ers 24 yard line. Four plays later, Rackers hit a 27 yard field goal, but a delay of game penalty nullified the play. On the next play. Rackers missed his 32 yard try left to give the 49ers the ball with 6:43 to play. After three failed 49ers pass attempts, the 49ers punted to Steve Breaston who caught the ball on his own four yard line and returned it 13 yards. But an illegal block in the back, took the Cardinals back to their own three yard line, where on the next play Warner dropped back into the end zone and was hit by 49er defensive tackle Ronald Fields, who caused the fumble recovered in the end zone by the 49ers Tully Banta-Cain for the win.

Despite the loss, Kurt Warner had his best statistical game of the season going 34 of 48 for 484 yards and two touchdowns. He hit eight different receivers, but was sacked four times.

As in game's past, Tim Rattay came in to substitute for Warner when the Cardinals were in their goal line offense. With ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter, on a fourth and goal at the one yard line, Rattay hit tight end Ben Patrick in the back of the end zone to give the Cardinals a 28-24 lead.

Edgerrin James found the running against the 49ers defense unusually tough. He finished the game with only 78 yards on 17 carries and no touchdowns. When the Cardinals went into goal line formation, James was substituted for by Marcel Shipp, who scored on a one yard touchdown run, and had all of his total 14 yards in the Cardinals' goal line or short yardage offense.

Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Bryant Johnson, all at times found the 49ers defenders easy to catch passes against. Fitzgerald ended the game with nine catches for 156 yards and two scores. Boldin finished with six catches for 76 yards, and Johnson with five catches for 80 yards. Sean Morey added another 79 yards on four grabs.

What you ought to know

QB Trent Dilfer, Pass: 25 - 39 - 256 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 10 - 0 - Dilfer had an efficient game and did not throw an INT. He tossed touchdown passes to Vernon Davis (2 yards) and Arnaz Battle (57 yards). He avoided the Cardinal rush and looked comfortable at times throwing the ball down field and on target. He took the 49ers on scoring drives of 32, 18, 6, 88 and 70 yards. He was sacked three times, and had one scramble for 10 yards.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 21 - 116 - 2, Rec: 11 - 98 - 0 (12 targets) - Gore was the workhorse of the 49ers offense running the ball for 116 yards on 21 carries. Gore scored on an 11 yard run early in the second quarter, and again on a 35 yard scamper late in the fourth quarter. Gore was targeted several times out of the backfield by Dilfer, and ended the game with 11 receptions for 98 yards. He had a long run of 35 yards and earned his paycheck this week from the 49ers front office.

RB Maurice Hicks, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 - Hicks had two short runs in the 49ers scheme that featured Gore as its exclusive runner.

WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 5 - 43 - 0 (9 targets) - Jackson was targeted often across the middle and had a couple of drops in this game. In all, he finished with five catches for 43 yards, with a long reception of ten yards.

WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 1 - 57 - 1 (5 targets) - Battle scored on a 57 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to give the 49ers the lead. Battle caught the ball on an out pattern, and juked his way past the Cardinals defender down the left sideline.

WR Ashley Lelie (2 targets) - Although Lelie was not a factor in the game, he was targeted once on a third and one on the Cardinals one yard line.

TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 6 - 45 - 1 (7 targets) - Davis scored on a two yard pass early in the first quarter. He was targeted a total of seven times and had a long reception of 26 yards. Along with Gore, he looked to be a favored target of Dilfer.

PK Joe Nedney 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points - Nedney converted on one of two field goals. He made a 19 yarder, but missed a 55 yard try wide right , with six seconds left in the first half.

SF Rush Defense - The 49ers rush defense held Edgerrin James to 79 yards on 17 carries. The Cardinals' rushing total was only 96 yards for the game, with the longest run surrendered was nine yards. They did give up a one yard scoring run to Marcel Shipp

SF Pass Defense - The 49ers pass defense gave up 484 yards to Warner, but came up with the biggest play in the game with its sack of Warner and fumble recovery to give the 49ers the win. The allowed 34 completions to eight different receivers and three touchdown catches on the day, including an inexcusable 48 yard Hail Mary catch on the game's last play of the first half. Not a good statistical game from a defensive perspective.

QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 34 - 48 - 484 - 2 TD / 2 INT - Warner started hot completing four of his first five passes including a 28 yard touchdown strike to Larry Fitzgerald in the team's first drive, and again to Fitzgerald on a 48 yard Hail Mary pass to end the first half. Warner had 206 yards on 13 for 19 and two touchdowns in the first half alone. He ended with a season high of 484 yards on 34 of 48 and two touchdowns. He was sacked in the end zone giving the 49ers the win in overtime. He was sacked a total of four times, and threw two interceptions.

QB Tim Rattay, Pass: 1 - 1 - 2 - 1 TD / 0 INT - In the second quarter, Rattay came in for Warner on a first and goal at the 49ers one yard line. He handed off to Marcel Shipp for the one yard touchdown run.

RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 17 - 78 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) - James found the running against the 49ers rush defense unusually tough going for only 78 yards on 17 carries. He also caught two passes for 11 yards. Many of James' runs were up the middle against a stout 49ers defense.

RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0, Rec: 5 - 26 - 0 (6 targets) - Arrington spelled James on a couple of series and had two runs for four yards. He caught five balls out of the backfield for 26 yards.

RB Marcel Shipp, Rush: 5 - 14 - 1 - Shipp scored on a one yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He also converted on a fourth and one late in the third quarter gaining four yards for the first down. He gained all his yardage in short yardage or goal line offense situations.

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 9 - 156 - 2 (16 targets) - Fitzgerald scored on a 28 yard pass play in the first quarter, and then again on the last play of the first half on a Hail Mary 48 yard strike, where he out leaped the 49er defenders in the end zone. Fitzgerald was easily the game's most targeted receiver with 16 balls thrown his way. He was instrumental on the Cardinals' last game tying drive where he caught three balls for 43 yards on the drive. In his last three games, Fitzgerald has totaled 25 receptions for 323 yards and five touchdowns.

WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 6 - 76 - 0 (7 targets) - Boldin had six receptions for 76 yards, but was kept out of the end zone. He fumbled on a slant pattern early in the second quarter, but at times found the 49er defense of little resistance.

WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 5 - 80 - 0 (7 targets) - Johnson finished the game with five receptions and 80 yards. He was targeted deep twice and hauled in a pass late in the fourth quarter on a over the shoulder grab down to the 49ers one yard line. Two plays later Rackers kicked the tying field goal to send the game into overtime.

WR Sean Morey, Rec: 4 - 79 - 0 (7 targets) - Morey had a productive game hauling in four catches for 79 yards. He had an instrumental catch late into overtime when he caught a pass short and turned it into a 62 yard completion down to the 49ers 24 yard line.

TE Leonard Pope, Rec: 2 - 39 - 0 (3 targets) - Pope had two receptions for 39 yards with a long catch of 31 yards when he beat the 49ers defense up the middle.

TE Ben Patrick, Rec: 2 - 19 - 1 (2 targets) - Patrick had his first NFL touchdown when he caught a touchdown pass from Tim Rattay on a fourth and one from the 49ers two yard line.

PK Neil Rackers 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points - Rackers missed on a potential game winning 32 yard field goal with 6:56 in overtime. One play earlier, he had converted on a 27 yard attempt to win the game, but a delay of game penalty nullified the attempt. He hit an 18 yarder to tie the score at the end of the game. He also had four extra point attempts.

ARI Rush Defense - The rush defense at times played very well, but ended up giving yardage to Gore late in the second half. In total, they gave up 137 yards on 25 runs and two scores, both to Gore 11 yards and 35 yards. The Cardinals' rush defense came up big in the fourth quarter, stuffing Frank Gore for no gain on a fourth and one from the Arizona 38 yard line with 5:43 remaining in the game.

ARI Pass Defense - The pass defense allowed a two yard touchdown catch to Vernon Davis in the first quarter, and another 57 yard touchdown catch to Arnaz Battle in the third quarter. The defense suffered the loss of starting cornerback Eric Green early in the second quarter. They did not have an interception, but sacked Dilfer three times.

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Tennessee Titans 6, Cincinnati Bengals 35

What you need to know

Tennessee Titans - The Titans were playing their second road game in six days and appeared to be having trouble getting going. They were not able to get any type of a sustained drive going until the game was well out of hand. They moved the ball inside the red zone four times, but were only able to get two field goals. This was a result of the Bengals defense making it a point to stop the running game and putting the pressure on Vince Young. Young was not able to answer the challenge as most of his passes were inaccurate and the receivers were forced to make difficult catches.

The running game featured a rotation of Chris Brown and LenDale White in the first half as each player had two consecutive series before taking a break. Before halftime, White was called for a personal foul when he kneed a Bengal player in the head on a play in which he was forced out of bounds. After that, Brown would receive the majority of the carries the rest of the game as White only saw the field for one carry in a goal line situation.

The receivers were unable to make any type of contribution to the passing attack. Justin Gage had the offensive highlight when he was wide open on a deep ball in the first quarter, but he lost his balance on the way to the end zone and stepped out of bounds on seven yard line. This play seemed to summarize the Titan passing game, a few highlights mixed in with off target throws.

Cincinnati Bengals - Carson Palmer had one of his best games of the season. Bengal receivers were wide open against the Titans zone coverage, and Palmer generally had plenty of time to choose his receiver. The Bengals had little trouble moving the ball through the air.

The Bengals seemed content to rotate their backs until the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter. Rudi Johnson was the primary ball carrier, but he did receive an occasional breather which served to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter when the Bengals would run out the clock.

Bengals receivers were open on any given play. The offense looked to be hitting on all cylinders as they showed signs of the high powered offense they were last season. Chad Johnson set a career high with 12 receptions as he took advantage of the soft Titans coverage.

What you ought to know

QB Vince Young, Pass: 19 - 31 - 246 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 - Vince Young was inconsistent, to say the least. He started out well, completing four of his first six passes, including a great deep throw to a wide open Justin Gage. But, his two incompletions were on poor throws that were well off target, the second of which was an interception. From that point it went downhill. He fumbled the ball on a sack on third and goal from the three on one drive, ending the first scoring opportunity. He would string together two more stretches where he had five straight completions, but one of those stretches came in garbage time when the Bengals had a comfortable lead. The best drive of the game serves as a good summary of Young's day. He was able to move the ball by completing passes underneath the zone coverage until they got in the red zone. They were able to get down to the three yard line on a juggling catch by Ben Troupe, but they were not able to score when Young threw to high to Ben Hartsock in the end zone that would end the last scoring opportunity.

RB LenDale White, Rush: 8 - 27 - 0, Rec: 2 - -1 - 0 (2 targets) - White started the game and played the first two series before being replaced by Chris Brown. The Titan plan was to rotate their backs, and it appeared to benefit White more than Brown as he had the longest run of the game on an11 yard run to give Tennessee first and goal from the six for their second trip into the red zone. He would touch the ball on the next three plays, but was called for a personal foul on the last play when he kneed a Bengals defender in the head after being tacked out of bounds. He only returned to the game for one goal line carry in the fourth quarter.

RB Chris Brown, Rush: 8 - 28 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) - Chris Brown rotated in on the third series on the game as the Titans rotated their back every third series in the first half. He played the entire second half, and had a touchdown that was overturned when the official determined that his knee was down before he crossed the goal line on a review. Yards were hard to come by as most of his rushing opportunities came in short yardage situations and the offensive line was not able to open any holes to run through.

RB Chris Barclay, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - Barclay's only action on offense was on a swing pass in the first quarter that was stopped just short of a first down.

WR Justin Gage, Rec: 4 - 98 - 0 (7 targets) - Gage was the man that Vince Young looked to when he wanted to go deep. On his first catch he got behind the defender and appeared to be on his way to a touchdown but he lost his balance and stepped out of bounds at the seven yard line. He was able to find holes in the zone defense and served as a reliable target when Young needed to get a first down. He was targeted one more time in the end zone on the last long drive.

WR Eric Moulds, Rec: 2 - 54 - 0 (3 targets) - Moulds made one good catch and run when he was in the area of a second Titan receiver. He was the closest man to Young and caught the ball before running downfield on a 46 yard gain in the third quarter. His other targets came in garbage time in the fourth quarter.

WR Roydell Williams, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (6 targets) - Williams was not a very reliable target for Vince Young. His only receptions would come in the first half, and was unable to capitalize on a great opportunity to score in the third quarter. He had his man beat in the end zone but had turned the wrong way on a catchable pass.

TE Bo Scaife, Rec: 5 - 33 - 0 (8 targets) - Bo Scaife seems to have a good rapport with Vince Young from their days together in Texas. He was the receiver that Young looked for when the protection broke down, but he was slow to make an impact. The first two passes thrown his way were off target and not catchable, the first one was an interception on pass thrown behind him. He was targeted on three of the first seven passes on the lone long drive of the game in the fourth quarter.

TE Ben Hartsock, Rec: 1 - 27 - 0 (2 targets) - Hartsock only saw action in relief of Bo Scaife.

TE Ben Troupe, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) - Troupe's only reception came on a juggling catch to give the Titans excellent field position inside the Bengals ten yard line during the fourth quarter.

PK Rob Bironas 2 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 6 points - Bironas was relatively quiet, making both of his attempts from inside 30 yards.

TEN Rush Defense - It was clear that the Titans missed Albert Haynesworth's presence on the interior. The Bengals were able to run at will, even when the game was out of reach and they were trying to run out the clock.

TEN Pass Defense - Bengals receivers did not appear to have any problems getting open against the Titans defensive backs. The four down linemen were unable to get any consistent pressure on Carson Palmer, and on the few occasions that they did Palmer was usually able to roll away from the pressure and find an open receiver. By the fourth quarter the defensive backs appeared to be frustrated at the ability of the Bengals receivers to get open.

QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 32 - 38 - 283 - 3 TD / 1 INT - Carson Palmer had an amazing day passing. He rarely faced pressure from the Titans pass rush and he showed good pocket presence by moving around in the pocket to buy enough time to find the open receivers. Palmer was accurate on all types of passes, from the out patterns that gained first downs to the deep throws that stretched the defense. He showed good touch on his three touchdown passes, throwing the ball to the spot where his receiver was going to be. He clearly benefited from having all of his primary weapons available to spread the defense.

RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 25 - 88 - 1 - Rudi Johnson was used sparingly in the first half as the Bengals built their lead. He had plenty of room to run, and showed good patience by selecting the proper hole to run through. The Bengals plan was to spell him in the first three quarters to keep him fresh for the end of the game. Johnson seemed to respond well to that plan as he seemed to get stronger as the game wore on and was in the game when they ran out the clock.

RB Kenny Watson, Rush: 4 - 17 - 1, Rec: 5 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) - Watson's contribution to the offense was by providing Carson Palmer with a reliable pass catching option out of the backfield and by providing Rudi Johnson with a breather in the second half. His versatility is an important asset to the offense.

RB DeDe Dorsey, Rush: 5 - 42 - 0, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets) - Dorsey's action was limited to providing Rudi Johnson with an occasional breather in the first half.

WR Chad Johnson, Rec: 12 - 103 - 3 (14 targets) - Chad Johnson had his best game of the season, catching a career high 12 passes and getting into the end zone three times. The Titans game him plenty of room to operate and he took advantage of the soft coverage to catch passes and get out of bounds without being hit.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rush: 1 - -4 - 0, Rec: 7 - 66 - 0 (8 targets) - Houshmandzadeh had an effective game that was overshadowed by Chad Johnson as five of his receptions resulted in first downs, and he showed the ability to read the coverage and adjust his route to give Palmer a reliable target.

WR Chris Henry, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (6 targets) - Henry is beginning to reclaim his place as the third receiver in the Bengals offense. He was the target on numerous deep throws and made a couple of tough catches over the middle.

WR Antonio Chatman, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0 - Chatman's only action in the game was on an end around on the first play from scrimmage.

TE Reggie Kelly, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (3 targets) - Kelly was only used as a fourth option as the game plan focused on getting the ball to the playmaking receivers.

TE Dan Coats, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - Coats caught the only pass thrown his way in the third quarter.

PK Shayne Graham 0 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 5 points - Graham did not have a great day as he missed an easy 27 yard field goal in the first quarter.

CIN Rush Defense - The Bengals rush defense did a good job of containing the Titans runners. Three times the Titans had the ball inside the ten yard line four times and were unable to score any touchdowns.

CIN Pass Defense - Most of the 246 yards passing that were given up came after the game had already been decided and the Bengals were in their prevent defense. Young was sacked one time, and the sack produced a fumble that ended the first drive into the Bengals red zone.

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Oakland Raiders 20, Kansas City Chiefs 17

What you need to know

Oakland Raiders - The Oakland Raiders came into Kansas City as an underdog facing a team that had defeated them nine straight times since 2003. That streak is over. The Raiders had also lost 17 straight divisional contests going back to 2004, the longest active streak of consecutive losses within any division. The Raiders ended their Kansas City, AFC West division, and road woes with an upset of the Chiefs.

Oakland coach Lane Kiffin's recent decision to name Justin Fargas as the starting running back paid off handsomely. Fargas provided the predominant and most consistent offense for the Raiders. He accumulated 139 yards on just 22 carries (a 6.3 yard average per carry) while scoring one touchdown. He added 18 yards receiving.

Culpepper did not look at many options in the passing department. In addition to targeting Fargas, he only threw to tight end Zach Miller and to 2 wide receivers, Ronald Curry and Jerry Porter. Culpepper only accounted for 170 yards through the air and is only a shell of his former self. He appears to just be filling the position until rookie JaMarcus Russell is deemed ready to take over.

Jerry Porter, who has had injury concerns this year, twice needed to leave the field after being hurt on catches. He did seem alright afterwards.

Kansas City Chiefs - The Kansas City Chiefs are heading in the wrong direction. They have now lost four straight games. With the Chiefs' season slipping away, fans and media are seriously questioning Kansas City's offensive schemes and play calling. Kansas City continues to play ultra conservative. They had played conservative supposedly to make it easier for journeyman quarterback Damon Huard. Now they have second year player Brodie Croyle as the starter and they are calling it conservative to make it safer for Croyle. Kansas City has reached the point that they have nothing to lose and they may need to let their offense be a little more aggressive.

The Chiefs will be questioned for their final play calling of the game. In range of a 41 yard game tying field goal, the Chiefs used up two timeouts (one deciding what to do and one in an unsuccessful challenge) and then decided to try running on fourth down. They were unsuccessful and never had control of the football again. Partially to blame for this decision was a lack of trust in the kicking game. Kansas City kicker Dave Rayner had missed a 33 yard field goal attempt on the Chiefs' previous possession. Croyle, starting his second game behind center, only threw for 145 yards completing 13 of 23 passes with one interception. He alternated between looking real sharp with laser throws and displaying his inexperience with questionable passes. He spread the ball around well and should probably now be allowed to risk making mistakes while opening up the offense more. Talented Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez were his favorite targets.

Prior to this game the running back situation in Kansas City appeared bleak. Earlier in the year they had enjoyed the luxury of having had three different Pro Bowl running backs in the backfield with Larry Johnson, Michael Bennett, and Priest Holmes. The Chiefs traded Bennett to Tampa Bay, then lost Johnson to an injury, and finally saw Holmes suffer neck and spinal problems during last week's game, leading to Holmes' retirement from professional football. The Chiefs were left with only rookie, fifth round pick Kolby Smith who had 19 career yards on ten carries. To the surprise of everyone, in his first career start, Smith provided Kansas City with its best rushing performance of the year. Smith collected 150 yards on 31 carries, nearly five yards per carry. He also became the first running back other than Larry Johnson to rush for a touchdown in the last 36 games. Smith scored twice rushing the ball.

Cornerback Patrick Surtain left the game during the first quarter with what was later called a shoulder contusion.

What you ought to know

QB Daunte Culpepper, Pass: 15 - 22 - 170 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 0 - 0 - Culpepper appears to be holding down the job until first round pick JaMarcus Russell is ready to attempt to take it over. Culpepper does not compare to the player he used to be as a Minnesota Viking. He completed 15 out of 22 passes for only 170 yards with no touchdowns. He did not ever seem a threat to escape the pocket or gain yardage on the ground.

RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 22 - 139 - 1, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) - Fargas was named by Coach Kiffin as the starter for the rest of the year. He resoundingly justified that decision during this contest. He gained 139 yards on the ground on only 22 carries and added 18 more yards on a couple catches. Currently Fargas seems to be firmly entrenched in his role as the starter.

RB LaMont Jordan, Rush: 3 - 4 - 1 - Lamont Jordan complained during the week that he wished to be released as he has lost his role as a starter. Jordan is currently behind Fargas in the rotation but was still brought in for some short yardage work. He only accumulated 4 yards total on three carries but he did score one touchdown.

WR Ronald Curry, Rec: 6 - 39 - 0 (8 targets) - Curry was Culpepper's favorite target catching six of the eight passes thrown to him but they were for only 39 yards on short passes with little ground gained after the catches. He was unable to ever break free for big gains.

WR Jerry Porter, Rec: 3 - 75 - 0 (7 targets) - Porter was targeted almost as much as Curry but he was more sought after for long gains. He collected 75 yards on his three catches. Porter, who has had some problems with injuries this year, is still a great threat for extended yardage after the catch. However after two of his catches, he seemed injured and had to leave the field. He came back but he seems to be a little bit of an injury risk currently.

TE Zach Miller, Rec: 4 - 38 - 0 (4 targets) - Tight end Zach Miller was the only other player that Culpepper targeted. He caught each of the four passes thrown to him, but lost a fumble after one catch. He was hit by Donnie Edwards and then the Chiefs' Bennie Sapp recovered.

PK Sebastian Janikowski 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points - Janikowski gave the Raiders all they could hope for. He was successful on both field goals he attempted including one huge booming kick of 54 yards that turned out to be the point differential in this contest. He also made both of his extra point attempts.

OAK Rush Defense - The Oakland rush defense was cut to pieces. They have been particularly bad this year and this game was no exception. With the Chiefs missing their pro bowl running backs, the Raiders allowed a fifth round draft pick rookie making his first NFL start to carve them up for 150 yards on 31 carries. They gave up two rushing touchdowns to rookie Kolby Smith.

OAK Pass Defense - The Raiders were pretty effective in pass defense as they were able to hold Brodie Croyle to only 145 yards through the air while making one interception. They often chased Croyle from the pocket and managed to sack him three times. Were Croyle a little less mobile, they would have completely stopped the Chiefs' pass offense.

QB Brodie Croyle, Pass: 12 - 23 - 145 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 10 - 0 - Croyle displayed the hope of the future with deadly aim on some hard well thrown passes. He also demonstrated the frustration of running an offense with an inexperienced quarterback. He managed only 145 yards on 13 completions in 22 attempts and threw one pick. To his defense, he was often given little time to properly wait for open receivers as he was often chased from the pocket and even was sacked three times. It appears that Croyle needs two things, to be given more freedom to open it up and a much improved offensive line.

RB Kolby Smith, Rush: 31 - 150 - 2, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (5 targets) - Kolby Smith was brought in to hold down the starting running back position until Larry Johnson returns from his injury. Not a lot was expected from him. After turning in the best Kansas City Chiefs rushing performance of 2007, there does not seem to be as much reason to worry about hurrying Johnson back. It should be kept in mind that Smith put in his incredible performance against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Even with that, his performance was stunning as he gained 150 yards on 31 carries with two touchdowns. The downside of his game would have to be his role as a receiver. He was targeted five times and only had one catch for two yards. The other four throws were all very catchable, but they were dropped by Smith. All things considered, it was an impressive debut.

RB Gilbert Harris, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - Fullback Gilbert Harris was claimed from the practice squad to provide the Chiefs with a backup for new starting running back Kolby Smith. He compiled four yards on two carries and had no catches.

WR Dwayne Bowe, Rec: 4 - 63 - 0 (7 targets) - Rookie Dwayne Bowe is now known by other teams as Croyle's favorite target and he is receiving extra coverage because of it. Bowe is a legitimate and dangerous weapon for the Chiefs. He pulled in four of the seven balls thrown his way for 63 yards.

WR Eddie Kennison, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets) - Kennison caught both passes thrown to him. He is still a dependable receiving option but has definitely moved to a new role as the second wide receiver for Kansas City.

WR Samie Parker, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) - Parker caught the only pass thrown to him but there were just not enough passes for him to receive much attention.

WR Jeff Webb (1 targets) - Jeff Webb did not have any catches or yardage gained in this contest. He remains far down the list of likely receiving options.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Rec: 3 - 48 - 0 (4 targets) - Gonzalez was regularly and heavily blanketed in coverage but still pulled in three of the four passes sent his way for a respectable 48 positive yards. With Croyle's laser throws and Gonzalez's superior athletic ability, this looks like a passing combination that will be very effective for some time.

TE Kris Wilson, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) - Kris Wilson caught one pass for one yard and did not have much of a role in the game plan against the Raiders.

PK Dave Rayner 1 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points - Rayner's job is very likely in danger. Last week he missed two field goals and the Chiefs lost to the Colts by three points. This week he missed a field goal of 33 yards and then during crunch time was not called on when the Chiefs had a chance to try for a game tying 41 yard kick. Subsequently, the Chiefs lost by three points. He has failed in his role and will be considered by some as a liability. Do not be surprised if Kansas City head coach Herm Edwards brings in other kickers to try to beat out Rayner. He did make the one other field goal he attempted and he made both extra point tries.

KC Rush Defense - The Chiefs rush defense was beaten over and over. They gave up two touchdowns on the ground and allowed Justin Fargas to run all over them for 139 yards on just 22 carries, which is better than 6.3 yards per carry. The Chiefs rush defense seemed uncharacteristic as they have usually been much better than that.

KC Pass Defense - The Kansas City pass defense was able to contain Culpepper, limiting him to only 170 yards. They harassed him and kept him from having the time to complete many long gains. They did not come up with any interceptions but were able to sack him twice.

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Philadelphia Eagles 28, New England Patriots 31

What you need to know

Philadelphia Eagles - With Donovan McNabb out of this game with injuries to his ankle and thumb, A. J. Feeley got the start under center for the Eagles and did everything he could to try to lead his team to an upset victory over the Patriots. On the night, Feeley completed 27 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his three touchdowns went to WR Greg Lewis and the other scoring toss went to WR Reggie Brown. Despite his attention grabbing numbers through the air, it was a couple of Feeley mistakes that helped seal the victory for New England. The first came on Feeley's second pass of the game when Asante Samuel stepped in front of a pass intended for Brian Westbrook and he returned the interception 40 yards for a touchdown. His second bad misfire also involved Samuel intercepting a pass and came late in the fourth quarter with Philadelphia driving for what could have been a game tying or game winning score. The Eagles made an effort to get Brian Westbrook involved early on in this game. In the first half, the Eagle running back got 13 touches on the ground and was targeted another 5 times in the passing game. In addition to totaling 62 yards over the first two quarters, Westbrook also had a scoring run from one yard out that tied the game at seven. He would finish the night with 52 yards rushing and another 40 yards through the air.

Greg Lewis came into this contest with four catches on the year and he was able to double his season total by the end of the first half. His four receptions over the first two quarters went for 88 yards and included touchdown grabs of 28 and 18 yards. Although he had a big first half, Lewis was not even targeted by A. J. Feeley after the intermission.

New England Patriots - New England's offense operated the majority of this game in three and four wide receiver sets, which meant that Tom Brady was dropping back to pass a lot in this contest. In the first half, the Patriots only called one rushing play as Brady completed 19 of 25 throws for 205 yards and his only touchdown toss of the game. His scoring throw came late in the second quarter from 19 yards out and went to Jabar Gaffney. On the night the Patriots signal caller would attempt 54 passes, completing 34 of those for 380 yards. This was the first game of the year in which Brady did not throw for at least three touchdown passes and he finished the night with a season high 20 incompletions.

Kevin Faulk made the start at running back for New England as Laurence Maroney did not see his first action until there was 11:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Patriots only rushed the ball 15 times in the game, but it was Maroney's four yard touchdown with 7:20 remaining in the contest that turned out to be the game winner. In addition to Maroney's score on the ground, Heath Evans also had a first quarter rushing touchdown that came from a yard out. New England running backs finished the game with 32 yards on 13 carries and added another 30 yards receiving.

Wes Welker led all Patriots receivers with an eye popping 17 targets, and he was able to turn those pass attempts into 13 catches for 149 yards. He did not get into the end zone, but his catches seemed to come in important spots for New England. Six of Welker's catches came on third down plays and five of those grabs resulted in first downs.

The Patriots clinched their fifth consecutive AFC East division crown earlier in the day with Buffalo's loss to Jacksonville. With the win, New England becomes only the seventh team since 1970 to start the season 11--0.

What you ought to know

QB A.J. Feeley, Pass: 27 - 42 - 345 - 3 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 - If not for his two interceptions to Asante Samuel, Feeley would have had a spectacular night quarterbacking the Philadelphia offense. In the time between those two picks, the quarterback led the Eagles on four touchdown scoring drives that put up 28 points on a defense that came into the contest only giving up 16 points per game. He was outstanding in the first half completing 14 of 20 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Feeley followed up his exceptional first half with a second half that included 152 more passing yards and his third touchdown pass of the game. A number of times throughout the contest he hung in the pocket in the face of unblocked blitzers to complete passes, and he seemed to have a knack for finding wide open receivers for big gains. Feeley's third interception of the game came in the fourth quarter with 18 seconds remaining.

RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 17 - 52 - 1, Rec: 7 - 40 - 0 (11 targets) - It seemed that the plan was to get Westbrook going early in this game. On the Eagles' first three drives of the game, Westbrook rushed the ball 11 times and was targeted 4 times in the passing game. He capped Philadelphia's second drive with a one yard touchdown run and on that series, Westbrook had a good second effort attempt on a third and one rush that resulted in a first down. Westbrook's longest run of the game came in the second quarter and went for 14 yards, but he only got four rushes over the final two quarters. He was also called upon to return a punt late in the game. On the play, Westbrook fielded the punt, but he did put the ball on the ground. (The fumble was recovered by Philadelphia.)

RB Correll Buckhalter - Buckhalter's only action in this game came returning kicks where he averaged 21 yards on four returns.

WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 5 - 71 - 0 (9 targets) - Curtis was targeted by A. J. Feeley on a number of deeper throws, but most of those passes fell incomplete. His longest reception of the game went for 19 yards and he was the intended receiver in the end zone on Feeley's second interception. Four of Curtis' five catches went for first downs.

WR Reggie Brown, Rec: 5 - 45 - 1 (9 targets) - Brown's first catch of the game came in the first quarter and went for 11 yards. His second reception went for nine yards as he took the ball down inside the Patriots' one yard line. On the play, he tried to reach the ball over the goal line but he stepped out of bounds before the ball broke the plane of the end zone. Brown followed up a third quarter, five yard reception with his second touchdown catch of the year. On the play, the Philadelphia wide out made a tough catch over the middle on a crossing pattern where he had a defender blanketing him. Brown's final catch of the game came in the fourth quarter and went for 12 yards.

WR Greg Lewis, Rec: 4 - 88 - 2 (4 targets) - Lewis first grab of the game came on a third down play and resulted in a 15 yard gain that moved the chains. On his first touchdown catch from 28 yards out, Lewis showed tremendous concentration in leaping up to make the catch despite having a defender right in his face. His third catch of the game came in the second quarter and went for 27 yards. Lewis' final reception went for his second touchdown of the game came from seventeen yards out.

WR Jason Avant, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (2 targets) - Avant caught his only pass on the Eagles' second drive of the game. He also had a one yard rush on a play that seemed to be designed for him to throw the ball. He caught the backward pass but with nobody open, Avant tucked the ball and did his best to get positive yards on the play.

WR Hank Baskett, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) - Baskett grabbed his only target of the game on a flea flicker play in the third quarter. He also recovered Philadelphia's onsides kick in the second quarter.

TE L.J. Smith, Rec: 3 - 46 - 0 (5 targets) - All of Smith's receptions came in the second half, and all three grabs resulted in first downs for the Philadelphia offense.

TE Matt Schobel, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) - Schobel's only target came in the second quarter and went for a gain of 18 yards.

PK David Akers 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points - Akers did not have a field goal attempt in this game, but did connect on all four of his extra point tries.

PHI Rush Defense - With the Patriots calling pass plays for the majority of the night, the Eagles' rush defense surrendered only 49 yards on 15 rushing attempts. Heath Evans had a one yard scoring run in the first quarter and Laurence Maroney scored from four yards out in the fourth quarter.

PHI Pass Defense - Tom Brady finished the night with 34 completions for 380 yards and a touchdown, but the Eagles pass defense was effective in slowing down the Patriots pass attack. Brady was sacked three times in the game and J. R. Reid and Brian Dawkins had passes hit them in the hands that probably should have been intercepted.

QB Tom Brady, Pass: 34 - 54 - 380 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 16 - 0 - Brady started off hot on New England's first drive of the game completing six of seven passes for 72 yards in leading the offense to their first touchdown of the game. On the Patriots' next touchdown scoring drive, Brady was six of nine for 54 yards and he finished that series by hitting WR Jabar Gaffney for a 19 yard score. Over the final two quarters, he would only complete 15 of 29 passes, but those 15 completions went for 176 yards. On the go ahead drive, Brady was clutch connecting on six of eight passes for 56 yards. In addition to his throws he also had two rushes in this game, both of which resulted in first downs.

RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 10 - 31 - 1 (1 targets) - Maroney didn't enter the game until the third quarter and was only able to average 3.1 yards on ten carries. His fourth quarter touchdown from four yards out, was his second rushing touchdown in the last two weeks. Targeted once in the passing game, he dropped a screen pass on a first down play late in the third quarter.

RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (6 targets) - In spite of only getting two rushing attempts in the contest, Faulk was involved in the passing game as six passes were thrown his way. He took his first catch down to Philadelphia's one yard line and he followed that up with receptions of nine and 12 yards.

RB Heath Evans, Rush: 1 - 1 - 1 - Evans scored the Patriots first offensive touchdown with a first quarter, one yard plunge.

WR Wes Welker, Rec: 13 - 149 - 0 (17 targets) - Welker's big night was his third 100 yard receiving game of the year and his 13 catches is a career high. His longest reception of the game came in the third quarter when he took a wide receiver screen 42 yards down to the Philadelphia four yard line. He was Tom Brady's go to guy in crunch time as caught three passes for 39 yards on New England's go ahead drive. Welker was targeted once in the end zone on that drive, but the pass fell incomplete.

WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 6 - 87 - 1 (6 targets) - Gaffney was able to catch all six passes that were thrown his way. He had two catches on New England's first drive, the second grab going for 32 yards on a third and 12 play. His touchdown grab came with 12 seconds left in the second quarter. On the play, Gaffney made a sliding catch near the back of the end zone and it appeared his knee came down out of bounds. Despite Gaffney's proximity to the end line when he made the reception, the replay official did not see any reason to review the play so the touchdown stood. His only reception in the second half was a big one as he gained 16 yards on a third and six play that took place with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

WR Randy Moss, Rec: 5 - 43 - 0 (13 targets) - Despite being targeted 13 times in this game, Moss had a relatively quiet night. He did have a deep ball hit him in the hands in the third quarter that he was unable to hang on to. It would have been a tough catch, but it's one that we've grown accustomed to seeing him make. Moss had a four yard touchdown catch negated after he was called for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty. He was targeted again in the end zone later on in the game with New England operating form the Philadelphia 14 yard line, but the pass sailed out of the back of the end zone. All of Moss' catches came in the first half.

WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 4 - 54 - 0 (7 targets) - Stallworth's second catch of the game came on New England's second drive and went for 31 yards. On the play, he caught a short pass and was able to break a tackle for the big gain. Stallworth's other three catches went for a total of 23 yards.

TE Ben Watson, Rec: 3 - 17 - 0 (5 targets) - Watson's first target of the game came with 32 seconds left in the second quarter, which he caught for a five yard gain. His second grab came in the third quarter and went for six yards and his final reception came in the fourth quarter and also went for six yards.

PK Stephen Gostkowski 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points - Gostkowski made his first field goal from 23 yards out in the second quarter, but he hooked a 32 yard attempt in the third quarter that missed wide left. Gostkowski also converted on all four of his extra point attempts.

NE Rush Defense - The Patriots gave up only 2.9 yards per rush on 19 Philadelphia running plays. Brian Westbrook did score on a one yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

NE Pass Defense - On Philadelphia's first drive of the game, CB Asante Samuel intercepted an A.J. Feely pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Samuel's second interception of the game came with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter, killing a drive where Philadelphia was operating from New England 29 yard line. S James Sanders also had an interception late in the fourth quarter. In addition to the three interceptions, LB Rosevelt Colvin also recorded a sack in this game.

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New Orleans Saints 31, Carolina Panthers 6

What you need to know

New Orleans Saints - The Saints were a little sluggish to start the game but after half time Drew Brees got them rolling. Brees ended up throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once but it was off a nice play by Julius Peppers who tipped the pass at the line and then caught the ball. Brees also ran in a touchdown from the eight yard line.

With Reggie Bush nursing a sore leg, he didn't see many carries. He ran the ball just nine times for 32 yards. Aaron Stecker got the majority of carries going 13 for 42 yards. Stecker was brought in near the goal line but three of the Saints touchdowns were through the air. When the game was out of reach Pierre Thomas took over the running duties and ran the ball exclusively in the fourth quarter. He ended up with 12 carries for 32 yards.

Marques Colston had a nice game catching seven passes for 93 yards and a short touchdown pass. Billy Miller and Lance Moore also caught short touchdown passes from Brees. Miller ended up with four receptions for 32 yards. Moore caught three passes for 16 yards. Brees spread the ball around to nine different players in the game.

The Saints defense shut down Carolina. The Panthers are having all sorts of problems at the quarterback position. It has become a situation of you don't know who will start each week. New Orleans held David Carr under 100 yards passing and intercepted him twice. After the second interception, Matt Moore replaced Carr and he was promptly intercepted as well. Overall the Panthers were only able to net 195 yards rushing and passing.

Carolina Panthers - The Panthers continued their terrible play at home. They have lost all five games at home this year. With Testaverde out with back spasms, David Carr stepped in and did not play well. He went ten for 22 for just 95 yards. He did not throw a touchdown and was intercepted two times. The crowd was calling for Matt Moore. After the second interception, Moore stepped in and he also was picked off. Moore ended up going eight for 14 for 66 yards.

The Panthers running game was dreadful. Overall they ran the ball 18 times for 43 yards. DeShaun Foster carried the ball nine times for minus five yards. He fumbled on back to back possessions but Carolina was able to recover one of those fumbles. The Panthers leading rusher was Steve Smith who picked up 22 yards on an end around.

Steve Smith also led the receivers with six catches for 47 yards. The Saints held him to just short passes and forced the other receivers to beat them. Drew Carter added three catches for 41 yards and Jeff King had five catches for 36 yards.

The Panthers defense played well against the run but they gave up three short passing touchdowns. Brees was able to throw for 260 passing yards and he also added an eight yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The defense did give up over 100 rushing yards but it was on 39 carries for a rushing average of just 2.9 yards per carry. The defense came up with just one turnover and no sacks.

What you ought to know

QB Drew Brees, Pass: 24 - 36 - 260 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 8 - 1 - Drew Brees went 24 of 36 for 260 yards. He threw three touchdown passes and also ran one in from eight yards out. He spread the wealth around hitting Moore, Miller and Colston for touchdowns. With the Panthers down just four points at the half, Brees took over the game in the second half. He put together three touchdown drives in the third quarter to put the Saints ahead, 31-6. Brees was intercepted once but it did not hurt the Saints as they forced a turnover on downs on the Panthers next possession.

RB Aaron Stecker, Rush: 13 - 42 - 0, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) - Early on in the game, Stecker got the bulk of the carries for New Orleans. He picked up 42 yards on 13 carries. Stecker also caught two passes for eight yards. Stecker was in the game for goal line carries. In the second quarter, Stecker carried the ball down to the one yard line. On the next play he lost four yards. Brees went back to him on the following play and he got back to the one yard line. The next play was a touchdown pass to Lance Moore.

RB Pierre Thomas, Rush: 12 - 32 - 0 - Thomas had 12 carries for 32 yards. Most of his carries were in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. Thomas had ten carries in the fourth quarter but none of them were even inside the Carolina 46 yard line.

RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 9 - 32 - 0, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (5 targets) - Bush started the game but he was used sparingly. He only ran the ball nine times for 32 yards. He also caught three passes for 30 yards. Bush had a couple of carries that got close to the goal line but then he was pulled for Stecker. Bush was lined up at wide receiver a few times in the game.

RB Mike Karney, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) - Karney carried the ball once for two yards. The carry was from the Carolina six yard line. He also was targeted once in the game but the pass was incomplete on a third and 12 play.

WR Marques Colston, Rec: 7 - 93 - 1 (8 targets) - Colston caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He caught a four yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to put New Orleans up by 24 points. Five of his seven catches went for first downs. He had two red zone chances and both of them were on the same drive that ended with his touchdown reception.

WR Lance Moore, Rec: 3 - 16 - 1 (5 targets) - Lance Moore was targeted five times in the game. He caught three passes for 16 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a one yard pass on fourth and goal at the one yard line. He got another red zone opportunity in the third quarter. Brees hit him for a pass of 10 yards that took the ball down to the Carolina eight yard line. Brees ran it in on the next play.

WR David Patten, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (5 targets) - Patten caught two passes for 17 yards and he picked up one first down. Brees tried to hit him deep a couple of times but both passes were incomplete.

WR Terrance Copper, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) - Copper was thrown to twice. He caught one pass for 12 yards to the Carolina 47 yard line. The play resulted in a first down but the drive would ultimately end in a punt.

WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 1 - 33 - 0 (1 targets) - Henderson got one look and he made it count. Brees hit him deep down field for a 33 yard gain. The catch put the ball at the Carolina 23 yard line. Three plays later, the Saints scored to take an 11 point lead.

TE Billy Miller, Rec: 4 - 32 - 1 (5 targets) - Billy Miller caught four passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown started the second half scoring for the Saints. Miller picked up a first down earlier in the drive on a third down play. The drive continued and then he caught the one yard touchdown pass to put the Saints up by 11 points. On the Saints final scoring drive, Miller caught an eight yard pass for a first down at the Carolina six yard line. Two plays later, the Saints scored to go up by 25 points.

TE Eric Johnson, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) - Johnson caught one pass for 19 yards that brought the ball down to the Carolina four yard line. Brees hit Billy Miller two plays later for the touchdown. The only other throw to Johnson was a four yard completion that got negated by a New Orleans holding call.

PK Olindo Mare 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points - Mare made a field goal from 46 yards in the second quarter. His only miss was at the end of the first half when the Saints tried a 57 yard field goal. The kick may have been tipped as it came up well short. Mare did make all four extra point attempts.

NO Rush Defense - The New Orleans rush defense was outstanding. They only gave up 43 rushing yards on 18 carries. They gave up just one first down on the ground. DeShaun Foster carried the ball nine times and ended up with minus five yards rushing. Twice they forced Foster to cough up the football. On one of the plays New Orleans couldn't manage to pick up the ball and it was recovered by David Carr for a 12 yard loss. On Carolina's next possession, Foster again fumbled as he tried to pick up extra yards but this time New Orleans recovered. Both times the Saints scored touchdowns on the ensuing drive.

NO Pass Defense - The New Orleans pass defense played very well. They forced three interceptions on the Carolina quarterbacks. Carolina went 18 for 36 for just 161 yards and no touchdowns. The Saints recorded one sack of David Carr. The New Orleans pass defense was able to cover Steve Smith and not allow him to pick up a big play. They held him to just 47 yards on six catches. Nine of Carolina's twelve drives were five plays or less. The Saints defense was able to keep Carolina's offense off the field. The Saints won the time of possession battle by almost 19 minutes.

QB David Carr, Pass: 10 - 22 - 95 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 - Carr got the start with Testaverde being inactive. He started the game by throwing seven straight incompletions. Carr's first completion came right at the end of the first quarter. His final stats for the game were 10 of 22 for 95 yards and two interceptions. After his second interception he was pulled from the game in favor of Matt Moore.

QB Matt Moore, Pass: 8 - 14 - 66 - 0 TD / 1 INT - Moore came into the game with ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Moore went eight of 14 for 66 yards and an interception. He was picked off on his first drive of the game. He moved the ball a little bit on the final drive of the game but the defense was a little soft with the 25 point lead. The drive ended at the New Orleans 38 yard line when a fourth down pass was incomplete.

RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 9 - -5 - 0, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets) - Foster had a forgettable game carrying the ball nine times for minus five yards. He caught two passes for 16 yards. On back to back drives in the third quarter, Foster inexplicably fumbled. The first time he was stopped but reversed direction to try to pick up more yards and just dropped the ball. Carolina was able to recover the ball after a 12 yard loss. On the next series, Foster was spun around and tried to stay on his feet. As he turned up field he again dropped the ball since it wasn't tucked away. This fumble was lost. The two fumbles led to 14 points for the Saints.

RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 4 - 19 - 0 - Williams ran the ball four times for 19 yards. He did not have any red zone carries in the game. Williams had a 14 yard run brought back due to a holding penalty.

RB Brad Hoover, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 - Brad Hoover carried twice for two yards. He picked up two yards on a first down play from Carolina territory. In the second quarter, he carried on a fourth and one play but was stuffed for no gain.

WR Steve Smith, Rush: 1 - 22 - 0, Rec: 6 - 47 - 0 (12 targets) - Steve Smith caught six passes for 47 yards. The Saints kept him in check and only allowed short completions. Smith was shaken up while blocking and left the game in the second quarter. He returned on the next series though. He got a look when Carolina got down to the nine yard line. The short pass went for minus two yards. It was the only chance Smith saw in the red zone.

WR Drew Carter, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (9 targets) - Drew Carter caught three passes for 41 yards. Carter also had a 35 yard reception brought back due to a penalty. He was the deep threat in this game. His longest catch went for 24 yards. The play was reviewed and upheld. It got the ball down to the New Orleans seven yard line but the drive stalled and Carolina had to settle for a field goal.

WR Keary Colbert, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (5 targets) - Colbert was thrown to five times but he caught just two passes for 21 yards. His first target didn't come until right before the end of the first half.

WR Dwayne Jarrett (2 targets) - Jarrett was able to get into the game. He received two targets but neither pass resulted in a completion. The first pass was a deep ball that was intercepted. The second was another deep pass that was incomplete late in the game.

TE Jeff King, Rec: 5 - 36 - 0 (8 targets) - Jeff King caught five passes for 36 yards. He was thrown to from the New Orleans 11 yard line but the pass was incomplete. After three straight incompletes, King went on to catch his final five targets. He picked up three first downs in the game.

PK John Kasay 2 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 6 points - Kasay made both of his field goal attempts. The first one was from 45 yards and the second one was from 29 yards.

CAR Rush Defense - The Carolina rush defense didn't give up any big plays and they allowed 113 yards overall. New Orleans attempted 39 runs so the defense only allowed 2.9 yards per carry. New Orleans got inside the Carolina ten yard line four times. The rush defense only allowed one touchdown on the Brees eight yard run. The rush defense stopped the Saints on three drives when they got inside the five yard line. Unfortunately the Carolina pass defense gave up three passing touchdowns on those drives.

CAR Pass Defense - The Carolina pass defense played well in the first half although they did allow a one yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore. In the second half they gave up two short passing touchdowns both times inside the five yard line. Overall the pass defense gave up 260 yards and three touchdowns to Drew Brees. They did intercept him once but were not able to record any sacks. The interception was by Julius Peppers after he jumped up and deflected a Brees pass which he then caught.

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Houston Texans 17, Cleveland Browns 27

What you need to know

Houston Texans - The Texans struggled to generate points and defense, losing their sixth game of the year to the Cleveland Browns. Matt Schaub threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns but his two interceptions were poorly thrown passes that killed key drives for the Texans. Schaub targeted TE Owen Daniels and WR Kevin Walter the most each catching 82 yards, one touchdown and 65 yards, one touchdown respectively.

Ron Dayne led the Texans running game with 16 carries for 78 yards. Although Dayne was able to carry for an average of nearly 4.9 yards per carry, none of his carries were able to pick up big yardage and he failed to score a touchdown in the game. The Texans largely gave up on the running game in the second half and Dayne's production in the passing game was a meager two receptions for seven yards.

Defensively, the Texans were unable to shut down the Browns offense, be it rushing or passing the ball. The Browns receivers were able to out-physical the Houston defenders, gaining multiple yards after the catch and failing to tackle Jamal Lewis with the first tackler on the play. As a result the Browns were able to control the clock, winning the time of possession game by over ten minutes and kept the Houston offense off the field.

Cleveland Browns - The Cleveland Browns were very successful running and passing the ball against the Houston Texans, ultimately winning their seventh game of the year. QB Derek Anderson had a very efficient day throwing for 253 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and completed 68.6% of his passes. Kellen Winslow led the way receiving with ten catches for 107 yards and one touchdown. Braylon Edwards, while struggling at times during the game, was able to catch four passes for 57 yards and one touchdown. Both receivers were effective at not only finding the gaps in the Houston defense, but they made some very tough catches in tight coverage.

Jamal Lewis had an excellent day running the ball, carrying 29 times for 134 yards and one touchdown. The Browns offensive line had an excellent day moving the Houston defense off the line of scrimmage and creating multiple openings for Lewis.

Defensively, the Browns were able to generate a decent pass rush, sacking Matt Schaub twice but it was the play of the secondary that really carried the defense. Browns DB Brandon McDonald was able to shut down WR Andre Johnson, limiting the Texans receiver to a mere three catches and 39 yards. With Johnson shut down, the Texans were forced into shorter passing routes and could not take advantage of the deep pass for most of the game. Cleveland was also able to limit the effectiveness of the Texans' rush attack, holding Ron Dayne to 78 yards and zero touchdowns.

What you ought to know

QB Matt Schaub, Pass: 22 - 36 - 256 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0 - Schaub posted decent passing yardage but struggled for most of the day due to the fact that Andre Johnson was shut down by Browns DB Brandon McDonald. As a result, Schaub was forced to his second and third reads on the play, and while he did have time to make the reads, he was clearly rattled by the coverage on his biggest passing weapon. Of his two interceptions, one came on the Cleveland 37 yard line in the midst of a very effective drive. His second came on an under-thrown deep pass to Andre Johnson. Despite the interceptions, Schaub did have time to go through his progressions and find open receivers. He was only sacked twice, both on blown coverage assignments by the offensive line.

RB Ron Dayne, Rush: 16 - 78 - 0, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) - Dayne was contained for most of the game, struggling to find room to run behind an offensive line that could not generate much movement on the line of scrimmage. His longest run was only 14 yards and he was a non factor in the passing game. The Texans moved away from the rushing game in the second half, using Dayne almost exclusively as another blocker. His two catches were the result of good defensive pass coverage, and he was a safety outlet for Matt Schaub.

WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 6 - 65 - 1 (10 targets) - Walter became the primary target for Matt Schaub almost by default due to Johnson's struggles. His 17 yard touchdown catch came from a blown coverage assignment by Browns DB Leigh Bodden which left Walter all alone in the end zone. His role for the game was largely that of a possession receiver, working over the middle of the field and in shorter yardage passing situations.

WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 3 - 37 - 0 (6 targets) - Johnson was shut down for the afternoon and struggled to gain any separation from the Browns secondary. He found himself in tight coverage off the line of scrimmage and the Texans seemed unable or unwilling to run him in any kind of quick out pattern.

WR Andre Davis, Rec: 3 - 51 - 0 (5 targets) - Davis had a quiet day, catching only three passes for 51 yards. He was largely a third option in the passing game and struggled to generate much yardage after the catch.

TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 7 - 82 - 1 (9 targets) - Daniels benefited from Andre Johnson's struggles, often becoming the primary receiving option on pass plays. His six yard touchdown catch was a tough grab over the middle of the field. Daniels did have a key fumble in the game one that turned the ball over on the Cleveland 39 yard line and killed another Houston drive.

PK Kris Brown 1 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points - Brown had a fairly quiet day going one for two in field goals, missing a 46 yard attempt in the second quarter. He was two for two on extra point attempts.

HOU Rush Defense - The Houston rush defense was unable to contain Jamal Lewis. The Browns offensive line was able to generate good movement against the Houston defensive line, creating good running lanes for Lewis. The real problem with the Houston rush defense was their inability to tackle Jamal Lewis as he often shed the first and second tacklers and forced his way down the field.

HOU Pass Defense - The Houston pass defense, much like the rush defense, was unable to combat the physical play of the Cleveland receivers. Often times during the game, the Texans were able to cover the Browns receivers, but failed to out-muscle the receiver for the ball with the end result being a Cleveland reception. Cleveland was especially adept at finding gaps in the coverage up the middle of the field and took advantage accordingly.

QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 24 - 35 - 253 - 2 TD / 1 INT - Anderson had a very good day, with the only bad pass being an interception on an under-thrown pass to Braylon Edwards in the second quarter. Outside of the interception, Anderson was able to find all three of his primary receivers all game long. His line gave him plenty of time to throw and he did a good job of going through his receiver progressions on most plays.

RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 29 - 134 - 1, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) - Lewis had an excellent game, running with power up the middle of the field on most of his carries. His longest carry of the day, a 17 yard run off the right side, typified his day. The run was a simple off guard run up the middle. Lewis forced his way through the line, made one defender miss a tackle and proceeded to hit three more defenders before being brought to the ground. On the run, Lewis not only looked strong but he had a quickness to his step that allowed him to gain a head of steam as he ran downfield. Houston was unable to defend this kind of physical running game, and the result was an excellent day for Lewis.

RB Jason Wright, Rush: 3 - 14 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (4 targets) - Wright was used primarily as a change of pace third down back, one who could be used more in a passing role than Jamal Lewis. He only carried the ball three times for 14 yards and caught three balls for 21 yards.

WR Joe Jurevicius, Rec: 5 - 55 - 0 (8 targets) - Jurevicius continued in his role as possession receiver, making most of his catches in short yardage passing situations. His longest reception of the day, a 25 yard catch, came off a play action fake the opened up the right side of the field and allowed Anderson to connect with Jurevicius. Despite being wide open, two Houston defenders, from the opposite side of the field were able to run Jurevicius down.

WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 4 - 57 - 1 (10 targets) - Edwards had a good day by most standards but still did struggle at times. He had three key drops in the game, all three being well placed passes that hit him square in the numbers. On all three plays, Edwards appeared to take off running down the field before he had secured the football. Despite the drops, QB Derek Anderson still went to Edwards as the primary receiver in the offense. Edwards would have had at least two more catches, as he did manage to get wide open close to the sidelines, but under-thrown passes by Derek Anderson prevented the additional receptions.

TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 10 - 107 - 1 (10 targets) - Winslow had a very good game, working the middle of the field and catching every pass thrown his way. Houston double teamed Winslow for most of the game but despite the coverage, Winslow was able to find space to make a catch or jump over the defenders to grab the ball. His physical style was more than the Texans could handle as demonstrated on his touchdown catch. On the play, Winslow broke free towards the center of the field and caught a laser like pass between two Houston defenders. Winslow had to drop to his knees to make the catch and despite taking two big hits, he held on to the ball, scoring the touchdown.

PK Phil Dawson 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points - Dawson had a good day, going two for two in field goals and hitting all three extra point attempts.

CLE Rush Defense - The Browns did struggle to contain Ron Dayne during the first half of the game. Dayne found most of his yardage up the center of the Browns defense. As the game went on, however, Houston abandoned the running game to try and catch up with Browns offense.

CLE Pass Defense - The Browns pass defense did a decent job of limiting Matt Schaub and the entire Texans passing game. In particular, DB Brandon McDonald's job of shutting down Andre Johnson allowed the defense to roll coverage toward the opposite side of the field. Despite the success in shutting down Johnson, Cleveland was still vulnerable up the middle of the field on passing plays. Added to this problem, some coverage assignments proved to be problematic, most notably on a blown assignment that allowed TE Owen Daniels to be wide open on a 17 yard touchdown catch.

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Green Bay Packers 37, Detroit Lions 26

What you need to know

Green Bay Packers - Brett Favre continued his resurgence and made another push for MVP votes with a season high 381 yards passing and three more touchdowns. At one point, he completed a team record twenty consecutive passes and to no one's surprise he looked awesome in doing so.

The combination of WR Donald Driver and WR Greg Jennings is quickly becoming a nightmare for defensive coordinators to figure out. The two players complement each other so well, and when you factor in a running back that can catch the football, a pass catching tight end, and two more receivers who can make plays down the field, the Packer offense is beginning to look downright scary.

If it wasn't already obvious, Ryan Grant is the Packers featured back going forward. No other RB on the team received a carry in the game, and Grant was on the field in all critical situations. Perhaps even more importantly, he looked terrific with the opportunities he did get and was the key reason the Packers were able to run out the clock late.

Detroit Lions - RB Kevin Jones looked very good running the ball, and took on defenders with both power and toughness. He followed up two very poor games with an outstanding one here, and the only reason his stat line wasn't even better is because the score kind of dictated the Lions take to the air a lot earlier than they wanted to.

Perhaps it was just a one game aberration, but Calvin Johnson had more than twice as many looks as Roy Williams, and did a lot more with those targets. With the skill set Johnson possesses, it's likely more a case of when, not if, he overtakes him on the depth chart as the team's number one option in the passing game, and this game may have seen the early signs of the passing of the torch.

QB Jon Kitna put up some late game numbers to save what was looking like a terrible stat line. While Kitna's job security is high for this season, his poor decision making and complete lack of pocket presence make him a longshot to be the starting QB for this team for very much longer (unless he can drastically improve these aspects of his game in a hurry).

What you ought to know

QB Brett Favre, Pass: 31 - 41 - 381 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 - We'll spare you the gushing praise for Favre that everyone else will heap on you and try to stick to the facts. The fact is...Favre was unbelievable! The mistakes, the forced throws, the errant passes that we've come to know the past few years are seemingly gone. He's still the same old gunslinger, but he now seems very focused and doesn't take as many silly risks. Perhaps the fact that he's got a dynamite receiving crew has something to do with that, and he no longer has to take those chances. Whatever the case, Favre is obviously playing as well as he ever has and if it weren't for Tom Brady's pursuit of 5,000 touchdown passes, Favre would probably be a cinch for league MVP at this point. He completed 76% of his passes for a season-high 381 yards (his seventh 300 yard passing game of the season, tying his own team record). He completed a team record twenty consecutive passes, just two off the league mark. Amazingly, his afternoon could have been even more productive if Green Bay had had just a little bit more success in the red zone. That's not to say they weren't efficient -- they did score four red zone touchdowns. But they also had three short field goals from Mason Crosby, and with the way the Detroit defense played it's a wonder Favre didn't throw five or six touchdowns. All game long, he had loads of time to throw and knew exactly what to do with it. He wasn't sacked at all, and never came close to throwing an interception. In fact, his only real miscue of the game came on his first play from scrimmage. He tripped on the foot of a lineman and fumbled the handoff exchange to Ryan Grant. Even that looked to be more Grant's fault than Favre's, though the fumble is charged to the quarterback in those instances. And despite the turnover, Favre clearly had one of the best games you'll see a quarterback have all season long.

RB Ryan Grant, Rush: 15 - 101 - 1, Rec: 6 - 31 - 0 (7 targets) - As the game neared the end of the third quarter, Grant was having an extremely quiet game against a run defense that was seemingly ripe for the picking. He had just three carries for seven yards with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. Over the final 18 minutes of play, Grant carried the ball 12 more times for 94 yards and completely ran over any Detroit defenders in his way. He looked very strong with the ball in his hands, and his punishing running style really helped set the tone for the fourth quarter when Detroit looked to be getting back into the game. He was huge down the stretch, much to the surprise of his fantasy owners who probably were content with his five yard touchdown dive in the second quarter. He was stuffed at the goal line late in the game, but it hardly took away from how good he looked. It was already evident heading into this week that Grant is going to be "the man" in the Green Bay running game, and this performance did nothing to take away from that statement. No other halfbacks even touched the ball in the game, and Grant's six receptions serve to illustrate that his role as an every down back is pretty well cemented at this point.

WR Donald Driver, Rec: 10 - 147 - 0 (13 targets) - Despite failing to get into the end zone for the eighth consecutive game, Driver turned in perhaps his finest game of the season. With Brett Favre getting loads of time to look downfield, Driver was able to consistently get open all game. And when he caught the ball, he didn't simply drop to the ground and avoid contact; he showed some great open-field moves and benefited tremendously from some excellent downfield blocking by his teammates to pick up a number of yards after the catch. On one of those runs after the catch, he managed to take the ball up the right sideline for a big gain but was unable to pick up the last four yards needed for the score. It was the closest he came to scoring all game, but he did plenty of damage "between the 20's" to turn in a fine performance. He gave owners a bit of a scare in the fourth quarter when he had his leg rolled up on from behind while blocking for Ryan Grant. He left the game limping off the field and was seen on the sideline trying to work it out. Fortunately, he returned to action and showed some nice moves in shaking a couple of defenders for a nice gain. The ankle didn't seem to bother him, and it doesn't look to be an issue for next week's game.

WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 5 - 60 - 2 (8 targets) - With another big game, this one a two touchdown performance, Jennings' stat line again begs the question of who is truly the top receiving option for Green Bay. While Donald Driver outgained Jennings in targets (13-8), receptions (10-5), and yards (147-60), it was Jennings who was rewarded with the red zone looks and the touchdown advantage (2-0). In fact, despite Driver's heavy involvement in the passing game, Jennings fantasy point total likely exceeds Driver's in nearly all league setups. In addition to the two touchdowns, Jennings was also thrown to in the end zone on an incompletion in the beginning of the fourth quarter, while Driver was never looked to in the end zone. Still, despite this sounding like a negative comparison between the two players, think of it more in terms of a beneficial setup for both players. Each is able to focus on what he does best: Driver moves the ball slowly but effectively down the field and over the middle, while Jennings can hit for a quick strike from anywhere on the field and use his big body to get open in small spaces in the red zone. And with a quarterback chucking it up 41 times and a known commodity drawing the opposition's coverage on the other side of the field, both Jennings and Driver are in prime positions for success.

WR James Jones, Rec: 5 - 75 - 0 (7 targets) - Jones made one terrific catch along the sideline on a fade pattern from Favre on which Jones was drilled by Kenoy Kennedy, yet still managed to hang onto the football. It was his lone noteworthy reception of the game, as the vast majority of his five catches for 75 yards simply involved moving the chains downfield in a quiet but effective manner.

WR Koren Robinson, Rec: 2 - 50 - 0 (5 targets) - Robinson was the beneficiary of a stumble by DB Stanley Wilson, allowing a 43 yard bomb down the right sideline to Robinson. He seemingly could have scored at the end of the play, but instead slowed down at the end in order to fight off would-be tacklers. They managed to take him down at the two yard line, and Greg Jennings caught a touchdown on the very next play. Another curious play by Robinson occurred on his only other reception, this one late in the fourth quarter. With the Packers leading and trying to run down the clock, he caught a pass over the middle from Favre and quickly raced for the sideline. He got out of bounds before a defender could get to him, but it was odd that he'd be seeking to avoid contact and get out of bounds considering the team was trying to run clock. It didn't matter, because there was a penalty against the Packers that stopped the clock anyway, but it could have mattered. It's nothing earth shattering, but something that should be noted. Robinson obviously hasn't been known as the best decision maker in his life, and brain cramps on the field aren't going to help earn him more playing time. Robinson was the target of a fade pattern to the sideline of the end zone early in the fourth quarter, but he was just barely out of bounds on the play.

WR Ruvell Martin, Rec: 1 - 3 - 1 (1 targets) - Martin wouldn't have warranted mentioning, except for the fact that his only passing target of the game resulted in a three yard touchdown. But really, that play (a quick out to the corner) could have been designed to go to anyone.

TE Donald Lee, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets) - Lee was unusually quiet, with just one ball thrown his way all game. It wasn't anything he did wrong; just that the Green Bay receivers were having so much success on the outside and down the seam that it made sense to utilize Lee in the pocket to give Favre extra protection against a solid Detroit pass rush. That game plan worked like a charm, as Favre threw 41 passes yet wasn't sacked even once. Lee almost scored at the end of the first half when he caught a short pass from Favre and was taken down at the Lions two yard line but could get no further. Green Bay settled for a field goal on the drive.

PK Mason Crosby 3 - 3 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 13 points - Crosby connected on each of his field goal chip shots (20, 20, 26).

GB Rush Defense - Kevin Jones had a solid game, and would have likely topped the 100 yard mark had the game not gotten away from the Lions defensively. Due to the Packers leading pretty much throughout, the Lions had to bail on the running game and take to the air far more often than they had planned to. Still, the Packers did allow 134 yards on the ground, most of them tough, hard fought yards that involved the runner picking up several yards after first contact. The touchdown they allowed on the ground to Jones was a situation where the Lions had set up a first and goal from the one yard line and Jones waltzed into the end zone untouched. It was really the only time all game, however, that the Packers defensive front failed to get ANY penetration whatsoever. They typically made the runners work for their yardage, even if the Lions running backs did get the job done more often than not. DL Ryan Pickett was shaken up in the first quarter and left the game for awhile, but returned later and seemed fine.

GB Pass Defense - Green Bay did an outstanding job of containing the explosive Detroit passing game, especially considering they Packers lost CB Charles Woodson and DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila early in the contest due to a toe injury and an ankle injury, respectively. So they played well over half the game without one of their best defensive backs and one of their best defensive linemen and looked just as good as ever. Aaron Kampman was once again a terror early, with two more sacks of Jon Kitna. And he looked even more impressive rushing Kitna on a play that didn't result in a sack; it appeared that he was trying to bury the offensive lineman in the Ford Field turf during the pass rush. Clearly, Green Bay had other players step in and perform in the places of those injured, evidenced by Aaron Rouse making a nice interception over the middle on which he jumped the route and cut off WR Calvin Johnson (who the pass was intended to go to). And despite all of the solid efforts of the Green Bay defense, they also enjoyed their fair share of good fortune as well. They were helped immensely early on by two costly drops by Calvin Johnson, and were bailed out of allowing a long touchdown to Roy Williams when Jon Kitna overthrew the ball. And despite allowing 224 yards and a score through the air, a lot of that yardage and the touchdown was compiled late when the game was pretty well in hand.

QB Jon Kitna, Pass: 19 - 40 - 224 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 9 - 0 - Kitna salvaged what would have been a terrible game from a fantasy perspective with some late yardage and a touchdown. While that doesn't hide how poorly he played in the game, it does serve as a reminder of how explosive this passing offense is and how well Kitna can do for your fantasy team even if he's not lighting it up for the Lions in real life. He completed less than 50% of his passes for just over five yards per attempt, but he put up decent fantasy numbers simply by sheer volume. His favorite target by far was Calvin Johnson, who saw 15 of the 40 passes Kitna heaved up. And the two hooked up for the aforementioned late touchdown on a pass that Kitna really threaded between defenders for the six yard score. But that was really where all the positives end for Kitna, at least in this game. He overthrew Roy Williams on a deep ball that would have gone for 50+ yards, he misfired several passes downfield that resulted in incompletions, and has very little idea of pocket presence. He'll rush one throw into the ground when there isn't a single defender around him on one play, but then he'll hold onto the football about five minutes too long on the next. And Kitna, who is closing in on the world record for taking third down sacks, must do a better job of helping his team avoid the one big penalty/sack/loss of yardage/turnover that ends up killing far too many drives for this team. It's obvious that there is a lot of talent and a lot of explosiveness here, and they can move the ball 70 yards almost at will. But they get hit with one negative play per drive more than any team in the league, and those turn out to be absolute killers in the grand scheme of things. And those issues start under center with the quarterback.

RB Kevin Jones, Rush: 20 - 93 - 1, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (3 targets) - After two of the worst games of his career the past two weeks, Jones had one of his best in a losing effort. Typically, when a team trails pretty much throughout the contest, it's tough for the running back of the losing team to get into a good rhythm. But Jones did just that. He averaged nearly five yards per carry, and had a lot of good, tough runs both inside and to the outside. As far as the role Jones has within the offense, T.J. Duckett got a good number of carries early on. But Jones soon got into the flow of the game and garnered nearly all of the remaining rushes. Perhaps the most important aspect was that Jones remained in the game on a goal line carry late in the fourth quarter, and even more importantly is the fact that he scored on the play. It was a simple run off left tackle and he was completely untouched on the play so it's not as if the run was overly impressive, but results are results. About the only thing that could be seen as a negative for Jones was the success Aveion Cason had as a receiver out of the backfield. His four receptions for 58 yards went a long way in sustaining drives for Detroit, and those are yards that Jones didn't get. On the plus side, having another receiving option out of the backfield isn't necessarily a bad thing to decrease Jones's workload ever so slightly. After all, he still did manage two receptions for 27 yards so it's not as if he was a forgotten man.

RB T.J. Duckett, Rush: 7 - 29 - 0 (1 targets) - Duckett saw a lot of action on the first series of the game, but his workload quickly dwindled as the pace of the game went on. Kevin Jones had a lot of success running the football, and it was Jones who got the goal line carry (and touchdown) late in the fourth quarter.

RB Aveion Cason, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 4 - 58 - 0 (6 targets) - Cason did a very good job working mostly as a receiver out of the backfield. There wasn't really a rhyme or reason to when he came in, but he performed well when called upon. He did most of his damage on circle passes where he ran around the line of scrimmage and caught passes from Jon Kitna in stride down the seam. It was said during the telecast that Detroit offensive coordinator has said that while the Lions don't have a Marshall Faulk-type of player on the team, Cason is the closest thing they DO have to Faulk. Cason was shaken up during a second quarter kick return, but he soon returned looking no worse for wear.

WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 7 - 83 - 1 (15 targets) - It was clear early on that the Lions were going to make a concerted effort to get Calvin Johnson involved in the game. However, the vast majority of passes that went his way had a negative outcome for Detroit (at least in the first half). Of Johnson's eight first half targets, two resulted in dropped passes and one resulted in an interception -- the interception was partly Johnson's fault as well for failing to come back to the football properly. The drops, one of which would have easily gone for 20+ yards, were easy catches that just about every receiver in the league should make. But the Lions continued feeding him after halftime, and he responded with a much improved showing. He snared a six yard touchdown grab between two defenders in traffic, and later caught two passes downfield that both resulted in big hits on him. Each time he got to his feet a bit gingerly, as the hits were right on his back, which has bothered him for much of the season. But he remained in the game after each one without grimacing or limping or giving any indication of a re-aggravation of an injury. At times, the Lions appear to use him almost like the Patriots use Randy Moss or the Cowboys use Terrell Owens. Sometimes Jon Kitna will simply toss up jump balls downfield for Johnson and the defensive back to go after. It didn't really work in this game, as Kitna was nearly intercepted twice because of that, but it shows the confidence they have in Johnson to come down with the football more often than not.

WR Roy Williams, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (7 targets) - It may have simply been an aberration, or it may have been the beginning of the passing of the torch in the Detroit passing game. Or it may have also been that Al Harris covered Roy Williams for the majority of the afternoon. Whatever the case may be, the fact is that Calvin Johnson had more than twice as many targets as Roy Williams (15-7) and was looked to far more often in critical spots. The Lions almost force-fed the ball to Johnson, and Williams was left to pick up the leftovers. He didn't record his first reception of the game until three minutes remained in the first half. Late in the third quarter, Williams beat his defender deep down the field along the sideline, but Kitna overthrew him by a good margin. Later in the fourth quarter, he did catch a pass over the middle and was taken down at the four yard line. But that was the closest he came to scoring, and he was never looked to in the end zone.

At one point during the telecast, FOX broadcaster Troy Aikman seemed to call Williams out for his work ethic, or lack thereof. He said of Williams, "He needs to decide if he wants to put the work in to become great, or if he just wants to be really good". While Aikman can be overly critical at times, he is usually regarded as one of the fairest broadcasters in the league. And his words carry a lot of validity. If Williams truly isn't putting forth the effort he needs to, then even if Calvin Johnson didn't *officially* pass him by today, it will certainly only be a matter of time before he does.

WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (6 targets) - McDonald had another quiet afternoon, though it was almost salvaged. He caught a first quarter pass that took him down to the one yard line, but it wouldn't have mattered even if he did score because a penalty against Detroit negated the seven yard catch.

WR Mike Furrey (3 targets) - Furrey, who led the team in catches a year ago, continues to find his role constantly dwindling. The fact that Calvin Johnson saw 15 passes in his direction today does not bode well for Furrey's role in this offense going forward.

TE Sean McHugh (2 targets) - McHugh didn't catch either pass thrown to him. Not only that, NO tight ends for the Lions caught a pass in this game.

PK Jason Hanson 4 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 14 points - Hanson had an incredible day for a kicker. He connected on four long field goals (47, 41, 45, 52) with the 52 yard kick struck particularly well. Each kick had plenty of distance and was right down the middle nearly every time.

DET Rush Defense - The Lions defensive statistics against the run looked phenomenal through three quarters. But that's only because the Packers were choosing to not run the football. At one point late in the third quarter, Green Bay had thrown the ball 31 times and run it just four! So naturally, Detroit hadn't given up a lot of yardage on the ground. But in the fourth quarter, the Packers tried running some clock and Ryan Grant punished the Detroit defenders. They allowed him some long runs, including one for 31 yards and several others where he simply flattened defenders that dared get in his way. And by the end of the afternoon, he had totaled 101 yards and a score on the ground. Even the one positive shown by the Lions was a gift more than anything. They recovered a Brett Favre fumble on Green Bay's first play from scrimmage. Favre tripped over his lineman and stumbled as he tried handing the football to RB Ryan Grant. The ball fell to the ground and was fallen on by Jared DeVries. It was the first, and last, good play the Lions in the running game and all they really did was have a player fortunate enough to fall on the football.

DET Pass Defense - Simply put, Brett Favre dominated the Lions. Whether it was deep balls, fade routes on the sideline, quick slants in the end zone. You name it, Favre and the Packers did it -- and that was with the Detroit defenders getting away with mugging Green Bay receivers several times in the first half. At one point, Detroit allowed Favre to complete a team-record 20 consecutive passes in all different fashion. WR Donald Driver displayed a bevy of open-field moves that left Detroit defenders grasping at air while WR Greg Jennings did his best Randy Moss impersonation down in the red zone by scoring two touchdowns with ease. Even James Jones and Koren Robinson got in on the act, as the third and fourth receiving options in the Green Bay stable combined to snag seven receptions for 125 yards. That stat line was helped a lot by DB Stanley Wilson simply falling down during a 43 yard bomb down the sideline to Robinson. The Lions essentially got no pressure on Brett Favre, and only got close to sacking him once (he released the ball just prior to being hit by Ernie Sims). The play that probably best sums up the Lions afternoon was late in the third quarter as Green Bay was driving for a touchdown. Favre tried rushing the snap and threw a quick pass that was intercepted off a deflection. There was no one in front of the Detroit defender and the play likely would have gone for a score. Ironically and unfortunately, the Lions had called a timeout just prior to the snap and so the play essentially never happened.

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New York Jets 3, Dallas Cowboys 34

What you need to know

New York Jets - The Jets were completely overmatched by the Cowboys' defense and could not muster much offense. They attempted to establish the run by calling several running plays for Thomas Jones, but he was not given much room to run and as a result averaged 2.35 yards on his 17 rushing attempts. Jones ran decisively and hard, but his lack of yards was a result of what little running room he had closing quickly, usually at or just past the line of scrimmage.

New York's quarterback Kellen Clemens was under duress from a spirited and aggressive Dallas pass rush, and was forced to attempt passes before his receivers had a chance to get open. Clemens' troubles were magnified by not having Laveranues Coles available, as he missed the game due to an ankle injury. He threw half of his passes toward wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery and tight end Chris Baker, but was unable to connect with them consistently. Clemens relied mostly on short and some intermediate passes, but never looked comfortable and never got into a rhythm. The offensive ineptitude was magnified on the three passes that were directed towards receivers in the end zone. One pass to Brad Smith was deflected, Cotchery slipped as he made a move to get open and Clemens threw the ball out of his reach as a result, and Baker caught a pass inches outside the end zone on the Jets' last play of the game.

New York had one series inside the red zone, which came in the final couple of minutes in the game. They attempted two running plays by Jones, and Clemens threw one pass to Smith and two to Baker. They did not score on this series, turning the ball over on downs.

Dallas Cowboys - The Cowboys took advantage of some early scores to take a more conservative approach in the game to preserve the lead. Their offensive attack consisted mostly of running by Julius Jones and Marion Barber, and short passes by Tony Romo. They were very efficient using this approach, and managed to dominate the time of possession, 37:52 to 22:08 and control the game. Both Jones and Barber ran well, combining for 167 yards rushing on 32 carries, with Barber adding a touchdown. They were both involved in the short passing game, garnering four receptions apiece. Although Jones ran well between the tackles, he was more effective on plays where he could use his speed, while Barber ran with very good leverage and power. Barber scored a touchdown after he replaced Jones inside the ten yard line on a series where Jones had played every snap.

The Dallas passing game was operated very efficiently by Romo. He was accurate except for a deep pass to Terrell Owens in the end zone that was intercepted. Apart from that play, all of Romo's incompletions were as a result of a deflection by a Jets' defender. Romo focused the majority of his passes on Owens and Jason Witten, and both players scored touchdowns and posted respectable yardage numbers. He used them effectively in a short to intermediate passing attack to control the time of possession. Although the focus of the passing game was relatively conservative due to having a sizable lead early, Romo did take a couple of chances deep to both Owens and Witten in or just outside the end zone that came up short in addition to their touchdown plays.

The Cowboys had two possessions in the red zone, and came away with one touchdown and one field goal. They ran six plays, and split the plays at three passing plays and three running plays. Although Barber scored a goal to go touchdown, Jones was the running back on the field for the other five red zone possessions, and had two carries and a reception, but did not get into the end zone. The other two red zone passes were one apiece to Witten and Owens.

What you ought to know

QB Kellen Clemens, Pass: 12 - 27 - 142 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 - Clemens was unable to get into a rhythm in large part due to a fierce Dallas pass rush and an ineffective running game. He had to hurry a lot of his throws, and forced others, including one that was returned by a Cowboys defender for a touchdown. He missed open receivers at other times and could not make any plays to keep his offense on the field for extended periods. There were a few brief moments when he had time to throw and showcased good touch on passes, but those moments were very infrequent.

RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 17 - 40 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) - Jones suffered from not getting much assistance from his offensive line, and as a result posted mediocre rushing numbers. He would attack the line of scrimmage, but very rarely got through for positive yards. Thanks to his cutting ability and speed, he was able to turn a few plays that would have resulted in loss of yards into minimal gains.

RB Leon Washington, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) - Washington lost a fumble on the first kickoff he returned, and had a minimal impact as a running back.

WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 2 - 43 - 0 (7 targets) - Cotchery was largely ineffective as he found it difficult to get open. A couple of his targets were thrown away from him, as he did not separate from his defender. He displayed excellent hands on the two receptions he had, including one when he was double-covered.

WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (5 targets) - McCareins' modest numbers could have been enhanced somewhat had not dropped an accurate pass that arrived at a point where his defender could not have made a play on the ball.

WR Brad Smith, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets) - Smith posted very low numbers, but two of his targets came in the red zone, with one of those targets in the end zone.

TE Chris Baker, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (7 targets) - Baker was used primarily as the outlet receiver and showed an ability to get open on shorter routes. Three of his targets were thrown out of his reach, including one in the end zone. He caught the last pass of the day and was tackled inches outside the end zone.

PK Mike Nugent 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points - Nugent only had one scoring opportunity and he converted it, a 40 yard field goal.

NYJ Rush Defense - New York's run defense wore down over the course of the game. They were unable to contain either of the Cowboys' running backs and gave up a combined 5.2 yards per rushing attempt to them. The defensive line did not make many plays and as a result the linebackers had to make tackles several yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

NYJ Pass Defense - The Jets' pass defense was aggressive and managed to sack Romo three times and intercept him once despite him relying mostly on shorter passes and taking less chances. They blitzed judiciously and effectively, but were kept off balance due to not being able to contain Dallas' running game. They also missed an opportunity when a defensive back dropped a pass that was thrown directly at him.

QB Tony Romo, Pass: 21 - 28 - 195 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 - Romo was not spectacular, but still efficient. He was proficient at executing a game plan that called for him to focus more on shorter and intermediate passes, and still managed to show his improvisational skills at times when he had to evade a pass rusher and make a play to keep the drive going. He threw 15 of his 28 passes to Owens and Witten and continued to have a very good rapport with both players. Romo gave way to Brad Johnson with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

QB Brad Johnson - Johnson played the last series with his participation consisting of handing the ball to Barber.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 18 - 103 - 1, Rec: 4 - 12 - 0 (4 targets) - Barber scored the first touchdown of the game, and got stronger as the game progressed, gaining most of his yards in the second half. He showed very good power and moves, breaking through tackles and at times eluding them with his ability to use his feet to escape from a defender before he could get his hands on him. By the fourth quarter, Barber was running straight ahead and breaking tackles on his way to posting very good numbers.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 14 - 64 - 0, Rec: 4 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) - Jones ran very well also, and showed good ability to run in the open field at times. He also proved adept at turning short passes into good yardage plays. Jones also had the ball in his hands on 50 percent of the plays Dallas ran in the red zone, although he didn't manage to score.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 6 - 65 - 1 (7 targets) - Owens was targeted early in the game on a deep pass play in the end zone that was intercepted, and was used mostly on possession routes that he ran well. His touchdown catch was a beautiful reception on a perfect pass, which helped him end the day with good numbers.

WR Miles Austin, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (2 targets) - Austin caught his first passes of the season and showed good speed and ability to run after the catch.

WR Sam Hurd, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) - Hurd was not much of a factor in this game.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 4 - 54 - 1 (8 targets) - Witten was used on a variety of routes that included him running along the sideline as well as short and deep up the middle. He ran his routes very well and displayed very good hands. All of his targets that were incompletions were as a result of defenders deflecting the ball as it arrived, including one thrown to him a couple of yards outside of the end zone.

PK Nick Folk 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points - Folk was perfect on a busy day, connecting on all four point after attempts, and both field goal attempts, from 46 and 27 yards.

DAL Rush Defense - The Cowboys' defense was stifling. They did not allow the Jets' running backs to get past the line of scrimmage on several occasions, and on the few times they managed to, stopped them for minimal gain. Dallas' defensive linemen and linebackers closed gaps quickly and met the Jets' early attempt to establish the run with controlled aggression.

DAL Pass Defense - Dallas' pass defense played very aggressively and prevented Clemens from getting into a rhythm at any point in the game. In addition to sacking Clemens three times and returning an interception for a touchdown, the Cowboys constant pressure resulted in affecting many of his passes, by either knocking them down at the line of scrimmage or forcing him to get rid of the ball before a receiver could break free from the defensive backs' coverage, which was also outstanding throughout the game.

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Minnesota Vikings 41, New York Giants 17

What you need to know

Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings victory was due primarily to the play of their defense, and the off game of the New York Giants offense. The Vikings intercepted Eli Manning four times, returning three of them for touchdowns. The fourth was converted into seven points as well, after a short drive culminating in a Chester Taylor touchdown.

Tarvaris Jackson played well, considering not much was asked of him in the game plan. He did make good on his first deep pass of the game for a long touchdown. For the remainder of the game, he completed mostly short passes when asked to pass, but spent most of his day handing the ball off.

Chester Taylor was the focus of the offense, carrying the ball himself more than two and a half times more than the Vikings threw the ball. He did not find much room however, and failed to reach the century mark, though he did find the end zone.

New York Giants - The Giants were done in by the play of Eli Manning, who had a hard time finding any rhythm the entire game. He was intercepted four times, with at least two of those interceptions coming when the intended receiver was not even looking for the ball. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes, but he did connect on enough long throws to end up with decent yardage.

Reuben Droughns was the primary ball carrier with Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward both missing the game with injuries. He had a tough time finding room to run against the stout Vikings run defense, and ended with just over three yards per carry, though he did score one touchdown. Ahman Bradshaw saw his first NFL carries, and looked good running the ball.

Plaxico Burress was the leading receiver for the Giants, and caught their lone touchdown pass. He was obviously bothered by his lingering ankle injury, but still was able to get open several times throughout the game. Amani Toomer also had nice yardage.

The Giants defense held the Vikings to just 251 yards. Early in the game they were able to key off the Vikings formation to determine if they were going to run or pass. However, it was too late as the Vikings had already built a lead thanks to their own defense.

What you ought to know

QB Tarvaris Jackson, Pass: 10 - 12 - 129 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 38 - 0 - Jackson's best play came on his first pass attempt. With the Giants looking to stuff the run with eight men in the box, Jackson looked to the left leading the safety to one side, then came back deep down the right sideline hitting Sidney Rice for a 60 yard touchdown. For the remainder of the game, Jackson was asked mainly to hand the ball off, and throw short conservative passes. He ended up with a nice completion percentage, but he did take several sacks when he should have known the pressure was coming and thrown the ball away. He did escape pressure several times and added 38 yards on the ground to his meager passing number.

RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 31 - 77 - 1, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) - Taylor got the start for the injured Adrian Peterson for the second straight week, but did not find as many holes to run through as he did against Oakland. He finished with just under 2.5 yards per carry, but had enough chances to rack up 77 yards. His longest run of the day was just 13 yards, and the vast majority of his carries were the three yard and a cloud of dust variety. He also added 12 yards on two receptions.

WR Sidney Rice, Rec: 3 - 82 - 1 (4 targets) - Rice's biggest play of the day was on the Vikings second play from scrimmage. Rice had single coverage and ran deep up the sideline. Tarvaris Jackson was able to put the ball on the money and Rice beat his man and took it for a 60 yard touchdown. Rice's next target was a third down, and Rice was running a pattern towards the sideline. Jackson was hit as he threw and the ball sailed out of bounds. A few series later, Rice made his second reception on a deep curl for thirteen yards. Rice last look was later in that same drive, Rice ran a quick out then turned it up field making a nice move diving for the first down. Rice did not get a look the entire rest of the game, but the score was well out of reach and the Vikings spent most of the rest of the game with the ball on the ground.

WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) - Wade converted both of his targets into receptions, but finished with just 14 yards. The Vikings did not look to throw often, and Wade was not the first option most of the game.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) - Shiancoe received only two looks all afternoon. Shiancoe, like all of the Vikings receivers, suffered due to the Vikings lead and the conservative play calling of the offense.

PK Ryan Longwell 2 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points - Longwell hit all of his extra point attempts, and both of his field goal tries of 46 and 26 were good.

MIN Rush Defense - The Vikings' rush defense played well, containing Reuben Droughns most of the game. Droughns was limited to just over three yards per carry, and the score limited Droughns opportunities. The Giants finished with just 75 yards on the ground.

MIN Pass Defense - The Vikings' pass defense yielded yards, but also made several big plays. They picked Manning off four times, returning three of the interceptions for touchdowns. The Vikings blitzed Manning all game in an attempt to general pressure, and it worked as Manning was under pressure regularly. The Vikings also disguised their looks, confusing Manning and surprising him with their pressure. In addition to the four interceptions, they sacked Manning three times.

QB Eli Manning, Pass: 21 - 49 - 273 - 1 TD / 4 INT - Manning struggled all afternoon, both with the Vikings defense, and with trying to get on the same page as his receivers. Manning threw to Shockey multiple times when Shockey did not even turn to look for the ball. Manning also had several other occasions where he was throwing the ball to an obviously different route than his receiver was running. Some of these plays resulted in the four interceptions Manning threw. Manning also had to contend with the blitzing pressure of the Vikings defense and was hit several times. He did throw the ball enough times to rack up 273 yards, as when he did connect with a receiver, they were often open.

RB Reuben Droughns, Rush: 15 - 46 - 1, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (4 targets) - Droughns did not find much room to run in his first start as a Giants player. Droughns replaced the injured Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward in the Giants backfield. He was however bottled up by Vikings and finished with just three yards per carry. He did score once on a short one yard dive into the end zone.

WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 7 - 93 - 1 (13 targets) - Considering the issues Burress faced in the game, his final numbers were outstanding. The first issue was that it was clear Burress was bothered by his ankle during the game. He did not seem to make many hard cuts, and had a hard time getting out of his breaks. The second issue he dealt with was not being on the same page it seems with Eli Manning. Burress and Manning we just not in sync with each other. Despite that, Burress led the Giants in receptions with seven, yards with 93, and caught the lone touchdown pass from Manning. Even with the gimpy ankle, Burress was able to get open on the Vikings defensive backs.

WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 4 - 83 - 0 (8 targets) - Toomer, like all Giants receivers, had a hard time getting on the same page with Eli Manning. Toomer caught just half of the passes thrown his way, though a few of the balls were difficult to tell they were actually thrown to him. Most of his receptions were big plays though, catching passes of 31, 24, 6 and 22 yards.

TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (10 targets) - Shockey was not on the same page as Manning at all during the game. Three of Manning's passes to Shockey resulted in touchdowns, however they were Minnesota Vikings touchdowns. Several times Manning threw to Shockey and the ball fell incomplete or was intercepted without Shockey even turning to look for the ball. Manning continued to go to Shockey, though and he finished with 44 yards on four receptions.

PK Lawrence Tynes 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points - Tynes completed all of his extra point attempts and hit his only field goal try of 48 yards.

NYG Rush Defense - The Giants rush defense played extremely well against one of the top rushing teams in the league. The bottled up Chester Taylor, and limited him to just under two and a half yards per carry.

NYG Pass Defense - The Giants pass defense was not tested much during the game. They did however give up a deep touchdown pass at the beginning of the game, and allowed Tarvaris Jackson to complete 83 percent of his passes. They did sack Jackson four times, but those sacks resulted in just five yards lost for the Vikings.

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Buffalo Bills 14, Jacksonville Jaguars 36

What you need to know

Buffalo Bills - In their last game, Buffalo suffered the worse defeat in franchise history but they were hoping to bounce back against Jacksonville. Instead, they endured another lopsided loss. The Bills were unable to move the ball effectively, slow down the Jaguars' offense, or avoid costly penalties. To their credit, even though they were held to under 300 yards for the eighth time this season, they refused to quit and were only down one score midway through in the fourth quarter.

J. P. Losman's numbers might not look too bad, 27 of 40 for 211 yards and one touchdown, but he often looked indecisive. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble trying to sneak for a first down on third and one. He didn't complete a pass to Lee Evans until there was less than one minute remaining in the game, and his leading receiver was a running back.

Anthony Thomas filled in again for Marshawn Lynch and led the Bills in both rushing and receiving. He scored a touchdown with great individual effort when he caught a short pass in the flat, broke a tackle at the two yard line, and reached just far enough to get the ball across the goal line. Josh Reed caught six passes for 50 yards and Roscoe Parrish scored the other Bills' touchdown on a 24 yard reverse.

Once again the Buffalo defense surrendered over 400 yards of offense. Fred Taylor ran for a season high 104 yards, Garrard threw for 296 yards, and receivers found plenty of holes in the secondary all afternoon. Still, five drives ended with field goals instead of touchdowns so the final score could have been much worse.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Even though Jacksonville entered this game with a record of 7--3 and a legitimate shot at making the playoffs, the game was locally blacked out. The Jaguars played like champions for the fans in attendance, controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and won by 22 points. Their drives kept stalling, however, and Josh Scobee kicked five field goals. With the Bills only down one score halfway through the fourth quarter and driving the Jaguars intercepted Losman and added two late touchdowns sealed the victory.

So far this season David Garrard has a QB rating of 104.5 and continued his solid play against the Bills. He completed 23 of 37 for 296 yards for one touchdown and is still the only NFL quarterback who has yet to throw an interception. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers, showed poise in the pocket and appears to have to confidence of his teammates.

Fred Taylor rushed for his season best 104 yards and scored on a 50 yard dash in the first quarter. Maurice Jones-Drew was bottled until late in the game when the Bills turned the ball over on downs deep in their own territory. With 1:43 remaining he scored on a 17 yard run against a defense that seemed to have finally given up.

The Jaguars defense shut down Lee Evans and forced J. P. Losman to throw screen passes and check downs all afternoon. They intercepted two passes, recovered a forced fumble, and pressured the quarterback all afternoon.

What you ought to know

QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 27 - 40 - 211 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 6 - 0 - Losman acknowledged earlier in the week that this game was perhaps his last chance to stake his claim to the starting quarterback job with promising rookie Trent Edwards waiting in the wings. Even though the numbers might not look too bad, 27 of 40 for 211 yards and one touchdown, Losman often looked indecisive. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble trying to sneak for a first down on third and one. He couldn't get the ball to Lee Evans until there was less than one minute in the game and his leading receiver was a running back. Midway through the fourth quarter and Buffalo only trailing by one score, Losman tried to hit Reed but threw his second interception ending any hope of a comeback.

RB Anthony Thomas, Rush: 15 - 46 - 0, Rec: 8 - 45 - 1 (10 targets) - The veteran carried 15 times against the stout Jaguars run defense but only managed to average 3.1 yards per carry. Thomas was more effective as the leading Bills' pass receiver, catching eight balls for 45 yards. He scored their only passing touchdown when he caught a short swing pass in the flat, broke a tackle at the two yard line, and dove far enough for the ball to barely cross the plane of the goal line.

RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 5 - 18 - 0, Rec: 5 - 47 - 0 (7 targets) - The second year running back from Coe College served as the back up to Anthony Thomas. He showed a knack for catching the ball out of the backfield and gaining positive yardage, though most of his receptions came in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.

RB Dwayne Wright - The rookie from Fresno State was active but not a factor.

WR Josh Reed, Rec: 6 - 50 - 0 (10 targets) - Reed benefited from the Jaguars' fierce pass rush. His underneath routes were often the only option and he made some tough catches, but late in the game with the score out of reach he bailed on a pass over the middle.

WR Roscoe Parrish, Rush: 1 - 24 - 1, Rec: 4 - 26 - 0 (6 targets) - Parrish scored in his second straight game, running a reverse around the left end 24 yards. He also caught four passes for 26 yards. The league leading punt returner only had one return for 12 yards.

WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (7 targets) - Evans had a brutal afternoon. He was nearly shutout and only caught his two passes when there was less than one minute left in game. Losman was intercepted in the second quarter when he under threw Evans along the sidelines, but the Bills' passing attack focused more on short passes and screens to running backs. However, Evans threw the key block that sprung Parrish on his touch down run.

TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) - Gaines caught his only pass on a broken play as Losman was scrambling for his life. The play resulted in a 19 yard gain and a first down.

TE Robert Royal, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) - The Buffalo tight ends were kept in to block most of the afternoon, but Royal caught one pass for five yards.

PK Rian Lindell 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - Lindell never attempted a field goal but made both extra points.

BUF Rush Defense - Buffalo has the typical quick but undersized Tampa two defensive linemen which enabled Jacksonville's huge offensive line to control the line of scrimmage and average 4.8 yards per carry. Fred Taylor scored on a 50 yard run in the first quarter and Jones-Drew added a late 17 yard touchdown run. While the defense made big plays on occasion, including a fourth down run by Jones-Drew that lost six yards, they could never shut down Jacksonville's ground game.

BUF Pass Defense - Garrard threw for 296 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Jaguar receivers seemed to be running free through the secondary all afternoon, and backup cornerback Ashton Youboty registered the only Bills' sack.

QB David Garrard, Pass: 23 - 37 - 296 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0 - David Garrard continues to play at a high level and appears to have the full confidence of his team. The fact that there was controversy when the Jaguars named him the starter over Byron Leftwich now seems odd. Garrard completed 23 of 37 for 296 yards and a touchdown and is still the only NFL quarterback this season that has yet to throw an interception. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers and showed poise in the pocket.

RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 14 - 104 - 1, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) - Taylor gained a season high 104 yards on the day with 50 coming on a touchdown run in the first quarter. He is still the number one running back in Jacksonville as long as he's healthy.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 10 - 10 - 1, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets) - The Bills managed to bottle up Jones-Drew until late in the game. He actually had negative yardage until there was 1:43 left in the game when he ran 17 yards for a touchdown against a defense that had just thrown in the towel. He finished with plus ten yards rushing to go with two pass receptions for another 16 yards. He also returned two kickoffs at a 26 yard average.

RB Greg Jones, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 (2 targets) - In limited duty the big fullback picked up three yards on his only carry but failed to catch either pass thrown to him.

WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 5 - 65 - 0 (6 targets) - Northcutt was one of four Jacksonville receivers who gained at least 50 yards. He finished with five balls for a team high 65 yards.

WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 5 - 60 - 0 (8 targets) - Wilford played a key role in the Jacksonville offense and was targeted two times in each quarter. He caught five passes for 60 yards.

WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 1 - 59 - 1 (1 targets) - Listed as questionable before the game with a bad back, Williams caught the only pass thrown to him and scored a 59 yard touchdown.

WR Matt Jones, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) - The former number one draft choice caught a nice 13 yard slant for a first down, but he is still trying to learn how to run a fade pattern in the end zone.

TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 5 - 57 - 0 (9 targets) - Lewis led the team with 9 targets and was Garrard's go-to guy as the Bills' initially tried to cover him with DEs Chris Kelsey or Aaron Schobel. Lewis abused them both, but Linebackers faired no better. Lewis caught five balls for 57 yards.

TE George Wrighster, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets) - Wrighster pitched in with two receptions for 12 yards.

TE Greg Estandia (3 targets) - The back up tight end failed to catch any of his three passes, but at 6'8" he makes an inviting target.

PK Josh Scobee 5 - 5 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 18 points - With five Jaguars drives stalling in Bills' territory, Scobee hit field goals from 46, 33, 22, 23, and 20 yards. He was also perfect on all three extra points.

JAX Rush Defense - Anthony Thomas ran hard but only averaged 3.4 yards per carry and held the Bills to under 100 yards rushing in the game. Although Buffalo has a huge offensive line, and managed to get some push in the middle, Jacksonville overall had no problem stopping the Bills' ground game.

JAX Pass Defense - The Bills picked up garbage yards late in the game to skew the numbers, but there was no doubt in this game. Rookie Justin Durant, seeing playing time with Mike Peterson injured, picked off one pass and veteran Sammy Knight got the other. Paul Spicer registered the team's only sack.

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Indianapolis Colts 31, Atlanta Falcons 13

What you need to know

Indianapolis Colts - QB Peyton Manning snapped out of his funk, throwing three touchdown passes in the second quarter. He was able to stretch the field with Anthony Gonzalez, completing two passes of over 30 yards to him. He showed confidence in Reggie Wayne, targeting him a team high 12 times.

RB Joseph Addai left the game with a neck injury early in the game, but returned in the middle of the second quarter. Kenton Keith played well in the time he had, earning himself more snaps over the course of the game. Addai and Keith split series in the second half, which could have been because Addai suffered the injury or the Colts were dominating the Falcons on both sides of the ball.

WR Anthony Gonzalez came back from his hand injury to produce 105 yards receiving. Reggie Wayne had a good game, catching a 23 yard touchdown pass from Manning in the second quarter. Dallas Clark and Ben Utecht also caught touchdowns in the second quarter.

Atlanta Falcons - QB Joey Harrington had a tough time connecting with his targets, completing only 14 of his 30 passes. He had an early 48 yard touchdown pass to Roddy White, and not much else other than that on the day.

RB Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood combined for a solid game against the Colts' run defense. Dunn carried most of the load but Norwood had a few good runs as well.

WR Roddy White was the only legitimate fantasy scorer in the passing game for the Falcons. White had 104 of Harrington's 155 passing yards, and caught the Falcons' only touchdown. Alge Crumpler was targeted four times in the first half and made zero receptions before the last drive of the game for Atlanta where he caught three balls -- all for short gains.

What you ought to know

QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 22 - 32 - 272 - 3 TD / 1 INT - Manning welcomed back Anthony Gonzalez with eight targets and 105 yards passing. Manning looked a lot better this week with a competent second wide receiver to complement Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. He started slowly but eventually tore apart the defense on several drives, but still had ten incompletions on the day. Six of those incompletions came targeting Reggie Wayne.

RB Kenton Keith, Rush: 17 - 74 - 0 - Keith came in when Joseph Addai left the game in the first half with a minor neck injury, and played well. He earned some playing time after Addai came back. Keith looked strong and quick and showed he could do enough to help move the chains against the Falcons defense.

RB Joseph Addai, Rush: 10 - 44 - 1, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) - Addai missed part of the first half with a minor neck injury, but returned in the second quarter. Kenton Keith had success in his absence and saw playing time throughout the game after Addai came back. Addai scored on a four yard touchdown run, and looked fine despite being hurt earlier in the game.

WR Anthony Gonzalez, Rec: 6 - 105 - 0 (8 targets) - Gonzalez stretched the Falcons' defense. Manning showed he had faith in Gonzalez, seen by his eight targets. Gonzalez would have caught one of the non-catch targets, but pass interference was committed on a short route. He caught passes of 35, 32, 13, 12, 10, and 3 yards. He caught five first down passes and required quite a bit of attention from the Falcons' secondary.

WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 5 - 66 - 1 (12 targets) - Wayne only caught six of the 12 targets that were thrown his way, one of which was intercepted. He caught a 23 yard touchdown as his first reception of the game. He was still Manning's most targeted receiver and it seemed as if Manning was willing to gamble more with Wayne.

TE Dallas Clark, Rec: 5 - 49 - 1 (7 targets) - Clark saw seven targets which he turned into five catches, one of which he brought into the end zone. Most of his catches were short, averaging 9.8 yards per catch. He moved over to slot on several plays as per usual.

TE Ben Utecht, Rec: 4 - 38 - 1 (4 targets) - Utecht was targeted four times in the first half and scored on a short pass from Manning on a five yard diving grab. He caught all of the balls thrown his way, but was not utilized in the second half.

TE Bryan Fletcher (1 targets) - Fletcher was targeted on a deep mass in the middle of the field, but could not haul in the catch.

PK Adam Vinatieri 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points - Vinatieri made a 24 yard field goal and four extra points without too much of a problem.

IND Rush Defense - The Indianapolis rush defense was fairly solid on the day. They had some difficulty with Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood who rushed for 103 combined yards on 23 carries, however they made several key stops on short yardage plays.

IND Pass Defense - The pass defense was excellent against the Falcons. They forced two interceptions and had two sacks, and only allowed 155 passing yards on the night.

QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 14 - 30 - 155 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 - Harrington had problems against the Colts, throwing two interceptions. He failed to effectively get people other than Roddy White involved in the offense due to accuracy issues. Roddy White caught six of the 14 completions Harrington had, who managed only 155 yards passing on 30 attempts. One of those attempts was a 48 yard pass to Roddy White for a touchdown, showing that he only threw for 107 yards on 29 other attempts.

RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 17 - 70 - 0, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) - Dunn provided a solid rushing attack against the Colts. He found holes that were very tiny and made them most out of what was available. He passed a huge milestone becoming on the 22nd running back in NFL history to amass 10,000 yards.

RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 6 - 33 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) - Norwood shared snaps with Dunn but ended up being on the short end of carries and targets on the day. He had rushes of 14 and eight, and several short gains. He was a hit or miss running back, which might be attributed to the stellar Colts defense.

RB Jason Snelling, Rush: 4 - 6 - 0 - Snelling saw limited action as the third running back and failed to produce like Dunn and Norwood.

RB Ovie Mughelli, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) - Mughelli was the fullback and had one rush and one reception on the day.

WR Roddy White, Rec: 6 - 104 - 1 (11 targets) - White was targeted early and often by Joey Harrington. He caught a 48 yard touchdown pass from Harrington on the second Atlanta drive of the night as he beat the safety on the outside. White had 104 yards on the day, while the next highest receiving yard total for the Falcons was 14 yards by Alge Crumpler.

WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) - Jenkins was fairly inactive on the day. He was only targeted three times, and those were all in the first half. He only caught one of the balls thrown his way and it is unclear why he was not more involved in the game, but it is possible that Harrington prefers throwing to Roddy White.

WR Laurent Robinson (6 targets) - Robinson was targeted six times and came down with zero catches. Two of the passes thrown his way were intercepted. One of the interceptions he had in his arms and took a decent hit and it ended up being intercepted. He and Harrington did not look like they were on the same page.

TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 3 - 14 - 0 (7 targets) - Crumpler had a quiet game, catching only three of the seven balls thrown his way for a whopping 14 yards. All three of his receptions came on the last drive of the game for the Falcons in the fourth quarter.

PK Morten Andersen 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points - Andersen made both field goals and his extra point attempt against the Colts.

ATL Rush Defense - The Falcons' rush defense had problems making big stops against the Colts. They allowed 108 yards rushing on 27 attempts to Keith and Addai.

ATL Pass Defense - The Falcons had problems stopping Peyton Manning on the day, who threw for several long gains and three touchdown passes. They did get four sacks on Manning, but most of the other time it seemed like Manning had way too much time.

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Seattle Seahawks 24, St. Louis Rams 19

What you need to know

Seattle Seahawks - The Seahawks once again found a way to win. It wasn't pretty; it wasn't remotely good looking, but they got it done.

The running game was AWOL, save for one big gain late in the game, and the passing game was non-existent until the final play of the first half. The defense kept them within reach, and then got a little lucky at the end as Frerotte fumbled the snap on fourth and goal from the one.

Hasselbeck remained poised, and whatever adjustments the coaching staff made at halftime paid off. Their only score in the first half was a return touchdown, but they had been otherwise shut out. He was able to connect with Deion Branch for a few big plays and a touchdown, but unfortunately lost WR D. J. Hackett, who aggravated an ankle injury.

Kicker Josh Brown missed two long field goals; Maurice Morris was unable to convert any short yardage first downs; even the return TD was somewhat fluky, as Josh Wilson stepped in front of what was clearly Nate Burleson's ball to catch, and then took it all the way. In short, Murphy's Law struck the Seahawks, big time. And they still won.

St. Louis Rams - Marc Bulger left in the first quarter and did not return; Gus Frerotte replaced him and seemed to favor Isaac Bruce at least in this game. While he had his moments, Bulger also had the opportunity to win it for the Rams in the final seconds but blew it when he fumbled a good snap.

The Rams had a promising start, but fizzled down the stretch. They didn't get beaten; it was a classic case of a team beating letting one slip away. A bright spot was the defense, which was aggressive and got to the quarterback often, as well as doing a great job containing the running game.

Steven Jackson ran with power but was contained for the most part. His long touchdown of 53 yards was a bright spot, but unfortunately was the exception rather than the rule for the Rams ground game.

The passing game was largely inconsistent with Frerotte at the helm. The combination of erratic throws and lack of a deep game limited the receivers. Torry Holt was never a deep threat, and Steven Jackson was rarely targeted out of the backfield. Instead, Frerotte turned often to Isaac Bruce on short crossing patterns. In the end, the Seahawks capitalized on that by allowing the short play while slowly creeping back on the scoreboard.

What you ought to know

QB Matt Hasselbeck, Pass: 21 - 38 - 249 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 - Hasselbeck had a rough day. The Seahawks first four plays from scrimmage: two sacks, an incomplete pass, and a safety. That sums up the direction his first half went; in the second, he was pressured just as much and was sacked twice, but finally found his wide receivers and put some points on the board. His patience and poise won the day as he took what the Rams gave him. His longest pass play of the half was 22 yards, but he completed enough of them to give the Seahawks the lead late in the game. He hooked up with Deion Branch a lot, and especially late in the game after Hackett aggravated his ankle.

RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 16 - 79 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) - Morris was largely ineffective, but padded his numbers with a 46 yard rush in the second half. Granted it was a huge play for the Seahawks, but it was pretty much his entire contribution. Once Hasselbeck improved his game, some holes started to open up for him. He continued to struggle in short yardage situations, which cost the team several potential first downs, and a safety early in the game.

RB Leonard Weaver, Rush: 1 - 5 - 1 (1 targets) - Weaver touched the ball exactly once, but he made it count.

WR Bobby Engram, Rec: 7 - 70 - 0 (9 targets) - Engram was the most consistent of the Seahawks receivers. He was able to snag almost everything that came his way, and all of his second half catches were for first downs.

WR Deion Branch, Rec: 5 - 92 - 1 (10 targets) - Branch got the majority of looks in the second half, catching three balls for first downs and a fourth for a TD. He didn't catch his first one until the last play of the first half, but picked up his game after that. With Hackett out later in the game, he became Hasselbeck's go to guy.

WR D.J. Hackett, Rec: 4 - 41 - 0 (6 targets) - Hackett was getting a lot of the looks on passing downs, but aggravated his ankle injury after catching a pass in the third quarter.

WR Nate Burleson, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (3 targets) - Burleson's looks were limited, but when he was targeted, the throws were all of the deep variety.

TE Marcus Pollard, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (2 targets) - Pollard was rarely utilized in the passing game. Since the Rams were blitzing heavily all day, he was called on to help protect Hasselbeck.

TE Will Heller, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (4 targets) - Heller was actually targeted more often than starting TE Marcus Pollard, but only brought in one short reception. He was more of a dump off option than a threat in the passing game.

PK Josh Brown 1 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points - Brown missed two field goals and kicked one successfully. The misses were from 46 and 52 yards, but were also in a domed stadium.

SEA Rush Defense - The Seahawks did an excellent job keeping Steven Jackson contained. He escaped for a long TD run, but that was their only miscue.

SEA Pass Defense - They were able to limit any big play damage through the air. Most of the Rams completions were of the ten yards or less variety. In fact, in the second half, the longest completion was for eleven yards. Most importantly, they effectively neutralized Torry Holt.

QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 20 - 32 - 161 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 - Frerotte came on in relief of Bulger, and promptly got sacked and fumbled. He led the Rams to the end zone in that same drive, however. As the game went on, he got worse, not better, and displayed a lack of patience in the pocket, leading to many incompletions. Completing the downward spiral, on the final play of the game with a chance to win the game, he fumbled the snap.

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 3 - 5 - 32 - 0 TD / 1 INT - Bulger left the game with an apparent concussion (initially reported as "rib and back soreness"). He was three for five and had been intercepted, fumbled, and sacked.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 23 - 90 - 1, Rec: 3 - 15 - 0 (4 targets) - Jackson had plenty of chances, but only broke free once for a 53 yard touchdown run. He looked to be healthy and ran with power, but the Rams offensive line struggled to give him running room.

RB Antonio Pittman, Rush: 5 - 11 - 0 - Pittman was the only back other than Jackson to rush the ball for the Rams. He was strictly used to spell Jackson, however.

RB Brian Leonard, Rec: 2 - 0 - 0 (2 targets) - Leonard did not carry the ball, but did receive a couple of looks on passing downs.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 6 - 63 - 1 (14 targets) - Bruce topped Holt by two targets, which is significant if Bulger misses any time. Frerotte seemed to often look to Bruce first and then Holt. His touchdown early in the game was from Frerotte, not Bulger.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 5 - 54 - 0 (12 targets) - Holt was unable to break free for any big gains, but still hauled in five catches, four of which were for first downs. He suffered the most from Bulger's absence, as Frerotte was unable to find him on any of his usual game breaking deep routes.

WR Drew Bennett, Rec: 4 - 35 - 0 (5 targets) - Bennett took a clear back seat to Holt, Bruce, and Jackson in the offense. He did catch four of the five passes thrown his way though, so remained consistent.

WR Dante Hall, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets) - Hall is a returner first, then a receiver. He was also used on a reverse, but did no damage this game.

TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (3 targets) - Both catches were for first downs, and he showed good hands in the process. The lack of catches is due more to the need to use him as a blocker, since the Rams offensive line is still banged up.

PK Jeff Wilkins 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points - Wilkins hit a chip shot and both extra points.

STL Rush Defense - The run defense was not exactly fearsome, but were very good when it mattered, stopping the Seahawks in virtually every short yardage situation -- once resulting in a safety, and frequently stalling their drives before they could get on a roll.

STL Pass Defense - The Rams blitz carried the day, as they were in Hasselbeck's face all day -- and it made a difference. They shut out the Seahawks offense in the first half, but got beat just enough in the second to let it slip away.

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Miami Dolphins 0, Pittsburgh Steelers 3

What you need to know

Miami Dolphins - The biggest stories of this game were the weather and the field. After daylong rains in Pittsburgh, a lightning storm delayed the opening kickoff 25 minutes, and rain then continued to fall on and off throughout the night. The resodded field, overwhelmed by all the water, quickly turned into a swampy, nearly unplayable quagmire.

Unable to overcome the dreadful conditions, the Dolphins offense made little noise and came close to scoring only once.

Rookie QB John Beck led the Miami attack, accounting for 132 passing yards and eight rushing yards. He threw the ball accurately and did not have an INT, but he could muster only one drive longer than 30 yards and got his team to the red zone only once. Beck was sacked four times and lost one fumble.

RB Jesse Chatman got the start despite a painful ankle injury, but he was mostly ineffective. He injured his neck in the third quarter and had to leave the game. RB Ricky Williams saw his first NFL action in 22 months, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter and also had to leave the game. RB Patrick Cobbs was the only other active Dolphins RB, and he got the remainder of the rushing attempts after Williams and Chatman departed.

WR Marty Booker was the most targeted Dolphins receiver and hauled in two 20+ yard catches in the fourth quarter. WR Ted Ginn was also active in this game and came up with one 15 yard catch. TE David Martin and RB Patrick Cobbs were the only other Dolphins receivers targeted more than twice.

PK Jay Feely missed his only field goal attempt, though the play was nullified by a penalty.

Led by fired up LB Joey Porter and aided by the marsh-like conditions, the Dolphins defense did a solid job containing the Steelers attack, despite defending a short field most of the evening. They collected five sacks and one turnover.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Hampered by the horrible playing conditions, the Steelers offense was only slightly more effective than the Dolphins attack, despite enjoying favorable field position most of the game.

QB Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball accurately, but he was able to muster only one red zone drive, which resulted in the game winning field goal. Roethlisberger's only INT killed the opening drive, and he was sacked five times.

RB Willie Parker ran impressively and was the only back who seemed capable of dealing with the spongy turf. Parker broke off a few nice gains, but he was also stopped for one yard or less on nine of his attempts. RB Najeh Davenport had three carries for two yards.

WR Hines Ward was extremely active and led all receivers with nine receptions. WR Cedric Wilson caught all three passes thrown his way, but no other Steelers receiver was targeted more than twice. WR Santonio Holmes was inactive due to an ankle sprain.

PK Jeff Reed missed his first field goal attempt (44 yards), but he drilled the game winner with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers shut down the Dolphins ground attack, and they kept steady pressure on QB John Beck throughout the game. They came up with four sacks and one fumble recovery.

What you ought to know

QB John Beck, Pass: 14 - 23 - 132 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 8 - 0 - Given the abysmal conditions, and considering it was only his second NFL start in front of a national audience, Beck had a very solid game, despite his meager stats. He displayed good footwork and stood up well in the pocket, despite facing a variety of blitz packages, and he usually found a way to get rid of the ball before getting hit (though he was sacked four times). Beck played conservatively and took care of the ball pretty well, but he did cough it up on a jarring fourth quarter sack by LB James Harrison. All things considered, though, the rookie played impressively on the road against a very good defense.

RB Jesse Chatman, Rush: 11 - 17 - 0, Rec: 1 - -4 - 0 (1 targets) - Chatman played in obvious pain due to his ankle sprain, but he gutted it out for nearly three quarters. He broke off a ten yard run in the second half, but a crushing tackle at the end of the play injured his neck, and he sat out the rest of the game.

RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 6 - 15 - 0 - Williams did not start but entered the game on the second offensive series. He showed decent moves in limited action, but he fumbled the ball away on his fifth rushing attempt, plus he injured his right shoulder on the play. Williams returned for one more carry and then left the game for good.

RB Patrick Cobbs, Rush: 4 - 10 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) - Cobbs entered the game in the third quarter after Chatman injured his neck. He finished the game and had four carries for ten yards.

WR Marty Booker, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 5 - 54 - 0 (9 targets) - Booker was very involved in the passing attack, especially late. Five of his targets came in the final quarter, as did his two 20+ yard catches.

WR Ted Ginn, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (6 targets) - Beck looked for Ginn early on, but only once in the fourth quarter. Ginn had a 12 yard catch in the first quarter and a 15 yarder on the opening drive of the second half.

TE David Martin, Rec: 2 - 35 - 0 (3 targets) - Martin came up with two nice catches, one for 21 yards in the second quarter, and the other for 14 yards on a third quarter flea flicker.

TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 2 - 3 - 0 (2 targets) - Peelle caught both passes thrown his way but was not too involved in the attack.

PK Jay Feely 0 - 0 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 0 points - Feely attempted a field goal in the fourth quarter that missed badly, but the play was nullified by a penalty. The Dolphins turned the ball over on the next play.

MIA Rush Defense - The Dolphins rush defense did a good job containing Willie Parker and Najeh Davenport. Parker ran well at times, but the Dolphins stopped him when they needed to most, and most importantly kept him out of the end zone. LB Channing Crowder led Miami with seven solo tackles and five assists, plus a half sack.

MIA Pass Defense - The Dolphins pass rush kept steady pressure on Ben Roethlisberger most of the night. They sacked the Steelers QB five times and hit him a few other occasions right after he threw the ball. DE Jason Taylor collected one of the sacks, and LB Joey Porter had a big INT on the opening drive of the game, which seemed to give his team a lift.

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 18 - 21 - 165 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 - Despite the awful conditions, and aside from his first quarter pick, Roethlisberger threw the ball very accurately. With Santonio Holmes out due to an ankle injury, Roethlisberger had eyes mostly for Hines Ward (ten of his 21 passes were thrown to Ward, along with two others that were called back). Continuing a recent trend, Roethlisberger was unable to get rid of the ball in crucial situations. He was sacked five times, and three of those sacks ended Steelers drives in Miami territory.

RB Willie Parker, Rush: 24 - 81 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) - As expected, Parker was the focal point of the Steelers offense. He ran hard and busted off a few good runs, and his final stats were pretty solid considering the rain and the awful field. Still, the Dolphins found a way to stop Parker when they absolutely needed to (a telling stat: he was held to two yards or less on 12 of his 24 carries). Parker had one red zone carry, and he was also targeted by Roethlisberger in the end zone on the game winning drive.

RB Najeh Davenport, Rush: 3 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - Davenport had three carries, two of them ending unhappily. In the second quarter, Davenport was dropped for a loss on fourth and short at the Miami 40, and in the third quarter, he was dropped for another loss on third and one at the Miami 25. Davenport also committed a holding penalty on a second quarter play that would have resulted in a 19 yard completion to Hines Ward.

RB Carey Davis, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) - Davis had no rushing attempts but did catch a third down pass in the second quarter.

RB Dan Kreider, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) - Kreider had no rushing attempts, but his second quarter reception set up a first down at the Miami 32.

WR Hines Ward, Rec: 9 - 88 - 0 (12 targets) - Ward was very busy in this game, and the miserable conditions did not seem to phase him. Ward missed his first pass target of the night and then caught everything else thrown his way. He caught two other third down passes that were called back due to penalties (each would have given the Steelers a first down in Miami territory).

WR Cedrick Wilson, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (3 targets) - Wilson caught all three passes thrown his way.

WR Nate Washington, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - Washington was barely involved in the Steelers attack but came up with a catch on his only passing target.

TE Heath Miller - Miller was a non factor in this game (no targets), other than an odd pass interference penalty called against him in the second quarter that negated a Steelers first down deep in Miami territory.

PK Jeff Reed 1 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points - Going into the game, Reed had not missed a field goal from inside 60 yards, but he missed badly on a 44 yard attempt near the end of the third quarter. It's hard to blame Reed, though, considering the rain and the horrible field. He redeemed himself by nailing the game winner from 24 yards out in the waning moments.

PIT Rush Defense - Other than an eight yard scramble by John Beck, a ten yard run by Jesse Chatman, and a six yard scamper by Ricky Williams (which altogether accounted for almost half of the Miami rushing production), the Steelers throttled the vaunted Dolphins rushing attack. Granted the weather and field were factors, but kudos to the Steelers defense for the way they dominated the improved Dolphins offensive line. LB James Farrior had a big game, with seven solo tackles and four assists, plus a half sack and a forced fumble.

PIT Pass Defense - The Steelers secondary gave up passes here and there, but it's hard to find any serious fault considering they never allowed the Dolphins to seriously threaten (Miami did get to the Steelers 20 in the fourth quarter but was unable to convert on fourth down). Veteran SS Tyrone Carter was all over the field in this game and finished with eleven solo tackles and one assist.

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Denver Broncos 31, Chicago Bears 34

What you need to know

Denver Broncos - Playing without Travis Henry and Selvin Young on the road, the Broncos found a way to control the ball for most of the game with the legs of Andre Hall and arm of Jay Cutler, yet couldn't hold off the Bears in losing 37-34. Andre Hall ran for 98 yards on 26 carries and scored a second quarter touchdown. Mike Bell was brought into the game briefly to spell Hall, but fumbled his only attempt and did not gain any yardage, forcing the Broncos to use Cecil Sapp to spell Hall. Sapp gained 28 yards on seven carries with a touchdown in relief. Jay Cutler gained 12 yards on two official attempts, while wide receiver Brandon Marshall gained no yardage on his only attempt.

Through the air, Jay Cutler completed 17 of 31 passes for 302 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Cutler's primary target was Brandon Marshall, who caught four balls for 97 yards and a long touchdown. Brandon Stokley added five receptions for fifty yards starting opposite of Marshall. Javon Walker returned to the field in Week 12, however was not targeted and played only sparingly in the first half of this game. At the tight end position, Tony Scheffler caught five balls for 82 yards and a touchdown. Out of the backfield, Andre Hall caught two balls for 69 yards while Cecil Sapp added a four yard reception.

Chicago Bears - Behind the legs of return man Devin Hester and the comeback heroics of a Bears offense spurred on by the home crowd, the Bears rallied back to beat the Broncos and again move within one game of a .500 winning percentage. It took Rex Grossman a while to get going, but a late touchdown connection with Bernard Berrian tied the game and sent it into overtime. Grossman finished 17 of 33 for 193 yards with one touchdown and one interception while Berrian caught three balls for 24 yards, including the highlight reel touchdown late in the game.

The team leader for receiving yards in the game was Desmond Clark, who caught two balls for 61 yards, followed by Adrian Peterson, who had five receptions for 41 yards. At the wide receiver position, Muhsin Muhammad pulled in two passes for 26 yards, while Rashied Davis added a 21 yard reception. In addition to his third quarter brilliance in the return game, Devin Hester added a reception for one yard. Tight end Greg Olsen had just one catch for ten yards, though had a forty yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty. John Gilmore caught a one yard pass in a limited role from the tight end position. Fullback Jason McKie added an eight yard reception out of the backfield.

Cedric Benson got the start and was running well with 47 yards on eight carries before exiting early with a potentially serious ankle injury. Benson was replaced by Adrian Peterson, who gained 45 yards on 17 attempts including a fourth quarter touchdown. With Benson's injury, rookie Garrett Wolfe saw additional action and gained 29 yards on three carries. Rex Grossman was officially credited with one yard on four attempts.

What you ought to know

QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 17 - 31 - 302 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 12 - 0 - Cutler finished with a 74.9 passer rating by averaging 9.7 yards per passing attempt despite completing just 55% of his passes. Cutler accumulated most of the yardage in the second half, aided by a 68 yard touchdown catch by Brandon Marshall and a 65 yard scamper by Andre Hall.

RB Andre Hall, Rush: 26 - 98 - 1, Rec: 2 - 69 - 0 (2 targets) - The second year back out of South Florida stepped in to replace Travis Henry and Selvin Young with an impressive performance. Hall's touchdown came on a pitch to the outside where Hall broke a tackle for a sixteen yard touchdown. Hall also added a sixty five yard reception as he made good use of his blockers and downfield vision in setting up a late field goal in the first half. Hall showed the ability to break tackles at multiple points throughout this game and ran with good speed, including a 23 yard run to the Bears two, though he failed to punch the ball in on the next carry. Hall exited the game on the Broncos final drive and was replaced by Cecil Sapp.

WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 5 - 50 - 0 (10 targets) - With Javon Walker sidelined for much of this game, Stokley averaged ten yards per catch and provided Jay Cutler a reliable option over the middle of the field.

WR Brandon Marshall, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 4 - 97 - 1 (10 targets) - Marshall got behind the defense for his 68 yard touchdown, and showed determination on the field in this game with strong blocking to aid in a couple of the Broncos touchdowns. With Javon Walker not seeing much time on the field, Marshall filled the void and demanded the ball.

TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 5 - 82 - 1 (5 targets) - Scheffler made an acrobatic catch on his fourteen yard touchdown, and showed his big play ability to go deep over the middle and stretch opposing defenses. Tony was often utilized off the line as a slot receiver in this game, catching everything thrown his way as Daniel Graham was utilized primarily in a blocking role in this game.

PK Jason Elam 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points - Elam connected on four extra points and made field goals from 22 and 23 yards in the first half of this game.

DEN Rush Defense - The rush defense gave up 121 yards and a touchdown to Bears running backs on 28 carries, and gave up multiple carries over twenty yards against a unit that came in near the bottom of the league in rushing offense.

DEN Pass Defense - The Broncos pass defense held strong until the fourth quarter when Rex Grossman and Bernard Berrian beat Champ Bailey in the corner of the end zone to tie the game up. Despite this, they came up with two Rex Grossman fumbles and one interception and limited him to just 193 yards through the air.

QB Rex Grossman, Pass: 17 - 33 - 193 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 1 - 0 - Grossman struggled for much of this game until connecting with Bernard Berrian in the final minute to tie the game up. Grossman was making crisp throws late in the game, but turned the ball over three times earlier, including two fumbles. Grossman finished with a 56.8 passer rating by completing 52 percent of his passes for an average gain of 5.8 yards per attempt.

RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 17 - 45 - 1, Rec: 5 - 41 - 0 (6 targets) - Peterson showed determination in carrying the pile four yards for a score in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to seven and combined for 86 yards in replacing Cedric Benson following a potentially serious injury. Given increased reps in practice and strong receiving skills out of the backfield, Peterson filled in as a seamless replacement in the Bears backfield, though most of his targets came in the first half of this game before Benson had departed.

RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 8 - 47 - 0 - Benson got off to a hot start for the second week in a row, but potentially suffered a serious ankle injury as he was tackled from behind. The injury could cause him to miss some time.

WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 3 - 24 - 1 (6 targets) - Berrian faked out Champ Bailey and made a diving catch to tie the game up in the final minute despite a relatively quiet day before that. With the game on the line, Rex Grossman threw the ball to Berrian twice at the goal line.

WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (6 targets) - Muhammad nearly caught a touchdown with a very nice catch on the right side of the end zone in the first half, but couldn't get both feet down as he tried to pull the ball in while being closely covered.

TE Greg Olsen, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (5 targets) - Olsen celebrated following a 25 yard touchdown reception where Rex Grossman threw the ball up into the corner of the end zone and Olsen used his athleticism, strength and height to come down with the ball, however a holding penalty on the right tackle had allowed Grossman the time to make that pass, and as a result Olsen's stat line ended less impressively.

PK Robbie Gould 3 - 3 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 13 points - Including a 39 yarder to win the game in overtime, Gould connected for field goals from 24 and 44 yards out earlier in the game, and made all four extra point attempts.

CHI Rush Defense - The Bears struggled to fill open gaps and make tackles, giving up 126 yards to Broncos running backs on 33 carries, including two touchdown runs. The unit forced a Mike Bell fumble early in the game.

CHI Pass Defense - The pass defense was consistently beat by Jay Cutler, including deep passes to Brandon Marshall, passes over the middle to tight end Tony Scheffler and short screens to Andre Hall in giving up 302 yards through the air, though forced two turnovers and came up with two sacks.

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Washington Redskins 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19

What you need to know

Washington Redskins - Jason Campbell and the Redskins got off to an awful start, fumbling the ball away four times in the first half that all led to Tampa Bay scores. The only score they were able to come up with was a field goal, and the team trailed 19-3 at halftime. Campbell and the Redskins came out a different team in the second half, scoring ten unanswered points to cut the lead to 19-13 and had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter. Campbell led a 77 yard drive with three minutes left in the game and had a chance to complete a comeback with a score, but Campbell's pass intended for WR Santana Moss in the end zone was picked off by Tampa Bay DB Brian Kelly and the game was over.

Clinton Portis finished with 20 carries for 68 yards and had two fumbles that the Buccaneers turned into points. Backup RB Ladell Betts chipped in with 47 yards on just eight attempts for the Redskins.

TE Chris Cooley led Washington in receiving, with six receptions for 96 yards and a 39 yard touchdown, and WR Keenan McCardell added six receptions of his own for 60 yards for the Redskins.

The Washington defense couldn't catch a break in the first half, and was handed a short field to defend following four turnovers by the offense. They came out of it giving up 19 points, but turned it up in the second half, shutting down and shutting out the Tampa Bay offense to give their offense the opportunity to come back.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jeff Garcia was injured on the first drive and left the game with a back injury. He was replaced by backup Bruce Gradkowski, whose poor play landed him back on the bench in favor of the injured Garcia in the fourth quarter. Garcia couldn't get much going himself, and the Buccaneers' two drives in the last quarter ended after just three plays.

RB Earnest Graham ran hard and finished with 75 yards on 21 carries, including a one yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Ike Hilliard led the way receiving for Tampa Bay, with just four receptions for 44 yards. WR Joey Galloway could have had a monster game, but was missed twice on long routes that could have been scores, but fell through due to badly thrown balls.

Tampa Bay's defense deserves a game ball for this win. They forced six turnovers, four of which came on first half fumbles and went a long way in helping their struggling offense put points on the board. Their two interceptions came at the right time as well, with DB Ronde Barber picking off Campbell with just over three minutes left and fellow DB Brian Kelly interception the potential game winning pass attempt to Santana Moss in the end zone with under a minute left.

What you ought to know

QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 30 - 49 - 301 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0 - Jason Campbell had another game to learn from in his young career. He finished 30 of 49 for a respectable 301 yards and a 39 yard touchdown pass, but also lost a fumble and threw two interceptions, including one on the last drive in the red zone that ended Washington's comeback hopes. On that final drive, before the interception, Campbell looked comfortable running the hurry up offense, and looked at ease leading his team down the field before throwing the pick. He continued to show strides and can use this game as a learning experience.

RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 20 - 68 - 0, Rec: 5 - 33 - 0 (8 targets) - Clinton Portis ran the ball 20 times for 68 yards and caught five passes for 33 yards on eight targets in the passing game. He struggled finding room against the Tampa Bay front seven and lost two fumbles that each led to Tampa Bay field goals.

RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 8 - 47 - 0, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) - Betts chipped in with 47 yards rushing on eight attempts and added three receptions for 32 yards in the passing game. He made positive plays on nearly every touch he got, but just wasn't used enough to make a bigger impact.

WR Keenan McCardell, Rec: 6 - 60 - 0 (8 targets) - Keenan McCardell was targeted eight times, finishing with six receptions for 60 yards. He was targeted four times on third downs, converting three of those into Washington first downs.

WR Reche Caldwell, Rec: 5 - 43 - 0 (6 targets) - Caldwell contributed in the passing game with five receptions for 43 yards on six targets. He made a couple nice catches, showing great body control and athleticism.

WR Santana Moss, Rec: 5 - 37 - 0 (11 targets) - Moss was targeted 11 times, finishing with five receptions for 37 yards. Moss still looked to be struggling with his foot injury, and did not show any of the explosiveness he's capable of. He lost a fumble on Washington's first drive that led to a Tampa Bay touchdown, and two passes attempted for him were intercepted, including a red zone target on the team's final drive that ended the club's comeback attempt.

WR Antwaan Randle El, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) - Randle El was targeted twice, but did not record a catch. He also had one rushing attempt for one yard.

TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 6 - 96 - 1 (11 targets) - Chris Cooley was targeted 11 times and finished with six receptions for 96 yards and a 39 yard touchdown reception. He continued to be a reliable target for his young quarterback.

PK Shaun Suisham 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points - Suisham was successful on field goal attempts from 43 and 38 yards out and he added one extra point to finish with seven points.

WAS Rush Defense - Washington's defense was put in tough spots early and often, with four first half turnovers that left them with a short field to defend. They came out of it giving up 19 points, but it could have been a lot worse. The only touchdown did come on the ground, with Earnest Graham scoring on a one yard run. The second half was a different story and Washington played well on both sides of the ball. For the game, they gave up 99 yards on 25 carries, for a 4.0 ypc average.

DB LeRon Landry led the way with five solo tackles and one assist and LB London Fletcher totaled four solo tackles.

WAS Pass Defense - The Redskins secondary had been torched in recent weeks, but the unit played much better against the Buccaneers. Some of that could be attributed to the early exit of Tampa Bay QB Jeff Garcia, but they made plays when they had to, regardless of who was throwing the ball. They gave up just 93 net passing yards for the game, held the Buccaneers to one of 12 on third downs and had three sacks.

DL Andre Carter, LB Marcus Washington and DE Chris Wilson each contributed a sack for the Redskins.

QB Bruce Gradkowski, Pass: 9 - 19 - 106 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 24 - 0 - Gradkowski entered the game in the first quarter following the injury to Garcia. He was unable to get much going in the passing game as he finished nine of 19 for 106 yards and no touchdowns. Gradkowski did not turn the ball over, but the offense lost any luster it had with Garcia as soon as he entered the game. He was erratic in the pocket and could not complete anything downfield. On one play, Gradkowski had Galloway open downfield for what could have been a huge play, but he threw a poor ball that was short and over the wrong shoulder and Galloway showed his disappointment. After getting nowhere with Gradkowski, Gruden turned back to Garcia in the fourth quarter to try to get something going.

QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 2 - 4 - 9 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 - Jeff Garcia was hurt on the first drive and left the game with a back injury. He went into the locker room and had the injury x-rayed, put a heating pad on it and came back out to the sideline. He remained on the sideline until the fourth quarter, and returned to try to give the offense a much needed spark. Garcia didn't fare much better than Gradkowski, and couldn't muster up anything but two three and out drives in the fourth quarter, putting the pressure on the Tampa Bay defense to hold on for the win. Luckily for Garcia and the Buccaneers, they were able to do just that. His final stat line read two of four passing for nine yards, no scores and no interceptions.

RB Earnest Graham, Rush: 21 - 75 - 1, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (4 targets) - Earnest Graham could not find much running room against the Redskins, as he finished with 21 rushes for 75 yards and had a long run of 12 for the game. He was able to get into the end zone, scoring from one yard out in the first quarter. Graham was targeted four times in the passing game and caught two of those targets for nine yards.

WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (4 targets) - Hilliard caught all four passes thrown his way for 44 yards. He had a big reception before halftime, catching a 16 yard pass to help set up a Bryant field goal before intermission.

WR Joey Galloway, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (7 targets) - Galloway finished with just two receptions for 21 yards, but his day could have been much bigger with better quarterback play. He got separation twice, and was open downfield, but was missed on both plays that could have been scores. Washington made stopping Galloway a priority, and used deep coverage with their safeties throughout the ballgame.

WR Michael Clayton (1 targets) - Clayton was not a factor in the game, getting one target and finishing without a reception.

TE Alex Smith, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (4 targets) - Smith was targeted four times and finished with three receptions for 41 yards. He's got some ability, and he showed that on one reception, with great athleticism and leaping ability to make a tough catch downfield.

PK Matt Bryant 4 - 4 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 13 points - Bryant was busy against the Redskins, kicking field goals from 35, 27, 48 and 39 yards out and adding one extra point to finish with 13 points in the game.

TB Rush Defense - Tampa Bay played well against the run, finishing off tackles and swarming to the ball like they have all season long. They gave up 120 net rushing yards on 31 attempts, for a 3.9 ypc average and did not allow a score on the ground. When they hit the Redskins, they hit hard, forcing and recovering four fumbles that all led to scores. Included in those four fumbles were two by RB Clinton Portis.

LB Derrick Brooks led the way defensively for the Buccaneers, with nine solo tackles and three assists. DB Jermaine Phillips and DE Greg White each forced Portis fumbles.

TB Pass Defense - Tampa Bay allowed a passing touchdown and gave up over 300 yards passing, but had a bend but don't break defensive effort against the Redskins. They gave up some plays in the passing game, but continued bringing pressure with their front four and made plays when they had to in the secondary to hold on for the win.

DB Philip Buchanon finished with seven solo tackles, one assist and a forced fumble and DE Greg White added four solo tackles, one sack and another forced fumble. DB's Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly each had an interception, with Kelly's coming at a crucial time late in the game on a pass in the end zone that could have given the Redskins the victory.

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Baltimore Ravens 14, San Diego Chargers 32

What you need to know

Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore visited San Diego and came out on the short end of the stick, losing 14 to 32. They had a poor offensive performance, and gave up several big passing plays to Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense. Kyle Boller threw the ball accurately, but failed to hit on many big plays. His lone touchdown pass came on a dump off to full back LeRon McClain. His favorite target by far was Derrick Mason, who had 14 looks and led the team in all receiving categories. Willis McGahee had a hard time running the ball, but still managed a one yard score in the second quarter.

The Ravens defense played LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers running game very well, but gave up three scores and nearly 250 yards to Philip Rivers. They had a hard time covering Antonio Gates. Each of the three touchdowns were thrown to wide open receivers, as the Ravens secondary was either beaten or out of position.

San Diego Chargers - San Diego got a big game out of Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, and their defense to earn a 32 to 14 victory over the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Rivers had his best game of the season, throwing for nearly 250 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scores went to Gates, who led the team with 105 receiving yards. Chris Chambers caught the other touchdown. The Chargers defense was especially stout, holding the Ravens to 210 total yards, sacking Kyle Boller four times, and only allowing 14 points.

LaDainian Tomlinson had a hard time against the Ravens defense, but did manage to eclipse 10,000 career rushing yards during the game. He averaged just over three yards per rush over his 17 carries, with a long of 36.

What you ought to know

QB Kyle Boller, Pass: 21 - 33 - 191 - 1 TD / 0 INT - Boller had a highly accurate game, but his throws went for minimal gains. He completed 63.6% of his passes, and averaged 5.8 yards per attempt. Boller's favorite target was Derrick Mason, whose 15 looks were nine more than the second most thrown to Ravens player. His lone touchdown pass went to fullback LeRon McClain. Boller threw no interceptions, lost one fumble, and was sacked four times.

RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 17 - 59 - 1, Rec: 2 - 2 - 0 (3 targets) - McGahee had a tough time getting anything going against a strong San Diego rush defense. His longest run was 13 yards, and he only averaged 3.5 yards on his 17 attempts. He had a one yard touchdown run in the second quarter. McGahee's opportunities were limited both by his ineffectiveness and the game situation, which found the Ravens behind by multiple scores for a significant portion of the game. The Ravens only ran on 38% of their plays.

RB Musa Smith, Rush: 3 - -3 - 0, Rec: 4 - 28 - 0 (4 targets) - Smith was ineffective as a runner, but caught all four of his targets as a receiver. Surprisingly, he finished second on the team in catches and receiving yards.

RB LeRon McClain, Rec: 1 - 13 - 1 (2 targets) - McClain had two dump off targets, the latter of which he ran in for a 13 yard score.

RB Mike Anderson, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) - Anderson had one look in the passing game. Notably, he also lost a fumble on a muffed kickoff return. He wasn't lined up as a kickoff returner, but he attempted to field a short kick that he dropped.

WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 7 - 99 - 0 (14 targets) - Mason was Boller's security blanket. He had nine more targets than any other Ravens player. Most of his catches went for medium gains, as he finished with a 14.1 yards per catch average. Mason finished just one yard shy of a 100 yard receiving game. It was Mason's best yardage total of the season.

WR Devard Darling, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (5 targets) - Darling was Boller's preferred deep target, but his only catches were for medium gains.

WR Mark Clayton, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (4 targets) - Clayton was mostly an afterthought in the passing game. He caught two of his four passes for medium gains.

TE Quinn Sypniewski, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) - Sypniewski got the starting nod at tight end with Todd Heap out again, but only caught one ball for a short gain.

TE Lee Vickers, Rec: 1 - -1 - 0 (1 targets) - Vickers caught his only target for a one yard loss.

PK Matt Stover 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - Stover made both his PATs, but didn't attempt a field goal. He also had a kickoff go out of bounds for a costly penalty.

BAL Rush Defense - Baltimore's rush defense allowed 83 total yards on 30 carries for a 2.8 average. They did a great job containing LaDainian Tomlinson, with the exception of one 13 yard touchdown run. They were clearly committed to stopping the run, and they succeeded.

BAL Pass Defense - Baltimore's pass defense gave up 249 yards on 25 of 35 passing for an average of 7.11 yards per attempt. They allowed three touchdowns---two to tight end Antonio Gates and one to Chris Chambers. Each score was allowed to a wide open receiver. They forced no turnovers and had no sacks.

QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 25 - 35 - 249 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 - Rivers had his best game of the year. He was accurate with his throws, completing 71.4% of his passes for 7.11 yards per attempt. His starting targets saw the most balls, with Gates leading the way with eight, while Tomlinson, Chambers, and Jackson all had at least six. Rivers hit Gates for two touchdowns and Chambers for one. On all three of the scores the receiver was wide open. Rivers also had a couple of scrambles for minimal gains.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 24 - 77 - 0, Rec: 6 - 45 - 0 (7 targets) - Tomlinson had a hard time getting into a groove against a focused Ravens rush defense. He finished with just over a 3 yard per rush average. His long run of the game was 36 yards. Tomlinson finished third on the team in receiving yards, and tied with Antonio Gates to lead the team in receptions. Despite being contained by the Ravens, he still produced a good fantasy game.

RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) - Sproles got a few carries at the end of the game, but was predominantly used as a returner.

RB Michael Turner, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 - Turner had a couple of carries to spell Tomlinson, but didn't do much with them.

WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 5 - 22 - 1 (7 targets) - Most of Chambers' receptions went for short gains. He had a touchdown catch when Rivers found him wide open in the end zone. He tied for second place in targets with Tomlinson.

WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 5 - 65 - 0 (6 targets) - Jackson finished second on the team in receiving yards. He had a long catch of 31 yards.

WR Craig Davis, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - Davis' only catch was a big one that converted a first down to keep a late game clock eating drive alive.

WR Legedu Naanee, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) - Naanee's sole catch came early in the game.

TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 6 - 105 - 2 (8 targets) - Gates had a great game. He led the team in all receiving stats, and caught two wide open passes that he ran in for touchdowns. It was his best fantasy performance of the season.

TE Brandon Manumaleuna, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (4 targets) - Manumaleuna had one catch for no gain.

PK Nate Kaeding 4 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 14 points - Kaeding made both his PATs and all four of his field goals (from 27, 46, 41, and 41 yards). He would have had another PAT, but the holder mishandled the snap.

SD Rush Defense - San Diego's rush defense gave up 56 total yards on 20 carries for a 2.8 average. They allowed one touchdown to Willis McGahee, but otherwise shut down the Baltimore rushing attack.

SD Pass Defense - San Diego's pass defense gave up 191 yards on 21 of 33 passing for 5.8 yards per attempt. They allowed one touchdown to full back LeRon McClain. Five different Chargers combined to sack Kyle Boller four times. They forced a fumble on one of the Boller sacks.

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