All our week 8 content

San Francisco 49ers 17, New York Giants 29

What you need to know

San Francisco 49ers - Starting QB J.T. O'Sullivan had a Jekyll and Hyde performance. He did a lot of things well, but when he was bad, he was very, very bad. He was sacked six times, had four fumbles (only one lost), and two interceptions (both of which were clearly his fault).

Frank Gore was unable to run against a stout Giants defense. He did contribute as a receiver, however, and looked exceptional hitting the seam and making the quick catch-and-run grab.

The Giants coverage was so good that the receivers were almost always tightly covered. Isaac Bruce was limited to only three catches, while Josh Morgan stepped up his game and quietly had the breakout that everyone was expecting earlier in the season.

New York Giants - Eli Manning was capable when called upon to move the ball, but he didn't often have to move it very far, as the defense gave him excellent field position again and again. And then, the Giants relied heavily on the running game.

Brandon Jacobs had two touchdowns on the day, one in short yardage and one of 26 yards. Derick Ward spelled him occasionally, while Ahmad Bradshaw saw nearly all of his carries in garbage time.

Plaxico Burress doesn't have much to show for his effort (3-24-1) but his catches were all noteworthy, including the longest one, which he caught literally with only his fingertips -- that didn't count due to a rare offensive pass interference penalty. Amani Toomer was Manning's second target, but Steve Smith was actually more consistent, with less opportunity.

What you ought to know

QB J.T. OSullivan, Pass: 16 - 28 - 256 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 27 - 0 - O'Sullivan may very well have lost his starting job with this performance. His errors really cost the team a chance at winning the game, but the way the Giants defense was playing, it's hard to say if anyone else could have done much better. His two interceptions were awful; at least two of his four fumbles were easily avoidable (though one was actually a botched handoff that Gore wasn't able to hold onto). On the good side, he was at his best when taking short drops and hitting his receivers in stride. It seemed that if he waited too long, he had no one to throw to, which meant a sack, an INT, or a scramble. On that note, he was the Niners leading rusher on the day.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 11 - 11 - 0, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (5 targets) - Gore was simply unable to get anything done on the ground. He showed himself to be an able pass catcher, however, with his three catches all going for first downs.

RB Michael Robinson, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (2 targets) - Robinson caught both of his targets, as he spelled Gore occasionally on third downs. He had no carries.

WR Josh Morgan, Rec: 5 - 86 - 1 (10 targets) - Morgan finally lived up to the pre-season hype, leading the 49ers in targets and scoring their lone offensive touchdown. He would have gone over 100 yards, too (not to mention given his team a chance to win) had he held on to an absolutely perfectly thrown deep sideline pass that fell right into -- and out of -- his arms. Ah, growing pains.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 3 - 47 - 0 (4 targets) - Bruce was heavily covered all day and O'Sullivan did not even target him once in the second half. On the balls thrown to him, he looked his reliable self. On one play, Bruce was wide open but missed out on a big gain when O'Sullivan overthrew him badly.

WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 2 - 42 - 0 (5 targets) - Battle seemed to take over Isaac Bruce's targets in the second half, though there was no word of an injury or anything to Bruce. Battle pulled in a couple of 20 yard receptions for first downs as the Niners were attempting to come back late in the game.

TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) - Well, he did catch 100 percent of his targets. Evidently, Davis was needed more to protect the quarterback than to be used as a receiver.

PK Joe Nedney 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points - Nedney was good on his 40 yard field goal, and two extra points.

SF Rush Defense - The defense let Jacobs loose for one long run and to the combined Giants backfield a handful of ten plus yard carries, but also held the Giants to short gains often.

SF Pass Defense - They really made Manning and Burress work for their yardage, and even then did not give up much. An impressive outing that kept the 49ers in the game for perhaps longer than they deserved to be.

QB Eli Manning, Pass: 16 - 31 - 161 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -4 - 0 - Manning had a very average day. He had no sacks, no interceptions, and no fumbles, along with a touchdown. The defense kept on giving him the ball with excellent field position -- twice in the red zone -- at which point the offense was heavily run oriented. He had some trouble with the 49ers secondary, but made a few plays happen when the pressure was on.

RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 17 - 69 - 2, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - Jacobs was the primary ball carrier, and was given the ball in the red zone often. He was rested in the fourth quarter, as the Giants were playing with a lead the whole game.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Rush: 8 - 28 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 - Bradshaw looked quite impressive moving the ball in the fourth quarter. He was put in to hold on to the ball and run down the clock. Though yardage was hard to come by against a stacked line, he was explosive in hitting the hole, which did result in one gain of 18 yards.

RB Derrick Ward, Rush: 4 - 19 - 0, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (3 targets) - Ward was shifty running for two ten plus yard gains, but was stopped for negative yardage on his other three carries. Of the three running backs, he was used the most as a receiving threat.

WR Steve Smith, Rec: 4 - 39 - 0 (4 targets) - Smith was looked to a little more as the game wore on, and came down with a couple of important first down grabs.

WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 3 - 24 - 1 (9 targets) - Burress was a highlight reel waiting to happen. He was covered so tightly the whole game that each and every catch was hard earned. He also had a long catch negated by a very questionable offensive pass interference call. Despite the heavy coverage, Manning still made him his favorite target.

WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 3 - 31 - 0 (8 targets) - Toomer was not able to do much in this game. Manning continued to look his way, but the two could not connect for any significant yardage.

WR Domenik Hixon, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - Hixon was the fourth receiver on the depth chart and was used rarely since the Giants had the lead the whole time. His catch came late in the game.

TE Kevin Boss (1 targets) - Boss was not a big part of the passing game.

PK John Carney 2 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points - Carney made a 21 and a 48 yard field goal, and also had one blocked and returned for a touchdown.

NYG Rush Defense - The Giants defense was superb all around. They shut down then 49ers ground game completely.

NYG Pass Defense - They absolutely confounded J.T. O'Sullivan with a combination of excellent coverage in the secondary and a wicked pass rush on every passing play. The result was a well earned six sacks and two interceptions.

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New York Jets 13, Oakland Raiders 16

What you need to know

New York Jets - The New York Jets, fresh off a cross country trip, looked to build on their recent success in what would surely be a difficult road game in the Black Hole. Led by a struggling Brett Favre, New York fought hard and had a wild come back vault them into overtime. The come back, however could not be capitalized on as Favre and the Jets offense struggled in the extra frame, giving way for Oakland to connect on a 57 yard field goal and an overtime victory.

The Jets found success on the shoulders of Thomas Jones and their power rushing attack as he broke off over six yards per carry and put forth 159 of New York's 242 rushing yards. Through the air their success was inconsistent as they missed on big plays downfield and turned the ball over three times in total, along with many near interceptions that were dropped by Raiders defenders.

Favre's struggles on the day were placed solely on pressure from the Oakland front four as he looked uncomfortable and rushed in the pocket. He completed only 55 percent of his passes, throwing for 197 yards and failing to find the end zone through the air for the first time all season.

Oakland Raiders - The Oakland Raiders returned home and displayed the return of a once prominent receiver, as well as the promise of a young budding quarterback. Outgained and outmatched the Raiders relied on defensive pressure to force turnovers and take advantage of positive field position which Kicker Sebastian Janikowski capitalized on. Janikowski drilled three of four field goal attempts on the day including a 57 yard bomb in overtime that gave Oakland its second victory of 2008.

Russell managed a mistake free game as he aired it out for an efficient 203 yards, finding six different receivers in the process. Russell and Javon Walker hooked up on an eight yard out route which was good for the Raiders only touchdown of the game. Russell's ability to keep the Jets on their heels gave Oakland's dynamic duo of backs room to run as they combined for 173 total yards. Fargas was the workhorse for the Silver and Black, as he averaged an even three yards per carry and shouldered a 28 carry load.

The Oakland defense, in the end, was the difference maker, forcing three turnovers and keeping the Jets offense from connecting on the big play. They picked off two Brett Favre passes and managed to hop on a muffed punt by Leon Washington as the Raiders played with energy and urgency, causing havoc from every position as they battled their way to the victory.

What you ought to know

QB Brett Favre, Pass: 21 - 38 - 197 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 - Favre had his worst statistical day of the season as a Jet, failing to throw a touchdown pass while only being able to accumulate 197 yards passing. He was forced to scramble more than usual due to the pressure applied by the Raiders defensive front, and on queue, threw two interceptions. The second interception was a clear miscommunication between Favre and Cotchery while his first pick of the game came in the red zone and halted a New York Jets scoring drive.

RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 24 - 159 - 0, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets) - Jones was the workhorse again for the second straight week as he carried 24 times for 159 yards. He was relied on heavily as the Jets struggled to move the chains through the air. Running hard and making some nice moves in the open field Jones found a solid rhythm and broke off some big gains.

RB Leon Washington, Rush: 3 - 19 - 1, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (4 targets) - Washington made the most of his limited touches, scoring the Jets only touchdown of the game on a powerful 11 yard run in the fourth quarter. His touchdown brought the Jets to within three as Washington fought through two defenders to get the ball across the goal line. Washington was also used effectively in the passing game as he caught three of his four targets for 21 yards.

WR Brad Smith, Rush: 4 - 59 - 0, Rec: 4 - 29 - 0 (6 targets) - Smith saw his first action of the year and was able to find an immediate connection with Favre as a safety check down. He saw six targets in total and was able to catch four balls for 29 yards. In addition to his multiple receptions, Smith added 59 yards rushing on only four carries as he was used in to stretch the defense and run to the outside.

WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 4 - 51 - 0 (6 targets) - Coles was able to benefit from the extra attention given to his fellow receiver, catching four if his six targets for a team high 51 yards. He found all of his success on underneath routes where Coles caught the ball and used his speed and size to gain positive yards after the catch.

WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (9 targets) - Cotchery saw a team high in targets but was blanketed all day by the Raiders secondary. He only managed to catch one ball thrown his way which was good for no gain. The Raiders were physical with Cotchery and often sent help over top of his downfield routes.

TE Chris Baker, Rec: 5 - 42 - 0 (9 targets) - Baker also saw nine targets in total on the night, turning in five catches for 42 yards as he once again developed a nice rapport with Favre. He was relied on heavily and was used extensively to get positive gains and extend drives downfield. Two of his five receptions were good for first downs and all of his catches were good for 12 yards or less.

TE Dustin Keller, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets) - Keller saw three looks come his way from Favre, catching only one of them for six yards. He saw one deep ball come his way in the overtime period, however was not able to come up with the catch.

PK Jay Feely 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points - Feely missed a game tying 52 yard field goal right after Raiders coach Tom Cable called an "Ice the kicker" timeout. Feely then made good on his second chance as he drilled the 52 yard try, sending the game into overtime. Feely was able to make both of his field goal attempts on the day while adding one PAT conversion.

NYJ Rush Defense - The Jets rush defense was solid as they kept leading rusher Justin Fargas under 100 yards on the day. They were solid on inside rushes but struggled at times on stretch plays and runs off tackle. This was the second straight game where they bottled up the opposing teams leading rusher as Fargas rushed 28 times in total but could only manage about three yards per clip.

NYJ Pass Defense - The Jets pass defense bent but did not break as they were a sub par unit against the Raiders listless passing attack. They applied little pressure to the young Raiders quarterback, sacking him only once while forcing no turnovers. It was this unit who yielded the only offensive touchdown of the day for the Silver and Black as Javon Walker was found in the front corner of the end zone for a go-ahead third quarter touchdown.

QB JaMarcus Russell, Pass: 17 - 30 - 203 - 1 TD / 0 INT - Russell turned in a solid effort against the Jets, completing 17 passes for 203 yards and a score. He managed the game well and relied on the run first game plan to keep the Jets on their heels. He showed great mobility and creativeness as he threw well on the run and made plays happen out of the pocket. In overtime, Russell showcased his cannon of an arm, hitting Javon Walker and Zach Miller on consecutive plays which set up the 57 yard game winning field goal.

RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 28 - 74 - 0, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) - Fargas was the main rushing threat on the day, carrying 28 times for 74 yards. He was given the rock early and often and was a beast to bring down as it often took a second and third hit to stop his momentum. He was used sparingly in the passing game, catching both of his targets for seven yards.

RB Darren McFadden, Rush: 8 - 39 - 0, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (5 targets) - McFadden was used as a change of pace to spell Fargas as well as a main passing threat out of the backfield. He carried only eight times on the day, gaining 39 yards in the process while adding three catches for 50 yards. He looked fast catching the ball and running in space as he made a couple plays that were good for big gains.

WR Javon Walker, Rec: 5 - 75 - 1 (9 targets) - Javon Walker returned to the scene against New York catching his first touchdown pass since 2006, which put the Raiders ahead to start the second half. He had a solid game catching five of his nine targets for 75 yards and a score. He looked to have good chemistry with Russell and was seemingly in great health as he looked like the quick and explosive Walker of old.

WR Chaz Schilens, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) - Schilens saw only three targets against New York, catching two of them for ten yards.

WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Rush: 1 - 18 - 0 (4 targets) - Higgins saw four targets on the day however could not come up with a catch. He was a clear last option for Russell however did manage a nice 18 yard run on an end around.

TE Zach Miller, Rec: 4 - 57 - 0 (6 targets) - Miller saw the second most targets of any Raider and just missed out on a big game as he had a touchdown pass nullified by an illegal formation penalty. Overall he put up solid numbers, catching four balls for 57 yards. Russell looked very comfortable relying on Miller when it counted as he looked his way for a big gain in overtime, setting up the winning field goal.

TE Tony Stewart, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - Stewart was targeted only once on a ball he was able to bring in for a four yard gain.

PK Sebastian Janikowski 3 - 4 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points - Janikowski was huge against the Jets as he made three big field goals, one being a 57 yard boot in overtime to give Oakland its second victory of the year. He showed off his great leg and knew it was good the minute it left his foot, as it looked like it could have been good from 60 plus yards.

OAK Rush Defense - The Raiders rush defense was gashed on the day, allowing over 200 yards on the ground and the Jets only touchdown. They had no answer for Thomas Jones or Leon Washington as they consistently made big gains running both up the middle and off tackle. The lopsided unit looked very comfortable giving up big gains on the ground so long as they did not get beat by Brett Favre and the deep ball.

OAK Pass Defense - The Raiders keyed on Favre and the Jets as they limited the high flying attack to less than 200 yards passing and were able to come away with two big interceptions. They were applying pressure from inside and out, forcing Favre to scramble and throw on the run. They delivered when needed the most as they picked off a Favre pass in the red zone which stopped a second quarter scoring drive.

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Tennessee Titans 34, Kansas City Chiefs 10

What you need to know

Tennessee Titans - RB Chris Johnson was just incredible. He had six yards per carry average on the day without including his long TD run. Words cannot explain how good he was.

LenDale White was used a lot more in this game than in past weeks. He once again had double digit touches. On a play where Kansas City forgot to have their safeties in the defensive backfield White busted a TD for 80 yards.

Kerry Collins was efficient but didn't throw a long ball all day. There were only 18 passing attempts and he didn't need to throw much. Jeff Fisher said before the game that he would be very conservative with Collins.

Kansas City Chiefs - Tony Gonzalez reduced every concern over the trade talk from the past two weeks. It was clear he wanted to prove something to his teammates. He reached out for balls across the middle and played hard.

Brodie Croyle was hit from both directions and a play that bent his knee very awkwardly. He was walking out in a full leg air cast and is gone for the year. Damon Huard came in and hurt his thumb and was seen with a heavily wrapped thumb afterwards. Tyler Thigpen came in as the emergency QB and ran first and threw into the stands or grass with every attempt he could.

Kolby Smith started the game and played most of the first half. The second half was more split between Smith and Jamaal Charles. At the end of the game Tyler Thigpen was the leading rusher with a whopping 21 yards. The Chief running game looked very ugly.

What you ought to know

QB Kerry Collins, Pass: 11 - 18 - 123 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 - Jeff Fisher said that the Titans would use Kerry Collins very conservatively and he was true to his word. Collins did not have one deep target all day. He was very accurate and even hit guys in tough coverage. In the red zone the Titans ran, ran, and ran some more. Kansas City had DL Tamba Hali drop back into coverage on one play and it almost worked. If Hali didn't drop the ball it would have been a short field for Kansas City. Collins was much better with is judgment after that play. He only had two pass attempts in the second quarter. There might have been more passes in the fourth quarter if RBs LenDale White and Chris Johnson didn't break off highlight reel runs the second and third possession plays respectively. Tennessee did not need Collins to do much.

RB Chris Johnson, Rush: 18 - 168 - 1, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) - Chris Johnson was amazing. He showed his burst with that NFL Combine record 40 speed. When there was a small hole he found it and blasted through. The safety was the only thing that stopped him from huge runs. And on one they couldn't catch him. On a nice off tackle play to burn the clock Johnson broke through the line for his TD. Even without that long TD he averaged six yards per carry. The big story of the day was Johnson's ability to break tackles. He broke two tackles more than once. He also made guys miss a lot with is quick moves and speed. On one play Kansas City piled up the line and Johnson just ran a half circle around it and went for another first down.

RB LenDale White, Rush: 17 - 149 - 3, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) - Seventeen touches from the RB spot should remove some worries about whether LenDale White will get the ball or not. White was able to get yards every time the Titans gave it to him. He saw the backfield every time the Titans moved inside the ten. White's big run was on a play to chew up the clock and get first downs. Kansas City failed to have any safeties in the defensive backfield. White broke through the first layer just like he was all day and there was no one in front of him. It was entertaining watching the defensive backs catching up to him from behind but White had too much of a head start. It was a very good day of hard running and pushing guys back by White.

RB Ahmard Hall, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) - Ahmard Hall made a nice catch on a flare pass but wasn't heard from again in the game.

RB Quinton Ganther, Rush: 2 - 11 - 0 - Quinton Ganther was only in when the game was out of hand and the Titans did not want to risk injury.

WR Lavelle Hawkins, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) - Lavelle Hawkins was the most targeted WR, but both TEs had more targets, yards, and mid-range throws. The Titans did not need to throw much today and they did not try one deep route all day.

WR Brandon Jones (1 targets) - Brandon Jones was targeted once but the ball was nowhere near him as he was the only player close to the ball on a throw away.

TE Bo Scaife, Rec: 3 - 48 - 0 (6 targets) - Bo Scaife was the focus of the Titans passing game. He was targeted in the middle and on out patterns. Scaife also lost yards on a blocking penalty on his longest catch of the day. That play would have been for over 40 yards without the penalty. He was able to get yards after the catch all day and it was very impressive to see him find the soft spot and then get more yards after he caught the ball.

TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 2 - 38 - 0 (2 targets) - Alge was targeted twice and did well with the ball after he caught it. He ended up as the second leading receiver on the day but only had 38 yards to show for it.

PK Rob Bironas 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points - Rob Bironas kept up his perfect field goal kicking streak today. He had two 40+ field goals and they were right down the middle.

TEN Rush Defense - Larry Johnson did not play and it is hard to know how much impact that had. The rush defense was punishing. There were three plays for over ten yards. RBs Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles were stuffed at the line most of the day. Tyler Thigpen was able to scramble for a few yards in the fourth quarter. The end result was 58 total rushing yards and it was an impressive performance.

TEN Pass Defense - It says it all when you take two QBs out of the game. Tennessee pinned their ears back and went after Kansas City. Brodie Croyle was hurt when two rushers hit him high and low and it was a very clean hit. It was just a bad combination that ended Croyle's season. Huard had just as much trouble and did not have much room to throw. There were three sacks and four blocked passes. It was a very tough defense and hard for the Chiefs to get anything done.

QB Damon Huard, Pass: 9 - 16 - 96 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 - Damon Huard was able to move the offense. However, Huard's thumb was reinjured and was heavily taped towards the end of the game. His passing was about the same as in the past. There is reason why Kansas City was excited for Brodie Croyle's return. TE Tony Gonzalez seemed to benefit the most from Huard.

QB Tyler Thigpen, Pass: 5 - 11 - 76 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 21 - 1 - Tyler Thigpen looked very nervous in the pocket. He really looked like he wanted to run first and pass second. Many of his passes went to the turf or the crowd and were not anywhere close to the receiver. He even missed RB Jamaal Charles on a short dump pass when he had little pressure and no one around Charles. His judgment was suspect when at the three yard line he could have thrown the ball away but he ran back to the middle of the field and was sacked for a five yard loss. He had a few attempts that the target was just whoever was closest to the ball.

QB Brodie Croyle, Pass: 9 - 10 - 63 - 0 TD / 0 INT - Brodie Croyle's season ended on a smothering pass rush. He was hit high and low simultaneously and his knee was bent awkwardly. He was just starting to get in sync with TE Tony Gonzalez.

RB Kolby Smith, Rush: 10 - 20 - 0, Rec: 2 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) - Kolby Smith started at RB but could not do anything with the ball. He did not have any burst and did not drive the pile.

RB Jamaal Charles, Rush: 3 - 17 - 0, Rec: 4 - 26 - 0 (7 targets) - Jamaal Charles did not start the game. He was used mostly in the second half and did not get many touches. He was actually at the WR position on a few plays and a few of his targets came early in the game at wideout. On one play he showed his youth in not getting to the first down marker before he turned back for the ball. The Chiefs were one yard short of the first down and turned the ball over again. QB Tyler Thigpen targeted Charles a lot in the fourth quarter as he was too nervous to sit in the pocket and throw downfield. Four of his targets were dump passes and two were uncatchable.

RB Mike Cox, Rec: 2 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) - Mike Cox had a few short receptions but it was nothing to write home about.

WR Dwayne Bowe, Rec: 7 - 86 - 0 (10 targets) - Dwayne Bowe had a decent day despite very poor QB play. There were a few passes that were right on the mark, but the passing game was not consistent enough to showcase his talent. He did end up with 86 yards and it was hard fought to get that much.

WR Devard Darling, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (4 targets) - Devard Darling was the leading WR in targets and yards. He had a whopping eleven yards.

WR Mark Bradley, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) - Mark Bradley played his first game as a Chief. However, this wasn't a game to gauge whether he will work out or not. The passing game did not get the ball around very well today but it is clear that he will not be more than their #3 WR.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Rec: 6 - 97 - 0 (8 targets) - Tony Gonzalez wanted to prove to his team today that he was with them. He reached out for a ball across the middle and took it from a linebacker. Gonzalez was also able to showcase his basketball abilities going up for the ball. He ended up as today's leading receiver with 97 yards. The only concern is what can happen at QB with the injuries. Tyler Thigpen couldn't get composed enough to throw Gonzalez the ball. On the last few possessions it didn't appear Gonzalez was on the field.

TE Brad Cottam (1 targets) - Tyler Thigpen targeted Brad Cottam at the end of the game. Tony Gonzalez was not in the game.

PK Nick Novak 1 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points - Nick Novak missed two field goals that could have really helped the Chiefs. One miss was from 50 yards but he didn't look very good all day. The other miss was from 39. The only one he made was from 26.

KC Rush Defense - The rush defense was non-existent. Chris Johnson averaged six yards per carry before he broke his long run. He made the Kansas City defense look like practice. LenDale White also ran for 4.3 yards per carry before his big run. It was a fun day for Tennessee RBs and a miserable day for anyone associated with the Chiefs.

KC Pass Defense - They didn't need one. The Titans running game provided the opportunity for very little passing. When QB Kerry Collins dropped back he had all day. The play action was working very well and there just was not any pressure. There were zero sacks and I can't remember Collins even getting touched.

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Cleveland Browns 11, Washington Redskins 14

What you need to know

Cleveland Browns - The Browns could not get their passing game on track until their last two drives in the fourth quarter, which negated the solid effort by Jamal Lewis as they lost the game. Lewis ran with great determination and power, driving defenders for extra yards on most of his rushing attempts. He was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage just three times, but all three of those rushes came inside Washington's three yard line. Apart from those three rushes, Lewis averaged five yards per carry, which was impressive considering Cleveland's passing game was a non-factor for most of the game. In addition to the goal line carries, Lewis came close to scoring by taking a short pass and running to the one yard line where he was stopped as he stretched for the end zone.

Derek Anderson did not get into a rhythm until late in the fourth quarter. He missed open receivers several times and appeared to be pressing most of the time. Eleven of his passes were thrown too high, too low or too wide to be caught. While some of that was due to Washington's pass rush, he just missed open receivers at other times. Anderson's case was not helped by his receivers dropping five passes that were catchable. The Browns did not get a first down as a result of a pass until late in the third quarter, and none of their receivers had more than one reception until late in the game. When he got into a rhythm, Anderson looked for Kellen Winslow, who returned to action from the illness that had sidelined him, and Braylon Edwards. However apart from a couple of late catches by Edwards, they were unable to generate big plays. Ninety-six of Anderson's 136 passing yards came in the fourth quarter.

The Browns attempted 13 plays on three possessions in the red zone, and came away with one touchdowns and a field goal. They ran four times, with Lewis getting three carries from inside the three yard line, coming up short on all three rushes. Of Anderson's nine pass plays, he threw to seven different receivers, with Winslow being stopped at the one yard line, Cribbs catching a pass for a touchdown, and Edwards catching a two-point conversion. The other two red zone pass plays ended with the ball being tipped at the line of scrimmage and Anderson being sacked. Overall, a frustrating effort on offense by Cleveland, which was epitomized by Anderson having to call a timeout in the fourth quarter because the play clock was running out, and getting into an argument with his fullback Lawrence Vickers with Vickers angrily pushing Anderson's arm off him as they walked to the sideline.

Washington Redskins - The Redskins ran the ball extremely well and combined with an efficient passing game and superb defense, got the victory despite a lost fumble by Clinton Portis late in the game. Portis averaged 6.48 yards per rushing attempt by hitting the line of scrimmage decisively, and applying constant pressure on Cleveland's defense. In addition to showing excellent quickness and explosiveness, he seemed to end all of his runs by falling forward for extra yardage. His fumble gave the Browns good field position which they turned into a touchdown and two point conversion for the final score, but apart from that miscue, Portis was the best offensive player on the field. Shaun Alexander entered the game at the beginning of the third quarter and ran for eight yards on his first carry, but did not total any additional yards on his two subsequent carries.

Jason Campbell was efficient in directing an aerial attack that relied mostly on short and intermediate passes. He was fairly accurate with his passes, with just four of his incompletions due to him missing an open receiver. Campbell focused most of his attention towards Santana Moss, Chris Cooley and Antwaan Randle El, throwing 18 of his 23 passes to the three of them. His lone touchdown throw was to Moss, who turned a short pass into a score by making several defenders miss, including on a spin move to get into the end zone. Campbell provided just enough balance to Washington's strong running game and did not attempt to go for many big plays as a result of the success of the rushing attack.

The Redskins ran four plays on two red zone possessions, and came away with two touchdowns. They passed the ball three times, twice to Moss, including one for a touchdown, and once to Randle El who was tackled at the two yard line. Portis ran for a touchdown on the next play, as Washington was very efficient in the red zone.

What you ought to know

QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 14 - 37 - 136 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 4 - 0 - Anderson was ineffective for most of the game. Part of his challenge was the Redskins' pass rush, and dropped balls by some of his receivers, but he missed open receivers 11 times during the game. He seemed unsure of himself for most of the game, and did not get into any rhythm until the last two drives, when he threw with confidence and hit his receivers in stride to lead his team to within three points. Overall though he was inconsistent and did not appear confident in his decision-making or his throws. The only receiver he developed any rapport with was Braylon Edwards, but that was late in the game. Despite targeting Edwards 13 times, he only connected on four passes.

RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 19 - 80 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) - Lewis ran with a lot of power and showed good acceleration to the hole, and seemed on the verge of breaking free for bigger gains several times, but the Redskins' swarming defense held him to just two runs of over ten yards. However, eight of his 19 carries were for four yards or more, which was testament to his strong running against a very good defense. Lewis could have gained better overall numbers, but Anderson missed him on two throws, while he took the pass he did catch to the one yard line.

RB Jerome Harrison, Rush: 3 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) - Harrison's carries all came in the fourth quarter.

RB Lawrence Vickers, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - Vickers had a quiet game except for a flare-up with Anderson in the fourth quarter where the two men argued after Anderson had to call a timeout to prevent a delay of game penalty, upon which Anderson went directly to Vickers.

RB Jason Wright, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) - Wright's participation was minimal.

WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 4 - 58 - 0 (13 targets) - Edwards dropped a couple passes thrown to him, and was missed on four other occasions. He managed to get open against aggressive coverage, but was a non-factor until late in the game. In the fourth quarter he showed good hands and route running to snare some passes, including getting open in the end zone for a two-point conversion play that brought Cleveland to within three points. As with the other receivers, Edwards did not have a consistent effort.

WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (5 targets) - Stallworth's impact was minimal and he was used mostly on short routes, being targeted deep just once. He did get open a couple of times but Anderson could not get the ball to him.

WR Josh Cribbs, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (2 targets) - Cribbs was decleated by a legal but vicious hit on his first target but contributed both with his kickoff returns and catching Cleveland's only touchdown.

TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (7 targets) - Winslow ran good routes and was able to get open consistently, despite missing time recently due to illness. However, he was overthrown four times and drew a penalty on his defender on another play. He caught the other two passes thrown his way, including one where he carried defenders to the one yard line before being stopped just outside of the end zone.

TE Darnell Dinkins, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - Dinkins was used mostly as a blocker.

TE Steve Heiden, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) - Heiden was utilized mostly as a blocker and occasional outlet receiver.

PK Phil Dawson 1 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points - Dawson did not have any point after attempts and made one field goal from 37 yards and missed one from 54 yards that would have sent the game into overtime.

CLE Rush Defense - Cleveland's run defense had no answer for Portis. They were unable to control the line of scrimmage and as a result gave up an average of 6.48 yards per carry to Portis, as he routinely got to the second level of their defense. Their best play came late in the game when they forced Portis to fumble and recovered it, which led to them scoring to get within three points.

CLE Pass Defense - The Browns played the pass aggressively, but were unable to generate a lot of pressure on Campbell in part because of having to respect Washington's running game, and in part to Campbell getting rid of the ball quickly in the short passing game. Their tackling left a bit to be desired as the Redskins' receivers turned a few short passes into good gains, including one for a touchdown.

QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 14 - 23 - 164 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 - Campbell did a good enough job of managing the game by relying on his strong running game and focusing on the short passing game to complement the running attack. Campbell was decisive in terms of whom to throw the ball to and was very accurate with his passes. He was not asked to take many chances in this game, but showed very good decision making and poise throughout. Although he focused on shorter passes, he threw a variety of passes and was comfortable with all of them, which helped keep the defense from keying on particular pass plays.

RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 27 - 175 - 1, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) - Portis ran extremely well, except for a fumble late in the game. He accelerated to the line of scrimmage decisively, and made the right decisions as to which hole to attack, which led to his healthy rushing numbers. Portis showed a good combination of elusiveness in the open field and power once defenders closed in on him, to gain extra yards on most of his carries. He was the best offensive player on the field.

RB Rock Cartwright, Rush: 3 - 12 - 0, Rec: 1 - -7 - 0 (1 targets) - Cartwright ran hard every time he touched the ball, but had more of an impact on special teams returning kicks.

RB Shaun Alexander, Rush: 3 - 8 - 0 - Alexander entered the game in the third quarter but did not have many touches.

WR Santana Moss, Rec: 4 - 75 - 1 (7 targets) - Moss ran mostly short and intermediate routes, and displayed excellent quickness and speed after securing the catch. He gained yards after each reception, including his touchdown reception. Moss used his quickness to great advantage by running excellent routes and connected with Campbell very well on timing routes.

WR Antwaan Randle El, Rec: 4 - 56 - 0 (4 targets) - Randle El was targeted twice on intermediate routes, and caught all passes thrown his way. He ran his routes well, and showed his ability to run after the catch on all of his receptions, including one where he was stopped a couple of yards from the end zone. Randle El and Campbell had their timing down well and were in synch when Randle El's number was called.

TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 4 - 32 - 0 (7 targets) - Cooley ran his short routes well, and may have gained more yards if not for good defensive play by his defender on a couple occasions he was targeted. He was unable to break free for any long gains as he was tackled immediately after catching short passes.

TE Fred Davis, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0 (2 targets) - Davis' contributions were minimal. He was used on a reverse run that did not gain positive yardage, and did not contribute in the passing game.

PK Shaun Suisham 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - Suisham made both of his point after attempts, but missed his only field goal attempt, which was from 36 yards.

WAS Rush Defense - Washington's run defense was aggressive, with the linebacker providing a lot of support near the line of scrimmage. Although Jamal Lewis was able to gain a decent number of yards, the Redskins defense prevented him from breaking loose for big gains on several occasions when it seemed as though he was on the verge of doing so. The defensive line did not make many plays behind the line of scrimmage, but they and the linebackers did a decent job of flying to the ball once the running backs got past the line of scrimmage. They stiffened at the goal line and thwarted three rushing attempts by Lewis inside the two yard line.

WAS Pass Defense - The Redskins applied pressure to Anderson constantly, both with blitzes and from pressure by the defensive line. Although they did not record an interception and just had one sack, they came close on several occasions, and tipped Anderson's passes at the line of scrimmage four times. Their secondary set the tone early with several hard but clean hits to receivers as the ball arrived, and except for the Browns' scoring drive late in the game, stymied Cleveland's passing game.

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Minnesota Vikings 41, Chicago Bears 48

What you need to know

Minnesota Vikings - Gus Frerotte had an inconsistent game, throwing for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears, however throwing four picks as well. Early on he dazzled, completing five of his first seven passes for 66 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' first three drives. His only other touchdown of the afternoon came late in the fourth quarter as the Vikings were attempting to come back, when he found Bernard Berrian in the end zone for a five yard score.

RB Adrian Peterson had yet another good effort against the Bears, racking up 121 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Peterson's highlight of the afternoon came in the third quarter as he burst through a hole and took it to the house for a 51 yard score. All game, Peterson showed amazing power, appearing to be tough for the Bears' defenders to bring down, making it clear from the opening snap that he was on track for a big game.

The Vikings' special teams struggled quite a bit in this game, their blunders beginning with a blocked punt that the Bears converted to a touchdown. Later on a Bears' punt, the ball took a funny bounce and hit Minnesota's punt returner, allowed the Bears to score again.

Chicago Bears - QB Kyle Orton dazzled yet again, throwing for 283 yards and two touchdowns. Orton came out throwing after the Vikings scored to open the game, and led the Bears to a fast response when he connected with Greg Olsen for an 18 yard touchdown. In fact, even past this first drive Orton continued completing his passes, his first incompletion coming on a drop. Orton probably could have ended with one or two more touchdowns, but Marty Booker had two drops that would have been scores.

RB Matt Forte had a fairly quiet day, only running for 56 yards on 20 carries. Forte however, did score a touchdown when he took a goal line handoff in the fourth quarter. Forte was not a big part of the Bears' game plan early, but as the game wore on he seemed to get more and more work against the tough Minnesota run defense.

WR Devin Hester injured himself again, leaving the game in the third quarter with a quad injury. Up to that point, he had gained 22 yards on two receptions; hopefully the injury is nothing serious.

What you ought to know

QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 25 - 40 - 298 - 2 TD / 4 INT - Although Frerotte had an okay statistical day, he never seemed to give the Vikings a very good chance to win. Frerotte did throw for 298 yards and two touchdowns; however he had four interceptions, one which came at the end of the game as the Vikings were trying to drive for the tie. One of his brighter moments came early in the game, as he led the Vikings down the field near the end of the first quarter and connected with Visanthe Shiancoe for a 24 yard touchdown.

RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 22 - 121 - 2, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) - Peterson opened the afternoon with an impressive cutback run for 18 yards. As the drive concluded, Peterson appeared to be stacked up on the goal line on fourth down, but a nice second effort allowed him to get the ball across the line for the touchdown. After a quiet second quarter, Peterson opened the third quarter with a bang when he broke off an impressive 54 yard touchdown run. He ended the day with 121 yards and two touchdowns.

RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 10 - 34 - 1, Rec: 6 - 48 - 0 (6 targets) - Taylor had ten carries and six receptions in this game, racking up a grand total of 82 yards and a touchdown. Taylor almost had a second score when early in the first quarter he caught a six yard pass, coming up inches short of the goal line. Peterson ran it in the next play. However, Taylor did get his chance to score when late in the second quarter he dove over the top at the goal line for the touchdown.

WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 6 - 81 - 1 (11 targets) - Berrian was the most targeted Minnesota receiver, catching just over half of his targets for 81 yards and a touchdown. Early in the game Berrian had a 34 yard reception when he got inside of defender, doing a good job of concentrating and catching the ball to finish the play. Near the end of the fourth quarter, he caught a touchdown at the side of end zone, doing a good job getting feet down and maintaining control.

WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 5 - 60 - 0 (8 targets) - Wade caught five of his eight targets for 60 yards. His key catch of the afternoon came on a fourth and 14 play where he got open down the sideline and caught a pass for a 19 yard gain.

WR Aundrae Allison, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (5 targets) - Allison had a fairly quiet day, catching three of his five targets for 32 yards. His long catch of the afternoon came early in the fourth quarter when he hauled in an 18 yard reception.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 4 - 68 - 1 (5 targets) - Shiancoe caught four of his five targets for 68 yards and a touchdown; the one target he didn't catch was nowhere near him. Shiancoe scored his touchdown near the end of the first quarter when Frerotte found him for a 24 yard score.

PK Ryan Longwell 2 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points - There is nothing significant to report in the Vikings' kicking game, Longwell made all of his kicks.

MIN Rush Defense - The Vikings' run defense did a good job of containing Forte, no surprise considering their elite reputation. Although they held him to just 2.8 yards per carry, he was able to find pay dirt once as he took a goal line handoff and bounced it outside for the one yard score.

MIN Pass Defense - The Vikings' pass defense looked foolish in this game, allowing 283 yards passing to Orton and giving up two touchdowns. Minnesota struggled with getting pressure on Orton, and he made them pay by often finding open receivers for moderate to large gains. The lone bright spot of the day for the pass defense was when they sacked Orton in the third quarter, forcing him to fumble the ball.

QB Kyle Orton, Pass: 21 - 32 - 283 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0 - Orton conducted a masterful game, throwing for 283 yards and two touchdowns, fumbling once. Out of the gate Orton looked great, leading the Bears to an opening drive touchdown. As usual, he spread the ball around very well, and ended the drive throwing a dart to Greg Olsen for a touchdown. All game he benefited from great play from the O-line, having plenty of time to complete his throws.

RB Matt Forte, Rush: 20 - 56 - 1, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (3 targets) - Forte struggled against the Vikings' run defense like most running backs have this year, running for 56 yards on 20 carries, a dismal 2.8 average. However, Forte scored a touchdown a few seconds into the fourth quarter as he took a goal line handoff, bounced it outside, and was practically able to walk it in for the score. He also added two receptions for 17 yards.

RB Jason McKie, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) - McKie didn't take any carries in this game, but he caught both of his targets for eight yards.

RB Garrett Wolfe - Wolfe's first NFL touchdown came not on offense but on special teams. Wolfe picked up a blocked punt in the first quarter and returned it for 17 yards and the score. He did not have any carries or targets on offense.

WR Rashied Davis, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (4 targets) - Davis caught three of his four targets for 24 yards; however his most significant contribution came on a ball he didn't catch. On a play where Desmond Clark was racing to the end zone, the ball was knocked loose on the one yard line. Luckily for the Bears, Davis was the next closest man to the ball and was able to recover the fumble and take it in for the score.

WR Marty Booker, Rec: 3 - 79 - 1 (9 targets) - Booker was targeted the most of any Bears' receiver, but had issues dropping the ball. Early in the second quarter Booker dropped a sure touchdown when Orton hit him in the hands in the end zone but he couldn't bring it in. Later near the end of the second quarter Booker dropped a second sure touchdown on a fade route, which led to a field goal attempt that was blocked. Late in the third quarter though, Booker finally came through when he caught a short route, turned it inside, and took it to the house for a 51 yard touchdown. He finished the day with three receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.

WR Devin Hester, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets) - Hester had another quiet day in the return game, only racking up 18 return yards. He didn't do much in the passing game either, although he did catch both his targets for 22 yards. In the third quarter, Hester injured his quad, and did not return to the game.

TE Greg Olsen, Rec: 6 - 74 - 1 (7 targets) - Olsen's first catch of the game came on a tipped ball, but he showed good concentration and brought it in for a gain of ten yards. Immediately after, Orton found Olsen down the middle of the field for an 18 yard touchdown. Olsen finished the day as Orton's second most targeted receiver, bringing in six of his seven targets for 74 yards and a touchdown.

TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 3 - 59 - 0 (5 targets) - Early in the third quarter Clark caught a pass wide open downfield, and while running it to the end zone dropped it on the goal line. The ball was picked up by Rashied Davis and run in for the extra yard and score. Clark was not credited with the touchdown, and finished the day with three catches for 59 yards.

PK Robbie Gould 2 - 3 FG, 6 - 6 XP, 12 points - Gould had a field goal blocked in this game, but aside from that he was perfect kicking on the game.

CHI Rush Defense - The Bears' rush defense struggled stopping the Vikings attack. Adrian Peterson burst out of the gate with some strong runs, and converted on a fourth and goal to score an opening drive touchdown. In the second quarter the defense seemed to step it up, however in the second half the Vikings' rushing attack woke up again as Peterson broke off a 54 yard touchdown run. Altogether on the day, the Bears allowed 155 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

CHI Pass Defense - Despite missing both their starting corners, the Bears' pass defense put on an impressive display. Although they allowed two passing touchdowns, the defense came up with four interceptions, including a clutch one on the Vikings' final drive to seal the win.

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Seattle Seahawks 10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20

What you need to know

Seattle Seahawks - QB Seneca Wallace started in place of Matt Hasselbeck who was out with a back injury. Wallace looked uncomfortable against the scrambling Tampa Bay defense. He has good mobility but was contained by the Buccaneers.

RB Julius Jones and Maurice Morris struggled against the Buccaneers. They both had a long run late in the game but failed to get yardage consistently gaining only 32 combined yards on 11 other carries.

TE John Carlson caught Seattle's only touchdown from the two yard line. He was targeted six times, which was more than any other player on the Seahawks. Bobby Engram was targeted five times but was unable to catch a ball until late in the game on his fifth target.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - QB Jeff Garcia controlled the game with his play. He tore the Seattle defense apart leading several impressive drives. He had amazing pocket presence and kept the offense moving most of the game. He did struggle to hold onto the ball but he did not lose either of the fumbles he let hit the turf. He made all kinds of different throws with different arm angles finding passing lanes.

RB Earnest Graham was involved all game. He carried the ball 23 times, but only gained 52 yards. He did score a touchdown. He also served as the fullback again when Warrick Dunn was in the game.

What you ought to know

QB Seneca Wallace, Pass: 12 - 23 - 73 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 - Wallace looked out of place in the backfield for most of the game. He could not string together any receptions and seemed to lack confidence. He looked hesitant in everything he did early in the game. He failed to break 100 yards in the air on 23 throws, simply unacceptable as an NFL quarterback. He was forcing throws into bad spots and being inaccurate other times.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 7 - 42 - 0, Rec: 1 - -5 - 0 (1 targets) - Jones split time with Maurice Morris in the backfield. It was essentially a 50-50 split of plays and looks to be a solid running back by committee situation. Jones had one nice run for 21 yards on Seattle's touchdown drive, but other than that struggled to get past the opposing defensive line.

RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 6 - 56 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) - Morris was part of the running-back-by-committee with Julius Jones. They split time evenly throughout the game. He produced one 45 yard run but only gained nine yards on his other five carried. He was not able to make many people miss on the night.

RB Leonard Weaver, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (4 targets) - Weaver seemed to be sharing time with Keary Colbert as the third WR for Seattle. He caught only one of the four balls thrown his way for a total of six yards.

WR Keary Colbert, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (2 targets) - Colbert caught both passes Seneca Wallace threw his way. He seemed to be sharing time as third wide receiver with Leonard Weaver.

WR Koren Robinson, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (5 targets) - Robinson did what he could with Seneca Wallace's throws, catching two of his five targets, a couple of the balls being uncatchable. One of the throws that was thrown his way was intercepted do to a defensive back tipping the bad pass and the safety over top catching it.

WR Bobby Engram, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (5 targets) - Engram was invisible most of the game, being targeted four times in the first three quarters and failing to catch any of them. He did catch a pass in the fourth quarter but it was for a measly eight yards.

TE John Carlson, Rec: 3 - 11 - 1 (6 targets) - Carlson seemed to be Wallace's favorite target when in trouble. He only gained 11 yards but had a chance at a 20 yard catch and he caught a touchdown. He seemed to be able to separate from the linebackers.

PK Olindo Mare 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points - Mare missed a 38 yard field goal which would have led to the game being a lot closer. He pulled it and missed to the left.

SEA Rush Defense - Seattle's rush defense was extremely successful, preventing Warrick Dunn and Earnest Graham from completely controlling the game. They did give in on one drive in the fourth quarter which added up to a nine minute and 34 second drive for the Buccaneers.

SEA Pass Defense - The Seattle pass defense was not very good. They allowed Jeff Garcia to accumulate 310 yards passing. They did not contain Garcia or cover exceptionally well.

QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 27 - 36 - 310 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 8 - 0 - Garcia had an impressive game. He carried the offense by moving around and improvising. He once threw the ball backhanded with a flick of the wrist on a shovel pass that originated from a broken play. He really kept the Buccaneer's going by stringing together multiple first downs via his legs and some accurate passes.

RB Earnest Graham, Rush: 23 - 52 - 1, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (3 targets) - Graham seemed to be the favored back in Tampa Bay. He was not always featured but he was utilized in different ways. He was in as a fullback, split back, single-back, etc. He slipped out of the backfield for a couple of short passes netting him 13 yards.

RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 13 - 37 - 0, Rec: 4 - 21 - 0 (6 targets) - Dunn was not very effective, as it seemed that he rarely had a chance to slip tackles and gain extra yards. He was in often on third downs as a utility back, which led to six targets, four catches and 21 yards gained through the air.

RB Jameel Cook, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) - Cook was rarely used, getting zero carries, but he did catch two balls for 15 yards.

WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 6 - 115 - 1 (6 targets) - Bryant was a beast out there, running all different types of routes and catching all the balls thrown his way. He was well covered on a couple of the catches but managed to pull away with the ball. He caught a deep pass from Garcia for a 47 yard touchdown reception in the first quarter on the Buccaneers' first drive.

WR Michael Clayton, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (3 targets) - Clayton caught all three balls thrown his way. He showed good hands and some ability to be a good possession receiver.

WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - Hilliard was carted off on a scary crossing route in the red zone on a ball he caught but ended up fumbling immediately when hit. He fell over limp. It was a scary sight as they brought out the back board and stretcher. But the crowd roared when Hilliard stood up and walked over to the cart to ride off. He was held out for the rest of the game but did not appear to have a serious injury.

WR Brian Clark, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) - Clark came in after Ike Hilliard got hurt. He caught the only ball thrown his way.

TE Jerramy Stevens, Rec: 4 - 55 - 0 (4 targets) - Stevens split time with Alex Smith and John Gilmore. He looked to be part of a committee which means fewer targets for individual tight ends from Jeff Garcia.

TE John Gilmore, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (2 targets) - Gilmore shared time at the TE position with Stevens and Smith, catching both balls thrown his way. They were both thrown to him on first down.

TE Alex Smith, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (4 targets) - Smith shared time with Jerramy Stevens and John Gilmore, only receiving four total targets of ten tight end targets from Jeff Garcia. He caught only two of them.

PK Matt Bryant 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points - Matt Bryant hit two short field goals, but he missed a 47 yard kick in the final seconds of the first half, giving the Seahawks a boost going into halftime.

TB Rush Defense - The Tampa Bay rush defense was extremely solid, save two runs where they allowed 66 yards. They looked solid plugging holes and penetrating the line.

TB Pass Defense - Tampa Bay kept Seneca Wallace off balance all night and took advantage of situations when they could. They held Wallace to 73 total passing yards on 23 attempts.

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Indianapolis Colts 14, Green Bay Packers 34

What you need to know

Indianapolis Colts - The Indianapolis Colts played a sloppy, penalty-riddled game on the road in Lambeau Field and were blown out by the Green Bay Packers.

QB Peyton Manning did not look sharp and he was unable to get anything significant going against a tough but undermanned Packers secondary. He threw two interceptions that were returned for scores. The Colts had two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter overturned by official review but the game was well out of reach by then and the team eventually scored on RB Dominic Rhodes second touchdown of the game.

Rhodes filled in well for the injured RB Joseph Addai. He ran well and looked strong. His first touchdown came on a hurried snap when Manning realized that the Packers had twelve men on the field but his second score game in garbage time with less than two minutes left in the game.

None of the Colts wide receivers were able to do much against the strong secondary defense of the Packers. TE Dallas Clark hauled in eight receptions and led all Colts in that category.

PK Adam Vinatieri had his only field goal attempt blocked.

The Colts defense did not play very well, although fourteen of the Packers' points came from defensive scores.

Green Bay Packers - QB Aaron Rodgers continues to play well despite a shoulder injury that limits his practice time during the week. The Packers dominated in every facet of this game and the game was not even as close as the score would indicate.

Rodgers spread the ball around to eight different receivers and RB Ryan Grant had his first 100 yard game of the season.

RB Brandon Jackson was the team's leading receiver but the entire offense was solid with no mishaps or mistakes. Grant did fumble once but it was recovered by Packers FB Korey Hall.

The Packers secondary was very impressive in the win despite missing a few key players. The Colts were unable to do much through the air and the Packers had two long interception returns for touchdowns.

What you ought to know

QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 21 - 42 - 229 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 - QB Peyton Manning was unable to get anything going in this game. The Packers defense played superbly against the Colts vaunted passing attack and held the entire offense in check. Manning did not look particularly sharp. He was held without a touchdown pass but two potential touchdowns were called back after official review but those were after the game was out of reach for the Colts.

RB Dominic Rhodes, Rush: 20 - 73 - 2, Rec: 4 - 41 - 0 - RB Dominic Rhodes ran well in place of the injured RB Joseph Addai. He looked quicker and stronger than he did during his time in Oakland and he is a strong back up for Addai. His second touchdown came in garbage time, as the game was well out of reach and it was surprising that the Colts were even trying to score at that point. It also followed two touchdown passes that were reviewed and called back.

Rhodes' first touchdown occurred on a hurried snap by QB Peyton Manning because the Packers had twelve men on the field. Rhodes ran in for the score but the referees never signaled touchdown. The score counted, however.

WR Anthony Gonzalez, Rec: 5 - 72 - 0 (7 targets) - WR Anthony Gonzales was the most effective Colts wide receiver in this game. Gonzales was initially given a touchdown in the fourth quarter but the play was reviewed by the officials and overturned. Gonzales was also the target of the pass that was intercepted by DB Aaron Rouse for a 99 yard interception return.

WR Marvin Harrison, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (6 targets) - WR Marvin Harrison was not a big factor in the game. In the fourth quarter, a deep pass to Harrison was nearly complete but the receiver was only able to land one foot in bounds.

WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (9 targets) - WR Reggie Wayne had an unusually quiet game. The Packers played him very tight and like most of the Colts offense he was held in check. Wayne should have had another reception in the fourth quarter but it was ruled incomplete by the officials. It appeared that he had possession has he fell to the ground but the team did not challenge.

TE Dallas Clark, Rec: 8 - 81 - 0 (10 targets) - TE Dallas Clark had a solid game for the Colts but unfortunately the rest of the passing game was very ineffective. Clark thought he had scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter in garbage time but the play was reviewed and he was called down at the one yard line which set up RB Dominic Rhodes second touchdown run on the day.

PK Adam Vinatieri 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - PK Adam Vinatieri had his only field goal attempt deflected and it was no good. He was perfect on extra point attempts.

IND Rush Defense - The Colts rush defense allowed RB Ryan Grant's first 100 yard rushing game and touchdown of the season.

IND Pass Defense - The Colts pass defense allowed thirteen straight completions to QB Aaron Rodgers at one point and they were unable to reel in any interceptions. Rodgers spread the ball out to his receivers and backs and the Colts could not do much to stop it.

QB Aaron Rodgers, Pass: 21 - 28 - 186 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 8 - 0 - QB Aaron Rodgers continues to show no signs of slowdown due to his nagging shoulder injury. At one point, Rodgers completed thirteen straight completions and it was only broken-up by a spike of the ball to stop the clock as the first half was winding down. Rodgers spread the ball around to eight different receivers and did not make any mistakes in leading the team to an impressive victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

RB Ryan Grant, Rush: 31 - 105 - 1, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) - RB Ryan Grant ran the ball well against the Colts. He looked better than he has for most of this season and may be back on track following an early injury this year. He was not used much in the passing game but was clearly the featured back in the running game. He was basically untouched on his eleven yard touchdown run in the first half. He fumbled the ball in the first quarter but it was gobbled up by FB Korey Hall. Grant also powered his way through the line on a fourth and one situation for a seven yard gain.

RB Brandon Jackson, Rec: 6 - 37 - 0 (6 targets) - RB Brandon Jackson was used extensively as a receiver for the Packers. He was the team's leading receiving in both yards and catches. He had three receptions on the team's two minute drive to end the first half which resulted in a missed field goal attempt by PK Mason Crosby.

WR Donald Driver, Rec: 4 - 35 - 0 (5 targets) - WR Donald Driver was relatively quiet in the victory but no Packers receiver did much damage in the blowout victory. Three of Driver's receptions were for five yards or less.

WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) - WR Greg Jennings only reeled in three catches in the victory. QB Aaron Rodgers spread the ball around to eight receivers and the entire team was firing on all cylinders so there was not much more that Jennings could do in the blowout. Jennings also dropped a ball in the first half but the Colts' defender was whistled for defensive pass interference.

WR Jordy Nelson, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) - WR Jordy Nelson was the third option at wide receiver for QB Aaron Rodgers.

TE Donald Lee, Rec: 2 - 23 - 1 (2 targets) - TE Donald Lee only caught two passes in the win but one was a twelve yard pass from QB Aaron Rodgers just over the goal line for a score.

PK Mason Crosby 2 - 3 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points - PK Mason Crosby missed badly on a 36 yard field goal at the end of the first half. Otherwise, he made two field goals and four extra points in the victory. The Packers also attempted an onsides kick after their first score but the ball went out of bounds before anyone pounced on it.

GB Rush Defense - The Packers rush defense allowed some decent rushing numbers to RB Dominic Rhodes but after falling behind the Colts resorted to a pass-first offense which left the front line of the Packers untested for most of the second half.

GB Pass Defense - The Packers pass defense was exceptional against the high-flying passing attack of the Colts. The secondary was undermanned but played the receivers tight and basically shut down the vaunted duo of WR Reggie Wayne and WR Marvin Harrison. They also picked off two passes and brought them back for touchdowns.

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Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Cincinnati Bengals 10

What you need to know

Pittsburgh Steelers - QB Ben Roethlisberger was very workmanlike, spreading the ball around and playing an overall steady game with no turnovers. The Steelers offensive game plan was to pass early, as evidenced by just 9 rushing attempts in the first half. Roethlisberger connected with 5 different receivers in the first two quarters. During the second half, and facing an anemic Bengals pass rush, Roethlisberger found considerable time to make his downfield throws, and was able to connect on a 50 yard completion to WR Nate Washington for his second score. QB Byron Leftwich threw for 34 yards and a TD in mop up duty. Pittsburgh's offensive line did not allow a sack correcting a major problem area that plagued them this season.

RB Mewelde Moore, starting for the second straight game, was again very effective both in the running and passing game. He topped 100 rushing yards and found the end zone three times, once on a play action pass in the red zone. Ben Roethlisberger was able get him the ball out of the backfield where they connected five times. In two starts, Moore has 219 rushing yards and is a significant option to fantasy owners as long as he gets his opportunities. Backup RB Gary Russell was not a major factor, but chipped in with four carries and one target.

WR Santonio Holmes was Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target in the passing game. Holmes was able to get separation from the Bengals' defensive backs and showed good route running. Holmes was able to make some significant yards after the catch evidenced by his 18 yards per reception average.

Cincinnati Bengals - QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was unable to sustain anything early on, with the Bengals having five straight three and out possessions in the first half. However, he shifted from deeper drop backs to shorter; more rhythmic passes late in the first half and that led to a scoring drive in the second quarter. His overall numbers were below average and his penchant for holding onto the ball allowed the defense to get to him quite often. With more experience and his impressive athletic ability, he may be able to utilize his considerable receiving threats further down the road.

RB Cedric Benson was productive in the first half, a surprising fact when you consider half a season of rust to shake off and against the normally effective Steelers' run defense. He did not show serious effects of his long layoff and gained nearly four yards per carry. Playing from behind in the second half limited his touches and he did not see much in the passing game. Backup RB Kenny Watson was a semi-effective replacement, with seventeen yards on his four carries.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and WR Chad Johnson each had eight catches. Neither wideout posted over 100 yards, but Chad found the end zone. The low yardage totals were a combination of the Bengals' play calling shifting to shorter routes and the Steelers' ferocious pass rush.

What you ought to know

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 17 - 28 - 216 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 - Pittsburgh wanted to establish its passing game early and was able to move the ball effectively through the air during the first half. Ben Roethlisberger was in perfect rhythm in the second quarter getting ample time and able to get the ball to both starting wideouts and his running back. The most dramatic play was made while in the third quarter when Roethlisberger was able to get the ball deep and find WR Nate Washington for a touchdown. Ending up with over 200 yards, Roethlisberger finally enjoyed great protection and showed the benefits of his bye week to heal up from what has been a rough season of taking many major hits.

RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 20 - 120 - 2, Rec: 5 - 14 - 1 (7 targets) - Getting his second straight start due to a recurrence to RB Willie Parker's knee injury, RB Mewelde Moore made the most of his opportunity. He was able to get going early with the passing game and broke the game open in the second half running the ball. Posting two rushing touchdowns and 120 yards on the ground, Moore allowed the Steelers to take advantage of his skills. His pass catching ability is the reason the team got him in the off-season and he is a major target out of the backfield. He was able to reel in a nice play action pass in the red zone for the game's first score. Moore continues to be a decent fantasy play if given another opportunity.

WR Santonio Holmes, Rec: 5 - 89 - 0 (7 targets) - Holmes's speed does get him a lot of separation and he takes advantage it. His 32 yard catch produced a key first down on the Steelers' first scoring drive. Holmes had another deep target, but did not connect. His talent is evident, but has yet to really breakout with a major game this season. Pittsburgh has been able to get the lead in most games and run the ball later on, limiting major numbers for Holmes and his mates.

WR Hines Ward, Rec: 4 - 60 - 1 (10 targets) - Hines Ward had several balls thrown his way including a TD with less than two minutes remaining from back-up QB Byron Leftwich. He caught a few short and intermediate passes in the first half and did get two targets in the red zone. Another long pass attempt drew a pass interference penalty. Ward is still in good health and looks to be a solid play most weeks. He is still the focus of the passing game in Pittsburgh.

WR Nate Washington, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 2 - 57 - 1 (3 targets) - WR Nate Washington did most of his damage on one deep ball, hauling in a 50 yard bomb for a TD. He also made a short catch in the second quarter to keep a drive alive and had a red zone target. He is getting limited looks, but seems to make a big play each week.

TE Heath Miller, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (4 targets) - Miller was fairly quiet, but he did have a red zone look in the first half.

PK Jeff Reed 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points - Reed hit a chip shot 21 yard field goal in the first half and five XPs. He had no other FG opportunities.

PIT Rush Defense - The Steelers held the Bengals' rushers to under four yards a carry. Given how well the Steelers' defense has been playing well all season, that number was a surprise especially when you include the return of starting defensive lineman DE Brett Keisel. The presence of NT Casey Hampton is still missed.

PIT Pass Defense - The Pittsburgh pass rush was outstanding recording seven sacks and several other QB pressures. LB's Lamar Woodley, James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons brought pressure most of the game and each registered two sacks. LB James Farrior also had a sack. The Bengals could not produce a deep threat all night.

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, Pass: 21 - 35 - 164 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 15 - 0 - Fitzpatrick simply had a poor start to the game. He was held to just 3 net yards on the first 5 possessions to begin the game. His fortunes changed dramatically with just over five minutes left in the first half, where he was able to connect with WRs T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Chris Henry three times each on the way to an 82 yard drive that ended with a five yard TD to Johnson. Despite being dominated statistically for most of the half, Fitzpatrick found himself down only by three at the intermission. His opening drive in the second half lead to a field goal and displayed his athletic ability when he ran twice for first downs, once on a nifty ten yard scramble. After that however, the Steelers' pass rush imposed itself and held the Bengal offense scoreless the rest of the way. Fitzpatrick's yards per pass play were quite low (less than three yards) and much of his results were short passes over the middle or towards the sidelines. When he did drop back, he went down, to the tune of seven sacks. He was effective in spreading the ball around to his trio of wide receivers.

RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 14 - 52 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) - Benson was productive but didn't look special. That is understandable given his long layoff from football due to a string of off field incidents last summer. He was able to make the most of his limited opportunities and showed an ability to move the pile. His longest gain was 15 yards. The real issue was the lopsided score and the Bengals' interior line blocking, which was not very effective. He had only a limited role in the passing game.

RB Kenny Watson, Rush: 4 - 17 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (3 targets) - Kenny Watson was never a big factor. He had a decent four yards per carry but none which resulted in any big plays. His role looks to be shifting back to one of a third down back, where it had been for most of his career.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 8 - 58 - 0 (9 targets) - Houshmandzadeh produced for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for most of the game. His longest reception was 19 yards and he did show some run after the catch ability, especially on a nice 19 yarder in the third quarter. I would not consider him the #1 receiver in this offense given his skill level may be trailing that of some teammates, but he works hard and that shows in the game. He also is limited by his inexperienced quarterback.

WR Chad Johnson, Rec: 8 - 52 - 1 (13 targets) - Johnson was quite involved in the first half, making a few catches on the lone scoring drive in the first half, including one in the end zone on a short pattern which led to a Bengals' only touchdown. He was the main target for the rest of the game, but was unable to get anything major going in the second half. His longest play was nine yards, hardly meeting high expectations of his fantasy owners.

WR Chris Henry, Rec: 3 - 44 - 0 (9 targets) - Henry was the spark that jump started the Cincinnati offense in the scoring late in the first half, snagging three balls, but despite numerous targets, he did not catch a pass in the second half. Given his four game suspension and Fitzpatrick's lack of experience, that should not be seen as a major surprise.

TE Reggie Kelly - Kelly did not get any targets.

PK Dave Rayner 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points - Rayner connected on a 26 yard field goal and one point. He had no other opportunities.

CIN Rush Defense - The Steelers posted over four and a half rushing yards per play. Cincinnati was not able to contain RB Mewelde Moore who had 120 yards on just 20 attempts. Backup RB Gary Russell, a former practice squad player, had 0 yards on four carries. If anything, Pittsburgh could have run the ball more.

CIN Pass Defense - The Bengals' pass rush was ineffective and the Steelers' passing game clearly dominated play despite posting only nominal numbers. Lack of any real pass rush allowed QB Ben Roethlisberger to sit back in the pocket and find secondary receivers. They ended up without a sack.

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Detroit Lions 21, Houston Texans 28

What you need to know

Detroit Lions - The Lions' lack of efficiency on offense in the first half and nearly picture perfect offense from the Texans led to a 21-3 Houston lead at halftime. Detroit picked it up a bit in the second half, where they outscored Houston 18-7 and cut the lead to seven with around four minutes left. The game ended with a late hook and ladder attempt that Detroit fumbled away.

QB Dan Orlovsky showed improvement from last week, but two big plays in the passing game made his stats look a little more impressive than they actually were. Orlovsky threw for 265 yards and connected with WR Calvin Johnson on a 96 yard scoring play in the fourth quarter, but shaky offensive play in the first half was too much for Detroit to overcome.

RB Kevin Smith scored on the ground for the Lions, taking it in from 26 yards out in the third quarter.

WR Calvin Johnson had the club's only score on the aforementioned 96 yard scoring strike and had a team high 154 receiving yards, but on just two receptions.

Houston Texans - Houston was nearly flawless offensively in the first half, where they scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. QB Matt Schaub connected with TE Owen Daniels from two yards out for the first score, and RB's Ahman Green and Steve Slaton each added one yard scoring runs as the Texans took a 21-3 lead into halftime.

Luckily for Houston, they had a big enough lead in the second half that their shaky play offensively after the break didn't come back to haunt them. After half time, the Texans punted on four of their five possessions and were outscored 18-7 as the Lions cut the lead to seven.

WR Andre Johnson had a huge game with 11 receptions for 141 yards and the duo of Slaton and Green combines for 142 yards on the ground, along with their touchdown runs.

What you ought to know

QB Dan Orlovsky, Pass: 12 - 25 - 265 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0 - It was a tale of two halves for Orlovsky. In the first half, he and the Lions offense couldn't get anything going, and they quickly fell behind 21-3 at half. He did throw for 122 yards in the first half, but Detroit wasn't giving him any help in the running game, and 58 of those passing yards came on one play. In the second half, Orlovsky was able to lead three scoring drives, one of which included a 96 yard touchdown pass to WR Calvin Johnson for his only touchdown of the game. He finished 12 of 25 for 265 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions and one lost fumble. He did have two rushes for ten yards on the ground as well.

RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 10 - 61 - 1, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) - Kevin Smith led Detroit in rushing with 61 yards on ten attempts, including a 26 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Smith was targeted twice in the passing game, where he caught one pass for seven yards.

RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 6 - 8 - 0 - Johnson was used sparingly in the running game and finished with just six rushes for eight yards and was not a factor at all in the passing game with zero targets.

WR Mike Furrey, Rec: 6 - 89 - 0 (8 targets) - Furrey was targeted a team high eight times and finished with six receptions for 89 yards. With Calvin Johnson drawing constant double teams, Furrey seemed to find the open spots in the zones as he led the team in receptions.

WR Calvin Johnson, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 2 - 154 - 1 (6 targets) - Calvin Johnson was targeted only six times, but he responded with two receptions for 154 yards, including a fourth quarter 96 yard touchdown reception. Nearly all of his targets came on deep routes, but unfortunately for Johnson and the Lions, only one resulted in a score. Johnson also added a two point conversion reception following his long score and was used on an end around for a two yard loss.

WR Shaun McDonald (6 targets) - McDonald was targeted six times, but did not record a reception. His -7 receiving yards came on a hook and ladder attempt on the last play of the game. WR Mike Furrey caught the pass and lateraled the ball to McDonald, who lost seven yards on the play.

TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) - Gaines was targeted three times and finished with two receptions for 11 yards.

PK Jason Hanson 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points - Hanson connected on two field goals, both from 54 yards out, and added one extra point to finish with seven points.

DET Rush Defense - The Lions rush defense wasn't all that bad against the Texans, all things considered. They did allow 150 yards on 34 attempts and two rushing scores, but they were on the field for just over 40 minutes of the game. The Texans were able to use a balances mix of run plays and passes to control the clock and do as they pleased offensively, and the defense just could not come up with many stops. Also, they did play better in the second half, despite being on the field an awful lot, as they only gave up seven second half points.

LB Ernie Sims led the way with six solo tackles and four assists for the Detroit defense.

DET Pass Defense - Detroit simply could not apply enough pressure on Houston QB Matt Schaub or do much of anything to stop their passing game. Schaub threw for 267 yards and two scores and WR Andre Johnson was simply unstoppable. The Lions clearly had trouble covering both Johnson and TE Owen Daniels, who caught both Schaub touchdown passes. They did register three sacks and forced two fumbles, one of which they recovered.

DL Dewayne White led the Lions defensive line with seven solo tackles, three assists, a sack and a forced fumble.

QB Matt Schaub, Pass: 26 - 31 - 267 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 - Matt Schaub continued his strong play of late as he completed 26 of 31 passes for 267 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He led three scoring drives in the first half, all of which totaled more than 70 yards, and the Texans took a big lead into half time. Both of his touchdown passes went to TE Owen Daniels from one and two yards out, the second of which proved to be the difference in the game. Schaub did have two fumbles and lost one, but Detroit was unable to turn it into any points.

RB Steve Slaton, Rush: 17 - 80 - 1, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) - Slaton was aided in the rushing attack by Ahman Green, but still got over half of the carries between the two backs. He finished with 17 carries for 80 yards and a one yard touchdown, and added three receptions for nine yards on three targets in the passing game. Slaton was eating up big chunks of yardage in the first half, where he rushed nine times for 72 yards and added his scoring run.

RB Ahman Green, Rush: 14 - 62 - 1, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) - Ahman Green shared the load in the running game and finished with 14 rushes for 62 yards and a one yard touchdown run. Green also caught his only target for three yards receiving. He seemed to be the healthiest he's been all year and he ran hard, made sharp cuts and showed he's still got something left in the tank.

WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 11 - 141 - 0 (13 targets) - Andre Johnson looked like a man among boys. He was targeted a team high 13 times, and he came down with 11 receptions for 141 yards. While he didn't get in the end zone, he did draw a pass interference call on an end zone target that led to a Houston score. Johnson looked to be open on nearly every play, despite a mix in coverages, and nine of his receptions resulted in first downs.

WR Kevin Walter, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (4 targets) - Walter was targeted four times as he finished with three receptions for 27 yards. Three of his targets came on third downs.

WR Andre Davis, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) - Davis caught one pass for 15 yards on his only target in the game.

TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 6 - 66 - 2 (8 targets) - Daniels was a big part of the game plan against the Lions. He was targeted eight times and finished with six receptions for 66 yards and touchdown receptions of one and two yards. Daniels was targeted on early downs, third downs, in the red zone and on deep patterns downfield and he responded with a productive game.

PK Kris Brown 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points - Brown did not attempt a field goal, but finished four of four on extra point attempts to finish with four points.

HOU Rush Defense - Houston did give up a touchdown run to RB Kevin Smith, but for the game, they allowed just 77 yards on 19 attempts. Those numbers were a reflection of the lack of time this unit was on the field, as Detroit totaled just under 20 minutes of possession.

LB Zach Diles totaled five solo tackles and one assist and LB DeMeco Ryans added five solo tackles to lead the Houston front seven.

HOU Pass Defense - The Texans were exposed a bit in their pass defense, as WR Calvin Johnson burnt them for a 96 yard score in the fourth quarter. However, the good news for Houston was that the Johnson score was the only real game changing play Detroit was able to convert on offense. Again, time of possession was heavily in their favor. The Texans did register two sacks for the game, but stud DL Mario Williams was quiet with just one solo tackle and one assist.

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Denver Broncos 7, New England Patriots 41

What you need to know

Denver Broncos - The game got off to a painful start for Jay Cutler as he injured the index finger on his throwing hand on the first Denver play from scrimmage. What followed for the Broncos' signal caller was a game in which he threw for only 168 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Obviously affected by the injury, a number of Cutler's passes came out weak and were off the mark. The Broncos' starting quarterback left the game for a series near the end of the second quarter to apply ice to his injury, but he did return to take all of the snaps in the second half.

Playing from behind for the majority of the contest, the Broncos' running backs had a limited number of opportunities to rush the ball in this game. Michael Pittman led the Denver ground game with 88 yards on 20 attempts, but only ten of those attempts came after the first quarter. Backup running back Andre Hall fumbled his only two carries of the game, which the Patriots were able to turn into two field goals.

Wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal combined to be targeted 24 times and the pass catching duo turned those targets into 15 catches for 148 yards. The remaining Broncos' pass catchers combined to catch only four passes, but tight end Daniel Graham scored the only Denver touchdown of the game when he caught a 10 yard pass in the fourth quarter that he was able to take into the end zone.

New England Patriots - On a night in which the New England rushing attack picked up yards at ease, Matt Cassel had a good game throwing the football as well as he helped lead an offense that accumulated 404 yards and put up 41 points. Completing 75% of his passes, the Patriots passer had his best game of the year as he finished with 185 passing yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The touchdown passes to Randy Moss (two) and Wes Welker were Cassel's fourth, fifth, and sixth scoring tosses of the year.

The New England running backs gashed the Denver defense to the tune of 256 yards on 34 carries for an average of 7.52 yards per rush. Sammy Morris led the way for the Patriots' running attack as he finished the first half with 138 yards and a touchdown. Morris left the game with a knee injury, but backups Kevin Faulk and BenJarvus Green-Ellis filled in nicely combining to gain 115 yards on the ground. Green-Ellis found the end zone in the fourth quarter on a one yard scoring run.

Randy Moss led all Patriots' receivers with 69 yards and found the end zone twice in this game for his third and fourth touchdown receptions of the year. It was his 30th career game with at least two scoring receptions, but it was his first this season. Fellow wide out Wes Welker hauled in all six of his targets and found the end zone for the first time this year when he took a short pass for the six yard score.

What you ought to know

QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 17 - 26 - 168 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 18 - 0 - On the Broncos' first pass play of the game, Cutler hit his hand on a defender's helmet and appeared to hurt the index finger on his throwing hand. Despite the injury, the quarterback stayed in the game for much of the first half, but had a tough time move the offense as his throws sailed and wobbled on their way to the intended receiver. After throwing an interception on an under thrown deep ball in the second quarter, Cutler was shown on the sidelines with ice on his hand and was replaced on Denver's final series of the first half by Patrick Ramsey. Cutler returned to the field for the second half, but his second interception ended a drive with Denver operating from the New England 37 yard line. His ten yard touchdown pass to TE Daniel Graham was his 13th scoring toss of the season.

QB Patrick Ramsey, Pass: 2 - 3 - 19 - 0 TD / 0 INT - Ramsey replaced Cutler late in the second quarter for one series and completed a couple of passes that brought Denver into New England territory. A fumble by the back up quarterback killed the drive though and gave the ball back to the Patriots.

RB Michael Pittman, Rush: 20 - 88 - 0 - Pittman was busy on Denver's first drive as he picked up 34 yards on seven carriers, but his rushing attempts dwindled as the Broncos' fell further and further behind. He finished the first quarter with ten carriers for 55 yards, but only averaged 3.3 yards on his final ten carriers of the game.

RB Andre Hall, Rush: 2 - -7 - 0 - Hall had a forgettable night as he turned the ball over on fumbles on his only two carries of the game. In addition to his rushes on offense, he also averaged 21 yards on seven kick off returns.

WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 9 - 71 - 0 (12 targets) - Royal led all Denver pass catchers with nine receptions, but those nine catches only went for an average of 7.9 yards. Six of his grabs resulted in first downs and he found himself the intended targeted on a deep pass in the fourth quarter, but the pass fell incomplete. In addition to his duties on offense, Royal also returned one punt for eight yards.

WR Brandon Marshall, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 6 - 77 - 0 (12 targets) - Marshall caught half of his 12 targets for a total of 77 yards, but for the third game in a row the wide out failed to find the end zone. His night could have been better, but penalties wiped out two catches that went for a total 33 yards. Marshall also was open on a number of pass plays, but inaccurate passes by QB Jay Cutler resulted in incomplete passes. In addition to the targets in the passing game, he also took a backward pass for a seven yard rush.

WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) - Jackson's only catch of the game came near the end of the second quarter. He was the intended target on a deep pass that was intercepted by New England.

TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 2 - 27 - 1 (2 targets) - Graham's first catch of the game went for a 10 yard touchdown near the beginning of the fourth quarter. The tight ends' night could have been better, but a holding penalty negated a 21 yard pickup on his only other target of the game.

TE Nate Jackson, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) - Jackson's only catch of the game came on Denver's first series. He was the intended target on Jay Cutler's second interception of the game.

PK Matt Prater 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points - Prater had no field goal attempts in the game, but did connect on his only extra point attempt.

DEN Rush Defense - The Broncos' defense was gashed in this contest as the Patriots' ground game racked up 257 yards on 38 attempts. New England RB Sammy Morris scored on a four yard run in the second quarter while backup ball carrier BenJarvus Green-Ellis found the end zone on a one yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

DEN Pass Defense - Denver allowed Patriots' QB Matt Cassel to complete 18 of his 24 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns. The Broncos did record six sacks that went for a combine loss of 38 yards. It was announced near the start of the second half that Champ Bailey (groin) and Boss Bailey (knee) were out for the remainder of the game.

QB Matt Cassel, Pass: 18 - 24 - 185 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 1 - 0 - Cassel spent the game throwing a lot of short and medium passes to his receivers as he finished the night averaging just over 10 yards per completion. Misfiring on only six passes, the New England signal caller did an effective job moving the chains as he helped lead the Patriots on six scoring drives that resulted in 41 points. Despite the three touchdown passes and 75% completion percentage, Cassel did seem to hold onto the ball longer than he should have as he was sacked six times by the Denver defense.

RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 16 - 138 - 1 - Morris received all of the New England first half rushes and spent the first two quarters breaking tackles and eluding tacklers as he accumulated 138 yard on only 16 carries. In addition to picking up longer gains of 14, 20 and 34 yards, the running back scored his fourth touchdown of the year on a four yard run in the second quarter. It was reported near the start of the third quarter that Morris had an injured knee and he did not return to the game.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Rush: 13 - 65 - 1 (1 targets) - With Sammy Morris missing the second half because of a knee injury, Green-Ellis received the majority of the carries in the second half as all 13 of his rushes came over the final two quarters. A punishing and physical runner, the New England backup had four runs of eight yards or more as he finished the game averaging five yards per carry. Green-Ellis' one yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the first of his career.

RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 4 - 50 - 0, Rec: 3 - 6 - 0 (4 targets) - Faulk didn't get his first touch of the game until early in the third quarter, but he finished the night with a total of 56 yards on four rushes and three receptions. He had two separate rushes that went for 16 yards and he also took a 15 yard run down to the Denver one yard line. Faulk was also the intended receiver on a pass down near the goal line, but the pass fell to the ground incomplete.

RB Heath Evans, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) - Evans got his only touch of the game on a fourth quarter rush.

WR Wes Welker, Rec: 6 - 63 - 1 (6 targets) - Welker led the Patriots in receptions as he hauled in all six of his targets. The majority of his catches and yards came on short passes, but he did take a longer pass for a pickup of 27. Welker scored his first receiving touchdown of the year when he caught a short pass on a third and two play and dove into the end zone for a six yard touchdown. In addition to his contribution in the passing game, he also averaged 21 yards on three punt returns that included a 44 yard return in the third quarter that gave the Patriots the ball at the Denver 28 yard line.

WR Randy Moss, Rec: 5 - 69 - 2 (6 targets) - Moss had trouble early on as he was blanketed by Denver CB Champ Bailey, but the wide receiver heated up after Bailey left the game with an injury. Taking advantage of a depleted secondary, the New England wide receiver made four of his five catches and scored both of his touchdowns after Bailey was on the sideline. On his first touchdown reception of the game, Moss went up for a high pass and brought it down in the end zone to give the Patriots a 17--0 lead. His second score came when he took a short pass on a wide receiver screen and sprinted through the secondary for a 27 yard score.

WR Sam Aiken, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) - Aiken's only catch of the game went for a first down on a second quarter pickup of seven yards.

WR Jabar Gaffney (1 targets) - Gaffney's only target of the game fell incomplete.

TE Ben Watson, Rec: 3 - 40 - 0 (4 targets) - Watson's first target of the game went for a big gain of 29 that took the ball down to the Denver 16 yard line. The tight end showed good effort on a third down play when after appearing to be stopped a few yards short of the first down, he fought and stretched to come within a yard of the sticks. Watson's effort paid off as on the next play, New England scored a touchdown on a Sammy Morris four yard run. His other catch in the game came in the fourth quarter and went for a gain of four.

PK Stephen Gostkowski 2 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points - Gostkowski connected on his first field goal of the game from 31 yards and then made good from 40 yards out on his second attempt. He also made all of his extra points.

NE Rush Defense - The New England run defense gave up 106 yards on 26 carriers for an average of just over four yards per carry. The Patriot's did recover two fumbles by Denver RB Andre Hall that were turned into two field goals.

NE Pass Defense - The New England pass defense allowed Broncos' QB Jay Cutler to complete 17 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots also recorded three sacks, forced a fumble by QB Patrick Ramsey, and intercepted two Cutler pass attempts.

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Dallas Cowboys 14, St. Louis Rams 34

What you need to know

Dallas Cowboys - This was a team loss and the Cowboys were outplayed in every facet of the game offense, defense, special teams, and coaching. Owners of any Cowboys players are hoping for a healthy Tony Romo sooner rather then later.

QB Brad Johnson certainly does not deserve all of the blame; however this is a game he would like to forget. Johnson was picked a total of three times and seemed to lack the timing needed to sustain any consistency for the offense. After a successful first drive the Rams seemed to figure out what the Cowboys game plan was. Johnson and the Cowboys really had nothing else to offer and began to make mistake after mistake. Turnovers and penalties were plentiful. Marion Barber was the high light for the Cowboys. He was able to reach the 100 yard mark and scored the Cowboys first touchdown of the day. Barber did have a lost fumble caused by Leonard Little of the Rams defensive line.

St. Louis Rams - RB Steven Jackson had a huge game but everyone will be talking about his health. Jackson was able to power for 160 yards and 3 scores for the Rams. He single handedly beat the Cowboys with his blend of speed and power. He took away any hope the Cowboys had for a comeback with his 56 yard run off the right tackle for a score. Mid way through the fourth quarter Jackson left the game with what's being reported as a quad injury. Jackson immediately left the field and went to the locker room for assistance.

WR Donnie Avery had a big impact with 42 yard touchdown to answer the Cowboys opening score. On the day Avery was the Rams leading receiver with five catches for 65 yards and the one score.

What you ought to know

QB Brad Johnson, Pass: 17 - 34 - 234 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 - It was apparent that the 40 year old veteran back up was rusty. He was only able to complete a very modest 17 of 34 on the day. Many of his throws were over thrown or behind his receivers. It was also apparent that the Rams were taking away the underneath routes and baited Johnson to throw it deep. After some turnovers and the score getting out of hand early the Rams could simply pin their ears back and rush the passer. Johnson's lack of mobility was a factor as he was sacked three times and hurried many more times.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 18 - 100 - 1, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) - Barber had a solid stat line with a touchdown and 100 yards rushing. Much of the total yards came on the opening drive. To start the game the offensive line and Barber had their trademark tough running style. His best run came on a 35 yard trap play that Barber almost took to the house. After capping off the opening drive with a one yard dive for a touchdown Barber was held pretty much in check. As the score increased for the Rams, Barber became an after thought for offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Also of note, Barber lost a fumble when he was chased down from behind.

RB Tashard Choice, Rush: 2 - 13 - 0 - The rookie running back got a pair of garbage time carries when the game was well out of hand. He had a nice gain on his first carry and showed that he could hit the hole very quickly.

RB Deon Anderson, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - The Dallas fullback caught one ball in the flat for a short gain of six yards.

WR Patrick Crayton, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (7 targets) - Crayton looked to have the most chemistry with QB Brad Johnson. Most of his catches were of the short variety. He was used as a possession type receiver and helped keep a few of the drives going. Once again Terrell Owens was receiving double coverage all day so the ball needed to be spread around to the rest of receivers. Crayton was also used in the running game on an end around that went for ten yards and a first down.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 2 - 31 - 0 (8 targets) - It was an all too familiar stat line for Owens of late. The Rams employed the same press coverage with safety help over the top. He and back up QB brad Johnson did not seem to have any chemistry and Owens was often over thrown. It appears that defenses have figured a way to slow down the pro bowl wide out.

WR Miles Austin, Rec: 2 - 43 - 0 (3 targets) - Austin was not used much during the early parts of this game. His three targets came in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys needed points through the air. Austin continues to run nice routes and has improved his catching abilities. His first catch he displayed some nice run after the catch ability as he busted it up the middle of the field for a 36 yard gain.

WR Roy Williams (2 targets) - It appeared that Williams was not a big part of the Dallas game plan with him only joining the club on Wednesday. Williams was targeted deep but over thrown on his limited chances.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 6 - 44 - 0 (11 targets) - Witten was targeted the most of any Cowboy on the day. He often was the target when the Rams brought the blitz and the Rams knew it. He was often tackled immediately after catching the ball. Very rarely did we see Witten further than 10-15 yards from the line of scrimmage. It was a quiet day for Witten with an extremely modest 44 yards.

TE Martellus Bennett, Rec: 2 - 67 - 1 (2 targets) - The rookie second round draft pick was the top yardage receiver on the day with 67 yards and he caught his first career TD. This TD came in the fourth quarter facing the Rams prevent defense.

PK Nick Folk 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - Pro Bowl kicker Nick Folk was able to convert his two extra point attempts. However, he missed his only field goal attempt from 46 yards as it was pushed right.

DAL Rush Defense - This group was destroyed by stud running back Steven Jackson. The Cowboys had no answer for the inside power running game of the Rams. Steven Jackson ran for three touchdowns and helped the Rams win the time of possession stat as well.

DAL Pass Defense - After the opening score to Donnie Avery, this group played solidly. Although keep in mind that the Rams were nursing a lead at the time. The Cowboys were able to generate some pressure and sacked Marc Bulger five times. DeMarcus Ware had three sacks on the day and continued his sack streak to 10 straight games.

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 14 - 19 - 173 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - -2 - 0 - Bulger and the Rams benefited from good special team returns and multiple Dallas turnovers that gave them short fields to work with. However, the beneficiary of this was Steven Jackson and not Bulger. Dallas had some pressure on Bulger throughout the day and the Rams relied on the running game to move the ball. In the first quarter Bulger was given a clean pocket and hit a streaking Donnie Avery for a pretty score. This was the only touchdown on the day for the Rams passing game. Of note, Bulger missed a wide open Donnie Avery who simply ran down field almost uncovered as rookie Mike Jenkins of the Cowboys dropped his coverage. Unfortunately for Rams, Bulger over threw Avery or this would have gone for a score.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 25 - 160 - 3, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) - This was the first time that Steven Jackson faced the Cowboys since Dallas passed him by in the draft. Jackson was a man possessed, he ran very hard with great determination on his way to a big game. The Rams ran almost exclusively up the gut and to the right with Orlando Pace being out of the game. Jackson showed a little something different on each of his three scores. On his first, it was excellent patience and following his blocks. On the second touchdown he simply wiggled in from a yard out. On the last score he blew through the Dallas line and displayed great speed for a big man as he went on to score from 56 yards. The extent of his injury will be of interest to many fantasy owners.

RB Travis Minor, Rush: 5 - 15 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) - With the apparent Steven Jackson injury many people may be looking to pick up Minor. In this game, he looked good catching the ball out the back field and gained positive yards on his two opportunities. On the ground, he had one nice carry that he broke for 13 yards. On his other carries he was not able to find any room to run and was held in check.

WR Donnie Avery, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 5 - 65 - 1 (6 targets) - In back to back weeks Avery has made a huge impact in Rams victories. He caught a beautiful pass from Bulger after torching corner Anthony Henry for an easy score. Avery displayed impressive speed and route running throughout the day. Of note, Avery caught another touchdown that was called back to a Rams penalty. He is quickly becoming an excellent complement to pro bowl partner Torry Holt.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 3 - 51 - 0 (5 targets) - The silky smooth veteran ran good routes all day and gave Mike Jenkins all he could handle. The score of the game dictated that the Rams ran the ball, so Holt was used primarily for possession type receptions.

WR Dante Hall, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (2 targets) - Hall was used sparingly, but made a nice catch for 20 yards that kept the chains moving.

WR Keenan Burton, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - The rookie wide receiver made his first career reception late in the game.

PK Josh Brown 2 - 3 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points - Josh Brown was able to hit from 52 and 35 yards while missing from 54 yards although not due to distance. It was also evident on both of the longer kicks that his distance is likely around 60-65 yards. Brown converted his four extra point attempts as well.

STL Rush Defense - After a rough first drive where the Cowboys marched down the field the Rams defense did a good job of making adjustments and limiting Barber the rest of the game. Aided by having the lead most of the game made the Cowboys a little more one dimensional.

STL Pass Defense - The early lead really helped the Rams pass rush and allowed them to really rush with confidence to generate extra pressure on the rusty Dallas back up quarterback. They held the Cowboys to 234 yards and only one late score through the air. All in all it was a good effort from the St Louis defense.

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San Diego Chargers 14, Buffalo Bills 23

What you need to know

San Diego Chargers - RB LaDainian Tomlinson continued his very disappointing season. His longest run of the game went for just nine yards, and he averaged less than three yards per carry. Even the positive aspect of six catches is offset by the fact that he only gained 26 yards on his receptions.

QB Philip Rivers started off pretty well but faded in the end. He was careless with the football for the first time all season. After turning the ball over just four times in the first six games, he turned it over three times in this one.

The San Diego defense is a mess right now. They have almost no semblance of a pass rush, which forces the defensive backs to remain in coverage for far too long. It's a bad combination that is wreaking havoc on the unit.

Buffalo Bills - QB Trent Edwards returned from his concussion two weeks ago to look very impressive. He consistently moved the ball downfield for Buffalo and didn't really make any mistakes in the game.

RB Marshawn Lynch put up very solid numbers, and even got more involved in the passing game with four receptions.

WR Lee Evans could not be covered by San Diego catching all eight passes thrown in his direction. He also made one of the best catches of the season on his touchdown grab on a fade in the corner of the end zone.

What you ought to know

QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 22 - 29 - 208 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 - Rivers seemed to be well on his way to a very nice game until very late. He tossed a pair of touchdowns, went over 200 yards, and completed over 75% of his passes. That said, he also fumbled once when he wasn't even touched (the ball slipped out of his hands and was lost), fumbled again by a defender who was bearing down right in front of him, and intercepted in the end zone on a poor decision to force a pass to TE Antonio Gates. Strangely, outside of these three plays Rivers actually played exceptionally well. But those three instances proved to be so costly that they are the primary reasons San Diego lost this game. His touchdown pass to Floyd was a perfectly-timed throw off a slant and the touchdown to Jackson was a bullet over the middle through good coverage. But the interception to Gates, with San Diego trailing by six late in the fourth quarter, was as awful a pass as he has made all year long. After turning the ball over just four times in his first six games, he turned it over three times in this game -- including his first interception in thirteen quarters.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 14 - 41 - 0, Rec: 6 - 26 - 0 (7 targets) - Tomlinson had another very disappointing day for his fantasy owners. The announcers in this game mostly blamed his lack of success on the offensive line failing to open up many holes. While that was entirely true, it also wasn't 100% of the reason for his struggles. His long gain went for just nine yards, and even when the line did open a hole for him he wasn't really bursting through it. On one occasion, he broke to the left and got into a one on one situation with the defender, but was unable to make a typical hard plant off his left foot. Instead, he tried to use almost a hop-step to shake the defender. It didn't work, and Tomlinson was knocked backwards off his feet.

RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) - Despite the continued struggles of LaDainian Tomlinson, Sproles saw just two touches from scrimmage. He has been bothered by his own injury recently, a sprained ankle. But since he's healthy enough to return punts and kicks, one has to assume that the lack of offensive touches are a strategic coaching decision and nothing to do with injury risk.

WR Vincent Jackson, Rush: 1 - 31 - 0, Rec: 4 - 42 - 1 (5 targets) - Jackson turned in a relatively quiet performance. He did manage to score once to salvage a solid fantasy point total. He also added a 31 yard run to turn his stat line from 'serviceable' to solid. He started off especially slowly, with just one reception on his lone passing target in the first half. But he came alive a bit after halftime, which was when he scored. His 12 yard score came off a quick inside move towards the middle of the field on a perfect quick strike bullet from Rivers.

WR Malcom Floyd, Rec: 4 - 65 - 1 (6 targets) - Floyd had his second straight productive game with regular starting WR Chris Chambers injured. It seems apparent at this point that Floyd is the team's next option in the passing game after Vincent Jackson, not Buster Davis as previously assumed. Floyd scored his second touchdown in as many weeks, this time off a 14 yard slant. Floyd had initially caught a 12 yard touchdown pass, but was whistled for offensive pass interference on himself. Two plays later, it turned out the penalty actually rewarded him because the touchdown was no two yards longer.

TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 4 - 55 - 0 (7 targets) - Gates was targeted twice in the end zone, though he came up empty on both occasions. On the second one, he was well-covered but QB Philip Rivers tried forcing it into a tight space. LB Kawika Mitchell, who wasn't even covering Gates, stepped in front of the pass and picked it off at the goal line. Gates still managed to turn in a workmanlike performance with 55 yards receiving, continuing an interesting pattern of low-end consistency. It was the fourth time this season he has caught exactly four passes for between 55 and 61 yards.

PK Nate Kaeding 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - The San Diego offense made several costly mistakes that took them out of scoring position, and so Kaeding's only contribution was two extra points.

SD Rush Defense - The Chargers didn't give up a ton of yardage on the ground, but it seemed like every time the Bills needed to gain a first down they were able to do so. The combination of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson tallied 103 yards on 28 carries, with one of those carries going for a touchdown. On the touchdown run, Jackson and a team of Buffalo blockers littered the field with Chargers who were unable to hold up after blocks. Lynch took the ball in for a nine yard score without so much as being touched on the play. Along with that way, there were several more missed tackles and poor overpursuit, as the Chargers reverted back to their ways from earlier this season.

SD Pass Defense - San Diego is absolutely in shambles in this phase of the game. After seemingly turning things around against New England a week ago, they once again failed to muster any semblance of a pass rush. They failed to either sack or intercept Buffalo QB Trent Edwards, and they barely made him throw an incompletion (he was 25-30 for the game). The Buffalo equipment manager is also going to be happy after this one since he won't have to even wash Edwards' jersey due to San Diego failing to even get near him. To compound the pass rush issues, the extra time afforded Edwards meant the defensive backs had to remain in coverage longer than usual. That ultimately proved too much, as Lee Evans essentially had his way with the defensive backfield. Now, in San Diego's defense, the lone touchdown pass they allowed through the air was an absolutely remarkable individual effort by Evans and there are very few defensive backs in the NFL who could've done anything to stop it (Quentin Jammer was in coverage on the play).

QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 25 - 30 - 261 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 6 - 0 - Edwards played a nearly flawless game. He completed 83% of his passes and averaged nearly nine yards per attempt. The fact that he only threw one touchdown should not negatively impact the opinion on how he played, because he could really do no wrong. He always found the open man, made good decisions, and showed both the poise and arm strength that he has shown all season long. In other words, the concussion he suffered two weeks ago looked to have no effect on his performance here.

RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 19 - 70 - 1, Rec: 4 - 22 - 0 (5 targets) - Lynch picked up a hard fought 70 yards while getting roughly two-thirds of the rushing split between he and Fred Jackson. Lynch was also used frequently used in the passing game. He was quietly efficient without putting up big stats until late in the game, when he scampered in untouched for a nine yard touchdown off the right tackle. The blocking for Lynch was superbly set up, as it was all game long especially by the receivers.

RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 9 - 33 - 0, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (3 targets) - Jackson saw nine carries to Marshawn Lynch's 19, and picked up yards at roughly the same 3.7 YPC rate. Where he truly excelled at was in blocking for Lynch, as he sprung the star halfback several times to pick up extra yardage. Jackson nearly scored a touchdown early on, but was taken down at the two yard line, a drive that eventually led to a Lee Evans touchdown. Interestingly, with the Bills leading the game and trying to run out the clock, it was Jackson and not Lynch who saw the touches. Jackson gained 12 yards on three carries on that drive.

WR Lee Evans, Rec: 8 - 89 - 1 (8 targets) - Evans was targeted mostly on short passes, though he did turn a couple of them into bigger gains after the catch. He was targeted consistently throughout the game, and it mattered little whether he was being covered by Antonio Cromartie or Quentin Jammer. In both instances, those defenders wanted to ensure they didn't let Evans beat them over the top. But by keeping them in front of them, he just had his way on the short stuff. Early in the second quarter, he caught a touchdown pass off a fade in the corner of the end zone with Jammer providing tight coverage all over him. But Evans managed to reach up with one hand, pin the ball against his helmet a la David Tyree, keep both feet inbounds, and maintain possession for the score. It was one of the toughest catches of the year, and sure to be a frequently played highlight this week.

WR Josh Reed, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) - Reed was mostly quiet, with just three receptions all game long. He was targeted on a deep ball in the second half, but it fell incomplete.

WR Roscoe Parrish, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (3 targets) - Parrish's lone contribution to the game was actually a pretty big play, as his 22 yard reception helped keep the eventual game-winning touchdown drive alive. His only other catch in the game went for a three yard loss.

TE Robert Royal, Rec: 4 - 53 - 0 (6 targets) - Royal's productivity is fairly inconsistent, but as has been the case with most opposing tight ends this season, he was able to put up nice numbers against San Diego. He wasn't targeted in the end zone, however, and he didn't catch a pass in the second half.

PK Rian Lindell 3 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points - Lindell connected for three kicks, including one from 44 yards out that essentially sealed the victory. His lone miss came from 52 yards away.

BUF Rush Defense - With LaDainian Tomlinson still clearly nowhere near 100% and the Chargers unwilling to trust anyone else with the ground game, it's difficult to tell how much of the outcome is Tomlinson's health (or lack thereof) or Buffalo playing well. It's probably a combination of the two, although it should be noted that the Buffalo defensive line dominated San Diego's offensive line. Tomlinson may have been slowed by injury, but it's unlikely that he would've mustered much anyway with the lack of running room he was given. The one blip for the Bills was a 31 yard run by wide receiver Vincent Jackson, a play that obviously caught the Bills off-guard.

BUF Pass Defense - Buffalo's pass defense didn't play outstanding, but they were handed a few opportunities and they took full advantage of them. While they did allow Philip Rivers to complete 75% of his passes and toss two touchdowns, they also pressured him enough into making three critical mistakes (all of the mistakes coming under pressure). On the first, Rivers cocked his arm to make a pass but the ball slipped through his fingers, and was recovered by the Bills. On the second, Rivers was just about to be hit when he released a pass into the end zone intended for TE Antonio Gates. Gates was well covered on the play, and LB Kawika Mitchell easily stepped in front of the pass for an interception. The Bills led by six at the time. Later, with Buffalo up by nine, it was Mitchell again who came up with the big play. He was blitzing, and Rivers curiously raised the ball over his head in an attempt to avoid the oncoming rush. The hit jarred the ball loose, the Bills recovered, and they ran out the clock for the victory.

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New Orleans Saints 7, Carolina Panthers 30

What you need to know

New Orleans Saints - The Saints may have lost more than a conference game in their blowout loss to Carolina. Reggie Bush limped into the locker room at halftime with a reported knee injury and did not return. Initial reports are that he'll miss 2-4 weeks. New Orleans remains winless on the road with a scheduled home game next week in London, England, but won't play in the Superdome until Thanksgiving.

Drew Brees had a tough afternoon against the fired up Panther defense. While he spread the ball around to ten different receivers, the pass rush affected his accuracy. He failed to find the end zone for the first time this season, and after four straight 300 yard passing games he only threw for 231.

Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey returning to the lineup was not enough to make up for the loss of Reggie Bush. Colston played with padding on his surgically repaired thumb, and while he was targeted three times, two passes bounced off his hands and a third pass was intercepted. Shockey left the game briefly after his first reception, and later fumbled the ball back to Carolina. Still, he led all Saints' receivers with five receptions. Deuce McAllister had nine carries for 47 yards, but New Orleans was playing from behind most of the game. Twice in the second half they failed to pick up short yardage on fourth down and turned the ball over. While Bush was in the game he ran nine times for 55 yards and caught one pass for five yards.

The Saints' defense was unable to contain the Panther running game when they needed to and were unable to force a turnover. They sacked Delhomme once, but he usually had plenty of time to throw. Since taking over as coach, Sean Payton is now 0--15 when his team is trailing in the fourth quarter.

Carolina Panthers - Carolina got back to doing what they do best - running the ball and playing great defense - and found a way to rebound after a lopsided loss in Tampa last week. The Saints came to town with a potent passing attack but the Panthers were more than up for the challenge. Julius Peppers registered a quarterback sack, forced a fumble, and in the fourth quarter led a goal line stand at their own one yard line.

Carolina was able to move chains running the ball and completed passes off play action. DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart each ran for 68 yards and each had a touchdown. Stewart score on an 18 yard run and Williams scored on a four yard pass. Jake Delhomme, now 7 -- 2 against his former team, completed 14 of 22 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers held a six minute advantage in time of possession.

Steve Smith caught six passes for 122 yards, including a spectacular 39 yard touchdown grab in the end zone between two defenders. Mushin Muhammad added three catches for 43 yards. John Kasay kicked three more field goals and is now 14 of 14 this season.

Early in the fourth quarter, after a goal line stand at their one yard line, Carolina was able to burn nine and a half minutes off the clock with a 16 play, 88 yard drive which killed any chance the Saints might have of staging a comeback.

What you ought to know

QB Drew Brees, Pass: 21 - 39 - 231 - 0 TD / 1 INT - Brees had a rough afternoon against the Panther defense. He had three passes knocked down, two more dropped, and was the focal point of a blistering pass rush. He was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season and threw for 231 yards after four straight 300 yard games. He also threw one interception on a pass intended for Colston.

RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 9 - 55 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) - Bush was off to a decent start in this game, rushing nine times for 55 yards and catching one pass for five yards. He returned three punts with limited success as Carolina managed to keep him in check. On his last return, just before halftime, he didn't pick up much yardage, but he proved to be elusive and slipped a few tackles running back and forth trying to break it for a touchdown. When he went finally went out of bounds he suddenly started limping.

Bush had been nursing that same knee during the week due to "swelling and soreness." He suffered the original injury in the opening day win over Tampa Bay and has been dealing with it ever since. He missed the last four games last season with posterior ligament damage in the same knee, but that set back was reportedly unrelated to this current injury.

RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 9 - 47 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets) - McAllister was again the bruising battering ram in the middle of the line, but after Bush left the game New Orleans looked like a different team. It's hard to know if McAllister is ready to take on a larger share of the offense if Bush were to miss multiple games. He was stopped short on a fourth and two run (although the referees' spot was challenged) and he was the decoy when Karney ran for the only Saints' touchdown. In the fourth quarter, McAllister again was the decoy on fourth down at the Carolina two yard line when Julius Peppers tackled Stecker short and Carolina took over on downs.

RB Aaron Stecker, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) - Stecker saw limited duty in the second half after Reggie Bush left the game.

RB Mike Karney, Rush: 1 - 1 - 1, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) - One play after McAllister dragged tacklers to the one yard line Karney vultured his touchdown on a misdirection play.

RB Pierre Thomas, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 - Thomas got into the game in the fourth quarter and carried once for two yards. He also returned four kickoffs for a 27 yard average.

WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 3 - 80 - 0 (6 targets) - Unfortunately, Henderson was unable to maintain his 32 yard per catch average but did lead his team with 80 yards on three receptions.

WR Lance Moore, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (5 targets) - Moore was targeted in possession situations and his longest gain was only four yards. On the positive side, it's good to know that even with Colston returning to the lineup Moore still has a place in this offense.

WR Robert Meachem, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) - The former number one draft pick is still trying to find his role in the offense. He was only targeted in the second half, but one key incompletion came on a third down play which he bobbled while going out of bounds.

WR Marques Colston (3 targets) - Colston returned to the lineup for the first time since the opener and played with his left hand bandaged and extra padding around his surgically repaired thumb. The first two passes bounced off his hands and one was nearly intercepted. Timing was clearly lacking on his third target as Ken Lucas intercepted the pass. Colston was not targeted in the fourth quarter.

TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 5 - 50 - 0 (7 targets) - Obviously Drew Brees was glad to get Shockey back on the field as he caught five passes to lead all receivers and also lead the team in targets. After his first catch he left the game briefly but quickly returned. He also lost a fumble off a TE screen when Julius Peppers caught him from behind and chopped the ball loose. He's a little rusty but the Saints are a much more dangerous team when he's healthy.

TE Billy Miller, Rec: 4 - 56 - 0 (5 targets) - Three of Miller's targets came in the fourth quarter.

TE Mark Campbell, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) - With Shockey returning to the lineup Campbell was relegated to third string. He was targeted once in the third quarter.

PK Taylor Mehlhaff 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points - He did not attempt a field goal but converted his only extra point.

NO Rush Defense - The Panthers rushed for 143 yard and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. The Saints were unable to stop Carolina on a long sustained drive which ate up most of the fourth quarter.

NO Pass Defense - Carolina's ability to run the ball set up play action passes. Even though Delhomme only attempted 22 passes he completed 14 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Smith was the biggest threat, gaining 122 yards and catching a 39 yard TD.

QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 14 - 22 - 195 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 8 - 0 - After throwing three interceptions and zero touchdowns one week ago Delhomme rebounded to throw two TD passes for the third time in four games. He spread the ball around but mainly threw off play action. His favorite target was Steve Smith but he's equally comfortable throwing to Muhammad.

RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 18 - 66 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 1 (3 targets) - Williams scored a touchdown on a short four yard pass and also gained 68 yards on the ground. He is dividing the rushing responsibilities with Stewart and this remains a RBBC.

RB Jonathan Stewart, Rush: 17 - 68 - 1, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) - Stewart scored a touchdown on a well blocked 18 yard run off right tackle. He gained 68 yards on the day but he continues to divide the rushing duties with DeAngelo Williams. He did not, however, have to return any more kickoffs. Last week he was dinged up on the opening kickoff and was only able to carry six times. Mark Jones has taken over both punt and kickoff duties.

RB Brad Hoover, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) - The popular blocking back caught one pass for four yards and gained one yard on his only carry.

WR Steve Smith, Rec: 6 - 122 - 1 (8 targets) - Smith is an electrifying receiver capable of breaking any pass for a touchdown. He easily led all receivers on the day with six grabs for 122 yards; although he dropped a 25 yard pass in the second half when he was wide open that would have padded his stats. It must have been too easy. He scored a touchdown on a 39 yard pass into the end zone even though he was well defended by both Roman Harper and Randall Gay. Somehow the pass got through and Smith made the catch as he was falling to the ground.

WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 3 - 43 - 0 (6 targets) - Despite tight coverage, Muhammad made three key grabs, including a juggling catch for a first down. He is still the perfect compliment to Steve Smith and his presence also helps the rushing attack.

WR Dwayne Jarrett, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) - The former number one draft choice caught one pass in the first quarter for 13 yards.

WR Mark Jones - Jones has taken over both kickoff and punt return duties.

TE Jeff King, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) - In limited duty King caught one pass in the third quarter for six yards.

PK John Kasay 3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 12 points - Kasay was good on field goals from 39, 48, and 28 yards and is now perfect on the season, 14 for 14. He also made all three extra points.

CAR Rush Defense - Even though the Saints averaged 5.2 yards on 22 carries, Carolina denied New Orleans twice on fourth down runs and also forced them to punt twice after they had third and two. They were stingy when they had to be, although they gave up a rushing touchdown.

CAR Pass Defense - Brees had thrown for at least 300 yards in four straight games but only threw for 231. The Panthers also held him without a TD pass for the first time all season and picked him off once. Julius Peppers registered a sack, knocked down a pass at the line, and forced a fumble.

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Baltimore Ravens 27, Miami Dolphins 13

What you need to know

Baltimore Ravens - QB Joe Flacco halted his downward spiral of poor performances with perhaps his best of the year. While neither his yardage nor TD totals lit the world on fire, he was efficient and smart in his distribution of the ball.

RB Willis McGahee notched his first 100+ yard game of the season as he shouldered over half of the Ravens' carries on the ground and regularly gashed the Miami defense for solid gains and a TD.

WR Derrick Mason had his best day of the season thus far as he made the most of being QB Joe Flacco's favorite target. He was regularly able to get separation and convert short passes into long gains, even adding a TD as the cherry on top of his Sunday.

Miami Dolphins - QB Chad Pennington was forced to do air it out for his Dolphins. Even given his acknowledged arm-strength deficiencies, Pennington was still able to generate drives and rack up almost 300 yards passing and a passing TD.

RB Ronnie Brown was bottled up all day and was unable to gain consistent yards against the Ravens' defense. Even the direct snap plays from the "Wildcat" formation failed to generate any opportunities.

WR Greg Camarillo solidified his emergence as Pennington's favorite target in the passing game as he saw three passes thrown his way in each one of the game's four quarters. Unfortunately, he was only able to corral half of them, limiting him to only an average day for an NFL starting WR.

What you ought to know

QB Joe Flacco, Pass: 17 - 23 - 232 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 - After a steady regression over the last few weeks that saw Flacco making a number of extraordinarily bad decisions, the Joe Flacco that impressed so many in his first game seemed to return to the field. With a completion percentage of almost 75% and a YPA of just a hair over ten, Flacco was the vision of efficiency. This was a result of a number of factors including the coaching staff largely limiting him to short throws, better offensive line protection and a commanding lead in the second half that had Miami focused on stopping the run. That being said, Flacco deserves some of the credit, too. He seemed calmer in the pocket, less intimidated by the pass rush, and was able to not only find his receivers, but find receivers that had gained separation so that they could convert his short passes into additional yards after the catch. In fact, every single Raven that caught a pass received at least one that went for ten yards or more. Most satisfying for Flacco (and his owners) was likely his TD toss to Derrick Mason in the second quarter. While the throw was not challenging, Flacco seemed able to read the defense, identify the best receiver and get it to him quickly. Of course, not everything went perfectly, as he did miss some wide open receivers (including what would have been an easy third quarter throw to TE Todd Heap in the end zone) and displayed some continued difficulty holding onto the ball. While he didn't lose any of his fumbles (the one that he would have lost was nullified by a Miami penalty), Flacco still put the ball on the ground more than once.

RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 19 - 105 - 1, Rec: 2 - 47 - 0 (2 targets) - If this week was any indication, McGahee may finally be back to the form that many who made him an early round draft pick expected. From the opening gun McGahee ran hard, hit the holes fast and broke tackles to generate a consistent ground attack. It's probably no coincidence that rookie QB Joe Flacco had perhaps his best game of the year with McGahee keeping the Dolphins' defense honest. A pair of 14 yard runs on consecutive plays in the third quarter were emblematic of McGahee's day. In each case he rushed up the middle through open holes for the first seven or so yards and then used shifty moves and a dose of power to get the next seven. On his sole TD, McGahee, starting at the Miami five yard line, ran into a log-jam in the middle of the line, spun outside and stretched out his arm to get the ball into the end-zone as he was falling down. The sole low-light of the game for McGahee came in the fourth quarter when he took a screen pass to right side of the field, rumbled 35 yards to the Miami 12 yard line and then lost control of the ball as he was being tackled from behind. Miami recovered it at their five.

RB Ray Rice, Rush: 7 - 13 - 0, Rec: 2 - 46 - 0 (2 targets) - After accounting for the lions' share of Baltimore offense last week, the rookie Rice saw his action curtailed somewhat this week. On the ground he saw only seven carries, and was unable to do much of anything with them. On the other hand, in the passing game he showed a flash of the speed and elusiveness that had so many excited about his prospects in the pre-season. On the Ravens' second play of the fourth quarter, Rice took a screen pass on the right side of the field and then exploded along the sideline, taking advantage of his blockers and hurdling a defender before being brought down after a gain of 40 yards.

RB LeRon McClain, Rush: 6 - 17 - 0, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) - While he was involved in the Ravens' offense more this week than last, McClain still has not returned to the level of involvement that he saw as recently as two weeks ago. Despite receiving six rush attempts, he was largely ineffective on the ground, with the exception of one play where he bounced to the left of the Baltimore line and powered through tacklers (deploying a nasty stiff-arm) for an eight yard gain. Similarly, while he received three targets in the passing game, and caught all three, they went for only a total of ten yards -- and all of those came on one reception.

WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 6 - 87 - 1 (8 targets) - Despite QB Joe Flacco dropping back to pass only 23 times on the day, Mason was targeted on over a third of those attempts, hauled in six and put up his best performance of the season. From his opening reception in the first quarter through the remainder of the contest, Mason was able to gain separation, make the catches, and elude defenders. As a result, passes that had been going for five or ten yards earlier in the season, started going for 15 to 20 against the Dolphins. On his TD reception, Mason was able to find the hole in the defense and plant himself just inside the goal line for the easy score.

WR Mark Clayton, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) - Clayton was only targeted twice in the entire game, and both came in the second quarter. While he was unable to haul in the first toss his way, he was able to convert the second; turning it into a decent thirteen yard gain.

WR Demetrius Williams (2 targets) - Targeted only twice (both in the first half), and unable to convert either into a reception, Williams ended the day having virtually no effect on the stat sheet. It should be noted, however, that one of the targets was a deep throw into the end zone that not only ended in an incompletion but saw Williams tapped for an offensive pass interference penalty.

TE Todd Heap, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (5 targets) - Heap, who has struggled to make his presence felt in the Ravens' passing attack all year, had an above average day for him, which almost included a third quarter TD. Unfortunately, QB Joe Flacco missed the wide-open Heap on that pass. During the rest of the game, while Heap was able to shake free for a few receptions ten to fifteen yards down-field, he still didn't look like the TE that has been a fantasy staple in recent years as he continued his inability to rack up yards after the catch.

PK Matt Stover 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points - Stover was called upon to kick two field goals on the day, and converted both. His first was notable as it was from 47 yards out and thus likely right on the edge of his range.

BAL Rush Defense - The Ravens' rush defense was at its best, and no wild Dolphins Wildcat formation was going to make them look foolish as it has a number of other teams this year. The Baltimore defensive line regularly clogged the middle while the Ravens LBs regularly displayed their speed in getting to the corners to prevent long runs outside. As the game wore on, it helped that Miami was forced to go to the pass to try and make up their deficit on the scoreboard and the Ravens ended the day allowing only 71 yards rushing on 22 Miami attempts.

BAL Pass Defense - Though they only succeeded in sacking Miami QB Chad Pennington once during the game, the Ravens' pass rush was able to flush him from the pocket on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the Ravens' DBs were unable to provide similar coverage, and while they did not give up any excessively long completions, they did allow a slew of 10-25 yard completions. Even the one interception on the day was a result of the defensive line's pass rush and linebacker Terrell Suggs' nose for the ball as opposed to any play that a Baltimore DB had anything to do with. Even so, the day's performance was very much bend but don't break, and when it mattered the pass defense made the plays it had to in order to prevent the Dolphins from getting in the end zone.

QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 24 - 35 - 295 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 25 - 0 - This game was an excellent example of just what Pennington provides to Miami at this point in his career. He was efficient on the day, but limited in his ability to get the ball down the field. As a result, while he was able to complete a handful of 20+ yard passes, Pennington didn't seem comfortable doing so. In most cases these passes were slow in getting to his receivers and those receivers often had to hold up a step to make the reception. On the flip-side, when Pennington was looking short, he was able to deliver the ball with some decisiveness and zip and allow his receivers to do the rest. On his sole TD strike of the day, Pennington was able to display the patience of a veteran before rifling a seven yard pass across the middle to WR Davone Bess for six points. Pennington could have had a second TD earlier at the end of Miami's first drive, but he overthrew TE Anthony Fasano on a short pass into the end zone. While Pennington only threw one INT in the game, it was a bad one. With a blitzing Ravens defense closing in on him, Pennington attempted to dump a pass off to RB Patrick Cobbs. Unfortunately he didn't notice Baltimore LB Terrell Suggs was also in the area. Suggs easily snagged Pennington's pass and didn't stop running until he was in the end zone. Pennington could have had a second interception in the first quarter when he overthrew his receiver in the end zone, but the play was called back due to defensive holding.

RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 13 - 27 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets) - Brown never got on track against the Ravens' stifling run defense, and even the direct-snap, Wildcat trickeration that has become a staple of the Dolphins offense couldn't help him shake free. It also didn't help that Miami fell behind early and therefore was forced to resort to the passing game more and more as the game wore on. This shift in focus limited Brown to only three carries in the second half. One of those, however, was Brown's longest of the day as he burst through the center of the line for 13 yards early in the fourth quarter. That one run would end up accounting for just shy of half his total on the day.

RB Patrick Cobbs, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 5 - 64 - 0 (7 targets) - After his breakout game a week ago, many expected Cobbs to return to obscurity against the Ravens. That ended up not being the case as apparently the Miami coaching staff wants to continue to keep him involved in the offense. While he was only given one opportunity to run the ball all day, Cobbs regularly lined up as a slot receiver or released out of the backfield leading to his ending up as QB Chad Pennington's second favorite receiving target. While it might be tempting to attribute this to the fact that Miami fell behind and had to resort to the passing game throughout much of the second half, such a dismissal would be a mistake. Even early in the game, when the result was still very much in doubt, Cobbs was heavily involved in the offense and actually accumulated more targets, catches and yards before the intermission than after.

RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 4 - 16 - 0 - Coming into this game Williams was already the clear number two option at RB for the Dolphins which meant his opportunities to excel would be sparse. Once the Dolphins fell behind, the situation was made even worse. As a result Williams ended the day with a paltry four rushes, and really had no impact on the game.

WR Greg Camarillo, Rec: 6 - 74 - 0 (12 targets) - Far and away QB Chad Pennington's favorite target on the day, Camarillo was involved in every aspect of the Dolphins aerial attack. He was used on short, medium and long routes, and his twelve targets were evenly spread over all four quarters (literally -- he saw three in each). Unfortunately, Camarillo was only able to haul in half of those passes, and thus what could have easily been a 100+ yard day with at least one TD ended up at only 74. The fault for the 50% reception rate lies evenly with a couple of bad passes from Pennington, a pair of miscues by Camarillo, and some nice plays by the Ravens' defense -- including on a second quarter pass into the end zone that could have easily ended in a score.

WR Ted Ginn, Rec: 4 - 48 - 0 (6 targets) - Early in the contest as Miami limited the passing attack to shorter routes, Ginn was a non-factor. As the game wore on, however, and the Dolphins continued to need quick points as the clock wore down, Ginn became more involved. Four of his targets, three of his receptions and almost all of his yards came in the final quarter as QB Chad Pennington was forced almost exclusively to the air.

TE David Martin, Rec: 4 - 71 - 0 (4 targets) - While he saw only four targets on the day, Martin made the most of them, catching every ball tossed his way for a total of 71 yards. He was regularly used downfield, and while his first reception went for only four yards, his next three went for 28, 21 and 18 respectively as he overmatched the LBs and/or DBs assigned to cover him.

TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (3 targets) - Early in the contest as Miami limited the passing attack to shorter routes, Ginn was a non-factor. As the game wore on, however, and the Dolphins continued to need quick points as the clock wore down, Ginn became more involved. Four of his targets, three of his receptions and almost all of his yards came in the final quarter as QB Chad Pennington was forced almost exclusively to the air.

PK Dan Carpenter 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points - Carpenter was called upon to make two field goal attempts. As both were under 30 yards, he converted both easily.

MIA Rush Defense - The Miami rush defense had difficulty containing the run against Baltimore, particularly as it came to Willis McGahee. The Ravens were regularly able to open holes in the Miami defensive line, and the linebackers often had difficulty making the tackle on first contact. Much of this, particularly in the second half, may be attributable to the fact that they spent a lot of time on the field, making fatigue a factor. In the end they gave up 140 yards on 35 Raven rushes, including a 105 yards for the aforementioned McGahee.

MIA Pass Defense - The Miami defense was able to maintain a decent pass rush all day long, often causing the pocket to collapse around the Ravens' rookie QB Joe Flacco. While in the past this had forced Flacco into ill-advised passes, the rookie was much more composed today. Part of this composure was a willingness to hold onto the ball when he got into trouble, and as a result, the Dolphins were able to record three sacks. Further downfield the pass defense was not as strong as the Miami DBs seemed to have difficulty keeping WR Derrick Mason covered.

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