As we do each Monday, here are our exclusive Game Recaps where we sit a couple of our guys down in front of every NFL game to pull out the important items you need to know from a Fantasy Football standpoint.

We try to go way beyond what the box score or standard game recaps will offer and bring you what you really Need to Know and what you Ought to Know. Let's jump to it.

Joe

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Joe Bryant
Owner - www.Footballguys.com

WEEK 12 GAME RECAPS

Footballguys Game Recap Writers: Mike Anderson, Bill Brown, Michael Brown, Jeff Caldwell, Stan Dorsey, Cathy Fazio, Rich Fix, Mike Flynn, Bradley Gabbard, Cory Gilbert, Clayton Gray, Tracy Hackler, A. Jalen, Alex Knapik, Mike Krucek Jeff Lewis, Scott Martin, Allen Matirossian, Dave Oleyar, Jeff Pasquino, Greg Porzucek, Steve Prosapio, Steve Schone, David Shick, Jeff Siedsma, Mark Strickland, Dave Teller, Michael Tudor, Kerry Walls, Mark Westmyer, Todd Young

Edited by Joe Bryant

Cincinnati Bengals 34 at San Diego Chargers 27

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Cincinnati Bengals

Rudi Johnson was the official starter at tailback for the Bengals, but Corey Dillon had a better day and was called upon in important situations. Dillon tallied 108 yards on 18 carries, while Johnson finished with 16 carries for 65 yards. Coach Marvin Lewis did an excellent job of rotating them, trying to keep them each involved, but Dillon was the better of the two.

Jon Kitna continues his surprising season, finishing 24 of 38 for 243 yards and 4 TDs.

Chad Johnson had a monster day, catching 10 balls for 107 yards and 3 TDs. He was targeted a whopping 17 times, including 5 times in the redzone. He was Kitna's go to receiver in all situations. Peter Warrick, on the other hand, was surprisingly quiet, finishing with only 2 catches for 14 yards.

The Bengals offensive line had a fine day in pass protection. Outside of back to back sacks allowed late in the second quarter, the Chargers got very little pass rush. The rushing numbers speak for themselves as the Bengals piled up 225 yards on the ground at a nice 5.0 YPC clip.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers showed signs of life, not giving up as the Bengals pounded them early and late. The play calling was aggressive, going for two fourth downs in the first half. This is a team still trying to win.

LaDainian Tomlinson had an excellent day, going for 95 yards on 16 carries with a TD and catching 4 balls for 49 yards.

David Boston came alive, at least for this week. His final stats are impressive: 9 catches for 139 yards with 2 TDs. He was targeted 12 times. He benefited from soft man coverage as none of the Bengals' corners are physical enough to bump him at the line.

Doug Flutie's final numbers were not terrible, 15 of 33 for 210 with 2 TDs and he avoided turning the ball over. The team continues to rally around him, but his limited physical tools presented problems, as the Bengals got in his face early and often.

The Chargers offensive line was not overly impressive. The Chargers ran for decent yardage (118 yards on 20 carries, 5.9 YPC) but were down for most of the game, so the Bengals were in pass schemes. The pass protection was shoddy, but with a 5'10" QB, it is hard to make good passing lanes and keep people out of his face.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Cincinnati Bengals

QB: Jon Kitna (24 of 38, 243 yards, 4 TDs, 4 carries for 11 yards, 1 Fumble Lost) continues to impress with his poise and decision making. He was confident behind a line that gave him plenty of time and a solid running game in support. Kitna continues to produce solid numbers.

RB: Corey Dillon (18 carries for 108 yards, 2 catches for 14 yards) was the better man today in the Bengals running game. For the first time this season, he looked healthy and, more importantly, motivated to produce. He ran with power, determination and speed. Dillon showed no ill affects of the injury and looks like he will be highly involved as long as he remains a healthy and quiet camper.

Rudi Johnson (16 carries for 65 yards, 2 catches for 21 yards) struggled splitting carries for the first time in several weeks. He never seemed to get into the groove of the game and appeared to be pressing. He had two runs of large losses, trying to make something out of nothing. Johnson's role is unclear for the remainder of the season, but should continue to see some carries.

WR: Chad Johnson (10 catches, 107 yards, 3 TDs) was simply the man today. He continues to climb into the upper echelon of receivers, making difficult catches and continually beating all types of coverage. He was targeted 17 times, including 5 times in the redzone. Johnson did have one drop.

Peter Warrick (2 catches for 14 yards, 3 carries for 17 yards) was unusually quiet across from Johnson's huge day. He was only targeted 3 times and had 1 drop.

Kelley Washington (5 catches for 61 yards, 1 TD) had a good game in the third receiver role. He was targeted 6 times and had a couple of nice catches, including a 30 yard grab down the sideline, fighting off coverage.

TE: No Bengals tight ends had any catches or targets.

K: Shayne Graham continues to be effective, making field goals of 37 and 47 yards.

Pass Defense: The Bengals pass defense was adequate, but struggled, even in obvious pass situations. The Chargers only completed 15 passes on 33 attempts, gave up only 210 yards and the Bengals put constant pressure on Flutie, but they had no answer for the size and speed of David Boston.

Rush Defense: The Bengals run defense numbers are unimpressive, giving up 118 yards on 20 carries, but slightly distorted giving the Bengals numerous leads. Overall, they did an excellent job filling holes and being in the right place. The Bengals defenders missed some tackles, but ultimately did a respectable job.

San Diego Chargers

QB: Doug Flutie (15 of 33 for 210 yards, 2 TDs and 2 carries for 14 yards) bounced back after an atrocious game last week to put up solid numbers and keep the Chargers in the game. He avoided turnovers and found ways to help put numbers on the board, but one cannot help but think that the bottom is waiting to fall out. He is a gamer, but his physical short comings, lack of accuracy and arm strength will catch up to him in coming weeks. David Boston made several catches that saved Flutie's numbers from being down right terrible.

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (16 carries for 95 yards, 1 TD, 4 catches for 49 yards) played very well, continuing to be the best player on the Chargers' roster. Tomlinson continues to show that he is one of the best backs in football, running hard and finishing runs. Tomlinson was targeted 7 times in the passing game

WR: David Boston (9 catches for 139, 2 TDs) has apparently postponed his lucrative career as an aspiring personal trainer and decided to play football this week. Seriously, he was outstanding as the Bengals could find no way to stop him. He was targeted 12 times with 1 drop. Boston was the only threat in the Chargers' passing attack and continued to find ways to make plays. When this guy bothers to show up, he is still one of the most dangerous receivers in the league.

Reche Caldwell (0 catches, 6 targets, 1 drop) was hurt during the game. No news of the injury at this time.

TE: Antonio Gates (1 catch for 12 yards, 2 targets) did nothing of note.

K: Steve Christie hit field goals of 48 and 26 yards.

Pass Defense: The Chargers' defense had a rough go of it today. The Bengals offense continues to improve, striking a balance that is hard to defend. The Bengals ran the ball 45 times and threw 38 times, finishing with an impressive 454 net yards. The pass defense limited big plays, but was picked apart underneath. The Chargers pass rush had a difficult time pressuring Kitna and never found an answer for Chad Johnson.

Rush Defense: The final numbers are not flattering, as the Bengals offensive line pushed the Chargers front seven around. Asides from Kitna, the Bengals had 214 yards rushing on 41 carries (5.2 YPC) running between the tackles. The Bengals came right at them all day long, and the Chargers could not consistently limit the Bengals running attack.

Jacksonville Jaguars 10 at New York Jets 13

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB Byron Leftwich struggled mightily for much of the game. The much-ballyhooed matchup between two former Marshall University quarterbacks was not even close, as Chad Pennington led his team to victory while Leftwich had problems all day long. He only turned the ball over once, but it was a crucial interception in the end zone, and he had accuracy problems throughout the game.

RB Fred Taylor had a productive day from a yardage standpoint and didn't seem to have much trouble getting by Jets' defenders --- until he got to the end zone. Taylor had several opportunities to score from close range but couldn't punch the ball in. Chris Fuamatu Ma'afala got a 1-yard touchdown run after Taylor failed three times to cross the goal line.

WR Kevin Johnson showed excellent hands in his first Jaguars start. The receiver caught 5 balls for a team-high 77 yards, including a number of nice fingertip grabs.

New York Jets

After slumbering through much of the game, the Jets offense woke up on their last drive, a 10-play, 94-yard, masterpiece that was engineered by QB Chad Pennington. Pennington's final numbers don't look all that great, but his interception came off a deflection and he had several receivers drop balls during the game. Most impressively, he stayed calm and cool on the final drive and elicited several comparisons to Joe Montana from the announcers.

WR Santana Moss extended his Jets record for consecutive games with a touchdown, but it took him awhile to do so. He had a very quiet day until that score, and finished with only 13 yards on 2 receptions. The Jaguars appeared to make a conscious effort to not let Moss beat them, often doubling and sometimes triple-teaming him.

RB Curtis Martin carried the ball 20 times for 56 yards, and the only other carry in the game was on a reverse to Santana Moss. Martin made up for his lack of production in the running game by making himself very active in the passing game. He caught a game-high 7 balls for 52 yards, including several receptions on the Jets' game-winning drive.

The Jets are still having issues with run defense. They allowed 158 more yards on the ground, and exhibited shoddy tackling throughout.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB: Byron Leftwich looked out of synch all game long, finishing with poor numbers (17-33, 172 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT). He constantly misfired his targets and was unable to really put the ball where he wanted. The announcers commented on the possibility of bringing in Mark Brunell for the second half if Leftwich didn't turn things around. A number of plays could have gone for bigger yardage had he been able to put it where he wanted. It should be noted, however, that he may have had a touchdown pass to Fred Taylor from the 2-yard line, but the RB dropped the ball on his way to the goal line.

RB: Fred Taylor went over 100 yards rushing, but didn't quite have the game he could have. Taylor finished with 119 yards on 32 carries but didn't catch a single pass, despite being targeted 4 times. He also fumbled on an early carry. Adding to Taylor's problems was the fact that Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala came in for a 3rd and 1 carry early and later on a goal line carry. Taylor had carried the ball from inside the 5-yard line on three consecutive plays, and was stuffed each time. On the second of those carries, he appeared to score, but the Jaguars never challenged. The team went for it on 4th down and Taylor was not in the backfield. Ma'afala got the 4th and 1 carry and scored. It may be a little soon to call Ma'afala this year's Stacey Mack because, after all, Taylor did get the first shot at scoring touchdowns. But it's important to note that Taylor failed at the job that Ma'afala did very well. There were two other drives during the game in which Taylor got carries inside the 10, but was never able to run with the same burst or moves as he did "between the 20s". Taylor also dropped several passes, including one at the 2-yard line that could have gone for a touchdown.

LaBrandon Toefield spelled Taylor on several occasions, and had the run of the game when he broke a 30-yard run that included running over several Jets defenders. Toefield's running style is similar to Taylor's in that there is a lot of shake and then suddenly an explosion. He finished with 3 carries for 37 yards and added a 6-yard reception, his only target of the game.

Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala got a 3rd and 1 carry early in the game, which he converted. Later, when Fred Taylor was unable to punch the ball into the end zone, it was Ma'afala who got the 4th and goal touchdown from the 1-yard line.

FB Marc Edwards was no factor in the running game, as he didn't get a single carry. But he did catch 4 passes for 20 yards on his only 4 targets.

WR: Jimmy Smith was by far the favorite target of Leftwich, and came down with a team-high 6 receptions for 63 yards. Smith was targeted 13 times, including on the interception in the end zone. Smith had a big drop on the Jaguars last drive on a ball that could have put the team in field goal range.

Kevin Johnson made a good first impression on his new teammates, making several tough catches. Johnson has caught at least one pass in every NFL game he's ever played. He finished the day with 5 receptions for a game-high 77 yards, and was targeted 6 times.

TE: The tight end was not a factor today, as Kyle Brady was never even targeted for a pass.

Pass Defense: They did a fantastic job in containing the most dangerous player on the Jets, WR Santana Moss. Moss did not catch a ball until the second half, and then didn't catch his second one until the game-winning score with 26 seconds left in the game. They sacked Chad Pennington twice and intercepted him once (which was somewhat of a gift that bounced off the hands of Curtis Conway). They also nearly had two other interceptions in the game, but dropped both. One of them came on the Jets' final drive and could have ended the game, but Donovan Darius let it bounce off his hands. One other bad play by this defense came earlier on that same drive, when Jonathan Carter drew a 27-yard pass interference penalty that really set the Jets up as far as how much yardage they needed.

Run Defense: This unit gave another excellent performance. The Jets began using their short passing game as a form of a running game by the second half, because they were having such limited success running the ball. Curtis Martin gained just 56 yards and his longest carry went for 10 yards.

New York Jets

QB: Chad Pennington wasn't doing much, but suddenly caught fire on the last drive for New York. He was unable to connect with his favorite target, Santana Moss, so he had to look elsewhere. He finished 25-39 for 236 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT but the interception wasn't really his fault, as it came off a deflection. He did, however, elude two turnovers at other times when Jaguar defensive backs dropped sure picks. Pennington was especially resilient after the Jets failed to convert a 4th and 4 with 3:33 left in the game. The Jaguars were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, and put the ball at the Jets' 6-yard line. Pennington coolly engineered the drive downfield and elicited comparisons to Hall of Famer Joe Montana by the announcers. He made a number of incredible throws on the drive, and capped it with a perfectly thrown fade to the corner of the end zone to Santana Moss.

RB: Curtis Martin didn't do much in the run game (20 carries for 56 yards) but he made up for it in the short passing game. With WR Santana Moss a non-factor, other players were coming open underneath. One of those players was Martin, who caught 7 of the 10 passes intended for him, totaling 52 yards. He was especially active on the game-winning drive, coming up with several big catches.

Perhaps due to the broken finger, LaMont Jordan didn't get a touch all day. The Jets were never in a goal-line situation until the game-winning touchdown, and that was a pass, so it's possible that Jordan's number wouldn't have been called anyway.

FB Jerald Sowell was very active in the passing game, especially early on. Sowell caught 5 of the 7 passes intended for him and totaled 52 yards.

WR: It was clear from the outset that the Jaguars main focus defensively was to stop or at least slow WR Santana Moss. For the first 59:33, it worked. Moss only caught 2 balls in the game for 13 yards, and amazingly, he didn't have a catch in the first half. More amazingly, he wasn't even thrown to in the first half. Moss was constantly double and sometimes triple-teamed, which was the reason for so many Jets' running backs catching passes. Moss finally got himself open on the game-winning touchdown and did a fantastic job of holding onto the ball as the defender tried pulling it down out of his hands.

Curtis Conway was thrown to 8 times, with one pass resulting in an interception that deflected off of him, and another resulting in a near-interception when he ran the wrong route. Conway caught just 3 of the balls thrown his way, for 26 yards. Conway had a potential touchdown from 22 yards out on the game-winning drive, but he was just out of bounds when he caught the ball.

Jonathan Carter, who enjoyed a breakout game last week, was fairly quiet but still made a big play. Carter was thrown to just 4 times, but he caught 2 passes for 22 yards. His biggest contribution, however, was in drawing a huge 27-yard pass interference penalty on the Jets' game-winning drive.

TE: Anthony Becht was another Jet receiver who really boosted his stat line up more than usual with Moss out of the mix. Becht caught 5 passes for a team-high 63 yards on 6 targets, including a big 29-yard catch. Becht's lone blemish was a wide-open drop on a swing pass, but it likely would have gone for minimal yardage anyway.

Pass Defense: The Jets saw the return to action of three key cogs in their defense, DT Josh Evans, DE John Abraham, and CB Donnie Abraham. Unfortunately for New York, they also saw the return to injury for John Abraham, as he re-injured his strained groin and did not return for the second half. He appeared to be in a lot of pain on the sideline and couldn't stand up straight. CB Aaron Beasley had a huge game, forcing a fumble on Fred Taylor in which he stripped the ball as the running back was falling on him. He later made a touchdown-saving play when he intercepted a corner fade that was intended for Jimmy Smith.

Run Defense: The Jets got away with one today, as they consistently allowed the Jaguars to run all over them. Even at this late point in the season, the Jets have serious struggles simply wrapping people up. On LaBrandon Toefield's 30-yard run, he broke one tackle in the backfield and then simply stepped over another would-be tackler before rumbling the remaining 30 yards. Fred Taylor likewise had little trouble moving the pile. Still, the time when the Jets needed to stop Jacksonville the most was on the drive preceding their own game-winning drive, and they stopped them cold on three plays.

Tennessee Titans 38 at Atlanta Falcons 31

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tennessee Titans

QB Steve McNair left he game in the 2nd quarter with a right calf injury and did not return. He wasn't hit on the play. After halftime he was seen on the sideline in street clothes and a walking boot. His status for next week is uncertain.

QB Billy Volek came in for the injured McNair and looked sharp and comfortable in the pocket. He looked good running and throwing and showed good arm strength on a number of throws. If McNair misses any significant time with his injury (which is very uncertain at this time) Volek looks like he could be a terrific plug-in starter.

RB Eddie George played like it was 1999 again. He hit holes hard, made smart cuts against the pursuit, and initiated contact on the field instead of trying to run away from it. He started the game slowly but once McNair was injured he took it upon himself to make it easy for Volek by providing a real rushing threat.

Atlanta Falcons

RB Warrick Dunn was the lone bright spot for the Falcons in this game. He was most successful as a receiver and most of his 129 receiving yards came on an 89-yard scoring catch. He had nothing going in the rushing game against a tough Tennessee defense.

Doug Johnson had a decent fantasy day with 276 yards and a couple of scores but he looked hurried and uncomfortable in the pocket. He finally got something going with WR Peerless Price in the second half but that was more a result of softer coverage than great play.

The Falcons wore their red alternate jerseys.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Tennessee Titans

QB: Steve McNair (9-11, 95 yds 2 TD passing, 2-9 1 fumble rushing) left the game early in the 2nd quarter with a right calf injury and did not return. While he was in the game he looked sharp. He threw 2 scoring passes to Frank Wycheck within a minute of each other in the second quarter. He saw serious pressure from the Atlanta pass rush while he was in the game but was sacked only once. Oddly, his injury was not the result of a hit or any contact from an Atlanta defender. He was stepping backwards after a completed pass when he jerked his leg up off of the turf and sat down. He limped off the field and was taken to the locker room on a cart. His fumble occurred in the open field when he had broken the pocket to run.

Bill Volek (9-15 117 yds 1TD passing 4-2 rushing) came in for McNair in the 2nd quarter and the Titans' passing game did not miss a beat. He handled the Atlanta blitz well and was not sacked in his 2+ quarters of play. He showed good decision making when faced with the pressure and seemed to find a favorite target in Justin McCariens. All four of McCariens' catches came with Volek under center including a 14-yard touchdown pass.

RB: Eddie George (26-115 1 TD rushing 2-7 receiving) gave us a flashback to 1999 with his best rushing game of 2003. He hit holes hard, made smart cuts against the pursuit, and initiated contact on the field instead of trying to run away from it. The surprising part of his success is that you would figure that Atlanta, with McNair out of the game, would stack the line against the run and force Volek to beat them. Instead, George bulled his way to a big game and the Titans battle back and win a game that should not have been this close.

Chris Brown (2-17 rushing) made a token appearance and was not a factor in this game.

WR: Justin McCariens (4-72 1TD receiving, 58-yd punt return TD) was invisible until Billy Volek took over at QB. McCariens was the target of Volek's first two passes and caught the only TD Volek threw in the game. McCariens also had a terrific 58-yard punt return for a score.

Derrick Mason (4-47 receiving) had a 31-yard gain taken away when a catch and run of his was reversed and turned into an 8-yard catch with no run. Mason is a preferred target of McNair but Volek didn't hesitate to look for him.

Tyrone Calico, who looked so sharp last week, did not have a catch in this game.

TE: Frank Wycheck (5-39 2 TD receiving) scored twice in less than a minute. His second touchdown came after the kickoff after his first score was muffed by the Falcons. The trusty outlet of McNair was only targeted once by QB Volek.

Erron Kinney (2-37) is a huge target and nifty runner who won't be a huge part of the passing game in Tennessee as long as he has to split targets with Frank Wycheck. Kinney did almost score on a nice catch and run but he was forced out of bounds at the Atlanta 2 yard line.

K: Gary Anderson missed a 44-yard field goal attempt. He did make one from 22 yards and all 5 of his PAT attempts..

Pass Defense: The Titans gave up an 86-yard touchdown to Warrick Dunn and a 41-yard score to Peerless Price so I wouldn't say they were great. Doug Johnson was sacked twice and Intercepted one. Jevon Kearse did not play in this game due to the ankle injury he suffered last week. Also, Samari Rolle left the game for a while on a hard block on Dunn's scoring catch.

Rush Defense: What a job the Titans did against the Falcons running backs. The Falcons were held to 25 yards as a team. Certainly a stellar effort.

Atlanta Falcons

QB: Doug Johnson (19-32 276 yds 2 TD 1 INT passing, 2-3 rushing) really benefited from his talented supporting cast in this game. The long TD score of Dunn's was just a flip pass to avoid a sack that Dunn turned into a touchdown. And Price was wide open on his long scoring catch when the defender bit on an inside route fake. Johnson should not have had to throw 32 passes in this game but the Atlanta running game was so bad that the Falcons were forced into passing situations on nearly every series.

RB: Warrick Dunn (14-14 rushing 9-129 1 TD receiving) was much more valuable as a receiver than a rusher. None of the Falcons' running backs could get anything going against the Titans. Dunn looked terrific on a dump pass that he turned into an 86-yard score. He broke at least 4 tackles on the play and showed that he still has his home run speed. Dunn got the bulk of the rushing attempts except at the goal line where he was subbed by Duckett. Dunn did not even get an attempt to run inside the 10.

T.J. Duckett (4-8 1 TD rushing) was relegated to short yardage duty in this game. He got the goal line carry and, to his credit, scored on the first try. Dunn has become the "between the 20's" back on this team.

WR: Peerless Price (5-87 1 TD receiving) had a bit of a breakout game. Most of his targets and catches came in the second half when the Falcons were trying to keep up with the Titans and the Titans were giving up short and mid-length passing routes. His 41-yard scoring catch came when the cornerback covering him bit hard on a slant route fake which left Price uncovered when he broke upfield.

No other Atlanta wide receiver had a catch in this game.

TE: Alge Crumpler (2-18 receiving) and Brian Kozlowski (1-19) did not have large roles in the Atlanta passing game. Crumpler did have a crushing block on Dunn's long scoring catch but he was mostly quiet in this game.

K: Jay Feeley made a 40-yard field goal and all 4 of his PAT attempts.

Pass Defense: Despite getting decent pressure on both Volek and McNair for most of the Falcons only had one sack in the game.

Rush Defense: Eddie George gashed this group for his best rushing game of the year.

New England Patriots 23 at Houston Texans 20

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New England Patriots

QB Tom Brady threw for 368 yards in the game in leading the New England Patriots to a 23-20 overtime victory over the Houston Texans. Brady's passes were spread over nine different receivers in the game, with RB Kevin Faulk leading the way with eight receptions for 108 yards. On the downside, Brady was directly responsible for 14 of the Texans' 20 points as Brady threw an interception and lost a fumble (Brady's ninth fumble this season) while being sacked that led to Texans' touchdowns. Brady also threw a second interception deep in Texans' territory.

RB Kevin Faulk was the main ground gainer in the game, collecting 80 yards on 23 carries and another 108 yards on eight receptions. RB Antowain Smith was utilized several times in short-yardage and near the end zone situations, and rushed for 10 yards on eight carries.

WRs Bethel Johnson and Deion Branch led the receivers with five receptions each in the game. Johnson had 65 receiving yards and his first career touchdown, while Branch had 52 receiving yards.

Recent acquisition WR J. J. Stokes was limited in the number of plays that he participated in the game, but Stokes did have one reception for 31 yards late in the first half.

K Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning 28-yard field with 41 seconds remaining in overtime. Before the winning kick, Vinatieri was 2-for-4 in field goal attempts in the game, converting from 21 and 32 yards, and missing from 38 (hit the right upright) and 37 yards (blocked, early in overtime). Vinatieri's miss from 38 yards was his first missed field goal indoors. Vinatieri's blocked field goal in overtime was his first blocked field goal since Opening Day, 1998.

New England's streak of scoring in nine consecutive first quarters ended.

The Patriots had 29 first downs in the game.

Houston Texans

QB Tony Banks started and played the complete game in place of David Carr. Banks, throwing for only 95 yards in the game, was not as effective as in previous relief of Carr, but nearly pulled an upset of the Patriots with two touchdown passes. David Carr was inactive for the game.

RB Domanick Davis was the primary rusher for the Texans in the game, rushing for 69 yards on 24 carries. RB Tony Hollings was the only other Texans' running back that carried the ball, losing one yard on one carry.

WR Andre Johnson was Tony Banks' favorite target in the game. Johnson had four receptions for 39 yards. WR Corey Bradford had two catches for 19 yards.

TE Billy Miller's only catch in the game was a 16-yard touchdown pass that gave the Texans' a 17-13 lead, midway through the fourth quarter.

K Kris Brown was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts in the game, converting from 19 and 31 yards.

S Ramon Walker blocked a Patriots' punt in the fourth quarter leading to a Texans' field goal, and a field goal early in overtime.

The blocked field goal in overtime was the first in Texans' history.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New England Patriots

QB: Tom Brady was 29-for-47 in the game for 368 yards, with 2 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions. Brady was directly responsible for 14 of the Texans' points, throwing an interception to Marcus Coleman and fumbling while being sacked by Kailee Wong.

RB: Kevin Faulk collected 188 total yards in the game, 108 receiving and 88 rushing. Antowain Smith spelled Faulk in short-yardage and near end zone situations. Smith rushed for 10 yards in the game. Patrick Pass had 15 yards rushing, and Mike Cloud had eight rushing yards. Faulk had a nice catch-and-run for 21 yards (27 yards of running) on the first play inside the two-minute warning that set up the Patriots' final game-tying touchdown.

WR: Rookie Bethel Johnson led the Patriots' receivers in the game with 65 yards and a 27-yard touchdown reception. Deion Branch collected 52 yards. Dedric Ward had 3 receptions for 33 yards. In limited action, J. J. Stokes had one reception for 31 yards. Branch dropped a 4th-and-5 yards pass from the Houston 34-yard line on the Patriots' opening drive of the third quarter.

TE: Daniel Graham caught four passes for 53 yards, including a 4-yard pass from Brady with 40 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 20. Graham also dropped two potential receptions in the first half. Christian Fauria had one reception for ten yards.

K: Adam Vinatieri was 3-for-5 in field goal attempts in the game, converting field goals from 21, 32, and 28 yards, and missing field goals from 38 (hit the right upright) and 37 (blocked).

Pass Defense: The Patriots held the Texans to 80 yards net passing in the game. The Patriots sacked Tony Banks three times. Rodney Harrison had two of the Patriots' sacks, with Richard Seymour collecting the third sack. Mike Vrabel had the Patriots interception in the game. Tyrone Poole knocked away a long pass in the second quarter that was headed for the hands of Texans' WR Andre Johnson. Poole also knocked away another pass to Johnson mid-way through overtime that would have brought the Texans deep into Patriots' territory.

Run Defense: The Patriots' held the Texans to 89 rushing yards on 30 carries.

Houston Texans

QB: Tony Banks played the entire game for the injured David Carr. Banks' performance was not as strong as in previous relief of Carr, as Banks went 10-for-25 passing with 93 yards. Banks also had an interception, but did throw for two touchdowns.

RB: Domanick Davis was the primary ball carrier for the Texans, rushing the ball 24 times for 69 yards. Davis was not as effective in pass patterns as in previous games, catching only one pass in the game for six yards. Davis rushed twice from the one-yard line in the first quarter, gaining zero yards. A third down incomplete pass resulted in a short field goal by Kris Brown and a 3-0 Houston lead, rather than an early 7-0 Texans' lead. Tony Hollings was the only other Texans' running back to run the ball, losing one yard in one carry. Stacey Mack was designated as inactive.

WR: Texans' receivers had limited success in the game, with Andre Johnson leading with 37 yards (four receptions) and one touchdown. Corey Bradford had 19 receiving yards (two receptions). Jabar Gaffney had 13 yards rushing on a broken play that most likely was designed to be a receiver pass. Johnson bobbled a short third-and-goal pass in the end zone that could have given the Texans an early 7-0 lead. The dropped pass resulted in a short Kris Brown field goal.

TE: Billy Miller caught one pass for a 16-yard touchdown. Jabari Holloway had one reception for five yards.

K: Kris Brown converted on his two field goal attempts from 19 and 31 yards.

Pass Defense: The Texans' yielded 344 net passing yards in the game, with 20 of the Patriots' first downs coming through the air. The Texans' did collect four sacks in the game for 24 yards, and also two interceptions, one by Marcus Coleman deep in Patriots' territory that led to a Texans' touchdown. The second Texans' interception temporarily stopped a Patriots drive as interceptor Eric Brown fumbled the ball back to the Patriots. Kailee Wong's sack in the third quarter resulted in Tom Brady fumble that was recovered by Jay Foreman and returned to the Patriots' 31-yard line. This fourth quarter play would lead to a touchdown that gave the Texans a 17-13 lead. Gary Walker and Antwan Peek were inactive for the game.

Run Defense: The Texans' run defense yielded a total of 128 net yards rushing on 41 carries in the game. The Texans ended their streak of four consecutive games with an opposing player rushing for greater than 100 yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers 13 at Cleveland Browns 6

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pittsburgh Steelers

If you just caught the score, you might think that this was a defensive victory for the Steelers. Although the Pittsburgh D made a few key plays, it was largely the Brown's offense committing turnovers which turned the tide in this contest. Twice the Steelers recovered a fumble inside the 20 which they converted into 1 FG and 1 TD. The other FG came after the 3rd Cleveland fumble.

The Steelers committed 10 penalties and the offense managed only 11 first downs. QB Tommy Maddox struggled throughout the day. He seldom had good protection and was inaccurate with his passes. He was ineffective at driving the team down the field and led the team to scores only after starting with excellent field position.

The Pittsburgh running game fared only a little better. Starting RB Jerome Bettis got the bulk of work. He finished with 93 yards, 21 of which came on one carry, and was unable to reach the end zone.

The WRs were a non-factor in this game. Starters Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward combined for only 3 catches for 23 yards. Fullback Dan Kreider actually led the team in receiving with 21 yards.

TE Mark Bruener caught the game's only TD when he sprung wide open for a 1 yard pass after an excellent play action fake by Maddox.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland defense played a terrific game which was lost by the mistakes of the offense. Pittsburgh was only able to score one FG when the ball was not turned over to them inside the red zone. The Browns put 7 in the box and slowed the running game, while the defensive backs shut down the Steeler receivers.

The Cleveland offense was plagued by 5 turnovers and ineffectiveness inside the red zone.

James Jackson looked good most of the time, filling in at RB for William Green, finishing with 94 rushing and 49 receiving. However, he fumbled twice, including once inside the 20 which led to Pittsburgh scoring the game's only TD. He was also stopped short of the goal line on 2 carries from the 1. Jamal White stepped in when Jackson had to sit out briefly with an eye injury, and he also fumbled inside the 20, leading a Pittsburgh FG.

QB Kelly Holcomb became increasingly erratic over the course of the game. He started off looking crisp, but as the game wore on he had several balls dropped by the Pittsburgh defense which should have been picked off. His inaccuracy finally caught up with him late in the second half, when he threw 2 interceptions.

Much like the Steelers, the Browns WRs were largely a non-factor. Both RBs Jackson and White had more receiving yards than any wide out. Andre Davis contributed 3 catches for 48 yards and Dennis Northcutt caught 3 for 24. Northcutt also rushed 2 times for 8 yards, including one where he was stopped on the ½ yard line.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB: Tommy Maddox struggled during much of this game. He finished 9 of 24 for only 73 yards and 1 TD. The Cleveland defense pressured him early and often. He threw several balls wide of their target or to well covered receivers. Most notably, he threw a short pass behind the back of Dan Kreider which would have been an easy TD. His lone TD pass came after a Cleveland penalty gave the Steelers new life after a 3rd down stop. However, Maddox was able to avoid any big mistakes which was enough for the victory.

RB: Jerome Bettis led the way with 93 yards rushing and 8 receiving. However, 30 of his rushing yards came on 2 plays and he was mostly contained by the Cleveland defense. He showed only flashes of the old "Bus" that was capable of running over defensive players.

Amos Zereoue was limited to 3rd down duties or when Jerome needed a breather. He finished with 18 yards on 6 carries.

Vernon Hayes scarcely saw the field and was stuffed for -2 yards on his only attempt.

WR: The Pittsburgh wide outs were effectively shut down by the Cleveland defensive backs. Maddox was forced to throw the ball quickly and the WRs were unable to get open for him even when he had time.

Plaxico Burress led the Steelers wide outs with only 2 catches for 16 yards. He was targeted for 2 deep balls, but was well covered.

Hines Ward made only one catch for 13 yards and was not targeted by Tommy Maddox.

Antwaan Randle-El made one catch for 7 yards.

TE: Mark Bruener made the most of his 1 catch, converting it for a TD. He was wide open on the play.

Jerame Tuman added 1 catch for 6 yards.

K: Jeff Reed was 2 of 3, making good on 23 and 46 yard shots. He missed a 45 yarder when the wind pushed it just to the right.

Pass Defense: The Steelers lived and died by the blitz in this game. They were able to get pressure on Holcomb a few times, but often left receivers open. Jason Gildon, Kyle Von Oelhoffen, and Rodney Bailey each got one sack. The Steel Curtain was able to tighten in the red zone, and kept the Browns out of the end zone. Chad Scott and Brent Alexander were able to take advantage of balls thrown right to them as they intercepted the Cleveland QB. Alexander's was particularly important as it came in the end zone. However, the Pittsburgh D was unable to capitalize on several other poorly thrown balls by Holcomb.

Rush Defense: The Steelers rush defense was porous most of the time, but also played well in the red zone, stopping Cleveland's James Jackson twice from the 1 and Northcutt at the half yard line after a 10 minute drive to start the 2nd half. Mike Logan and Jason Gildon each forced a fumble and James Farrior picked up another when the hand off exchange was bad.

Cleveland Browns

QB: Kelly Holcomb played a strong 1st quarter, but became increasingly inconsistent during the game. He threw 2 interceptions right to Pittsburgh DBs. He had several other passes that were tipped or dropped by defenders. He made a poor handoff attempt to Jackson which resulted in a lost fumble and Pittsburgh's TD. The two interceptions were very costly as one was in the end zone and the other was on Cleveland's final possession. Anticipating the Steelers to blitz, Holcomb stuck mostly with a short passing game. Holcomb was able to drive the Browns several times and finished 25 of 44 for 234 yards.

RB: James Jackson was effective when he was able to hang onto the ball. He rushed 25 times for 94 yards, but was stuffed twice on carries from the 1 yard line. He also added 49 yards on 5 receptions. He had several runs where he looked like he might break it for a big gain, but was stopped with a shoestring tackle.

Jamel White was the 3rd down back and stepped in when Jackson went out with an eye injury near the end of the 1st half. He rushed only once for -12 yards, but led the team with 7 receptions for 57 yards. He also coughed up a costly fumble.

Lee Suggs saw kickoff return duties.

WR: The short passing game used by Cleveland to combat the Pittsburgh blitz kept the WRs from being a major factor in this game. Andre Davis led with 3 catches for 48 yards. He had one opportunity in the end zone when Holcomb overthrew him on the same play he made a spectacular catch on against San Francisco for a TD.

Dennis Northcutt caught 3 for 24 and was the favorite target in 3rd down situations. Northcutt also rushed 2 times for 8 yards. He was stopped on a rushing attempt from the 1 were he was stopped when his elbow touched the ground on the ½ yard line. Northcutt also had a 74 punt return for a TD nullified by a holding penalty.

Quincy Morgan finished with only 1 catch for 16 yards, but made a good play by taking a pass interference on a deep ball which would have been intercepted. Andre King added 2 catches for 12 yards.

TE: Darnell Sanders and Chad Mustard each made 2 catches for 16 and 12 yards. Neither TE factored prominently in the game plan or in the red zone.

K: Phil Dawson hit both of his attempts from 27 and 31 yards out.

Pass Defense: The Browns pass defense was superb, holding the Pittsburgh wide outs to only 4 catches. Sufficient pressure was placed on the Pittsburgh QB and tight coverage prevented the WRs from making any big plays and limiting the Steelers to only 73 yards in the air.

Rush Defense: The rush defense did and adequate job, holding James to 67 yards. The young LBs held their own. Second year LB Andra Davis and CB Daylon McCutcheon led the team with 8 solo tackles each.

INJURY NOTES: Browns C Jeff Faine sprained his right ankle in first quarter and Steelers C Jeff Hartings injured his right knee in the second quarter, neither returned.

Seattle Seahawks 41 at Baltimore Ravens 44

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Seattle Seahawks

QB Matt Hasselbeck was on fire throwing strikes all over the field. His 5 TD performance was wasted by the Seattle defense and a combination of bizarre events. Hasselbeck made excellent choices and continues to look like the franchise QB that Holmgren had hoped he might become.

WR Darrell Jackson torched CB Corey Fuller all game long for big numbers. His running mate WR Koren Robinson had a tougher time trying to shake CB Chris McAlister. These match-ups are the best explanation for the disparity in their targets and production in this game.

RB Shaun Alexander was used sparingly. Seattle made a conscious choice early in the game that they would not be successful trying to run the ball. It was a case of Seattle passing the ball almost all the time while mixing in a run every now and then. Seattle passed the ball on 12 of their first 13 plays.

Baltimore Ravens

WR Marcus Robinson posted incredible numbers with four touchdown receptions. He looked to have regained his confidence and could be returning to his Chicago form from a few years ago.

The performance from QB Anthony Wright seemed surreal. After the game fans had to have been shaking their heads in wonderment. He heaved several jump balls down the field and the larger and stronger Baltimore WRs made leaping grabs or drew pass interference penalties. It was amazing that several of his throws were not picked off. Wright definitely has a very strong arm, but his accuracy has much to be desired.

RB Jamal Lewis ran hard and looked powerful. He faced 8-man fronts the entire day but still managed to break the century mark with 117 yards rushing. Nearly half of these yards came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

LB Ray Lewis may be the heart of the Raven defense, but safety Ed Reed was the real playmaker today. It was Reed's blocked punt and TD with 6:41 left in the game that cut the lead to 10 points and gave the Ravens hope when the game appeared to out of reach.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Seattle Seahawks

QB: Matt Hasselbeck: (23-41-333 5 TD passing, 3-26 yards rushing) Hasselbeck was on target. He completed every type of pass you would expect an NFL starting QB to throw. The Ravens hit him fairly hard several times early in the game, but he didn't appear to be affected or intimidated. The Seattle coaching staff went into the game with the plan of airing it out, and Hasselbeck didn't disappoint. On Seattle's first possession in the overtime Hasselbeck injured his forearm scrambling for a first down. He returned to the game after sitting two plays. After the game is was unclear exactly what the injury was, but he didn't appear to be worried about it in an interview.

RB: Shaun Alexander: (22-72 yards rushing, 1-0 yards receiving on 2 targets) The Seahawks game plan was to throw in this game. Twelve of their first thirteen plays were pass attempts. Alexander was used more of a change of pace as the Seahawks attempted to catch the Ravens defense off guard. The plan was working through the first half and Alexander was benefiting by the change of pace. Of his 10 carries in the first half 4 went for at least 6 yards. Seattle attempted to run more in the fourth quarter to burn up the clock, but they were unsuccessful and Alexander was held to 2 yards or less on half of these carries.

Maurice Morris: (1-2 yards rushing) Morris had one carry late in the fourth quarter as the Seahawks were attempting to run out the clock. His only other game action was returning kickoffs.

Mack Strong: (6-33 yards rushing, 2-3 yards receiving on 2 targets) Strong saw more carries than he typically does, especially in short yardage situations. He was able to convert two third down carries into first downs, but fumbled on another when LB Ray Lewis stood him up at the line of scrimmage.

WR: Koren Robinson: (4-64 TD receiving on 9 targets) Robinson had a tough go because CB Chris McAlister chased him all over the field. Robinson didn't pull in any of his first four targets including two drops early on. He rebounded with a long TD in the third quarter.

Darrell Jackson: (7-146 2 TD receiving on 13 targets) Jackson was the number one option for Hasselbeck in the game. He mostly had CB Corey Fuller in front of him except for a few occasions when covered by Tom Knight. Jackson improved this week and didn't register any drops. On top of his 2 TD performance, Jackson was also targeted a two other times in the end zone on an errant Hasselbeck passes.

Bobby Engram: (4-46 2 TD receiving on 7 targets) Engram scored both of his TDs on nickel back Tom Knight. One was a designed quick out from the 5 yard line and the other was a nice leaping grab Engram made and was pushed out of bounds before coming down in the end zone. The referees ruled that Engram would have come down in bounds.

TE: Itula Mili: (4-54 yards receiving on 6 targets) Mili saw more action in this game than he typically does because Seattle opted to air it out. He made a great diving catch on a ball late in the fourth quarter when Seattle was trying to run out the clock.

Jeremy Stevens: (0-0 yards receiving on 1 target) Stevens saw one pass in the game. It was inside the 5-yard line and drew a pass interference penalty that led to another Hasselbeck TD pass.

K: Josh Brown: (2-2 FG 45, 46 5-5 XP) Brown hit on all his attempts in the game. There was nothing special to report concerning placekicking. However, P Tom Rouen had a kick blocked by safety Ed Reed that pulled the Ravens to within 10 late in the game.

Pass Defense: Seattle sacked QB Anthony Wright 6 times in the game and hit him hard on a few Wright scrambles. Seattle held the Ravens to a total of 37 first half passing yards. However, the Seattle defensive backs were flagged for several pass interference penalties and couldn't contain the taller Raven WRs late in the game. They yielded nearly 300 passing yards to Wright and 4 receiving TDs in the second half. The pass rush that was bolstered by blitzes in the first half seemed to melt away as the Seattle defensive line tired late in the game giving Wright the time he need to deliver one deep ball after another.

Rush Defense: The Seahawks made a concerted effort to contain Lewis in the earlier parts of the game. Through the first three quarters Seattle held Jamal Lewis to only 60 yards rushing. After Wright softened up the secondary with several deep balls Lewis started to break multiple longer runs.

Baltimore Ravens

QB: Anthony Wright: (20-37-319 4 TD passing, 5-27 yards rushing) Wright was 3-9 for 37 passing yards in the first half. The Ravens let Wright start throwing the ball out of desperation after they realized they couldn't keep up with the red hot Hasselbeck in the third quarter. Wright completed four passes that were in essence long jump balls. He wasn't terribly accurate, but he gave his taller WRs a chance to make a play on the ball. It was surprising that several Wright passes were not picked off. It may not be fair to call Wright's performance lucky, but perhaps fortunate is a bit of an understatement.

RB: Jamal Lewis: (26-117 yards rushing, 6-43 yards receiving on 7 targets) Seattle began the game stacking the line of scrimmage. They played five defensive lineman on many downs and opted to keep their safeties pressed tight to the line of scrimmage so that Lewis wouldn't be able to find room to run. Several of Lewis' longer runs came late in the game when Seattle had to adjust and stop the Ravens passing game. It was clear that Lewis is running like a man possessed as he bulled over individual tacklers. It took gang tackling from Seattle to pull Lewis down.

Chester Taylor: (3- -1 yards rushing) Taylor made what was almost a heart-breaking mistake at the end of the second quarter. His fumble after the first Seattle TD set up another Hasselbeck TD that gave the Seahawks a 14 point lead going into the locker room at half. On a positive note, Taylor made a nice 17-yard run after a catch to convert a 3rd and long, but it was called back due to a holding penalty by TE Todd Heap.

WR: Travis Taylor: (3-57 yards receiving on 7 targets) Taylor made an amazing leaping one handed grab on an overthrown Wright pass to set up WR Marcus Robinson's first score. Taylor proceeded to drop the next pass thrown his way. His other receptions were both on quick outs for short gains.

Frank Sanders: (3-66 yards receiving on 3 targets) Sanders was an afterthought and wasn't targeted until late in the fourth quarter. He made what amounts to lucky fluke catch of a tipped deep ball that was intended for Marcus Robinson.

Marcus Robinson: (7-131 4 TD receiving on 12 targets) Robinson may have emerged as the Ravens number one receiving option in this game. He used his size and strength to bully the smaller defensive backs. He fought for the ball, made great adjustments while the ball was in the air, and caught the ball at its highest point on several plays. Robinson looked much like the same WR that made the Pro-Bowl while with Chicago. On his second TD catch, Robinson pulled in a ball and put a hurt on SS Reggie Tongue before rumbling down the field for the score.

TE: Todd Heap: (1-22 yards receiving on 7 targets, 1-7 yards rushing) Heap made his only reception in the first quarter, but Wright kept throwing the ball his way throughout the game. Heap was targeted in the end zone in the second quarter and nearly pulled in a TD. Heap was also flagged for several penalties in the game.

K: Matt Stover: (3-3 FG 21, 40, 42 5-5 XP) Stover was perfect on all his attempts including the game tying and winning FGs.

Pass Defense: QB Matt Hasselbeck torched The Ravens throughout the game, but they were still able to sack him 6 times including two each from LBs Peter Boulware and Terrell Suggs. CB Chris McAlister did an effective job of shutting down WR Koren Robinson for most of the game, but the CBs on the other side of the field (Fuller and Knight) were mostly ineffective against WRs Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson.

Rush Defense: Seattle could have put the game away with a first down on a 3rd and 1 opportunity and a 4th and 1 chance as well, but the Ravens run defense was up to the task. They were surprised in the first half by several RB Shaun Alexander carries, but they consistently stuffed Alexander all through the second half.

Carolina Panthers 20 at Dallas Cowboys 24

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

Carolina's usual recipe for success, a healthy dose of RB Stephen Davis and a tough defense, didn't work the way it was planned in this game. Davis finished the game with only 59 yards on 26 carries. He did score a touchdown, but the running lanes were shut down by an aggressive defense. He saw a lot of 8 man fronts and what little success he did have came early in the contest.

Once the running game was shut down it was up to QB Jake Delhomme to put the ball in the air and he was not good. He completed only 9 of 24 passes for 175 yards. He had 1 touchdown and 1 interception but was not able to rally his team for another come from behind win. He did throw up a couple of prayers that were answered, making his yardage figures better than they probably should be.

The leading receiver for the Panthers was WR Steve Smith, ending the day with 4 catches for 73 yards. That was almost half of the total for the entire team, which doesn't bode well once your running game has been shut down. The only other receiver with more than one catch was WR Muhsin Muhammad with 2 grabs for 58 yards. It wasn't a good day for the Panther wide receivers.

The game started poorly for the Panthers when backup RB Rod Smart fumbled the opening kickoff and Dallas recovered. Another special teams play that didn't work occurred when punter Todd Sauerbrun tried a pass on 4th down that fell incomplete. They also hurt themselves with penalties, one series seeing 3 penalties in a row leaving them with a 3rd and 35.

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas QB Quincy Carter had a solid game, keeping mistakes to a minimum while throwing for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns. Prior to the start of the game the announcers had pointed out that Dallas' head coach Bill Parcells thought the Cowboys could throw on the Panthers and then he let Carter do it. It was all the more impressive when you consider that Dallas had no running game.

The Dallas running game was poor with RB Troy Hambrick and RB Aveion Cason gaining 26 yards each. Hambrick needed 12 carries while Cason had 6. Cason also scored a touchdown on a pitch from RB Richie Anderson after Anderson had taken the handoff from QB Quincy Carter.

WR Joey Galloway found his way back into the action, hauling in 3 passes for 50 yards and a score. WR Terry Glenn ended the game with 5 catches for 74 yards.

The tight ends played a significant role in this game with Jason Witten pulling in 6 balls, Dan Campbell 3 and Jeff Robinson 1. Robinson's was good for a touchdown.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

QB: Jake Delhomme (9-24-175 1 TD, 1 INT passing) was not good. He faced consistent pressure although he was only sacked once. He wasn't very accurate and if it weren't for 2 questionable pass interference penalties in the end zone he probably wouldn't have led his team to the 20 points that they did score. One of Delhomme's favorite passes is turning out to be a ball thrown up for grabs and the receiver has to go get it. It worked on a couple of occasions in this game or Delhomme's numbers would have been even worse. Dallas had made the decision that if Carolina was going to win it would be in the air and Delhomme was not up to the challenge.

RB: Stephen Davis (26-59 1 TD rushing, 1-7 receiving, 1 target) started out ok but it quickly became obvious that Dallas wasn't going to let Davis beat them. His first run from scrimmage gained 10 yards. His next 25 gained 49, or less than 2 yards per carry. While this was not a typical Stephen Davis performance compared to most of the games he has played this year it was similar to what he did last week.

Brad Hoover (1-4 rushing, 1-1 1 TD receiving, 1 target) had a touchdown reception.

DeShaun Foster was out with a broken bone in his hand.

WR: Steve Smith (4-73 receiving, 1-12 rushing, 8 targets) was the leading receiver for the Panthers in terms of targets, catches and yards. He did not get in the end zone, however. His longest reception for the game was 42 yards.

Muhsin Muhammad (2-58 receiving, 5 targets) made a great catch on the left sideline with very good coverage on him. He was able to go up for the ball and ended up coming down with it. While he only had the 2 catches he averaged close to 30 yards per catch. He also drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone, leading to Carolina's first touchdown.

Ricky Proehl (1-36 receiving, 3 targets) had only the one catch as he was able to get behind the secondary.

Karl Hankton (1 target) was not a factor in the game.

TE: Kris Mangum (3 targets) had the 3 balls thrown his way but didn't catch any.

Mike Seidman (1 target) didn't have any catches but he did draw a pass interference penalty in the end zone and on the next play the Panthers scored.

K: John Kasay (2-3 FG (44, 34 yards) 2-2 XP) made 2 of his 3 attempts, missing from 52 yards.

Pass Defense: Carolina only managed to sack QB Quincy Carter one time and came up with one interception, while allowing 254 yards and 2 touchdowns. They allowed QB Quincy Carter to get comfortable in the pocket and even when they took away the primary receiver they allowed completions to the second and third options.

Rush Defense: This unit played well shutting down the Dallas running attack although they did give up one touchdown. They only allowed 65 yards on 25 carries.

Dallas Cowboys

QB: Quincy Carter (29-44-254 2 TD, 1 INT passing, 6-5 rushing) had a very solid game. It was up to him to move the offense as he had no help from his running game. He avoided making mistakes and made good reads all day long. He spread the ball around to his receivers nicely. His one interception came on a Hail Mary to the end zone at the end of the half so it was not a costly mistake. He was especially effective at hitting his tight ends and running backs, connecting on all but two of his passes to those players. He put a pass in a spot that only his tight end, Jeff Robinson could get it for second touchdown pass of the game. His numbers would have been even better if WR Antonio Bryant hadn't dropped several of his passes. It looks like Carter has gained the confidence of head coach Bill Parcells as he was not afraid to let Carter throw the ball on their last drive in an effort to keep the ball and run out the clock. This was Carter's best game in quite a while.

RB: Troy Hambrick (12-26 rushing, 1-0 receiving, 1 target) was totally ineffective. He averaged just over 2 yards per carry and was usually just running into players rather than through or around them.

Aveion Cason (6-26 1 TD rushing, 2-9 receiving, 2 targets) moved into the backup running back spot after RB Adrian Murrell was released earlier in the week. He was not much more effective than RB Troy Hambrick but he did score after taking a pitch out from RB Richie Anderson.

Richie Anderson (1-8 rushing, 6-28 receiving, 6 targets) was big receiving the ball out of the backfield, especially at the end of the game when he caught 3 passes on the drive that ran out the clock.

WR: Terry Glenn (5-74 receiving, 9 targets) was QB Quincy Carter's favorite target, pulling in 5 of the 9 targets.

Joey Galloway (3-50 1 TD receiving, 6 targets) was back in the lineup this week and more involved in the passing game than he had been in weeks. He had a nice touchdown catch on a play where he broke to the post and QB Quincy Carter put the ball right in his hands.

Antonio Bryant (2-17 receiving, 6 targets) dropped more passes than he caught as 3 passes that should have been catches ended up on the ground. To this point the drops don't seem to worry QB Quincy Carter, though as he keeps on throwing to Bryant.

TE: Jason Witten (6-49 receiving, 6 targets) caught the first and last pass of the game for the Cowboys. The last pass was good for 13 yards and a first down that allowed Dallas to run out the clock.

Dan Campbell (3-22 receiving, 5 targets) had a pass in the end zone that was just broken up by the defender. It wasn't even the defender that was covering him, but rather a cornerback that was brought right into the play by WR Antonio Bryant that was able to break up the play.

Jeff Robinson (1-5 receiving, 1 TD) caught the only pass thrown his way for a touchdown. He made a very nice leaping grab to haul the ball in at the back of the end zone.

K: Billy Cundiff (1-3 FG (24 yards) 3-3 XP) missed 2 field goal attempts from 44 and 49 yards away.

Pass Defense: This unit played very well when it counted though it did allow for several big plays. They left the corners alone for a good part of the game as they were determined to stop the running game and on a couple of plays the Panthers picked up good yardage. They held Carolina to 9 completions on 25 attempts (includes the punter Sauerbrun's attempt) and while they only had 1 sack they pressured QB Jake Delhomme most of the game. They allowed 175 yards and 1 touchdown. They were also called for 2 questionable pass interference penalties, both in the end zone, setting up 2 touchdowns.

Rush Defense: They stuffed the Carolina running game with the only blemish being a 1-yard touchdown run. They allowed 75 yards on 28 carries, an average of 2.7 yards a carry and that includes a 12-yard reverse by a wide receiver. They took Carolina out of what they want to do, run the ball, and made them pass.

Detroit Lions 14 at Minnesota Vikings 24

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Detroit Lions

Detroit continued their woes on the road yet again, losing for the 22nd consecutive time away from home. QB Joey Harrington tried his best to spur the offense, as he personally accounted for 201 of the Lions' 241 total yards. Harrington completed just over half of his passes, going 21 for 41 for 161 yards. He was also Detroit's leading rusher, gaining 34 yards on two carries, most of which came on a 26-yard dash.

Despite Harrington's totals, he was also the downfall of the Lions' hopes for a victory. Harrington threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns in the deciding fourth quarter. A last minute touchdown was his lone scoring strike, but that hardly made up for the four earlier miscues.

The Lion rushing attack was virtually non-existent. Harrington gained the most yards, a mere 34, while RB Olandis Gary and RB Shawn Bryson could barely gain 40 yards on 17 combined carries. Aside from Gary's 13-yard run in the second quarter and Harrison's two gains, there were no rushes for over 5 yards.

The passing game wasn't much better. Harrington targeted three main receivers, WR Az-Zahir Hakim (7-61), WR Bill Schroeder (3-44), and TE Mikhael Ricks (5-46). This trio collected 15 balls, but nothing deep. The longest completion was 23 yards to Schroeder.

Also of note for Detroit was the sequence on their last drive of the first half. During their last possession, the Lions had a TD pass called back via penalty, and also lost a Jason Hanson field goal that was ruled "no play" due to a delay of game penalty after a time out. The following play was another attempt, on which Hanson missed a 43-yarder, his lone opportunity of the game.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings came into this game trying to establish the offense early. RB Michael Bennett got his first start since returning from injury, and he was given the ball early and often. Bennett's two longest carries came in the first quarter, where he gained 13 yards and then 25 more for his one touchdown of the game. Bennett finished with only 73 yards, but did gain 62 of them by halftime.

Minnesota also wanted to get the ball to WR Randy Moss early and often, especially deep. This plan was thwarted by good coverage by Detroit, and also by the fact that Moss sprained his ankle in the second quarter. After the injury, Moss caught only three balls for 20 yards.

QB Daunte Culpepper had a competent game, going 20 for 30 for 196 yards passing. He did focus on Moss a bit too much, and this did not go unnoticed by the Lions. Nine of his 10 incompletions were targeted for Moss, demonstrating that defenses are also targeting Moss as well as his quarterback.

The Viking defense saved the day in this contest, as they collected four interceptions and returned two for touchdowns in the final three minutes of the game to seal the fate of the Lions.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

QB: Joey Harrington (21-41-161, 1 TD, 4 INTs, 2-34 rushing) was responsible for most of the offense for the Lions, as he not only led the passing attack but was also the leading rusher for the Lions. Harrington accounted for 34 of the 74 total rushing yards, running once in each of the first two quarters (8-yard carry followed by a 26-yarder).

Harrington completed just over 50% of his passes, but was unable to mount much of an offense. The only TD pass came late in the fourth quarter after the outcome had been determined. Harrington also had a TD pass to TE Casey Fitzsimmons called back due to penalty.

The most troublesome part of Harrington's game continues to be his interception woes. Harrington turned the ball over four times, and twice in the critical fourth quarter. Harrington threw consecutive interceptions in the final three minutes of the game that were returned for Viking touchdowns.

RB: Shawn Bryson (7-21 rushing, 3-6 receiving, 5 targets) had a very quiet game and was not much of a factor at all. Detroit could not get any rushing game established, as Harrington was the leading rusher.

Olandis Gary (10-19 rushing, 1-2 receiving, 4 targets) was also a very limited contributor, much like Bryson. Gary and the Lions had little offensive production from the RB position today.

FB Corey Schlesinger (0-0 rushing, 1-2 receiving, 1 target) caught one lone pass for two yards.

FB Paul Smith (1 target) was the target of one Harrington pass, but it was incomplete.

WR: Az-Zahir Hakim (7-61 receiving, 12 targets, 1 TD) received a number of looks from Harrington, and was the leading targeted receiver for the Lions. Hakim's final catch was for the only offensive score for Detroit, a 5-yard TD pass in the final minute of the game with the fate of the game already sealed.

Bill Schroeder (3-44 receiving, 9 targets) did not make the most of his opportunities. Schroeder was targeted on nine occasions, but only came down with three catches.

Reggie Swinton (1 target) and David Kircus (3 targets) were targeted by Harrington, but did not officially tally any catches or yardage.

Charles Rogers (inactive) remains out due to injury.

TE: Mikhael Ricks (5-46 receiving, 5 targets) played a good game, catching all five balls thrown in his direction. However, much of Ricks' production came in the fourth quarter, where he caught two passes for 27 yards. Ricks caught one ball in each of the other three quarters, but none of his receptions gained more than 14 yards.

Rookie TE Casey Fitzsimmons (1-6 receiving, 5 targets) caught only one ball for six yards, officially. However, he caught a five-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, a play on which FB Corey Schlesinger was called for offensive pass interference away from the play and the touchdown was nullified.

K: Jason Hanson (0/1 FG, 43 yard attempt, 2-2 XP) missed his one official field goal attempt, a 43-yarder at the end of the first half. The interesting part is that the Lions called time out with :04 on the clock. They attempted a field goal of 38 yards and Hanson knocked it through, or so they thought. The officials ruled that the play clock expired and Hanson missed the re-try from 43 yards. Hanson's two extra points sailed through cleanly.

Pass Defense: The Lions pass defense did a good job against Randy Moss and company. None of the half-dozen deep balls to Moss were completed, and one was intercepted by FS Brian Walker. Culpepper did complete 20 passes, but did not gain 200 yards. Moss' sprained ankle helped the cause, but Dre' Bly's coverage was excellent. The pressure on Culpepper also added three sacks.

Rush Defense: The Detroit rush defense let the Vikings gain over 80 yards rushing and a touchdown by halftime. Minnesota seemed unable to gain much after halftime, as Detroit cut the Vikings' run game in half, limiting their output to 40 yards. This seemed to be attributable to Moss' sprained ankle, limiting the production of the passing game, so Detroit was able to key on stopping the run in the second half.

Dre' Bly was also a key contributor, as he came up to support the run and forced a Moe Williams fumble. Bly returned the fumble 44 yards before lateralling it to C Harris, who took it 35 more yards for the score.

Minnesota Vikings

QB: Daunte Culpepper (20-30-196, 0 TD, 1 INT, 7-41 rushing) played a competent game, posting respectable statistics. But Culpepper was unable to find the end zone nor connect to Randy Moss deep. He tried a half-dozen times to hit Moss for the big play, but all fell complete (except for the one that was picked off). In fact, 9 of Culpepper's 10 incompletions were intended passes for Moss - indicative of Culpepper looking to Moss a bit too often. The fact that Moss sprained his ankle in the second quarter did not help, either.

RB: Michael Bennett (15-73 rushing, 1 TD) got the start for the first time since coming back from injury. The game plan seemed to get the ball in his hands and also in Moss's to get the Vikings in the flow early. The balance of Bennett's production did come early, as Bennett had 62 of his 73 yards and his touchdown by halftime. Again, this seemed to reflect that the Lions gave more run support in the second half and let Dre' Bly cover the gimpy Randy Moss on his own.

Moe Williams (5-14 rushing, 6-56 receiving, 1 FL, 8 targets) backed up Bennett and had an average performance. The one remarkable play was the fumble, which immediately led to Detroit's first score. Williams only carried the ball once in the first half, as Bennett was featured, but he did catch at least one ball in every quarter.

Onterrio Smith had no touches aside from a kickoff return of 18 yards.

FB Charles Stackhouse (1-6 receiving, 1 target) contributed just a bit in the passing game, catching one ball for 6 yards in the first quarter.

WR: Randy Moss (5-56 receiving, 14 targets) seemed to be trying to get open deep all day, but that plan just did not work out. Moss went deep down the middle into the end zone in the second quarter, but the ball was picked off and he came away with a sprained ankle on the play. After that play, Moss was very ineffective, catching just 3 of 9 intended passes for 19 total yards. Moss did play the whole game and tried to stretch the field, but could not get it done.

Kelly Campbell (3-29 receiving, 3 targets, 1-(-7) rushing) had three catches, all coming in the second half. None of the catches were over 10 yards. His lone rush was for a loss of seven yards in the first quarter.

Nate Burleson (3-32 receiving, 3 targets) contributed about as much as Campbell in the game, catching all three balls that went his way.

TE: Jimmy Kleinsasser (2-17 receiving, 3 targets) was the target of three passes, one in each of the first three quarters, and gathered in two of them for 17 yards.

K: Aaron Elling (1/1 FG, 24 yards, 3/3 XP) made all of his extra point attempts and his lone field goal try of 24 yards.

Pass Defense: The Viking pass defense did not really but much stress on Harrington, logging no sacks, but they came up big when it was needed. Minnesota picked off four passes, two on consecutive passes in the fourth quarter, and returned the last two for touchdowns to seal the victory.

Rush Defense: The rush defense had little trouble keeping the Lions in check. Harrington broke off one long scramble for 26 yards, and Olandis Gary had one run for 13 yards, but all the other runs from the Lions were for 5 yards or less. As a team, Detroit only gained 74 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Given that Harrington was Detroit's leading rusher, the lack of a meaningful Lion run game becomes obvious.

Saint Louis Rams 30 at Arizona Cardinals 27

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Saint Louis Rams

Marc Bulger played a horrible game at times but showed grit by rallying his team to two late field goal drives to win the game. He made some obvious attempts to force the ball to Isaac Bruce and the Cardinals seemed to read him. Most encouraging for Bulger was that Mike Martz appeared not even to consider replacing Bulger with Warner even after 5 turnovers.

Marshall Faulk rushed for 100 yards. The Rams are now 21-0 when Faulk eclipses the 100 yards on the ground. Despite the Cardinals keying on Faulk in the second half, he stayed active in the game plan.

Torry Holt is as active as ever in this offense and despite not getting a touchdown, lead the team in receptions, yards receiving, and total yards.

Isaac Bruce showed that he is a dangerous weapon at times nearly totaling 100 yards receiving. He made a few really nice catches across the middle of the field. Early in the game he was so wide open it appeared no one was covering him. Even when the Cardinals adjusted their coverage, Bulger made attempts to get Bruce the football.

Arizona Cardinals:

Jeff Blake challenged the offense in practice this week to increase their level of play. For his part, Blake increased his level of play from pathetic to mediocre. He was able to play well enough to allow his running back and his top receiver to have effective fantasy performances.

Marcel Shipp ran hard all day and showed no ill-effects of his injury from last week. He averaged 4 yards per carry against the Rams defense despite being stuffed often at the goal line. Despite their size, the Arizona offensive line is not effective at blowing people off the line of scrimmage in short yardage situations.

Anquan Boldin should make room on his mantle for the NFL Rookie of the Year Award. He topped 1000 yards receiving in his rookie season faster than any other receiver in NFL history besides Randy Moss. His 123 yards receiving accounted for 64% of Arizona's passing yardage. His 2 touchdowns kept them in the game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Saint Louis Rams:

QB: Marc Bulger (28/44, 329 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble lost, 1 carry for 18 yards) started the game 9 for 9 for and then struggled completing only 10 of his next 19 passes with 4 of those getting intercepted. His first interception was on an overthrown deep pass to Torry Holt, his second was a pass across the middle that Bulger didn't account for Renaldo Hill who shadowed the tight end. Ironically enough that interception came as the announcers discussed last week's mini-controversy about Warner potentially replacing Bulger. To his credit after that interception was returned for a touchdown, Bulger came back and immediately led his team to a field goal at the end of the half. His 3rd and 4th interceptions were telegraphed forced passes to Isaac Bruce.

Kurt Warner did not warm up, or appear at any point likely to come into this game even after Bulger's 5 turnovers.

RB: Marshall Faulk (24 carries for 100 yards, 1 touchdown, 5 receptions 33 yards, 5 targets) looked early in the game like the Faulk of old, however Bulger's struggles allowed the Cardinals to key on Faulk more in the second half. Only 40 of his rushing yards came in the second half and overtime but he was active in dump off passes from Bulger.

WR: Torry Hold (9 catches, 145 yards, 15 targets) was as active as his stats indicate. He is clearly the receiver that Bulger feels most comfortable with. On the final drive of regulation with the Rams trailing by 3 points Bulger completed a 3rd and 15 pass to Holt for 15 yards then followed up a flew plays later on 4th and 7 with a 23 yard pass reception on the sidelines. Even on a day when Bulger made obvious attempts to pass more to Bruce, Holt remained active.

Isaac Bruce (7 catches, 99 yards, 1 touchdown, 15 targets) was more active than he has been all year. Bulger clearly forced the ball to Bruce at times during this game with a few of those resulting in interceptions. Bruce had a drop in the 4th quarter that on replay looked like a 15 yard reception and fumble out of bounds but the play was not reviewed.

Dane Looker (2 catches, 12 yards, 3 targets) did not see much action with 30 pass attempts intended for Holt and Bruce. He was targeted on a pass in overtime that it appeared he was interfered with but did not get the penalty call.

TE: Brandon Manumaleuna (2 catches, 26 yards, 5 targets) many tight ends in the league would be excited with 5 targets, but Manumaleuna is clearly the 4th or 5th option in this offense.

Rams Pass Defense: Did not sack Jeff Blake but did intercept him twice running one back for a touchdown. They put decent pressure on him most of the day. This unit did not have an answer for Anquan Boldin who often dominated Adam Archuleta and Aeneas Williams.

Ram Rush Defense: Gave up 166 yards rushing and played extremely well at times and gave up chunks of yards to Marcel Shipp at other times.

Arizona Cardinals:

QB: Jeff Blake (15/28 for 192 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 3 rushes for 31 yards) utilized his most effective weapon Anquan Boldin frequently today. Blake was effective scrambling for yards as well. He threw a horrendous pass that was intercepted and run back for a touchdown and despite elevating his play, could not lead his team to a victory.

RB: Marcel Shipp (24 carries for 95 yards, 2 catches 2 yards, 3 targets) ran extremely effectively in the first half despite the Cardinals falling behind early. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the first 30 minutes, however yet again failed to score a touchdown. He had an 8 yard run on first and goal from the 9 yard line but subsequently was stopped for no gain and a -1 yard carry the following two plays.

Anquan Boldin (6 catches 123 yards, 2 touchdowns 12 targets, 2 carries 28 yards) put the Cardinals team on his shoulders and nearly led them to a victory. He pounded 2 defenders en route to a 54 yard touchdown reception. He was looked to in the red zone frequently and with his 2nd touchdown catch he showed what a physical force he is by getting position on Adam Archuleta and making a nice catch. He nearly had a 3rd touchdown but just couldn't hang onto a 3rd and 1 pass from the 10 yard line in the 4th quarter.

Brian Gilmore (3 catches 50 yards, 4 targets, 1 drop) was much more active this week than previous weeks because early in the game Aeneas Williams and Adam Archuleta consistently covered Boldin.

Bryant Johnson (1 catch, 6 yards, 2 targets) was invisible most of the game, however he did cost his team with a false start penalty. Johnson committed this rookie mistake this week while Gilmore committed it last week. It is an example of what a night and day comparison there is between these receivers and Anquan Boldin.

TE: Freddie Jones (2 receptions 11 yards, 5 targets, 1 drop) was more active than his 2 receptions indicate. He was open in the end zone on their first trip, however Blake did not see him. The next red zone trip he was the target on 4th and goal from the 2 but Jones dropped the pass.

Pass Defense: played an incredible inspired game sacking Bulger 4 times and forced 5 turnovers.

Rush Defense: Despite giving up 100 yards rushing to Marshall Faulk, they surrendered only 117 yards rushing on the day.

Indianapolis Colts 17 at Buffalo Bills 14

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Indianapolis Colts

Starting slow, Edgerrin James got stronger as the game went on. James scored 2 TDs in the second half, on the first one, he carried multiple defenders into the end zone with him. On the second one, James took all 4 attempts at the goal line to plunge in for the go ahead TD.

Marvin Harrison was not in the starting lineup. Used as the 3rd receiver, he was still able to put up 6 catches for 47 yards.

Aaron Moorehead started in place of Harrison. His highlights include a diving reception to the Bill's 10 yard line for a first down, and a pass down the sideline for a gain of 35. Moorehead has prototypical size for a WR. Keep an eye on this kid.

Reggie Wayne suffered a "forehead" injury that kept him out of the game for most of the second half.

Buffalo Bills

Playing with a hairline fracture above his right ankle, Henry was able to rush for 77 yards in the game, but would have broken 100 yards without losing 25 yards to penalties. Henry had runs of 17 and 8 yards that were both called back.

Eric Moulds pulled or cramped up his hamstring. The coaches were calling it a cramp at the end of the game.

Bledsoe struggled to 135 yards on the day. He overthrew his receivers a number of times, and wasn't in control of his offense.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning (26/42, 229, 2/-5 rushing) Manning is playing with confidence. He has a swagger about him that made him look unstoppable in the 4th quarter. Watching the game, it was the feeling you got when Elway needed to drive the length of the field to win, and you knew he was going to do it.

RB: Edgerrin James (28/108, 2 TD, 6/39 receiving, fumble, 6 targets) James' first TD came with him dragging multiple defenders into the end zone. James scored the go ahead TD with 1:38 left in the game on a 4th and 1 plunge into the end zone. James didn't need to wait until 4th down. On 3rd and one from the goal, the Bills left a seam open in the middle of the line, and James would have scored if he had just left his feet and gone over the pile. James Lost 4 yards on an illegal block, and blew a scoring opportunity when he fumbled the ball away at the Bill's 5 yard line.

Dominic Rhodes failed on a two point conversion run attempt.

James Mungro scored on a two point pass conversion on a pass from Manning in the flat.

Ricky Williams (2/16, 2 targets) Williams caught the 2 passes thrown his way.

WR: Aaron Moorehead (5/71, fumble, 6 targets) Moorehead started in place on Marvin Harrison. At 6'3" / 200, he has great size for a receiver. With under 2 minutes left in the 1st half, Moorehead caught a pass down the sideline for a gain of 35. Moorehead made the most of his start, catching everything thrown his way. He moved well with and without the ball. Keep an eye on this player.

Marvin Harrison (6/47, 12 targets) Harrison was not in the starting lineup, but he is still the go to receiver for Manning. Manning went to Harrison a team high 7 times in the first half, and a team high 5 times in the second half. Harrison moved as if he never suffered the injury that held him out a few games.

Reggie Wayne (4/39, 9 targets) Wayne has become a big part of the offense, Manning looks very comfortable going to him in pressure situations. Unfortunately, the two were not in sync today, as 5 of the 9 passes that went to Wayne were either bobbled or overthrown. Wayne suffered a "forehead" injury that kept him out of the game for much of the second half.

Troy Walters missed the game with a hamstring injury.

TE: Marcus Pollard missed the game with a knee injury.

Dallas Clark (3/17, 5 targets) Steady workman-like performance.

Joe Dean Davenport (2 targets) Davenport dropped both balls thrown to him. The dropped pass in the first half was nearly impossible to handle, but the second half dropped pass should have been caught.

K: Mike Vanderjagt (1/1 FG [24])

Pass Defense: ROLB Davis Thornton (5 tackles/4 assists) intercepted Bledsoe on the bills last effort failed drive. On that play, Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke got a solid inside rush, and hit Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe as he threw. The ball fluttered into the hands of Colts second-year outside linebacker David Thornton.

Rush Defense: RCB Nick Harper (6 tackles/1assist) led the squad. Not a great showing considering that a hobbled up Henry crossed the 100 yard mark. Those 100 yards were reduced to 77 due to penalties on the Bill's part.

Buffalo Bills

QB: Drew Bledsoe (15/28, 135, interception, 3/5 rushing, TD) Bledsoe scored on a quarterback sneak, the Bills' first touchdown since November 2. Bledsoe was hurried with the ball in the second half. One thing of note was the Bills running a blocking scheme that had TEs working unassisted against DEs. Under that scheme, you are generally not allowed a lot of time to throw the ball.

RB: Travis Henry (22/77, 4/21 receiving, 3 targets) Even with the fractured bone in his leg, Henry ran well. On the Bill's first possession, Henry carried twice for 7 yards. Then Henry came out with back to back carries over 10 yards on the Bill's second possession. Failed on a 1st and goal, that was taken in for the TD by Bledsoe. Henry lost 25 yards on a holding penalty.

Sammy Morris (1/7, TD, 3/23 receiving, 3 targets) Scored on a Draw play up the middle from 7 yards out.

WR: Eric Moulds (3/38, 8 targets) Although Moulds only caught 3 of 8 passes, Bledsoe just overthrew and missed him on 2 of those passes in the second half. Moulds was interfered with on another missed pass in the second half, but it was not called. He had trouble with his hamstring and the coaches were calling it a cramping problem. Stay tuned to that one though.

Bobby Shaw (2/27, 4 targets) Shaw saw 3 passes in the first half, but then fell out of favor in the second half. Bledsoe only went to Shaw one time in the entire second half of the game.

Josh Reed (3/26, 6 targets) Bledsoe threw to Reed 4 times in the second half, but the two were not able to capitalize on it, as the passes didn't find the mark.

TE: Dave Moore (2 targets) Both passes were desperation throws from Bledsoe who was under pressure. Neither dump off was successful.

K: Rian Lindell (0/1 FG, 3/3 XP)

Pass Defense: The Bill's defense played with heart, and kept the Colt's out of the end zone for much of the game. In the 4th quarter, the Colt's were just too much for a defense that gave it's all in this game.

Rush Defense: MLB London Fletcher (12 tackles/2 assist) led the squad. Bills linebacker Jeff Posey sprained his right knee when he slipped while trying to tackle Moorehead in the fourth quarter. Posey is scheduled to undergo tests on Monday. The defense kept James bottled up in the first half with just 36 yards, but couldn't keep him contained all game, as he rushed for 50 yards on 13 fourth-quarter carries alone.

Chicago Bears 19 at Denver Broncos 10

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Chicago Bears

Chris Chandler was ineffective for the Bears again, completing just 8 of 18 passes for 79 yards before being sidelined at halftime with a sprained shoulder. Kordell Stewart came in and did a nice job of managing the offense, and scored the Bears' only TD with a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter to give Chicago a lead it would never relinquish. Stewart had nearly as many yards rushing (29) as he did passing (47).

Anthony Thomas just never could get going on the day. He finished with just 60 yards, but was robbed of potential short-yardage TDs on a pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter and stubborn play-calling by the Bears' coaching staff, as they called Stewart's number on four straight plays from the Broncos' 1.

No Bears receiver had more than four catches, but Marty Booker was the man both Stewart and Chandler looked to the most. Booker did have a possible touchdown negated from a pass interference penalty. Tight end Desmond Clark continues to be a reliable and efficient target for Chicago.

Kicker Paul Edinger made up for back-to-back shaky weeks by nailing four field goals, including kicks of 47 and 54 yards.

The Bears allowed Clinton Portis to run wild in the middle of the field, but were able to stop Denver drives at key moments in the game. Chicago registered just two sacks of QB Jake Plummer, but the Bears were able to force him out of the pocket, especially in the second half.

Denver Broncos

Jake Plummer looked good early. He was able to move around in the pocket and used his speed to pick up key first downs and confuse Chicago's defense. But he, like the rest of the Broncos had trouble finishing off drives. He threw just one TD pass, a 1-yarder to Rod Smith in the first quarter, and finished with modest passing yardage (176).

Clinton Portis couldn't be stopped for most of the afternoon. His 165 yards on the day were just 11 short of Plummer's passing total. He had 98 yards before the midway point in the second quarter and broke off runs of 59 and 49 yards on the afternoon. Backup Quentin Griffin, who picked up 26 yards on five carries, took one of his jaunts down to the Bears' 1 in the first half, but Portis didn't get a chance to run the ball in. He did leave the game in the fourth quarter with a heel injury, but it didn't appear to be serious.

Rod Smith finished the day with impressive numbers (86 yards, TD), but the sure-handed receiver also dropped a couple passes that would have put him over 100 yards, plus he had a potential second touchdown reception broken up at the goal line. Ed McCaffrey didn't have a catch, but let a sure TD in the first quarter slip through his hands. Shannon Sharpe made some tough catches, and had to be helped off the field in the fourth quarter after getting his bell rung on a first-down reception.

Kicker Jason Elam missed on a 40-yarder, which is usually a chip shot for him, particularly at Mile High.

Statistically speaking, Denver didn't allow Chicago much in terms of yardage. Anthony Thomas was held in check, and the passing game didn't produce any big plays. The Broncos could've used more consistent pressure on Stewart and Chandler, as they registered just two sacks.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Chicago Bears

QB: Maybe the injury to Chris Chandler was a blessing in disguise for the Bears. For the second straight week, it was painful watching him try to orchestrate a sustained drive. He finished with just 8 of 18 passing for 79 yards before leaving at halftime with a right shoulder sprain. Chandler could be seen with his arm in a sling during the intermission. It's too early to tell what it means for his availability next week - although the fact the Bears won behind Kordell Stewart doesn't bode well for Chandler.

Stewart (76 total yards) didn't do too much to impress with his stats in one half, but he was able to run one in the end zone after four attempts at the Broncos' 1 in the fourth quarter. The key for Stewart was playing a mistake-free second half.

RB: Anthony Thomas (21 carries, 60 yards) couldn't find the big hole, but he should've had a couple cracks at the end zone. However, on the drive that led to Stewart's 1-yard run, Chicago ran the QB on the keeper for four straight plays before he got in. The Bears also were prepared to go for it on another 4th-and-goal in the first half, possibly giving it to the A-Train, but a penalty pushed Chicago back five yards and the Bears settled for a field goal.

Stanley Pritchett (2 carries, 11 yards; 4 catches, 21) continues to be used primarily as a safety valve out of the backfield.

WR: Marty Booker (4 catches, 43 yards, 8 targets) was the favorite target on the day and missed out on a possible TD because of a pass interference call.

Dez White (1 catch, 15 yards, 5 targets) missed out on a more productive receiving day. He could've come up with two TDs: One was a sure score that he dropped; the other an overthrown pass from Stewart in the second half. He also had a big gain negated on a penalty.

David Terrell (2 catches, 14 yards, 2 targets) didn't factor in the game.

TE: Desmond Clark (4 catches, 33 yards, 4 targets) certainly catches everything thrown his way. He's not posting huge numbers, but he's becoming a reliable target for the Bears, which could pay dividends for his fantasy owners down the road.

K: Paul Edinger responded from two disappointing weeks by making all four of his field goals, including one of 54 yards just before halftime. He accounted for 12 of Chicago's 19 points.

Rush Defense: Clinton Portis' final line - 14 rushes, 165 yards - tells you all you need to know about Chicago's run defense. He had gaping holes to run through all afternoon.

Pass Defense: Chicago registered just two sacks on Jake Plummer, but picked up the pressure on him as the game wore on. The Bears did a nice job of sealing off the middle of the field and not allowing big plays over the middle.

Denver Broncos

QB: Jake Plummer played in his typical "snake" style in the first quarter, scrambling for first downs, making key throws and managing the offense. He rolled out to find Rod Smith in the back right of the end zone for Plummer's only TD pass, which came on Denver's first drive of the game. The Bears made it uncomfortable for him in the second half, however, and he finished with just 176 yards passing. Plummer didn't get any help on a couple of potential TD passes, as both Ed McCaffrey and Ashley Lelie dropped sure scores.

RB: Clinton Portis (14 carries, 165 yards, 3 catches, 23 yards) ran at will on the Bears. The end zone eluded him again, however, and he now has scored just twice in the last six games. Portis left the game limping in the fourth quarter with what's being reported as a heel injury, although the injury is not believed to be severe.

Quentin Griffin had five carries for 26 yards, including a 23-yard run in the first half down to the Bears' 1.

WR: Rod Smith (9 catches, 86 yards, 12 targets, TD) could've had so much more scoring on the day. His 1-yard touchdown was a nice sliding catch on Denver's opening drive, but a broken-up pass at the goal line and a dropped first-down reception kept him from piling up 100 yards and another TD.

Ed McCaffrey had the ball thrown his way twice but came up with no receptions. He bobbled and dropped a pass in the end zone in the first half.

Ashley Lelie picked up one catch for two yards, but he, too, had a possible TD reception slip through his hands.

Deltha O'Neal, the converted cornerback, made one catch for a yard.

TE: Shannon Sharpe (3 catches, 50 yards) made two difficult receptions, including one in the second half that led to a Denver's first down and Sharpe to the sidelines after good lick from the Bears' secondary.

Backup tight ends Patrick Hape (1 catch, 9 yards) and Dwayne Carswell (1 catch, 5 yards) weren't a factor.

K: The usually sure-footed Jason Elam was 1 for 2, missing on a 40-yarder.

Rush Defense: Denver kept the A-Train at the station for most of the afternoon. He averaged just under 3.0 yards per carry and his longest run was nine yards.

Pass Defense: The Broncos sacked Bears QBs just two times on the day - both coming from Trevor Pryce - and surrendered just 126 passing yards, but Denver couldn't sustain consistent pressure on Chicago's suspect signal-callers. For a team that picks off a lot of passes at home, they didn't come close to an interception on Sunday.

Oakland Raiders 24 at Kansas City Chiefs 27

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Oakland Raiders

Tyrone Wheatley was the primary runner for the Raiders, with 18 of his 19 carries on runs between the tackles. He was far more successful at consistently getting extra yardage after first contact than Charlie Garner, and out gained Garner on the day.

Jerry Porter led Oakland in receptions, receiving yards, and targets. The Raiders tried to isolate him on one side of the field to set up short throws to him across the middle. He was effective after the catch and moving the chains, turning five of his seven catches into first downs.

Though the Oakland pass defense did not give up many yards to the Chiefs' WRs, they did surrender 100 receiving yards to RB Priest Holmes, mostly on screen passes.

Kansas City Chiefs

RB Priest Holmes was once again the focal point of the Kansas City offense, leading the Chiefs in rushing yards, receiving yards, carries, receptions, and targets. Holmes finished the game with 191 yards from scrimmage and a TD.

RB Derrick Blaylock was the #2 RB for the Chiefs in the game, spelling Holmes during drives, and even lining up at FB on a few plays. Blaylock scored the game's first TD on a 25-yard sweep, getting the call when Holmes was taken out after long gain on a screen pass.

None of the Chiefs' WRs had a big day, with WR Eddie Kennison's 3 receptions and 41 yards leading Chiefs wideouts in both categories.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Oakland Raiders

QB: Rick Mirer (19-31-219 passing 1 TD 0 INT, 5-38 rushing 1 TD) did everything he could to minimize risk whenever possible. Most of his passes were short slants, not farther than 5-10 yards downfield. When flushed out of the pocket, Mirer either tucked the ball and ran, or looked to throw the ball away. This strategy did turn in an impressive 13-yard TD run in the second quarter, where the outside pass rush beat the protection, but Mirer found a running lane up the middle and dashed to the end zone.

RB: Tyrone Wheatley (19-77 rushing, 1 TD) churned out yards inside, with 18 of his 19 carries between the tackles. He hit the holes hard, and often made extra yards after first contact. His TD was a 15-yard run early in the second half, where Wheatley took a handoff up the middle, and dragged a couple defenders a few yards before shaking them and running into the end zone. He briefly left the game in the 4th quarter with an injury, but returned on Oakland's next drive.

Charlie Garner (9-36 rushing, 2-15 receiving, 2 targets) only saw spot duty, mostly after Oakland fell behind. He was used almost exclusively on outside runs, which the Chiefs' run defense had more success stopping than run between the tackles.

Zack Crockett (1-5 rushing) got one carry in a short-yardage situation. He made the first down.

WR: Jerry Porter (7-89 receiving, 8 targets, 1-10 rushing) was used mostly on hitch routes and short slants, but did catch one of the few passes thrown more than 10 yards downfield. Porter was willing to go across the middle and take the hit to hang on to the ball after the catch. Mirer often looked for Porter on third down, with half of Porter's targets coming on third-down plays.

Tim Brown (7-50 receiving, 9 targets) saw most of his action on slants and underneath routes, plays designed to gain most of the play's yardage after the catch. Mirer threw to him once inside the red zone.

Jerry Rice (2-51 receiving 1 TD, 6 targets) turned a 15-yard slant pattern into a 47-yard TD early in the fourth quarter. Rice had only one other catch in the game, and was targeted fewer times than Porter or Brown.

TE: Doug Jolley (1-11 receiving, 1 targets) caught an 11-yard pass in the 2nd quarter, the only reception on the day for any of Oakland's tight ends.

K: Sebastian Janikowski made all of his kicks, including a 41-yard FG to tie the game late in the 4th quarter.

Pass Defense: gave up big yardage early on screen passes to the running backs. They did not let any of the Chiefs' WRs hurt them, but Priest Holmes had a 100-yard receiving day out of the backfield.

Rush Defense: did a good job containing inside runs, but gave up several first downs on toss plays and sweeps. Both of the Chiefs' rushing TDs were on outside runs.

Kansas City Chiefs

QB: Trent Green (23-33-244 passing, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1-11 rushing) had an efficient game, if not a spectacular one. With the temperate at around 30 degrees and gusting winds most of the game, Green rarely risked long throws downfield. The Chiefs called several screen passes, especially early in the game, that the team was able to convert into long gains.

RB: Priest Holmes (21-91 rushing 1 TD, 6-100 receiving, 10 targets) was the workhorse once again, leading the Chiefs in rushing and receiving. He did most of his damage outside the tackles, on sweeps and screen passes. Holmes did get more rest than usual, mostly quick breathers after long gains on screen passes. His TD was a 2-yard toss sweep where Holmes followed solid blocking to the corner and into the end zone.

Derrick Blaylock (3-40 rushing 1 TD, 3-13 receiving, 3 targets) got the backup RB duty when Holmes needed rest, and lined up at FB on a few plays. His TD was a 25-yard sweep where Blaylock set up his blockers nicely, and made a couple defenders miss him downfield.

WR: Eddie Kennison (3-41 receiving, 4 targets) saw a significant drop in his workload from previous weeks, targeted just four times. He was not targeted in the red zone, and did not have any bad drops.

Marc Boerigter (2-21 receiving, 2 targets) caught two passes on the game-winning drive, the only two balls thrown to him all day. With the bad weather, the Chiefs used multiple tight ends and/or fullbacks more often than usual, which significantly cut into Boerigter's playing time.

Dante Hall (3-19 receiving, 4 targets) had just 19 yards from scrimmage, but had four kick returns longer than 20 yards, including a 44-yard kickoff return that he nearly broke all the way for a score.

Johnnie Morton (0-0 receiving, 2 targets) did not catch a pass, and dropped a sure reception on the last drive that would have guaranteed an easy field goal for the win.

TE: Tony Gonzalez (4-36 receiving, 5 targets) was used as a blocker more than as a receiver. He did has a 5-yard reception for a first down called back because he committed an offensive pass interference penalty on the play.

Jason Dunn (2-14 receiving 1 TD, 2 targets) saw his playing time increase from past weeks as the Chiefs employed more double tight-end formations than usual. He was wide open for a 2-yard play-action TD reception at the end of the first half.

K: Morten Andersen made all of his kicks, including a 35-yard FG into the wind with 4 seconds left in the game to score the winning points.

Pass Defense: Blitzed a lot to try to rattle Mirer, the third QB to get a start for Oakland this season. They managed to sack Mirer twice and got him to throw the ball away several times, but did not force any turnovers, and constantly gave up short slant passes.

Rush Defense: was unimpressive trying to stop Wheatley's power running inside, but contained the outside runs well, and did not give up a designed run of more than 15 yards (Mirer gained 20 on a scramble.)

New Orleans Saints 20 at Philadelphia Eagles 33

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

Despite the tremendous efforts of RB Deuce McAllister, the New Orleans Saints fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-20. McAllister broke long touchdown runs of 76 and 22 yards on his way to 232 total yards, and his 8th consecutive 100-yard rushing performance. McAllister showed his quickness on his 76-yard score, as he outran a group of Eagles defenders to the end zone. On the 22-yard run, he showed his bruising running style, as he barreled through a swarm of defenders inside the Eagles 10-yard line.

All this was not enough to overcome three costly fumbles, including a fumble by QB Aaron Brooks at the Eagles goal line on the Saints opening drive of the game. His fumble occurred at the Eagles one-yard line with the Saints trailing 3-0. The Eagles went on to score after the fumble to take a 10-0 lead, and led 17-0 before the Saints got going. Brooks fumbled twice, the other coming on a sack by Eagles LB Nate Wayne. WR Jerome Pathon committed the third fumble on the Saints opening drive of the second half. Philadelphia's offense converted the turnovers into 17 points of their own, which was the difference in the game.

Aaron Brooks led the offense well, aside from the fumbles. He did not throw and interception and completed 24 of 39 passes for 287 yards. He did a good job of spreading the ball out among his top targets also, as he threw five different receivers six or more passes each. His top target was WR Boo Williams, who caught 9 passes for 110 yards and a score. Williams seemed to be open every time Brooks looked his way, especially on his 6-yard touchdown reception where he was left uncovered in the right flat.

The Saints defense was never able to make a critical stop that might have allowed the team a chance to get back in the game. The Eagles were able to both pass and run at will, and the Saints defense never looked capable of stopping them.

The Saints were penalized 10 times for 101 yards, an amount that pales in comparison to the Eagles penalty woes. With the loss, the Saints are three games behind the Carolina Panthers for the lead in the NFC South.

Philadelphia Eagles

QB Donovan McNabb continued his excellent recent play, as the Philadelphia Eagles remained tied atop the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys. McNabb put together perhaps his best all-around day of the season, as he completed 24 of 39 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown. Even better for fantasy owners, he showed a willingness to take off and run the ball himself. He finished with 7 rushes for 54 yards, including a 34-yard run that set up the Eagles first touchdown of the game. When he threw, he mostly used quick dump passes to his backs and receivers, which proved very effective. His trio of halfbacks combined to catch 6 passes for 93 yards. All told, McNabb completed passes to 10 different receivers.

The Eagles used their running back by committee superbly. Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter all had success when given the opportunity. Staley produced the most on the ground, 77 yards on 8 carries. Westbrook had 99 yards of total offense, including a 15-yard touchdown run. Buckhalter added a touchdown from a yard out. In all, the Eagles had 201 rushing yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry.

WR Todd Pinkston loosened the Saints defense with a 48-yard catch on the first play of the game. The catch was his last of the game, although he did pick up a 31-yard pass interference penalty on CB Fred Thomas that helped set up the Eagles final score.

TE LJ Smith just missed a touchdown on his only reception, a 28-yard pass to the Saints 1-yard line.

DE N.D. Kalu recovered two of the three fumbles for the Eagles defense, which allowed 7.2 yards per play/

This game was marred by penalties on seemingly every other play. The Eagles committed 13 penalties for 171 yards, but were usually able to overcome them.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

QB: Aaron Brooks (24-39-287-1-0, with 4 carries for 7 yards and two fumble) did not do the most important part of his job; he failed to protect the football. With the Saints trailing 3-0 on their opening drive, Brooks took the snap on 2nd and goal from the one-yard line and fumbled before he could get the ball to Deuce McAllister. He was untouched on the play. Eagles CB Troy Vincent fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchback. In the second quarter, with the Saints trailing 10-0, he was hit by LB Nate Wayne and fumbled once again. The Eagles quickly scored for a 17-0 lead. After that, Brooks played well. He routinely connected with WRs Joe Horn and Boo Williams, along with RB Deuce McAllister. He executed a nice two-minute drill that culminated in a 6-yard score to Williams, and cut the Eagles lead to 17-7, but the Eagles managed a FG before the half to make it 20-7.

RB: Deuce McAllister (19-184-2, 4 catches for 48 yards on 6 targets) played a terrific game that could have been even better. The play before Brooks' fumble in the end zone, he appeared to have scored from a yard out. One official even signaled for a touchdown before he was overruled. The Saints did not challenge the call on the field. It was his 23-yard reception that got the ball down to the one-yard line to begin with. He really got going in the second half. With the Saints trailing 23-7, McAllister needed just one play to go 76 yards for a touchdown, the longest of his career. He started off right tackle before cutting back to the left and raced into the end zone rather easily. Then in the fourth quarter, trailing 33-14, McAllister got the ball on a draw out of the shotgun formation. He rumbled 22 yards through a myriad of defenders for another touchdown. McAllister was also a factor in the passing game, with 48 yards on 4 catches.

WR: Joe Horn (4-76 on 8 targets) caught a 42-yard pass in the opening quarter that set up the Saints goal line opportunity on their opening drive. He then was quiet until the Saints final drive. He also had a 12-yard circus catch called back due to a penalty. He tipped the ball in the air two himself and came down with the ball between two defenders,

Jerome Pathon (5-35 with a fumble on 9 targets) fumbled after a 7-yard reception when LB Ike Reese knocked the ball loose. The fumble happened on the opening drive of the second half and resulted in a field goal that gave Philadelphia a 23-7 lead.

TE: Boo Williams (9-111-1 on 11 targets) was Brooks' main target in the passing game. He scored on a 6-yard pass in the first half, on a pass into the right flat. He caught the ball at the three-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone. He caught every pass that he had a chance at, including a two-point conversion try that was called back on his own illegal motion penalty. The Saints had to settle for a PAT after the penalty.

PK: John Carney made both extra points but had his 45-yard field goal attempt blocked.

Run Defense: The Saints surrendered 201 yards on 32 carries. They were unable to contain Brian Westbrook and Duce Staley, or stop Buckhalter on his score. Rookie Jonathan Sullivan led the team with 5 tackles.

Pass Defense: Ends Darren Howard and Charles Grant each had a sack and a half. Other than the 3 sacks, the Saints got little pressure on McNabb. McNabb was able to dump the ball to his running backs for positive plays most of the game, and the Saints defense never adjusted to prevent it.

Philadelphia Eagles

QB: Donovan McNabb (16-25-259-1-1, with 7 carries for 54 yards) managed the game very well. His touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a play action fake where he rolled left and hit Jon Ritchie with an easy two-yard strike. The best sign was McNabb's willingness to run when he had the opportunity. His 54 yards rushing were one short of a season-high, while his 34-yard run was the longest of the season for him. On the 34-yard run, McNabb saw pressure from the left side and rolled to the right, where he found blockers ahead of him. Instead of sliding down, he leaped forward for an extra couple yards. This play, along with his 48-yard completion to Todd Pinkston on a perfect throw, set the stage for a dominant day offensively.

RB: Duce Staley (8-77, 2 catches for 26 yards on 4 targets) was the Eagles most productive RB. He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry despite a long run of 16 yards. He consistently racked up five to ten yards each time he ran the ball. The only thing he was unable to do was get in the end zone, as he was never given the ball inside the Saints 19-yard line.

Michael Westbrook (9-52-1, 3 catches for 47 yards on 5 targets) showed the best big-play ability of the Eagles running backs. He continued to show a nose for the end zone, scoring from 15 yards out in the first quarter. Westbrook ran untouched up the middle, then broke a tackle at the 7-yard line and dove in for the score. He later caught a 38-yard pass, a middle screen where he stumbled out of the blocks but then raced free. Westbrook is easily the best cutback runner on the team.

Correll Buckhalter (7-18-1, 1 catch for 20 yards on 1 target) got the bulk of his play in short yardage situations and then on the Eagles final drive of the game. He scored straight up the middle from a yard out, giving the Eagles a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.

WR: Todd Pinkston (1-48 on 3 targets) caught a perfect pass from McNabb on the first play of the game and was invisible the rest of the game. He did get open deep for a 31-yard pass interference penalty in the 4th quarter as well, and did not drop any passes.

James Thrash (2-19) and Freddie Mitchell (2-24) each received just 3 targets as well, as the short passing game to the backs and tight ends led the way.

TE: Chad Lewis (2-37 on 2 targets) made the most of his chances, with catches of 23 and 14 yards.

LJ Smith (1-28 on 4 targets) was tackled at the Saints one-yard line on his reception. The catch was made possible by a pump fake from McNabb on the slant, which allowed Smith to get open inside the 10-yard line. This led to Buckhalter's touchdown on the next play.

PK: David Akers made all four field goal tries, from 33, 36 41 and 42 yards out. He also made all three PATs.

Run Defense: The Eagles defense allowed Deuce McAllister to run all over them, as they allowed 8.3 yards per run. They did stop him on 1st and goal at the one and then recovered Brooks' fumble at the goal line however, which was the game's key series.

Pass Defense: The Eagles didn't do much better against the pass. Boo Williams was open all day long. Nate Wayne had a big sack and forced fumble, though, and N.D. Kalu recovered two fumbles for the Eagles.

San Francisco 49ers 10 at Green Bay Packers 20</font>