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 13 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

Buffalo Bills 24 at New York Giants 7

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Buffalo Bills

This is the type of year it has been for QB Drew Bledsoe. He was finally having success throwing the ball when he was forced out with another concussion. Bledsoe did throw for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, but there is no excuse for leaving him in the game for several plays following the concussion. He lay on the ground with his eyes flickering, and afterwards he said when he got up 'everything was yellow'. Bledsoe had been suffering from the effects of a recent concussion during practice this week, and a second in such a short time is a red flag for Bledsoe owners (if there are any Bledsoe owners left).

RB Travis Henry has a broken leg? Well, you'd never be able to tell watching this game. Not only did Henry finish with 113 yards and a touchdown, but he broke numerous tackles throughout the course of the game by constantly churning his legs and fighting through tacklers. Henry's stats are beefed up somewhat by a 32-yard run, and outside of that he gained just 81 yards on 25 carries.

The Bills defense rose to the challenge. They were able to get a ton of pressure on Kerry Collins, and most importantly, never allowed RB Tiki Barber to get untracked. The Giants managed just 24 total rushing yards for the game. The only hiccup on this defense's day was the Toomer touchdown.

LT Jonas Jennings limped off the field in the fourth quarter. He had a pre-existing hip flexor condition, and the announcers speculated that he might have re-aggravated it.

New York Giants

This offense sorely misses TE Jeremy Shockey. Not only are his replacements inadequate, but without a safety net to dump the ball to, Kerry Collins is forced into some awful throws. In addition to Shockey's skills, he plays with fire and emotion at all times, two things which were distinctly lacking from New York.

WR Amani Toomer tried to atone for dropping two touchdowns last week by hauling in a spectacular 77-yard touchdown, but outside of that he didn't do much. He had just 3 receptions despite being targeted 7 times.

RB Tiki Barber was invisible. He had just 20 yards rushing and added just 4 receiving, as the Bills were able to completely take him out of the mix.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Buffalo Bills

QB: Drew Bledsoe's numbers were great while he was in. He completed 19-29 for 252 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. This came despite facing the usual heavy pressure from the opposition. Bledsoe seemed to make quicker decisions than he has in past weeks and allowed his receivers to make plays after the catch. He was nearly picked on a deflection off Eric Moulds, but even that wouldn't have been his fault. Bledsoe, however, suffered another concussion in the third quarter and was replaced by Alex Van Pelt. Van Pelt was 2-5 for 23 yards. It isn't likely that anyone still is starting Bledsoe at this point, but if there are, you should definitely check on his status during the week because he has now suffered two concussions in less than 7 days.

RB: The Giants were bottling up Travis Henry all day long, and it was obvious that they were going to force Drew Bledsoe to beat them. He did. And Henry reaped the rewards in the fourth quarter, when he did much of his damage. His touchdown run was nice and he was barely touched, but other than that run, he was having a tough time finding running room. Finally, on a 3rd and 1 call late in the fourth quarter, Henry broke through 3 tacklers in the backfield and took off on a 32-yard scamper. Henry finished up with 113 yards and 1 touchdown on 26 carries, and added 6 yards on 1 reception. He lost approximately 15 total rushing yards due to holding penalties and also dropped a pass. He fumbled the exchange on a handoff from Bledsoe, though the fumble was charged to the QB and Henry recovered it anyway. He appeared surprised that the ball was in his hands.

Joe Burns carried 5 times for 13 yards and added 19 more yards on 2 receptions, but none of his touches came at crucial times in the game.

WR: Eric Moulds' loss is Bobby Shaw and Josh Reed's gain. Moulds is clearly not himself, and now instead of a #1, #2, and #3 receivers, there is 1A, 1B, and 1C. Moulds was targeted 8 times, coming up with 5 receptions for 66 yards. But he also nearly fumbled early on but was ruled down, he had a ball go off his fingertips in the end zone for what would have been a touchdown, and also fumbled once in mid-stride but the ball just popped up and came right back down in his hands.

Josh Reed caught a game-high 6 balls for 61 yards on 8 targets. He was targeted once on a deep ball but it fell incomplete.

Bobby Shaw caught 4 balls for 87 yards, including a nice 22-yard catch and run touchdown in which he broke a couple of tackles on his way to the end zone.

TE: Dave Moore caught 2 passes for 27 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown down the seam to get the scoring started. Unfortunately for Moore, he suffered a mild concussion on the play and did not return.

Ryan Neufeld replaced Moore and caught just 1 ball for 9 yards.

Pass Defense: Defensively, there was little the Bills did wrong today. They were able to get constant pressure on Kerry Collins, sacking him 6 times (DE Aaron Schobel was credited with 3). They didn't intercept Collins, but knocked down numerous balls and forced Collins into a sub-.500 completion percentage. There was a blown coverage on the long Toomer touchdown, but when you consider that the Giants had a 77-yard pass yet still only totaled 233 yards, you know the defense had a good day.

Run Defense: The Giants were behind all game long, and Tiki Barber completely disappeared. Barber had just 12 carries for 20 yards, and Dorsey Levens added 4 yards on his only carry. Barber's long run of the game went for 7, and there were long stretches of game where Barber's name wasn't even mentioned.

New York Giants

QB: At the beginning of the game, broadcaster Dave Sims said that if given time, Kerry Collins was better than 90% of the quarterbacks in the league. Midway through the fourth quarter, Dave Sims said that if given time, Kerry Collins was better than 75-80% of the quarterbacks in the league. Needless to say, Collins didn't impress Sims or anyone else with his performance. He finished up 17-35 for 233 yards and a touchdown without getting picked, but he had issues in many other areas. One of his linemen, Luke Petitgout, did not play. Then in the first half, Wayne Lucier went down and limped off the field. Collins was already without TE Jeremy Shockey, and then after a promising start, backup TE Marcellus Rivers hurt his knee and left the game. A bad omen early on was that Collins nearly fumbled the exchange to Tiki Barber on the first play from scrimmage. During the course of the game, Collins proceeded to fumble on a sack and recover it, trip over a lineman and fumble the ball away in Buffalo territory, nearly get picked by Takeo Spikes, overthrow Tim Carter on a possible touchdown, and engineer five consecutive 'three and outs'. He did make a great throw on the Toomer score because he stepped into the throw, but more often than not Collins seems to waste his fantastic arm strength by constantly throwing off his back foot. This saps his velocity and puts defenders in much better position for interceptions.

RB: This was one that Tiki Barber will try to forget about immediately. No, he didn't fumble, but then again he didn't really have many opportunities to do much of anything. He carried just 12 times for 20 yards and caught 1 pass for 4 yards. When you consider he had a 7-yard run, that means his other 11 carries went for just 13 yards. Not the best of days for Barber.

Dorsey Levens carried once for 4 yards, but the Giants never got close enough to the goal line for him to be a factor.

WR: Amani Toomer broke free on his long 77-yard touchdown catch, but was relatively quiet otherwise. Toomer finished with 3 receptions for 110 yards on 7 targets. He also dropped a 15-yard out route late in the game.

Ike Hilliard plugged along in his complementary role, grabbing 5 balls for 42 yards on 8 targets, but did nothing out of the ordinary.

Tim Carter may have caught only 4 passes for 46 yards, but it could have been much more had Collins not badly overthrown him on a deep route. Carter had gotten behind the secondary and was open, but Collins was being hurried and threw the ball long and over the wrong shoulder. Had it been more towards the middle of the field, it may have gone for a score. The announcers mentioned how impressed they were with Carter's hands and speed.

TE: Jeremy Shockey was inactive for this game.

Marcellus Rivers caught 2 passes for 22 yards early on, but soon left the game with a knee injury and went to the locker room. He did not return.

Little-used TE Darnell Dinkins saw some action and had 3 balls thrown his way. They may be the last 3 he'll see all year, as he failed to catch any of them, and dropped a sure first down as he sat wide open in the middle of the field.

Pass Defense: Despite getting heavy pressure on Bledsoe, hitting him constantly and eventually knocking him out of the game, they still had trouble containing the receivers once they got the ball. There were several instances in which Giant defenders should have made big plays, but came up empty. Rookie CB Frank Walker had a ball bounce off his fingertips on what would have been an easy interception return. Instead, the ball deflected into the hands of Eric Moulds for a Bills' catch. On the Shaw touchdown, he should have been taken down almost immediately after catching the ball, but he broke through several tackles and ran another 15 yards. CB Will Allen sprained a foot after registering 3 tackles.

Run Defense: They did a great job of bottling up Travis Henry - until it mattered, that is. Henry was held to under 60 yards through three quarters, but the Giants couldn't stifle him any longer. One play in particular summed up not only this game, not only the Giants' recent funk, but also their entire season in general. On a third and one run, Travis Henry bounced it outside only to be met 2 yards deep in the backfield for an apparent stop by Mike Barrow. Henry, however, muscled through Barrow. Still, he was met at the original line by two more Giant defenders. He shook them off as well, and continued on his way to a 32-yard pickup. It typified the type of effort the Giants gave today, as both announcers said they had never seen a Giants team perform so poorly in the simple aspect of tackling.

Kansas City Chiefs 28 at San Diego Chargers 24

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Kansas City Chiefs

Strangely, the Chargers decided to defend the Chiefs with a 7-man front instead of 8 to prevent Trent Green from hitting the big pass play. This poor strategy allowed RB Priest Holmes to rush for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. The Chargers corrected that strategy at halftime and held Holmes to 50 rushing yards in the second half.

QB Trent Green was intercepted on the Chiefs' very first play but he leveled off after that. He threw 2 scoring passes to Tony Gonzalez and he did have one long completion to Johnnie Morton, but other than that he didn't look great in the pocket. He was also intercepted on the first play of the 4th quarter on a pass into the end zone intended for Eddie Kennison.

TE Tony Gonzalez showed up this week in a big way. He had just 4 catches but two of them were for scores. The first was his patented crossing route at the end line that he seems to score most of his touchdowns on. The other was on a play action call that left him wide open in the end zone.

San Diego Chargers

This was, believe it or not, a very winnable game for the Chargers. Steve Christie missed a field goal and had another miss after his kick was tipped by a defensive lineman. If he makes them both we're not talking about the 11-1 Chiefs anymore.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson was being out gained on the ground by QB Doug Flutie until he snapped off a 55-yard run in the 3rd quarter. That single rush more than doubled his production on the day. Tomlinson scored, untouched, from the 6-yard line in the second quarter and was tied with David Boston for the most receptions on the team in this game.

WR David Boston had a solid game despite dropping two catchable balls in the first half. He had all but 12 of his 85 receiving yards in the second half and showed flashes of what many frustrated owners think of when they select him on draft day.

Doug Flutie was a terrible passer in this game but a terrific runner. He consistently over- and under- threw open receivers and just when you were sure he would get benched for being ineffective he would snap off a 20 yard run to gain a first down. 83 of his 213 passing yards came in the last 1:08 of the game as the Chiefs seemed to let the Chargers drive right down the field when the game was all but decided.

There was a QB Drew Brees sighting in the second half. While he didn't enter the game it looked like he was expecting to get into the game. He wasn't holding the clipboard and he had his helmet on and looked ready to go.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Kansas City Chiefs

QB: Trent Green (17-30 155 yards 2 TD 2 INT passing) had a game that was just okay. His numbers did suffer a bit from some dropped passes in the first half but mostly he just handed the ball to Priest Holmes, which is something he does very well. Green was intercepted on the first play of the game on a good play by CB Quentin Jammer on a pass intended for Dante Hall. He was also intercepted in the end zone on the first play of the 4th quarter on a pass intended for WR Eddie Kennison.

RB: Priest Holmes (31-162 2TD rushing; 4-24 receiving) got a bit of a gift from the Chargers in the first half. They decided to go with a 7-man front to stop Holmes and use the other 4 defenders to keep Green from getting a big play in the passing game. While Green's numbers were held in check Holmes racked up 112 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. In the second half the Chargers went to the 8-man front and Holmes was held to just 50 rushing yards. Holmes looked as patient as ever, waiting for the hole to open ahead of him and then surging through it for a big gain.

Derrick Blaylock (6-22 rushing; 1-8 receiving) got his half-dozen rushing in relief of Holmes whenever the workhorse needed a break. Blaylock did get an extra look or two early in the 4th quarter when the Chiefs looked like they were comfortably ahead.

WR: Johnnie Morton (3-60 receiving) dropped two passes badly in the first half. He did make up for them a bit in the second half with a terrific 35-yard catch downed at the San Diego 16 yard line. Morton is still the most targeted of the Chiefs' receivers and if he caught 60% of the balls thrown his way he would be a league leader.

Dante Hall (1-2 receiving) was the first Chiefs' target of the game. Green under threw the ball slightly but CB Quentin Jammer made a terrific play on the ball and made the interception. Hall was open and would have scored if the pass had been further downfield. The Chiefs would still like to get the ball in Hall's hands more but he was only targeted on 2 passes in this game.

Eddie Kennison (2-18 receiving; 1-4 rushing) was the target in the end zone when Green was intercepted by CB Quentin Jammer for the second time in the game.

TE: Tony Gonzalez (4-28 2 TD receiving) was the only receiver who scored for the Chiefs. His first touchdown was a crossing route along the end line. The second was on a play-action fake to Holmes that left him wide open in the endzone. Gonzalez didn't have big yardage numbers in this game but he got open when it counted.

K: Morten Andersen made all of his PAT attempts.

Pass Defense: This unit was hard pressed to get a handle on Doug Flutie. The World's Oldest Quarterback brought his running shoes and he broke downfield often in this game. The Chiefs did sack him once and they intercepted him twice.

Rush Defense: LaDainian Tomlinson and Doug Flutie combined for 159 rushing yards and a touchdown. True, half of Tomlinson's yards came on one play and Flutie's yards probably shouldn't be counted against the rushing defense, but the numbers are what they are. This group got run on pretty well today.

San Diego Chargers

QB: Doug Flutie (16-34 213, 2 TD 2 INT 1 lost fumble passing, 8-53 rushing) had a bad passing day and almost made up for it with a terrific rushing day. He threw a terrible interception on a long pass to David Boston that was picked off inside the Chiefs 5-yard line. Later he almost threw another interception when he scrambled and threw the ball blindly into the air in the end zone. Flutie was picked off on an ill-advised throw to a double-covered Reche Caldwell. Flutie did help the Chargers with his running ability, though. Once he was a threat to run on almost every down the Chiefs' defense had to move up out of coverage to protect against it. That sort of defensive shift left David Boston wide open in the end zone for his scoring catch in the 2nd half. Flutie was leading the team on rushing until Tomlinson had his 55-yard burst in the second half. Flutie also threw a touchdown pass to TE Antonio Gates as time in the game expired. It was a useless play but it was good example of a team that wasn't going to quit just because they couldn't win.

Drew Brees didn't enter the game at any point but it looked like he might get in right after Flutie nearly threw an interception in the red zone in the second half. Brees had his helmet in and he didn't have his clipboard on him. It could be inferred from this that Flutie might be on a pretty short leash so Brees may have some value this season after all. Just something to keep an eye on.

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (19-106 1TD rushing; 5-17 receiving) turned an average game into a good one when he broke out for a 55-yard gain in the 3rd quarter. He had already scored a 6-yard touchdown in the first half and was just banging away when he broke out for his long run. Tomlinson tied for the team lead in receptions in this game with 5 but was not much of a threat after that catch. The screens the Chargers ran were mostly unsuccessful. He gained most of his yards though the middle of the line. Whenever he ran to the end he got caught by the defense.

WR: David Boston (5-85 1 TD receiving) had just 12 yards at halftime and two drops, one of which was an easy 3rd down completion that would have extended a Charger drive. In the second half he showed flashes of what many frustrated fantasy owners were looking for when they drafted him in August. He went jumped aggressively for the ball, he made moves after the catch, and most importantly, he scored. He got wide open in the end zone when the defense shifted to prevent Flutie from scrambling out of the pocket. The 20-yard grab was Boston's longest of the game.

Kassim Osgood (3-62 receiving), the big rookie from San Diego State, got all but 12 of his receiving yards on the Chargers' final futile drive. I guess it's a good example of a player working hard to get open even though his team has no chance of winning. Osgood is big (6-5, 209) and on that last drive he showed decent hands and a willingness to run across the middle. If the Chargers even get a decent passing game his name might be worth remembering.

Reche Caldwell didn't have a catch in the game but he was targeted 4 times, the last of which was intercepted in the end zone. He's definitely a target in the Chargers passing game but that sort of thing won't show up in a box score.

TE: Antonio Gates (3-49 1 TD receiving) caught his touchdown as time expired. Apparently HC Marty Schottenheimer loves this guy. He showed decent hands and his touchdown catch was a tough one.

K: Steve Christie missed a field goal attempt from 48 yards and had another from 40 yards tipped by a defensive lineman that missed wide left. He did make one from 21 yards and all three of his PAT attempts..

Pass Defense: Trent Green was held to fairly low passing totals but he did throw 2 scores. Quentin Jammer intercepted Green's first pass of the game and added another pick in the 4th quarter. Green was sacked just once but that sack caused a fumble that the Chiefs recovered.

Rush Defense: Priest Holmes had 112 yards a two scores on the ground in the first half. This was due to a poor game plan, poor tackling, and a superior running back having a good game. This unit did adjust and Holmes to 50 yards in the second half but by then the damage was done.

Minnesota Vikings 17 at Saint Louis Rams 48

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings fell apart in all aspects of the game in the second half and were beaten soundly by the Saint Louis Rams, 48-17. The Rams scored the final 31 points of the game after the Vikings tied the score at 17-17 late in the first half.

QB Daunte Culpepper threw for 330 yards and ran for 70 additional yards, yet he still made the critical errors that have some Vikings fans screaming. The Rams defense constantly pressured Culpepper, which resulted in a tipped pass and Culpepper's lone interception. One play later, the Rams scored on a 12-yard run by QB Marc Bulger for a 34-17 lead. Any lasting hopes for the Vikings were dashed on their next drive when Culpepper was sacked and fumbled at the Rams 10-yard line. The Rams Aeneas Williams scooped up the ball and raced 90 yards for a touchdown and a 41-17 Saint Louis lead.

RB Michael Bennett picked up 122 yards on 17 touches and showed off his quickness on long runs of 28, 19, 18 and 13 yards. In the red zone, however, it was RB Moe Williams who got the call. Williams carried six times for two yards, but did score from a half-foot away on 4th and goal to tie the game at 17. Bennett's 28-yard run was his last carry of the game, as Moe Williams played the majority of the 4th quarter with the game out of hand.

WR Randy Moss looked unstoppable early. He caught an easy 15-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. The Rams were able to keep him somewhat in check and out of the end zone in the second half, as they switched up coverage and put Aeneas Williams on him. Still, Moss had a huge day statistically. He finished with 10 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown.

TE Jimmy Kleinsasser caught 10 passes for 79 yards and helped sustain drives with his key receptions. He showed sure hands and the necessary toughness to go for extra yardage, which Moss failed to do.

The Vikings defense was horrific. They were unable to stop either the run or the pass. The game announcers often wondered why the Vikings insisted on playing man-to-man coverage on the Rams wideouts. Whatever they tried, the Rams took advantage and scored at will most of the day.

Saint Louis Rams

RB Marshall Faulk capitalized on gaping holes in the red zone and had his best game this season. He finished the day with three touchdown runs to go with 143 total yards from scrimmage. Along the way, he passed Walter Payton and Jim Brown as he moved into 5th place on the NFL's all-time touchdown list. He now has 127 career touchdowns. On a day where he eclipsed two Hall of Famers, he looked more like former Lions great Barry Sanders on a miraculous 29-yard run in the 4th quarter.

QB Marc Bulger mostly avoided the costly mistakes that have hurt him in recent games. His one ill-advised pass was intercepted and set up the Vikings touchdown that tied the game at 17. Bulger was nearly perfect before and after that play. He showed incredible accuracy on mid-range passes to WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. He also made a nifty run on a 12-yard touchdown scramble that put the Rams ahead 34-17. Bulger finished with 222 passing yards and completed 75 percent of his passes.

Torry Holt got open all day long, and Bulger connected with him at will. He caught 8 passes for 102 yards and likely could have doubled that if needed. He did not score a touchdown, however, as Marshall Faulk scored three and the defense scored one.

Isaac Bruce was the Rams triple threat. He three passes for 49 yards and a score, he ran once for 14 yards, and he completed a 41-yard pass to WR Dane Looker on a pass off a double reverse. His strike set up Faulk's second touchdown, which extended the Rams lead to 27-17.

The Rams defense dominated the 2nd half of this game. In addition to Aeneas Williams' 90-yard fumble recovery, the Rams sacked Daunte Culpepper eight times. Four of these belonged to Leonard Little, who also forced the fumble. Adam Archuleta added two sacks, both in the Rams territory that stopped Minnesota drives.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Minnesota Vikings

QB: Daunte Culpepper (33-47-330-1-1, 4 carries for 70 yards and a fumble) played well in the first half but did most of his damage between the twenties. He missed an opportunity on the opening drive of the game when he overthrew RB Onterrio Smith who had gotten wide open deep down the right sideline. Culpepper's 1st quarter touchdown to Randy Moss was an absolute bullet. He ran very effectively on the QB draw, including a brilliant 42-yard keeper. Culpepper struggled under pressure, however. He was sacked 8 times and continued to show a disturbing lack of pocket presence. The play of the game occurred on 4th down and 3 from the Rams 5-yard line. Culpepper took a three-step drop and held the ball for too long. The result was a Leonard Little sack and forced fumble and a 90-yard score for the Rams Aeneas Williams. Culpepper went on to rack up 137 more meaningless passing yards for his team, showing why his fantasy owners love him.

RB: Michael Bennett (14-98, 3 catches for 24 yards on 3 targets) was used extensively until the game got out of reach. When he ran the ball, he seemed to either gain 0-1 yards or 10 or more yards. Bennett showed that he is still a big-play threat, with 29 percent of his touches going 10 yards or more. However, Moe Williams continues to replace him at the goal line.

Moe Williams (6-2-1, 7 catches for 35 yards on 8 targets) did most of his work in the 4th quarter. The exception was his 1-yard run on 4th and goal that tied the game near the end of the first half. Williams replaced Bennett on 1st and goal at the 5-yard line and needed three carries to amass -1 yard and the touchdown.

WR: Randy Moss (10-160-1 on 16 targets, 1 carry for 5 yards) was huge on 3rd downs for the Vikings. He converted all three pass attempts his way on 3rd down, for 23, 22 and 14 yards. The final one resulted in his fumble on the last play of the game. Moss scored on a 15-yard touchdown in the 1st quarter, but struggled in the red zone in the 4th quarter. Moss got the ball on both plays prior to Culpepper's fumble; on the first he ran a reverse for 5 yards, but stepped out of bounds rather than try for extra yardage. He then caught a 2-yard pass and again ran out of bounds instead of trying to go up field. Moss proceeded to join Culpepper in racking up 4th quarter stats, getting 52 meaningless yards.

Nate Burleson (2-28 on 5 targets) was the only other Viking receiver to contribute. He caught an 11-yard pass on 3rd down and 8, and later added a 17-yard catch.

TE: Jimmy Kleinsasser (10-79 on 11 targets) was very productive. He caught anything near him and was very tough to bring down. Culpepper looks to him seemingly every time Moss is not open. He may have been robbed of a touchdown on a 6-yard reception to the Rams 1-yard line. The replay seemed to show that he used his hand to keep his knee from touching the ground, but the Vikings did not review the play.

PK: Aaron Elling made his 28-yard field goal try and both extra points. With the Viking trailing 20-17 in the 3rd quarter, he came on to try a 42-yard field goal, but the Vikings instead tried a fake. Rams DT Brian Young destroyed the middle of the offensive line and knocked down the Vikings intended receiver on the failed attempt.

Run Defense: The Vikings allowed Marshall Faulk his best game of the season, as their run defense was non-existent in the red zone. Their top tacklers were FS Brian Russell (10) and CB Denard Walker (5), which is never a good sign. The Rams scored two touchdowns on one-run drives, resulting in a large time of possession differential in favor of the Vikings. This may have been a good thing for the Vikings defense; there's no telling how many points the Rams could have scored if they had the ball for 30 minutes.

Pass Defense: Brian Russell had an interception along with his 10 tackles. The interception came on an ill-advised jump ball try to Torry Holt. Other than that, the Vikings allowed Marc Bulger to play catch with his receivers all day long.

Saint Louis Rams

QB: Marc Bulger (15-20-222-1-1, 2 carries for 13 yards and a touchdown) played a nearly perfect game. Other than his poor interception in the 2nd quarter, he was outstanding. He moved well in the pocket when he needed to, enabling himself extra time to decide which open receiver to throw to. He even ran for a touchdown, a 12-yard play where he showed nice elusiveness running up the middle to the end zone. Bulger might have had a much bigger day, but he did not need to throw a pass the final 20 minutes of the game.

RB: Marshall Faulk (17-108-3, 2 catches for 35 yards on 2 targets) looked like the Faulk of old. His touchdowns came from 18, 7 and 5 yards out, and he went virtually untouched on all three. He also had a 23-yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty. He caught a 30-yard screen pass late in the first half that set up a field goal. On the play he paused after a couple of yards to allow his blockers time to get in front of him, then burst down the left sideline. Faulk added a 28-yard run in the 4th quarter that was brilliant. He was hit in the backfield, then spun around a couple of times before somehow cutting back to left and racing down the sideline. Two plays later, he scored his third touchdown, from 7 yards out.

WR: Torry Holt (8-102 on 11 targets) looked like he was on his way to a huge game, until it got out of hand late in the 3rd quarter. He was open on nearly every pass attempt in the first half, as the Vikings stubbornly stayed in single coverage on him and Isaac Bruce.

Isaac Bruce (3-49-1 on 3 targets, 1 carry for 14 yards, 1 completion for 41 yards) made one of the plays of the game on his 41-yard pass to Dane Looker. Bruce ended up with the ball on a double reverse and threw a strike down the right sideline to Looker. Looker did have to slow for the ball, preventing him from scoring on the play. Bruce also caught an easy 4-yard touchdown on a more conventional pass from Bulger, which gave the Rams a 17-7 lead.

Dane Looker caught his only pass of the day on the trick play from Isaac Bruce.

TE: The Rams did not throw to a tight end in the game.

PK: Jeff Wilkins connected from 28 and 51 yards out, and made all six extra points. His 51-yard field goal gave the Rams a 20-17 lead at the half, which they would not relinquish.

Run Defense: The Rams allowed 189 yards and 7.3 yards per carry, but were very stingy when it mattered in the red zone. Culpepper accounted for 70 of the 189 yards on 4 scrambles, which skewed the total. Michael Bennett was able to get some good runs but was never able to break one for a score.

Pass Defense: Leonard Little returned from his pec injury with a vengeance as had 4 sacks and Adam Archuleta had 2, as the Rams had 8 as a team. Despite the passing yards they allowed, they really bore down in the red zone, allowing just 2 scores in 5 trips by the Vikings.

Arizona Cardinals 3 at Chicago Bears 28

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Arizona Cardinals

Sometimes it's painful to watch the Cardinals.

Jeff Blake was out of sync with the passing game all day and the running game was non existent. The Cardinals broke out their version of the "no huddle" offense and it's likely we won't be seeing it again any time soon. Eight straight drives from the second to the fourth quarter produced fewer than 10 yards and that streak was ended with a 15 yard drive that ended with a Blake fumble.

The only bright spot on the day was TE Freddie Jones hauling in game high 6 catches for 62 yards. Other than that…nothing positive of note.

Chicago Bears

The player of the game was rookie Brock Forsey. Starting his second game of his career for the inactive Anthony Thomas (who was out with Pneumonia) he ran through the Cardinals defense like they weren't even there. He finished with 161 yards of total offense and scored the Bears final touchdown on the day.

The normally reliable Paul Edinger missed two field goals.

The Bears did everything they could to keep the lowly Cardinals in this game. They lead 7-3 going into the fourth quarter. It was only then that a timely interception led to their second TD of the day and then the game was out of reach.

The offense did wake up in the 4th quarter to score 3 touchdowns - 2 of which were set up by Cardinals turnovers.

Kordell Stewart made his first start since week 5 and played surprisingly well. He accounted for 3 of the Bears' 4 touchdowns and played mistake free football. He still has trouble with his accuracy (missing some wide open receivers), but playing the Cardinals one doesn't need to be all that accurate.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Arizona Cardinals

QB: Blake (20-32/163/0/2int) was just off all day. He took advantage of a late game prevent defense to pad his stats - 47 of his yards came on the last drive. The no huddle offense was just bad. Chicago paid all kinds of attention to star rookie Anquan Boldin and so Blake was forced to look elsewhere and it seemed to bother him.

RB: Marcel Shipp (14-34) had nowhere to run. He did break one tackle for a nice 8 yard run and that was the highlight of the Cardinals day.

Emmitt Smith returned and on his only carry, the Cardinals did not block Brian Urlacher who came through untouched and stopped Smith in the backfield for a three yard loss.

WR: Anquan Boldin (4-33) was nowhere to be found. His first catch came with 2 minutes to go in the first half and then he made 3 catches against the prevent defense late in the game.

Bryant Johnson had the most targets among the wideouts, but he turned those into just one catch for 5 yards.

Both WR's had deep throws their way in the second quarter, but Boldin's was ruined by his feet getting tangled up with the defender and he fell down - Johnson almost made a great catch on a 35 yard pass that was just overthrown by Blake.

TE: Freddie Jones (6-62) proved to be Blake's most reliable target.

K: Neil Rackers made his only FG attempt on the day from 32 yards.

Pass Defense: What can you say about a defense that allows Kordell Stewart to throw for 280+ yards? They have been coming to life in the pass rush category - before today they had 13 sacks in 11 games. They nearly tripled their average in this game with 3 sacks..

Rush Defense: The rush defense was good in the middle - the middle of the game that is. Chicago ran wild in the first quarter, then gained nothing in the second and third and only got going in the fourth because they had a lead and the Cardinals had to press. All in all a bad effort though giving up 154 total yards.

Chicago Bears

QB: Kordell Stewart (22-37/284/2TD) shows us why he still gets picked up year in and year out even though he's not a very good NFL QB. Bring on the Cardinals pathetic pass defense and Stewart looks like a pro bowler. Kordell bashing aside, he did make several good throws and he didn't throw any interceptions (although 2 easy picks were dropped by the Cardinals). He also scored a 10 yard rushing TD on a scramble.

RB: Rookie Brock Forsey played the game of his life. He carried 27 times for 134 yards and a score. He caught 2 balls, and one went for a nice 22 yard gain on 2nd and 16. He put a nice move on the DB to pick up the first down. 14 of his carries went for 5+ yards as he solidified his slot in the Bears backfield. Anthony Thomas was inactive due to illness and is expected back next weekend.

WR: Several Bears WR's got involved significantly in the game. Justin Gage led the way with 4 catches for 100 yards. His 57 yard catch in the first quarter was aided by the defender falling down. He also had a 33 yard TD called back because he was called for interference (pushing off - close call). Both Dez White (4-55/1TD) and Marty Booker (5-44/1TD) caught TD's from Stewart and White benefited from a soft Arizona zone.

TE: Desmond Clark made 3 catches for 19 yards.

K: There could be trouble brewing in the Chicago kicking game. The usually reliable Paul Edinger missed two more field goals and both were within his range (44 and 43 yards). Fortunately neither mattered as the Bears pulled away late. Had this game ended closer, the Bears would be bringing in kickers to audition this week.

Pass Defense: The Bears held a pretty good Cardinal passing attack down all day. They only managed 1 sack on the day, but the intercepted Blake twice. The first one really changed the tone of the game and set up the Bears clinching TD. The second was a garbage interception late.

Rush Defense: This is the Bears defense that was around a couple of years ago. They held the Cardinals to 46 total yards on the ground and it seemed like even less than that. The lack of a running game played a significant role in helping out the pass defense. The Cardinal weren't able to fool the Bears at all since with no yards rushing, passing downs were obvious.

Cincinnati Bengals 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers 20

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals came back from 3 down with 1:05 to go to beat the Steelers. The Bengals played very well in the first half, but came out flat in the second half, losing time of possession 20 minutes to 10.

Corey Dillon was expected to start this week and get two-thirds of the total carries, but he and Rudi Johnson split the carries with ten apiece. They finished with 48 and 29 yards respectively.

Jon Kitna continued his surprising season with 271 yards and 3 TDs. He is doing all the things that he was not doing early in the season to keep the Bengals win streak alive. He is avoiding mistakes, hitting open receivers, using his legs to buy more time and playing with a high level of confidence.

WR Chad Johnson continued his break out season with 6 catches for 117 yards and 1 TD. Peter Warrick was solid, catching 5 balls for 54 yards and rookie Kelley Washington scored another touchdown.

The Bengals offensive line struggled to run block this week against the Steelers front seven. But the pass protection was very good, allowing only one sack, giving Kitna plenty of time to have another effective outing.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tommy Maddox had an uneven day, producing when the Bengals were in prevent coverage, but struggled when the Bengals had any pass rush. Maddox had 313 yards on 28 of 42 passing (66% completion), but almost all of his success was against a conservative Bengals defense.

Jerome Bettis now insists he will play next year and start, either for the Steelers or some one else. Whoever he starts for will have to be pretty desperate. He is no longer a punishing back with good acceleration that hits the hole hard. He is more like a full back that happens to carry the ball a lot. Think Leroy Hoard. He had 62 yards on 20 carries with a long of 9.

Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress both had strong days. Ward had 13 catches for 149 yards and 1 TD and Burress had 8 catches for 112 yards. Both were consistently open, but the lack of a big play from either was disturbing. The Steelers offense never tried to get the ball over the top against an underwhelming Bengals secondary.

The Steelers offensive line has had a rough season and this game was no different. In the running game, the Steelers created few holes, especially any that Jerome Bettis could get through. The line allowed six sacks of Maddox and had trouble picking up the blitz.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Cincinnati Bengals

QB: Jon Kitna (18 of 32, 271 yds, 3 TD and 3 carries for 18 yards) continues to produce solid fantasy numbers. He played sharp, error free football, finding open receivers and throwing the ball away when no one was open. The pass protection was solid, giving Kitna plenty of time. Kitna was especially impressive down the stretch, driving the Bengals down the field for the winning score.

RB: Corey Dillon (10 carries for 48 yards, 1 catch for 3 yards) never got on track against a solid Steelers run defense. Earlier in the week, Marvin Lewis said the Dillon would receive two-thirds of the carries. Obviously, this did not manifest as both backs had 10 carries. Dillon ran well in his limited opportunities, hitting the hole hard and finishing runs. He was hurt in the second quarter but returned to the game. Dillon split carries with Rudi Johnson and neither back seems entirely enamored with the situation although winning smoothes over most everything.

Rudi Johnson (10 caries for 29 yards, 1 catch for 4 yards) also had problems against the Steelers run defense. Johnson again seemed to struggle in the committee situation. This situation remains unclear for fantasy purposes.

WR: Chad Johnson (6 catches for 117 yards, 1 TD, 9 targets) has used up all the adjectives available. He makes the tough catches. He goes over the middle. He makes clutch plays. He continues his trend of dropping at least a ball a week, but he is simply becoming a phenomenal receiver.

Peter Warrick (5 catches for 54 yards, 1 drop), 8 targets) was more involved this week than last week. He was held in check, never finding much room to operate. He surprisingly did not have a run attempt. He will have the occasional big week, but he is second fiddle to Chad Johnson.

Kelley Washington (1 catch for 51 yards, 1 TD, 2 targets) had a TD catch for the second straight week on broken coverage.

TE: Matt Schobel (1 catch for 18 yards, 1 TD, 3 targets) had the game winning TD catch 13 seconds to play. The Bengals TE position continues to be a committee situation as both Tony Stewart and Reggie Kelly caught balls as well.

K: Shayne Graham continues a solid season, converting his one field goal attempt of 44 yards.

Pass Defense: The Bengals pass rush was excellent, sacking the hapless Tommy Maddox six times. But, the Bengals played a prevent defense in the second half and stopped rushing the passer, giving Maddox time to find receivers. Burress and Ward gave the Bengals secondary fits as both were consistently open, but the Bengals closed well, limiting any yards after catch. The Steelers never tested the Bengals over the top with a long completion of 24 yards.

Rush Defense: The Bengals run defense was solid, limiting Bettis and Zereoue to 81 yards on 23 carries (3.5 YPC). The Bengals continue to improve on defense, staying in their gaps and tackling well.

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB: Tommy Maddox (28 for 42, 313 yards 1 TD, 1 INT) was erratic at best. When he was pressured he was awful, when he had time he was adequate. He was injured in the second quarter, but returned the next series.

Charlie Batch (1 of 2, 22 yards, 1 fumble lost) came on when Maddox was injured, throwing a strike for a first down, an incompletion on his second play and fumbled the ball on the third play. Maddox returned on the next series.

RB: Jerome Bettis (20 carries for 62 yards, 1 TD, 1 catch for 5 yards) is the primary back in Pittsburgh, but is no longer a special back. He lacks the power and speed he did even 2 years ago. His YPC for the year is a measly 3.2 and today was about the same.

Amos Zereoue (3 carries for 19 yards, 2 catches for 23 yards) had a 26 yard run reversed on a penalty. He played well in limited action.

WR: Hines Ward (13 catches for 149 yards, 1 TD, 18 targets) had an outstanding game. He was consistently open and the Bengals had no answer for him. He was the target on 41% of the attempted passes. Ward dropped one ball. He showed great toughness as he was injured on the play prior to his 4th quarter touchdown but stayed in the game. He scored on the next play and made his way over to the bench to receive treatment for what looked like a rib injury.

Plaxico Burress (8 catches for 112 yards, 10 targets) showed signs of life against the porous Bengals pass defense. He was also open consistently but neither he nor Ward could find any yardage after the catch or get open further down field. Both receivers had a long catch of 22 yards.

Antwaan Randle-El (1 catch for 9 yards, 4 targets, 1 drop) was a non-factor.

TE: Mark Bruener (1 catch for 0 yards, 3 targets, 1 drop) blocks pretty well.

K: Jeff Reed converted both of his field goal attempts for of 23 and 39 yards.

Pass Defense: The Steelers only sacked Kitna once and had problems getting consistent pressure. The Bengals only netted 266 passing yards, but had little trouble moving the ball in the first half and on the final drive of the game.

Rush Defense: The Steelers run defense was very good against a dangerous Bengals run game, hitting backs in the backfield and filling holes. The Bengals were limited to 113 yards on 25 carries (4.5 YPC). But, focusing on Dillon and Johnson, the Steelers only allowed 77 yards on 20 carries (3.8 YPC).

Philadelphia Eagles 25 at Carolina Panthers 16

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Philadelphia Eagles

For the first time in more than four games and 127 pass attempts, QB Donovan McNabb threw an interception - on the first play from scrimmage no less. Undaunted, McNabb (18-26-1-186, one touchdown passing; 2-6 rushing) responded to lead the Eagles to their seventh consecutive victory, the first time that's happened in a single season for the Eagles since 1980.

McNabb overcame three sacks and a pressure-minded Panthers defense by relying heavily on multi-talented RB Brian Westbrook (12-64 rushing, 5-32 receiving) and key contributions from WR James Thrash (3-27, one touchdown) and TE Chad Lewis (1-29). Lewis' 29-yard, third-down grab extended Philadelphia's final drive and set up K David Akers' fourth field goal for a 25-16 Eagles' lead late in the game.

On paper, the Eagles' victory seems improbable, as Carolina took its first six possessions deep inside Philadelphia territory and had just 10 points to show for it. The Panthers registered more total yards (336 to 283), more first downs (19 to 17), more sacks (three to two) and fewer turnovers (one to two). But in a game decided by just nine points, this game really came down to eight kicks: The four field goals made by David Akers, and the four misses (three field goals and an extra point) by Carolina's John Kasay.

After an 0-2 start, the Eagles have now won nine of their last 10 and, along with the St. Louis Rams, are co-possessors of the NFC's best record.

Carolina Panthers

Prior to Week 13, Carolina K John Kasay hadn't missed a field goal of less than 40 yards since 1998. On Sunday against Philadelphia, he missed two from that range (32 and 38), another from 49 and even an extra point. Kasay's myriad missteps cost the Panthers 10 points in a game they lost by nine; a game during which Carolina looked like the better team.

QB Jake Delhomme (18-29-0-216, two touchdowns passing; 3-13 rushing) was near flawless for most of the second half, tossing 24- and 23-yard touchdown passes to WR Steve Smith and WR Muhsin Muhammad, respectively, the former cutting the Eagles' lead to 13-10, the latter to 22-16.

Smith (5-80, one touchdown), who missed much of the first half after suffering a hip injury on a punt return, returned to the game and led all receivers with 80 yards. Meanwhile, Muhammad (6-79, one touchdown) made several clutch grabs and finished with a game-high six.

RB Stephen Davis (23-115) set a personal single-season record with his seventh 100-yard game, but he was largely ignored in the second half when Philadelphia took a 22-10 lead.

Carolina essentially dominated the first half of the game - marching inside the Eagles' 20-yard line on four straight possessions - but had just three points to show for it. Three of those drives ended with missed field goals, a fourth ended when Davis failed to pick up a yard on fourth-and-1 from the 8-yard line.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Philadelphia Eagles

QB: As has been the case for most of the season, McNabb plodded along with steady but unspectacular play against Carolina by directing a high-percentage short passing game and by sprinkling in his trademark dashes of deft improvisation. McNabb's first interception in more than four games on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage wasn't his fault. It went off fullback Jon Ritchie's hands and into those of Carolina's Mike Rucker, who recorded his first career interception.

McNabb completed four of five attempts (none longer than eight yards) on the drive following his interception to set up RB Duce Staley's 2-yard run and a 7-3 lead. During the Eagles next two scoring drives (both Akers' field goals), McNabb was an efficient 6-of-8 passing for 62 yards, highlighted by 15- and 22-yard strikes to WR Todd Pinkston and WR Freddie Mitchell, respectively, on the first march, and three straight completions to Westbrook on the second. When Carolina scored late in the third quarter to pull within 13-10, McNabb calmly directed an 11-play, 61-yard field-goal drive by completing five of six passes to five different receivers for 44 yards, then delivered the knockout blow three plays later, connecting with Thrash for a 10-yard score following a Jake Delhomme fumble.

On the day, McNabb connected with nine different receivers, with 10 of his 18 completions going to running backs or tight ends. Still he managed five throws of 15 yards or more (with a long of 29 to Chad Lewis on a crucial third-down conversion to Lewis late in the game) and seemed the most comfortable throwing to WR Freddie Mitchell (3-40).

RB: Correll Buckhalter officially got the start against Carolina, which is to say, he started the Eagles' first possession. But Philadelphia's successful RBBC approach was in full effect again as the first four carries of the game went to three different backs. Buckhalter (6-30), was largely inactive for most of the game (carrying just once for eight yards in the first half) but came up big on the Eagles' last drive of the game by eating up precious clock time with 21 yards on four consecutive carries.

Brian Westbrook was about as featured as a running back can be in the Eagles' three-headed backfield, rushing 12 times for 64 yards (5.3 YPC) and catching a game-high five passes for 32 yards, including three in a row for 19 yards to set up the Akers' field goal that put Philadelphia ahead, 13-3. Although Westbrook ran hard all afternoon, his most significant contributions came early, as he covered 28 yards on his first two carries of the game during the Eagles' second possession. He covered just 36 yards on his remaining 10 carries. Perhaps his most telling carry of the game was a seemingly nondescript carry second quarter during which he used brute strength and extra effort to turn a five-yard loss into an eight-yard gain.

Duce Staley (8-24, one touchdown) capped the Eagles' first touchdown drive with a two-yard scoring run and was targeted a total of three times on the march (2-6 rushing, 1-8 receiving). Staley also toted three straight times for six yards late in the fourth quarter to set up Akers' fourth and final field goal.

FB Jon Ritchie (2-9 receiving) was something of a featured attraction early in the game for Philadelphia. He was targeted three times through the air during the Eagles' first eight plays, including the first play of the game on a pass that bounced off his hands and resulted in an interception. Ritchie caught the other two for nine yards and was never heard from again - at least statistically.

WR: The enigmatic Freddie Mitchell (3-40) turned in what has to be considered one of his best performances in quite a while as seemingly every one of his catches was huge. He caught a 22-yarder on third-and-14 to keep the Eagles' second scoring drive alive, a 12-yarder on the Eagles' fourth scoring drive and he was targeted a total of four times.

James Thrash (3-27, one touchdown) gets extra-credit points for his 10-yard touchdown reception that gave Philadelphia a 22-10 lead. The fact that it came just two plays following Carolina's lone turnover of the day also deserves huge momentum points. Thrash was otherwise silent during the game, catching a pair of first-quarter passes for 17 yards in addition to just two other targets.

Todd Pinkston (1-15) was targeted a total of four times Sunday, with his solitary snare coming on third-and-seven from Carolina's 31-yard line. Akers capped the drive with a 35-yard field and a 10-3 lead. In Pinkston's defense, McNabb misfired in his direction twice.

The seldom-targeted Greg Lewis caught one pass for seven yards, a play that actually was much bigger because Carolina was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play. What would have been second-and-three from the Eagles' 26-yard line turned into a first-and-10 from their 41. Akers capped that drive with his third field goal and a 16-10 Philadelphia lead.

TE: Chad Lewis made amends for his dropped two-point conversion attempt with a brainy 29-yard reception late in the game on third-and-nine from Carolina's 46-yard line. Lewis dropped to both knees just before going out of bounds to keep the clock running. Four plays later, Akers kicked his final field goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.

L.J. Smith's lone catch of the day covered 15 yards on second-and-12 and gave the Eagles a first down at Carolina's 23-yard line on the drive that ended with Akers' 38-yard field goal and a 16-10 Philadelphia lead.

K: While his place-kicking counterpart struggled mightily Sunday, David Akers performed flawlessly, connecting on field goals of 35, 48, 38 and 29 yards and booting one extra point.

Pass Defense: Like their starting quarterback Sunday, the Eagles' pass defense was unspectacularly solid against the Panthers. Despite being held without an interception, surrendering 200 net passing yards and two touchdowns, the Eagles found a way to get it done. They sacked Jake Delhomme twice and, clinging to a precarious 22-16 lead late in the game, forced three straight incompletions and a punt during Carolina's last meaningful possession.

Rush Defense: The Eagles surrendered their fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance by an opposing back (Stephen Davis had 106 yards just three plays into the second half) and yet still have won all four of those games. They yielded runs of 31, 14 and 12 yards to Stephen Davis, bringing to 37 the number of runs of 10 yards or more they've given up in the last nine games. And yet none of that seems to matter. A 22-10 deficit late in the third quarter forced Carolina to all but abandon the run in the second half, which was probably a blessing for the Eagles' porous run defense.

Carolina Panthers

QB: Jake Delhomme (18-29-0-216, two touchdowns passing) was borderline brilliant in spurts against Philadelphia, most notably on two overwhelmingly flawless touchdown drives. In bringing the Panthers to within 13-10 and 22-16, Delhomme went 9-of-9 for 122 yards and two scores, the first a 24-yard lob to WR Steve Smith, the second a 23-yard toss to WR Muhsin Muhammad.

The downside, of course, is that he went just 9-of-20 for 94 yards the rest of the afternoon. He was rarely off all game, though, executing with great precision in tight throwing lanes when he had to and with soft tosses to spots when he had to. The Panthers clearly were bent on attacking the middle of the field against Philadelphia and they did a good job of it for most of the day as Delhomme connected on eight passes of 14 yards or more, including four of 20 or more.

But trailing 22-16 late in the fourth quarter, Delhomme went cold, throwing incomplete three straight times (the first a would-be 15-yard completion to Muhammad broken up by a vicious hit) to force a punt. When the Panthers finally got the ball back, they had time for one crazy play that rivaled anything you've seen since the Cal/Stanford debacle more than 20 years ago.

RB: The punishing Stephen Davis (23-115) was back it again against the Eagles, rushing for 88 yards in the first half alone and eclipsing the 100-yard barrier on just the third play of the third quarter. His seven 100-yard rushing games this season represent a new career high.

Davis rushed five times for 16 yards during Carolina's game-opening drive to set up John Kasay's 20-yard field and a 3-0 Panther lead. And while Kasay was busy missing a pair of field goals on the next two possessions, Davis was grinding to the tune of seven carries for 50 yards to put Kasay in position. Davis covered 21 more yards during the Panthers' final drive of the first half, but, perhaps most glaringly, came up short on fourth-and-1 from the Eagles' 8-yard line to turn the ball over on downs to Philadelphia, who was content to run out the first-half clock.

Rod Smart of "He Hate Me" fame (1-2 rushing, 1-5 receiving) spelled Davis with modest results.

Nick Goings (1-8 rushing, 2-19 receiving) performed well in a limited role, taking a 14-yard reception down to the Eagles' 17-yard line just before halftime.

WR: Steve Smith (5-80, one touchdown receiving, 1-minus-2 rushing) once again paced the Panthers' aerial attack, starting his day by fiercely coming back to catch a 20-yard pass on a flea-flicker, leaving briefly with a hip injury suffered on special teams, then returning to catch an 18-yard pass on the first play of the second half.

Smith scored Carolina's first touchdown in the third quarter on a nifty 24-yard soft toss from Delhomme who simply lobbed the ball to a spot against severe blitz pressure. Smith caught the ball short of the end zone and then fended off one potential tackler for the score. Smith also caught consecutive nine-yard passes on Carolina's second touchdown drive. Smith was targeted eight times on the day.

Muhsin Muhammad (6-79) is enjoying something of a resurgence this year with Carolina and continued that trend Sunday. He caught Delhomme's first two attempts for 13 yards and was targeted a total of nine times. He grabbed two balls for 33 yards during the Panthers' first touchdown march, then did the honors himself on the second with a 23-yard touchdown reception.

During Carolina's three scoring drives, Smith and Muhammad combined for nine catches, 122 yards and two scores.

Ricky Proehl (2-24) experienced a rather uneventful afternoon, but did produce a clutch 16-yard grab on third-and-14 during Carolina's first possession of the second half. Proehl was targeted just two other times.

TE: Although two tight ends caught passes for the Panthers on Sunday, neither - Jermaine Wiggins (1-8) or Mike Seidman (1-1) - was much of a factor. Seidman appeared to suffer a knee injury during his catch and never returned.

K: John Kasay entered Week 13 having missed just three of 27 field-goal attempts this season. He'd missed that many before the third quarter ended Sunday. Clearly, the normally reliable Kasay endured arguably the worst game of his career against the Eagles, missing 32-, 39- and 49-yard FG attempts and an extra-point try. The good news, presumably, was that he drilled a chip-shot 20-yarder to give the Panthers a 3-0 first quarter lead. The truest indication of Kasay's forgettable afternoon came following Steve Smith's touchdown catch, when Kasay's successful extra-point kick elicited almost as much applause from Panthers fans as the touchdown catch itself.

It's worth noting that his missed PAT following Muhammad's TD happened only after a false-start penalty negated his first try - which was good.

Pass Defense: Aside from Chad Lewis' back-breaking 29-yard catch late in the game and forcing James Thrash into the end zone instead of keeping him from it, the Panthers played a sound defensive football game Sunday. They sacked McNabb three times and forced his first interception in more than four games. Prior to Lewis' big catch, the Panthers had surrendered just 130 net passing yards.

Rush Defense: Although no one opposing runner dominated for the Eagles, the multi-headed backfield committee combined for 124 yards rushing on 28 carries (a 4.4 YPC average) against the Panthers rush defense.

San Francisco Forty-Niners 6 at Baltimore Ravens 44

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

San Francisco Forty Niners

The Forty Niners offense was non-existent on Sunday, as QB Jeff Garcia, playing for the first time since injuring his ankle last month, could not shake the rust after his lengthy layoff. He threw for only 112 yards, and was intercepted 4 times before being benched during the 4th quarter in favor of backup quarterback Tim Rattay.

TE Jed Weaver leading the team in receptions, with 4, speaks volumes.

RB Garrison Hearst sprained his right knee in the 3rd quarter and did not return. He'll be evaluated Monday.

With the passing game struggling, Hearst and Kevan Barlow combined for only 95 yards rushing, and 0 TDs.

The only threat the Forty-Niners posed offensively was in the kicking department. Kicker Todd Peterson provided their only points of the game, kicking 2 FGs.

San Francisco's offensive line woes continue. Starting LT Derrick Deese was injured in the 1st quarter. The Forty-Niners were already playing without G Ron Stone, and 2 other starters were listed as "Questionable/Probable" prior to kickoff.

Baltimore Ravens

As bad as San Francisco played, tons of credit needs to go out to the Raven's defense. They had Garcia on the run all day, often forcing him into making bad decisions. The unit only gave up 264 total yards to San Francisco. Among his other big plays, LB Ray Lewis had an interception return for a TD.

QB Anthony Wright performed admirably, throwing for 177 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. RB Jamal Lewis was solid, gaining 78 yards on only 19 carries. He also scored a rushing TD.

TE Todd Heap also led his team in receptions with 4. Last week's surprise performance by WR Marcus Robinson wasn't quite duplicated this week, but he did get 1 TD.

Kicker Matt Stover made all 3 of his field goal attempts to go along with 5 extra points.

Besides Ray Lewis' TD, the only other fantasy contribution the Raven's defense made was picking up 4 INTs. Surprisingly, they did not record a sack, or a fumble.

With a 37-6 lead and 1:21 left in the game, Baltimore bypassed the FG and scored a TD on 4th and 2.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

San Francisco Forty Niners

QB: Jeff Garcia was ineffective. He finished the day completing 14 of 29 passes for 112 yards, 0 TDs, and 4 INTs. Garcia repeatedly threw behind the receiver. His ankle looks okay, but his timing doesn't. He could be watching from the sidelines in Week 14.

Tim Rattay replaced Garcia in the 4th quarter, completing 3 of 7 passes for 46 yards. He wasn't in long, but was no doubt an upgrade.

RB: Garrison Hearst had 12 carries for 47 yards to go along with 2 catches (4 targets) for 3 yards. He sprained his right knee in the 3rd quarter and did not return.

Kevan Barlow got one carry less than Hearst (11), but gained one yard more (48). He was also rarely used in the passing game, finishing with 2 receptions (3 targets) for 16 yards. There's no doubt that Barlow's got power. He took a defender on a 15-yard ride en route to a 25-yard gain.

FB Fred Beasley was not used in the run game, but he did provide some "support" in the passing game. He caught 3 passes (5 targets) for 42 yards.

WR: Terrell Owens might have had his worst game to date. He only caught 3 passes (8 targets) for 23 yards. Sure, he was blatantly held on occasion, but that was the least of his problems. Garcia never found him, and when he did, the pass was off target. Owens' most notable play came when he tipped a ball thrown behind him, and it landed in a defender's hands. The Ravens went on to score after the turnover.

Tai Streets was only targeted once in the passing game, and he did not convert. He was listed as "Questionable" (quad) prior to game time. This may have been a factor in his limited role.

Brandon Lloyd was targeted 3 times, catching 1 pass for 32 yards, and Cedrick Wilson had 1 catch (7 targets) for 8 yards.

TE: Jed Weaver caught 4 passes for 27 yards. He was targeted 4 times. Aaron Walker pitched in with 1 catch for 7 yards.

K: Todd Peterson made both of his FG attempts (48 & 40).

Pass Defense: The Forty-Niners forced Anthony Wright out of the pocket on several occasions, but never pressured him into making mistakes. The unit's lone interception was somewhat of a fluke considering that Todd Heap fell down, leaving the defender wide open. Six players caught a pass from Wright, with 5 of them catching 3 or fewer passes.

Rush Defense: Holding Jamal Lewis to 78 yards rushing is respectable, especially considering that he got off to a promising start. The unit also had 1 sack, and forced 2 fumbles, recovering 1.

Baltimore Ravens

QB: Anthony Wright finished the day completing 14 passes on 25 attempts for 177 yards. He had 2 touchdowns to go along with 1 interception, which might not have occurred had Todd Heap not gotten tripped up. He also carried the ball 3 times for 26 yards. Wright had his share of bad passes and a couple of fumbles (1 on a botched center exchange), but for the most part, he had a productive game.

RB: Jamal Lewis appeared to be on his way to a large day early on, but never really took off. His lone touchdown came at the beginning of the game. Lewis finished with 19 carries for 78 yards, and 1 TD. Also, he was not targeted in the passing game at all. San Francisco's defense deserves a lot of credit for repeatedly containing him at the line of scrimmage. However, on one play, Lewis displayed a lethal combination of power and speed for a 21-yard gain that set up his 6-yard TD run on the next play.

Musa Smith was the only other RB with more than 1 carry. He finished with 5 carries for 10 yards, and 1 TD, which was pretty much junk, as it occurred very late in the game.

WR: Travis Taylor had 3 catches (5 targets) for 21 yards, and 0 TDs.

Marcus Robinson caught only 2 passes all day. However, they went for 71 yards and 1 TD. He made some real nice moves to get into the end zone. Robinson was targeted 4 times.

TE: Todd Heap caught 4 passes (9 targets) for 38 yards, but it was fellow tight end Terry Jones who found the end zone. Jones caught 2 passes for 12 yards, and 1 TD.

K: Matt Stover was perfect on the day, connecting from 28, 47, and 41 yards out. He also made 5 extra points.

Pass Defense: Jeff Garcia was under pressure all day, and Baltimore's pass defense shut down Owens, who was listed as "Probable" (groin) prior to the game. Garcia and Rattay connected with 8 different players, but 7 of them had 3 catches or less.

Rush Defense: Baltimore's rush defense never allowed San Francisco's RB tandem of Hearst and Barlow to get anything going. Some of Baltimore's other defensive highlights include LB's Ray Lewis & Peter Boulware stuffing Fred Beasley on a 4th and 2 attempt, and holding the Forty-Niners to only 106 net yards rushing.

Cleveland Browns 7 at Seattle Seahawks 34

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Cleveland Browns

The Browns were not able to keep their offense on the field and lost the time of possession battle by a wide margin, resulting in few offensive fantasy statistics for the outing.

The Cleveland QB situation is hitting rock bottom. QB Kelly Holcomb was benched at half time due to ineffective play, but back up QB Tim Couch injured what appeared to by his knee on only his fifth offensive snap. He was helped off the field and the Cleveland medical staff was huddled around him for a long time. Holcomb returned and pumped up his stat line with garbage time passing yards.

RB William Green served the final game of his four-game suspension for violation of the NFL substance abuse policy and James Jackson had the first 12 Cleveland carries in the game. He ran hard and was effective on his first three carries, but was shut down quickly. As the Browns fell behind they abandoned the running game and Jackson had his last carry at the start of the 4th quarter. RB Jamel White had all 3 of his carries late in the game.

WR Quincy Morgan appeared to be the featured WR in the Cleveland passing attack at the beginning of the game (5 early targets). As the game reached blowout proportions WR Dennis Northcutt and RB Jamel White received the majority of freebie yardage.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle offense was firing on all cylinders. For the second week in a row Seattle came out throwing to set up the run. Thirteen of their first sixteen plays were passes that softened up the defense so RB Shaun Alexander could then grind out several long gains. This was the first time that Seattle posted two 100 yard receivers, a 100 yard rusher, and a 300 yard passer in the history of the franchise.

QB Matt Hasselbeck continues to impress with pro-bowl worthy passing statistics. He impressed with his accuracy and ability to by extra time moving around in the pocket. WRs Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson accounted for 20 of QB Matt Hasselbeck's pass attempts. Both seemed to be running free through the Cleveland secondary all game long. Seattle's use of play action early in the game froze the Cleveland LBs and safeties allowing WR Koren Robinson to stretch the field for long 4 receptions that averaged 24 yards.

RB Shaun Alexander passed the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season with his 127 yard performance. He was able to break several long runs after the first quarter because the passing game put the Cleveland defense on their heels. FB Mack Strong continues to see an increase in his role (78 total yards), keeping backup RB Maurice Morris from receiving opportunities to get serious game time.

Seattle's defense complimented their offense by completely shutting down the Browns. Technically delivering a defensive shutout as the Browns only score was on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Cleveland Browns

QB: Kelly Holcomb: (22-31-186 yard passing 1 INT, 0-0 yards rushing) Holcomb was benched at halftime. He was unable to handle the various blitzes that the Seahawks attacked him with. He fumbled when SS Reggie Tongue chased him out of the pocket and ripped him down. In fairness to Holcomb, his patchwork offensive line was not much help. Holcomb was unable to push the ball down field. His longest completed pass in the first half was only 14 yards. The combination of the pass rush (4 sacks and a fumble), two costly penalties, and three dropped passes kept Cleveland from being able to maintain drives. When Holcomb returned in the second half the results weren't much better. The game became quickly out of reach. Holcomb missed WRs Quincy Morgan and Dennis Northcutt in the second half on deep passes that could have been TDs.

Tim Couch: (1-3-5 yards passing, 0-0 yards rushing) Couch started the second half in place of Holcomb. He only completed one ball to TE Darnell Sanders, but Sanders also dropped a different pass from Couch. Couch had his legs twisted up underneath DE Chike Okeafor when DT Rocky Bernard hit him high. Couch rolled up in pain and grabbed his knee. The injury was listed as a sprained knee at the end of the game.

RB: James Jackson (12-32 rushing, 1-6 receiving, 2 targets) looked strong during the Browns first offensive series but it was uphill from there and Jackson was unable to do any damage against Seattle's rush defense. Playing from behind all game didn't help either, as Jackson didn't get too many opportunities.

Jamel White: (3-8 yards rushing, 7-41 yards receiving on 8 targets) White played 3rd downs consistently through the game. He had 3 receptions for 17 yards in the first half, and lots more in garbage time as the clock was winding down in the 4th quarter. All three of his carries occurred in the 4th quarter as well.

Rookie RB Lee Suggs from Virginia Tech was utilized as the primary kick returner and had 110 yards on 4 returns.

WR: Quincy Morgan: (3-30 yards receiving on 6 targets) Morgan was the focus of the Browns passing game early. Then he ran into FS Ken Hamlin and LB Anthony Simmons. Morgan pin-balled between the two players and left the game with a concussion. He later returned in the 4th quarter and was wide open on a deep route down the sideline, but Holcomb didn't put the ball anywhere near him.

Andre Davis: (1-7 yards receiving on 2 targets, 1-7 yards rushing) Davis seemed to be the odd man out of the crowded Cleveland WR corps. His target in the 4th quarter was under thrown and intercepted near the goal line. Davis had a nicely designed 14-yard reverse called back because of a holding penalty in the 1st quarter.

Dennis Northcutt: (5-61 yards receiving on 6 targets) Northcutt was the only Browns WR that had a reception in each quarter of the game. His longest two came in 4th quarter garbage time when the game was all but over.

Andre King: (3-28 yards receiving on 4 targets, TD on blocked punt) King is seeing more playing time with the absence of Kevin Johnson. He was only on the field when Cleveland went to 4 or 5 WR sets. King was the recipient of a TD when he picked up a blocked punt in the 4th quarter and ran it in for the score.

WR Frisman Jackson (0-0 receiving, 1 target) was thrown to once.

TE: Darnell Sanders: (3-18 yards receiving on 5 targets) Sanders caught his first target in the game and fumbled it away. He dropped his next target. He saw an increased role in the game, but didn't do much with the opportunity.

K: Phil Dawson: (0-0 FG, 1-1 XP) Cleveland lined up to kick a 49-yard FG early in the game, but elected to have Dawson pooch a punt that was down inside the 5-yard line.

Pass Defense: WRs Darrel Jackson and Koren Robinson were running free in the secondary. The pass rush recorded two sacks in the first quarter, but in both cases they let Seattle get the ball down field to convert first downs regardless. DE Kenard Lang made a great read on a screen and peeled off the pass rush to make an interception.

Rush Defense: The front seven of the Browns were hit and miss with regard to shutting down RB Shaun Alexander. They held him to 2 yards or less on 8 of his carries, but also gave up 3 carries of 16+ yards. Even when they did put Seattle in obvious passing situations by shutting down the run, their pass defense let them down. Also, DT Gerard Warren was ejected from the game early in the second half after using a head-slap on C Robbie Tobeck.

Seattle Seahawks

QB: Matt Hasselbeck: (26-35-328 yards passing 3 TD 1 INT, 0-0 yards rushing) Hasselbeck is on fire. He has 8 passing TDs in the last two weeks with only 1 INT. His interception in this game wasn't so much of a bad pass as it was a great play by DE Kenard Lang. Hasselbeck was able to convert 11 of 16 third down opportunities in the game and passed for 20 total first downs. His accuracy and choices over the past two weeks have been second to none.

QB Trent Dilfer (0-1-0 passing, 1 fumble - 0 lost) played in relief of QB Hasselbeck late in the fourth quarter during garbage time.

RB: Shaun Alexander: (27-127 yards rushing 1 TD, 2-10 yards receiving on 3 targets) Alexander had only 3 carries out of the first 16 Seattle plays. After Seattle put the Cleveland defense on notice that QB Matt Hasselbeck was going to tear them apart, the Seahawks began to lean on Alexander through the rest of the game. Alexander is finding his best success running behind LT Walter Jones and LG Steve Hutchinson. His two longest carries in the game were both off left tackle.

Maurice Morris: (4-0 yards rushing, 0-0 yards receiving on 0 targets) Morris had one carry in the second quarter to spell Alexander. His other three carries were all at the conclusion of the game when Cleveland knew Seattle wouldn't be throwing the ball and had the line of scrimmage stacked.

Mack Strong: (4-22 yards rushing, 4-56 yards receiving on 5 targets) Strong had an increased role in the game and made the most of his opportunity. Seattle is choosing to give extra carries to Strong when spelling Alexander instead of getting more carries to RB Maurice Morris. Strong touched the ball on 3rd down five times. All five touches resulted in first downs.

FB Heath Evans (1-8 rushing) had one touch late in the fourth quarter as well.

WR: Koren Robinson: (6-122 yards receiving on 8 targets) Robinson was able to get deep consistently in the game. Even though he averaged 20+ yards per reception, his longest reception was only 32 yards. He and Hasselbeck connected on mid-range routes time after time. Robinson also caught a 7th ball in the game, but it was called back due to penalty.

Darrell Jackson: (8-102 yards receiving 2 TD on 12 targets) With his second outstanding performance in a row, Jackson is making a bid for the Seahawks primary receiving threat. Jackson was listed as questionable going into the game but any doubt was quickly removed as he was targeted on Hasselbeck's first throw. Jackson owners were provided with a little drama in the third quarter as his second touchdown catch was challenged by Cleveland and upheld.

Bobby Engram: (2-8 yards receiving on 2 targets) Engram returned punts, but didn't see much action compared to the last several weeks. Both his catches were in the second quarter before Seattle put up a big lead. Seattle went with two TE sets for much of the game. The coaching staff may have wanted to rest Engram a bit more as he was coming off injury and sat of out practice on Wednesday this week.

Both of WR Alex Bannister's (1-8 receiving, 2 targets) targets are worth mentioning as the first was a diving catch that he appeared to do a great job holding onto, but replays showed he probably did an even better job covering up a bobble, as the ball touched the ground before he had possession of it; the play went unchallenged and stood as called. Bannister's second target resulted in a 12 yard reception being nullified by his own pass interference penalty.

TE: Itula Mili: (1-2 yards receiving TD on 1 target) Mili scored his TD in the first quarter but was non-existent in the Seattle offense from that point on.

Jerramy Stevens: (2-20 yards receiving on 3 targets) Seattle went with more two TE sets and utilized Stevens more today. He had a catch for 5 yards on Seattle's second possession of the game and pulled in a 15-yard reception on a nice catch and run just before Seattle scored their last TD in the game. Stevens playing time has increased each of the past three weeks.

K: Josh Brown: (2-3 FG made 36-41 missed 41, 4-4 XP) Brown missed his first FG attempt wide right in the first half. P Tom Rouen had a punt blocked and returned for a score for the second week in a row. Rouen could have gotten the kick off, but was obviously rattled and panicked. His hesitation caused the Browns to be able to get to him.

Pass Defense: This game was a night and day difference from a week ago. The Seattle DBs were everywhere making plays. CB Shawn Springs led the team in tackles and had a sack. SS Reggie Tongue was second in tackles and forced a fumble. CB Ken Lucas made two diving pass deflections and pulled in an interception late in the game. FS Ken Hamlin put a ferocious hit on WR Quincy Morgan that put the WR on the sidelines for half of the game. The pass rush was consistently getting pressure throughout the game. Seattle showed little respect for the Browns to beat them deep and blitzed LBs and DBs all game long with big play results. Seattle was able to keep Cleveland in passing situations all game long.

Rush Defense: The Browns had mild success on a few of RB James Jackson's first few carries, but penalties and sacks kept them from being able to establish the run. The Seattle run defense wasn't tested often in the game. The long run by a Browns RB was only 8 yards.

New Orleans Saints 24 at Washington Redskins 20

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

Aaron Brooks helped his fantasy line tremendously with his 2 rushing touchdowns. He avoided sacks and turnovers and, despite not throwing for a lot of yards, moved the offense effectively. He threaded the needle on his touchdown pass to Boo Williams.

Deuce McAllister came into the game with 8 straight 100 yard rushing games and surpassed the century mark in the 2nd quarter. He was a one man wrecking crew, accounting for 196 of the Saints 310 yards. He allowed them to control the clock for 9:29 in the 4th quarter with the game on the line.

Joe Horn, do not let the stat line that shows Horn with only 2 catches fool you. He was very involved. Including the two plays that he drew pass interference penalties on, and an intentional grounding call on Brooks that he didn't get credit for a target despite being in the area, Horn was targeted 14 times.

Donte' Stallworth did not play due to injury.

Washington Redskins

Tim Hasselbeck played fairly well throwing for 231 yards. The interception was a tipped ball. He was unable to throw for a touchdown. The Redskins scored one of their touchdowns on a kickoff return, so Hasselbeck only led them on 1 touchdown drive. Still, it's impressive that he's only been in the Redskin camp for a few weeks and seems to have a good grasp of the offense utilizing different receivers.

Trung Canidate broke the longest run of the year for the Redskins in the 1st quarter and finished the day with the most rushing yards by a Redskin running back this year. He went over 100 yards rushing with 10 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter and only carried the ball 3 more times all game.

Cartwright, Betts and Morton split 7 carries for 36 yards. Cartwright scored on a 2 yard run.

Coles, after starting slow, became very active in the Redskin passing game. He was targeted by Hasselbeck on 12 of his 42 tosses.

Rod Gardner was utilized often early in the game but followed a holding penalty with a drop and did not see the field the rest of the game. There was no mention of him being injured and may be in Steve Spurrier's doghouse.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints:

QB: Aaron Brooks (14/30, 121 yards, 1 TD, 6 rushes 11 yards, 2 TDs) badly overthrew Joe Horn on a deep pass play where Horn was wide open but he was bailed out by a Champ Bailey pass interference penalty. In fact, Horn and Brooks drew 2 interference penalties on Bailey. It appeared part of their strategy was to stretch out the defense by throwing long passes so that they could pound away with McAllister. His first touchdown run came on a designed quarterback draw, the second was a rollout where he looked to throw first.

RB: Deuce McAllister (30 carries 165 yards, 4 receptions 31 yards, 7 targets) looked like a man among boys at many times during this game. He had a 7 yard reception nullified by a holding penalty or he would have been over 200 total yards. Two plays in the 2nd quarter say everything you need to know about McAllister. After showing off his speed, power and cutting ability on a 52 yard scamper, he carried the very next play for 3 yards up through the middle of the line. Most running backs would have been on the sideline getting oxygen. He didn't score but did have a carry on 1st and goal their 2nd trip to the red zone.

WR: Joe Horn (2 catches, 10 yards, 1 carry 13 yards, 14 targets, 1 drop) Yes, 12 passes were thrown his way that he did not catch.

Jerome Pathon (2 catches, 14 yards, 3 targets, 1 drop) dropped a tipped pass that he should have caught on 3rd down on the Saints final drive of the 1st half. His 2 catches came for 1st downs in the 3rd quarter.

TE: Boo Williams (3 catches, 43 yards, 1 TD, 4 targets) had all of his receptions come in the second half after the Redskins appeared to forget about him.

Pass Defense: Did not pressure Hasselbeck or sack him on the day but Jay Bellamy lead the Saints coverage in shutting down the Redskins when it counted.

Rush Defense: Struggled giving up 161 yards rushing to a team that has struggled to run the ball all year. The Redskins could have had more but abandoned the run in the 3rd quarter.

Washington Redskins

QB: Tim Hasselbeck (22/42 231 yards, 1 INT, 3 carries 10 yards, 1 fumble lost) threw the ball just behind Patrick Johnson on the final drive or we could be talking about how great he looked in the Redskin comeback. He was only partly responsible for his interception as the ball was off the fingertips of Trung Canidate. Canidate was drilled on the play. He appears to have inspired the Redskin offensive line because he wasn't sacked and rarely even seemed hurried.

RB: Trung Canidate (16 carries 115 yards, 1 catch -6 yards, 2 targets) had a 17 yard gain nullified on a holding penalty, and on the next play had a 4 yard gain not count due to a defensive offsides call. He got the 1st red zone carry from the 4 yard line and picked up 2 yards up the middle. Cartwright scored on a sweep play then next play with Canidate on the sidelines.

Rock Cartwright (4 carries 27 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble lost) scored untouched on a sweep from the 2 yard line. His stats are very misleading because 22 yards came on a carry on the last play of the first half while the Saints were in a prevent defense. Also, his fumble came during a desperation lateral play to end the game and won't affect his playing time.

Ladell Betts (2 carries 8 yards, 4 catches 46 yards, 6 targets) was Hasselbeck's second favorite receiver on the day.

WR: Laveranues Coles (6 catches 88 yards, 12 targets, 1 drop) did not have a catch until late in the 2nd quarter but picked up the pace as the most targeted Redskin receiver. He went out of bounds at the 4 yard line on a 21 yard catch.

Rod Gardner (3 catches 32 yards, 5 targets) is considered missing in action after a holding penalty and dropped pass.

Pass Defense: Did not play as well as their statistics may indicate. Champ Bailey was beaten on two plays that he committed pass interference penalties on.

Rush Defense: Was manhandled by Deuce McAllister. They shut him down on a handful of plays but he typically picked up 3 to 7 yards per rush.

Atlanta Falcons 13 at Houston Texans 17

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Atlanta Falcons

Yes, Virginia, Michael Vick will play quarterback again this year. Michael Vick, dressing for the first time for the Falcons since his broken leg in the preseason, entered the game with 2:14 remaining in the third quarter and led the comeback attempt for Atlanta. However, despite the valiant performance of Vick (3-16 rushing, 8-11-60 passing), the defense of the Texans held on for the 4-point victory. Vick looked a little rusty and tentative on the first couple of plays but gradually seemed to look more comfortable and more like the player we know.

As for the Falcon running game, Warrick Dunn is out for the rest of the season (placed on IR this week), so the main running back is now T.J. Duckett. Duckett had been replaced as the starter for the falcons since the performance of Dunn in the upset of the Giants in Week 10. However, the RBBC was still in effect in Atlanta as Justin Griffith saw 6 carries. Duckett was still used as the goal line feature back. Duckett had a weak individual performance (12-31 rushing), but did extend his touchdown game streak to five games.

The Atlanta passing game had a difficult afternoon. The Falcon quarterbacks went a combined 20-39-176 with an interception, including one gimmick pass from T.J. Duckett that fell incomplete. None of the Atlanta receivers had more than four receptions. Of particular note was Peerless Price, who collected just 4 of 11 targeted passes for a scant 41 yards.

With under two minutes remaining, HC Dan Reeves decided to kick a field goal down by seven, 17-10. At first glance, that sounds like a bad idea. However, the Falcons did face a 4th and 23 from the Texan 24 yard line, a very difficult conversion possibility. HC Reeves chose to kick the 3-pointer and go for the win via the onside kick. It didn't work out, but that was the interesting approach chosen by Reeves.

Houston Texans

Houston survived this game, using all of its offensive resources to get the job done. Both of the Texans quality starting quarterbacks played despite injuries, and Houston had to rely on their rookie of the year candidate running back Dominick Davis to secure the victory.

QB Tony Banks started the game, but lasted only until halftime. Banks broke his right hand on a defender's helmet and was unable to continue. This forced QB David Carr to play the remainder of the game. Carr looked very uncomfortable playing after separating his shoulder two weeks ago. The Texans were fortunate to be leading in the contest and could call a majority of rushing plays.

RB Dominick Davis was the star of the game for Houston, carrying 24 times for 101 yards and two scores. Davis broke the 100-yard mark for the fifth time this season, and helped Houston control the clock enough in the second half to secure the victory.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Atlanta Falcons

QB: Doug Johnson (12-27-116, 1 INT, 2-(-2) rushing) struggled to get the Atlanta offense rolling, and was removed from the game in the third quarter in favor of Michael Vick. Johnson had difficulty all afternoon hitting his receivers despite good protection.

Michael Vick (8-11-60, 3-16 rushing) made his 2003 season debut at 2:14 of the third quarter, replacing the struggling Johnson. Vick tried to lead Atlanta's comeback, but fell just short. Vick even added three scrambles, the longest going for 11 yards. Vick started a little slow but eventually showed his trademark mobility and looked ready for next week. It has already been announced that Vick will start against Carolina in Week 14. He commented after the game that he felt ready and he reminded the media that he'd told them he wouldn't come back and look scared - which he didn't.

RB: Warrick Dunn (Torn ligament, IR) did not play and is out for the year.

T.J. Duckett (12-31 rushing, 1 TD, 2-24 receiving on 2 targets, 0-1 passing) is once again the feature back for the Falcons. However, Duckett had a meager performance as the starter, gaining just 55 all-purpose yards. Duckett was given plenty of opportunity, even trying a pass to TE Alge Crumpler, but that fell incomplete. Duckett did extend his five-game streak of finding the end zone as Duckett scored on a 1-yard dive in the second quarter.

FB Justin Griffith (6-19 rushing, 5-22 receiving on 6 targets) spelled Duckett in the backfield, but did very little offensively. Griffith touched the ball 11 times for 41 total yards, a minimal output.

WR: Peerless Price (4-41 receiving, 11 targets) received a number of looks from QB Johnson, but just could not haul many passes in. Price was the most targeted Falcon, with 11 targets, but just 4 catches. Price did assist in setting up Duckett's TD, getting the call on an 18-yard pass interference call at the Texans' 3-yard line. Much of Price's output came from Vick, as Price caught his two longest catches in the fourth quarter (28 and 10 yards).

Brian Finneran (4-31 receiving, 8 targets) caught just half of the balls that came his way, gaining just 31 yards on 4 catches.

Rookie Terrance Edwards (1-10 receiving, 2 targets) caught just one ball for 10 yards on two looks.

TE: Alge Crumpler (4-48 receiving, 8 targets) played an average game, catching just half of the balls thrown to him. Crumpler was the only targeted TE for Atlanta, and was also the targeted recipient of a gimmick pass from RB Duckett in the second quarter that fell incomplete. Two of Crumpler's catches were for over 10 yards, 24 and 11 respectively, both in the second quarter.

K: Jay Feely (2/3 FG, 1-1 XP) missed his first field goal attempt, a 49-yarder near the end of the first half that fell short. Feely did convert both his field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, from 35 and 42 yards.

Pass Defense: The Falcons pass defense did a good job against Tony Banks in the first half, applying constant pressure. Atlanta had 4 sacks and forced Banks out of the game with a broken right hand. After halftime, Houston QB David Carr only attempted five passes. One of the five was intercepted to set up a short drive that resulted in a field goal.

Rush Defense: The Atlanta rush defense contained Dominick Davis, holding him to 4 yards a carry (24-101), but that output was just enough for the Texans to control the clock and win the game. The key in the run game came in the third quarter, where Davis was able to score twice in three minutes on two goal-line plunges that the Falcon defense could not prevent.

Houston Texans

QB: Tony Banks (8-14-100, 0 TD, 0 INT) had a mediocre performance before being forced out of the game with a broken hand in the second quarter. Banks was under constant duress, getting sacked four times in the first half and fumbling once (own recovery, did not count due to penalty). Banks completed just two passes over 12 yards (23-yard pass to TE Billy Miller, 30-yard pass to WR Andre Johnson).

David Carr (2-5-25, 0 TD, 1 INT, 4-30 rushing) entered the game at the beginning of the third quarter and managed to finish the game despite looking to be in pain due to his recent separated shoulder from two weeks ago. Carr attempted just five passes, one of which was intercepted. Carr did what he could for the Texans' cause, scampering for 36 important yards in the third quarter on the first of two touchdown drives.

RB: Dominick Davis (24-101 rushing, 2 TDs, 2-27 receiving, 5 targets) was the offensive star of the game for Houston. Davis scored twice in the third quarter on goal-line runs to cap the scoring for the Texans, and later helped to control the clock for Houston. Davis ran for over 100 yards for the fourth time this season, helping his case for rookie of the year.

Rookie RB Tony Hollings (2-4 rushing, 0-0 receiving) carried twice in the final quarter for short gains.

RB Jonathan Wells (1-0 rushing, 0-0 receiving) had one carry for zero yards in the fourth quarter.

WR: Andre Johnson (1-30 receiving, 5 targets) was very quiet on the afternoon, catch only the first ball thrown his way, a 30-yarder.

Jabar Gaffney (3-28 receiving, 5 targets) had three catches, one for 8 yards in the first quarter, and two catches for 10 yards each in the final two quarters.

TE: Billy Miller (4-40 receiving, 5 targets) was the target of five passes, all coming in the first half. Miller caught all five, but the first was disallowed for penalty. Thus he lost an 8-yard catch. Miller was the best performing receiver in a meager Texan pass attack.

K: Kris Brown (1/2 FG, 40 yards, 2/2 XP) converted on his first field goal of 40 yards in the second quarter. Brown missed a late second-half long field goal attempt of 52 yards, but not for length. He hit the right upright.

Pass Defense: The Texan pass defense kept QBs Doug Johnson and Michael Vick from reaching the end zone, but did not apply much pressure. Vick was sacked in the third quarter, the only Texan sack. The one turnover for Houston was a pick from Doug Johnson, and it was a critical one. The interception set up the second TD from RB Dominick Davis that proved to be the winning score of the game.
Rush Defense: The rush defense had little trouble keeping the Falcons in check. Duckett was the leading rusher for the Falcons, but gained just 31 yards. Overall Atlanta had just 64 yards rushing and only Michael Vick's 11-yard scramble exceeded 10 yards.

New England Patriots 38 at Indianapolis Colts 34

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New England Patriots

ROLB Willie McGinest made a huge play for the Patriots to help win the game. In the final series, McGinest limped off the field with a knee injury. Two plays later, With 14 seconds left and the Colts just 1 yard away from completing another fourth-quarter rally, McGinest stopped James in the backfield to save the game.

Fun Fact: Before today's game, the Patriots had not won a single Coin toss (Including overtimes) in 11 games.

Antowain Smith was deactivated for the game, putting Kevin Faulk in the starting role. The move was made to capitalize on Faulk's quickness, and because RB Mike Cloud plays better on turf.

Brady was a lights-out 16-for-18 in the first half for 161 yards and a touchdown. He came out blazing, completing his first 11 passes en route to a 24-10 lead at the half. His timing was great, he made quick decisions to avoid every blitz and every pass was right on the numbers. He was so on, it was scary. Then after halftime, he turned into a bad QB, throwing 2 interceptions, and almost a third.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts mounted a furious comeback and nearly pulled out the win. But an outstanding defensive goal line stand by New England preserved the victory for the Patriots.

Injuries continue to plague the Colts. TE Dallas Clark left early in the second quarter with a fractured right fibula. When coach Tony Dungy was asked after the game if it would be a season-ending injury, he said: "It sounds like it, yeah." Clark was taken off the field on a stretcher. The first-round draft pick was wearing an air cast as he left the field, and the team said X-rays showed the fractured fibula.

RB Detron Smith left in the first half with a right knee injury. This along with the absence of goal line specialist RB James Mungro made it impossible for the Colts to run their usual Power package down on the goal line. James struggled in short yardage without a lead blocker. After the game Manning said "We didn't have the goal-line offense," Manning said. "Everybody was in street clothes over there (on the sideline)."

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New England Patriots

QB: Tom Brady (26/35, 236, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 fumbles, 2/-1 rushing) Brady was unstoppable in the first half, but fell apart in the second half, allowing the Colts to get back into the game. At one point in the first half, Brady had over a dozen consecutive complete passes. Brady threw back to back interceptions in the 3rd quarter that both lead to Colts scores. With under three minutes left in the game, and the Patriots just needing to run out the clock, Brady went to the air on the last 4 plays of the drive, only taking 30 seconds off the clock.

RB Kevin Faulk (15/42, fumble, 5/36 receiving, 6 targets) Faulk was thrust into the spotlight with Smith being deactivated. The announcers said it that the Patriots wanted to take advantage of Faulk's quickness. Faulk had a good game but was not overpowering. At the end of the game, when the Patriots just needed to run out the clock, the team seemingly didn't trust Faulk to get it done, and went exclusively to the air.

Patrick Pass (2/9, 1/6 receiving, 2 targets)

Mike Cloud (2/6, 2 TDs) The fact that Cloud is "better on turf" is the reason used for the Antowain Smith benching for the game. Cloud vultured 2 goal line TDs on the day. He got a good body lean on both runs, and powered into the end zone.

WR:. Deion Branch (6/64, TD, 9 targets) Brady's main target on the game. Looked incredible moving with and without the ball in the first half. He was Brady's main target in the second half as Brady struggled.

Dedric Ward (2/50, TD, 2 targets) A secondary option, who only saw two balls thrown his way. Ward caught both of them, one for a TD. Seemed to mostly run as a 3rd or 4th read, and only got the ball when it was game planned out that way.

David Givens (3/21, 6 targets) A total non factor in the first half when Brady was on fire. Had 5 balls thrown his way in the second half. When Brady started to get into trouble in the second half, he started to look for Givens.

Bethel Johnson (2/7, 2 targets) Caught both passes thrown his way, but his real contribution came as a kick returner. Brought back a kick off for a 92 yard TD, and had another 67 yard kickoff return.

JJ Stokes (1/7, 2 targets) Both passes to Stokes came late in the game, when the Patriots were moving the ball around.

TE: Christian Fauria (5/45, 5 targets) A main target for Brady in the first half, he spent the second half running motion plays and double teaming DE Freeney.

K: Adam Vinatieri (1/1 FG [43], 5/5 XP)

Pass Defense: LOLB Mike Vrabel (4 tackles/1 assist) sacked Manning twice. RC Tyrone Poole (1 tackle) intercepted Manning. The secondary was torched by Peyton Manning for four scores, two in a span of 1:06 in the third quarter

Rush Defense: RILB Tedy Bruschi (7 tackles/5 assists) led the squad. New England had one of the best goal line stands of the year: 1st and goal at the 2 with the game on the line and the Patriots held.

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning (29/48, 278, 4 TDs, INT, 2/1 rushing, 2 fumbles) With the Colts down 31-10, Manning opened up the offense, scoring a TD in three straight series. Manning took control of the offense in the second half, spreading the ball around to everyone, and scoring 3 times in 6 minutes. Manning makes you think of John Elway more and more each game. But with a sub par defense, it just wasn't enough.

RB: Edgerrin James (25/88, 8/50 receiving, 10 targets) Colts went for it with James on 4th and 1 and converted to keep a drive alive. James ran well in the middle of the field, but came up short at the end of the game with 3 chances at the 2 yard line. With key injuries to every member of the Colt's short yardage package injured, they couldn't move the ball down close.

Dominic Rhodes (2/9)

WR: Marvin Harrison (7/88, TD, 10 targets) Double covered on his 26 yard TD. Typical Harrison type day. He was double teamed all game, found ways to get open, and scored.

Reggie Wayne (3/30, 9 targets) Wayne had a terrible day. Wayne was all but ignored seeing only one ball thrown his way in the first half. Wayne had 8 targets in the second half, and caught 2 balls. He was not in sync with Manning, who tried to get him involved in the offense.

Troy Walters (5/56, TD, 9 targets) Lost a gain of 26 yards, and what would have been a costly fumble on a defensive offsides call.

Aaron Moorehead (1 target) Moorehead had a chance to score on the second to last play of the game. Manning went to Moorehead on 3rd and 2 at the goal, but he was tied up at the line of scrimmage and never had a chance at the ball.

TE: Marcus Pollard (4/36, TD, 8 targets) With 12 seconds left in the first half, Pollard was totally uncovered for a 12 yard TD.

Dallas Clark (2/18, 3 targets) Lost 36 yards on an illegal pass call. Clark was taken off the field on a stretcher. The first-round draft pick was wearing an air cast as he left the field, and the team said X-rays showed a fractured fibula. Clark was hurt on an 8-yard completion when he tried to spin away from New England cornerback Ty Law. The hit flipped Clark into the air, and he landed with most of his weight on his right leg.

K: Mike Vanderjagt (2/2 FG [40/29], 4/4 XP)

Pass Defense: RCB Nick Harper and FS Donald Strickland (1 tackle/3 assists) each intercepted Manning. RDE Dwight Freeney (3 tackles) and LOLB Marcus Washington (3 tackles/1 assist) each sacked Manning. Gave up a number of 3rd and long opportunities to the Patriots.

Rush Defense: RCB Nick Harper (11 tackles/1 assist) led the squad. The rush defense was untested today as the Patriots didn't attempt to really move the ball on the ground. Even at the end of the game, when the Patriots just had to run out the clock, they stayed in a passing attack.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 at Jacksonville Jaguars 17

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB Brad Johnson only managed a little over four yards per pass attempt, and did not complete a deep ball all night. Johnson had just 156 passing yards, mostly on slants and hitches to WRs Keenan McCardell and Charles Lee.

RB Thomas Jones did not put up big yardage numbers (just 11 yards rushing and 32 yards from scrimmage), but was on the field for Tampa Bay's lone drive in the red zone, and scored the only Buccaneers TD in the game.

The Bucs' run defense devoured most attempted to run outside, but consistently gave up yardage between the tackles. Fred Taylor runs up the middle wore down their front seven, ultimately giving up two late first downs on the ground that ran out the clock.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB Byron Leftwich threw 2 TD passes and did not turn the ball over. The Jaguars controlled the ball early, mixing in short passes with Fred Taylor runs. Leftwich's 20-for-34 completion rate was hurt by a few passes to open receivers that were thrown too hard to handle., but overall, Leftwich showed excellent recognition of open receivers, and often delivered the ball on or near the numbers.

WR Jimmy Smith was targeted on half of Jacksonville's pass plays, and caught a 48-yard bomb for the winning TD in the 4th quarter. Smith was open early and often, and was the focal point of the Jaguars' passing game.

RB Fred Taylor ran for 118 yards, mostly gained on runs up the middle. Taylor or Smith were targeted on Jacksonville's first 22 offensive plays, and Taylor was featured in the 4th quarter.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB: Brad Johnson (21-38-156 passing 0 TD 1 INT, 2-6 rushing) averaged an anemic 4.1 yards per pass attempt. As his numbers indicate, Johnson rarely tried throwing downfield - Tampa Bay's longest pass play was for just 18 yards. Johnson got no help from his offensive line. The Jaguars' pass rush forced Johnson into several hurried throws, and batted a few passes down.

RB: Michael Pittman (10-60 rushing, 2-6 receiving, 8 targets) was contained most of the night in the running game, with 25 of his 60 yards coming on just two carries. Pittman was not as involved in the passing game as his 8 targets would seem to indicate - many balls thrown Pittman's way were hurried throwaways at Pittman's feet, thrown more to avoid a sack than to complete a pass. Pittman was on the bench during Tampa Bay's lone offensive trip to the red zone.

Thomas Jones (7-11 rushing 1 TD, 2-21 receiving, 2 targets) saw this field in nearly half on Tampa bay's drives, and was the feature RB when the Buccaneers reached the red zone in the 2nd quarter. Jones took a handoff up the middle for a 5-yard TD on that drive, though replays showed he may have been down before the ball reached the goal line (the play was not challenged).

FB Jameel Cook (0-0 rushing, 2-8 receiving, 4 targets) was used as a blocker in the running game, and only as a bailout option in the passing game.

WR: Keenan McCardell (8-74 receiving, 11 targets) led Tampa Bay in yards from scrimmage, receptions, and targets. Most of his catches were on slants and hitch patterns, and most of his yards came after the catch. He caught the only pass Tampa Bay completed in the red zone.

Charles Lee (6-47 receiving, 9 targets) started at the other WR spot. He was used only in the horizontal passing game, catching passes just a few yards downfield, designed to gain yards after the catch. In addition to his six catches, Lee also drew a defensive pass interference penalty for a 10-yard gain and first down. Lee was intended target on Johnson's interception.

Joe Jurevicius did not play.

TE: Ken Dilger (1-0 receiving, 4 targets) had to stay in on pass protection most of the night. His lone catch was on a play-action pass into the flat on 3rd-and-2, but Dilger failed to make the first down. He also had an 8-yard reception called back on a holding penalty.

K: Martin Gramatica (1-2 FG, 1-1 XP) made a 47 yard field goal early but failed to break out of his slump, missing a 45-yard FG wide left in the 3rd.

Pass Defense: no sacks or interceptions, and left Jimmy Smith open all night. They were able to create some hurried incomplete passes with blitzes.

Rush Defense: gave up no significant yardage on outside runs, but had great difficulty slowing Fred Taylor between the tackles. Taylor picked up two key first downs late in the game to run out the clock.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB: Byron Leftwich (20-34-224 passing, 2 TD, 0 INT, 3-3 rushing) had an open Jimmy Smith to throw to most of the night. Leftwich hurt his numbers by occasionally putting too much on his throws, zipping passes by open receivers, especially when the pass rush broke the pocket. He was most effective throwing out of the shotgun formation. Leftwich had an apparent INT by CB Ronde Barber in the 4th quarter overturned on a replay challenge.

RB: Fred Taylor (29-118 rushing, 3-12 receiving, 5 targets) gained most of this yardage on runs up the middle. He was more effective as the game progressed - Jacksonville had the ball for most of the first quarter, and wore down the Bucs run defense by pounding the ball between the tackles. Though Taylor did not reach the end zone, he was extremely effective, including a 3-yard dive over the pile on 4th-and-inches late in the game, moving the chains and forcing Tampa Bay to use its last timeout.

LaBrandon Toefield (2-9 rushing, 0 targets) and Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala (1-5 rushing, 0 targets) got their carries on three consecutive plays on a third-quarter drive, their only touches of the game.

WR: Jimmy Smith (10-136 receiving 1 TD, 17 targets) was targeted early and often, and was thrown to on half of Jacksonville's pass plays on the night. Smith had little trouble getting open, and Leftwich hit him in the numbers several times. A go route early in the 4th-quarter that appeared to have little chance at a completion became a 48-yard game-winning TD when CB Tim Wansley pulled a hamstring while trying to stay with Smith.

Troy Edwards (3-24 receiving, 5 targets) was the other starting WR for the Jaguars. He had a little trouble handling Leftwich's hot passes in the somewhat slippery conditions. Edwards drew a defensive pass interference penalty for a 26-yard gain that set up the winning touchdown.

Kevin Johnson (1-20 receiving, 4 targets) caught just one pass in the #3 WR role. He was targeted once in the red zone - a bullet pass that may have been a TD if thrown with more touch.

TE: Kyle Brady (3-32 receiving 1 TD, 3 targets) was the only Jaguars TE to catch a pass. He pulled down a 10-yard TD early in the second quarter - he was open in the middle of the end zone, and Leftwich zipped the ball to him. Brady lost a fumble after a reception late in the first half.

K: Seth Marler missed two FGs, from 46 and 41 yards. The Jaguars passed up an opportunity for Marler to kick a 41-yarder on the opening drive, opting to go for it on 4th-and-2. They did not make the first down.

Pass Defense: was constantly in the backfield, and consistently got a push up the middle. DT Marcus Stroud had both of Jacksonville's sacks, and LB Mike Peterson intercepted a pass. The Jaguars did not give up a pass play longer than 18 yards.

Rush Defense: got the same push up the middle they got on the pass rush, and held Tampa Bay to just 77 rushing yards as a team.

Denver Broncos 22 at Oakland Raiders 8

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Constant rain in Oakland was possibly the biggest factor in this game, as both teams kept the ball on the ground and in the short passing game (the longest completion of the day was 22 yards).

Denver Broncos

There just isn't much to say about Clinton Portis' performance, but it can be summed up this way: he and the running game were the Denver offense today. That's it, period. He spun, he pounded, he burst, he ran wild for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns on 34 carries. The Broncos just kept going to him and didn't stop until the game was all but over. He did seem tentative early, losing 2 yards total on the first drive of the game and gaining only 19 yards on 10 carries in the first quarter, but all that was a distant memory by the time the game ended.

Jake Plummer's part of the game plan read: Hand ball off to Portis. Hand ball off to Portis again. And again. Throw if absolutely necessary. Plummer's 105 yards moved the ball when it had to, and he hit Shannon Sharpe nicely for a 4 yard TD in the 2nd quarter. His red-zone interception in the 4th quarter proved harmless only because of the ineptitude of the Raiders' offense.

The passing game did little for WR Rod Smith (1-20) and Clinton Portis (1-7), and nothing for Ashley Lelie, but provided a little success for big target Ed McCaffrey, who caught 4 balls for 39 yards.

Oakland Raiders

Rick Mirer showed some decent movement in and around the pocket in the game, but completed a weak 3 of 11 passes in the wet first half. He led a Raider team coming from behind to 10 completed passes of 19 in 2nd half, but couldn't get the team to the first down marker enough, let alone the endzone. His fumble in the 4th quarter put a fitting period on this mistake-filled game for the Raiders.

RB Tyrone Wheatley showed he was the main RB in Oakland despite having few carries (8) Charlie Garner and Zack Crockett (6 and 5 carries, respectively) were given some chances to jolt the offense but had dismal production. Garner netted 20 receiving yards at least.

WR Jerry Porter was the main receiver in Oakland (3 catches, 49 yards), but a key 4th quarter fumble and other miscues kept his performance in the hurt-his-team column. Jerry Rice was thrown to 8 times, but was well covered on several of those passes and caught only two balls. The legendary Tim Brown was promptly forgotten after 22 yard catch in the first quarter.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

QB: It turned out Jake Plummer (11-20-105 yards passing 1 TD 1 INT, 5-8 yards rushing) didn't have to do much more than hand the ball off. He didn't disappoint, accomplishing little besides that maneuver and potentially costing his team big with an interception early in the fourth quarter. He threw a 4 yard TD pass to Shannon Sharpe on the first drive of the second quarter. He didn't move forward on the run himself much, adding only 8 yards to his 142 yard season.

RB: Clinton Portis (34 carries for 170 yards, 1 catch for 7 yards on 3 targets) was absolutely monstrous, earning over 60 percent of Denver's total yards for the game. The team fed Portis continuously in the game, and he already had 20 carries (for 72 yards) in the first half. He danced a little early, making only marginal headway, but later showed both the patience and power that you expect from him. A 3rd quarter run with a spin through the Raider defense and power burst for 30 total yards was a perfect example of the things Portis can do on the field. On the nail-meets-coffin drive in the middle of the fourth quarter, Portis ran the ball 8 times for 62 yards (Plummer and Quentin Griffin gained the other 6 in the drive) and scored on a one yard pop to the endzone.

Reuben Droughns (4 carries, 16 yards, 1 catch for 6 yards, 2 targets) was sprinkled in and used for 3 carries on the clock wind down on the final drive of the game. He was used as a return man after Chris Cole was injured.

Quentin Griffin (1 carry for 3 yards) had one carry in the all-run mostly-Portis drive in the 4th quarter.

WR: Rod Smith (1 catch for 20 yards on 3 targets) was unable to follow up on his 9 catch, 86 yard game last week, and was used little in the rain. He caught his pass early in the first quarter, was covered on a throw in the 2nd, and was a victim of pass interference by Charles Woodson in the 4th.

Ed McCaffrey (4 catches, 39 yards on 4 targets) was Denver's leading receiver on his best game of the season, catching all four balls thrown his way. He jumped up and dove into the endzone following a 9 yard grab in the 2nd quarter, but was correctly called back. McCaffrey also caught 4 passes (for 44 yards) the last time Denver played Oakland this year.

Ashley Lelie (1 target) faded from view in this game, thrown to only once as the Raiders picked off a bad throw from Plummer in the 4th quarter at the Oakland 2 yard line. He lost 4 yards on a failed run at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.

Down-and-out CB / WR Deltha O'Neal (1 catch for 3 yards on 2 targets, 1 carry, 0 yards ) continued to take baby steps into the offense as he was thrown to twice in the 3rd quarter.

TE: Shannon Sharpe (2 catches, 24 yards, 1 TD, 4 targets) was tentative from a rib injury suffered last week and even left the game briefly, but continued providing solid fantasy results with a 4 yard TD catch in the 1st half. Sharpe came back to the left side after going in motion and was wide open for the toss from Plummer.

Dwayne Carswell (1 catch for 6 yards, 1 target) caught a 6 yard pass in the 3rd quarter.

Backup TE Patrick Hape was not thrown to in the game.

K: Jason Elam made his two extra points, and did not attempt a field goal. The Broncos successfully made a two-point conversion on their 4th quarter TD.

Rush Defense: Denver allowed a big 41 yard run from Tyrone Wheatley in the 2nd quarter, leading an Oakland field goal, but contained Charlie Garner and Zack Crockett to only 26 yards combined on 11 carries.

Pass Defense: The Broncos forced journeyman Rick Mirer into 8 incompletions on 11 passes in the first half, though those were all important throws that netted 64 total yards. Denver let up 91 yards in the 2nd half as the Raiders were forced to throw it up in the wet weather. Not letting up a TD is pretty much always a success for the defense.

Oakland Raiders

QB: Rick Mirer (13-30-153 yards passing, 0 TD 0 INT, 3-16 yards rushing) was forced to throw the ball comparatively often (19 times) given the rain in the second half and completed 10 passes. But he was far too inaccurate in the 1st half and couldn't lead the Raiders to a single touchdown. He showed some decent footwork in much of the game, but killed their final prayer with under two minutes to go by fumbling to start (and end, obviously) their last drive of the game. He finished the game with a paltry quarterback rating of 59.4.

RB: Tyrone Wheatley (8-85 rushing yards, 1-7 yards receiving, 2 targets) was successful despite having his fewest carries since week 9. He even had a leg up on Clinton Portis for a while with a breakthrough 41 yard run in the 2nd quarter as he spun and burst his way downfield. Denver popped the ball out from Wheatley's hands on the first drive of the third quarter. He officially eclipsed Garner as the team's leading rusher with this effort.

Charlie Garner (6-14 yards rushing, 4-20 yards receiving, 6 targets) was ineffective in spot duty in the running game, hitting 9 and 12 yard runs but losing yards on his other 4 carries. He was looked to in the passing game mostly in the 2nd half (5 targets).

Zack Crockett (5-12 yards rushing) was mixed in mostly in the first half and showed little life, maxing out on a 5 yard run in the 2nd quarter. He did smash ahead a first down on a 4th and 1 call in the 3rd.

WR: Jerry Porter (3-49 yards receiving, 6 targets) was the Raiders' top receiver again, but the results were disappointing for Oakland. He made his first catch in the 2nd quarter, a 21 yard grab, but missed an important throw from Mirer with 11 seconds to go in the 1st half that could have led to a shot at a score for Oakland. Porter had a devastating fumble early in the final quarter around midfield following a 15 yard catch that led to Portis' 2nd TD. A catch on a desperate 4th and 13 during the 4th quarter comeback attempt was ruled out of bounds and upheld on a Raider challenge.

Tim Brown (1-22 yard receiving, 1 target) had hope after a 1st quarter shot for 22 yards, but didn't get thrown to again. It was a disappointing follow-up to his 9 targets (7 catches, 50 yards) last week against the Chiefs.

Jerry Rice (2-27 yards receiving on 8 targets) was looked to the most by Mirer, but was covered on many of those throws. He made a great effort to reel-in a 2nd quarter throw that was ruled out of bounds.

TE: Teyo Johnson (2-28 yards receiving on 4 targets) was a small factor for the first time in three weeks as he caught two passes. One of his targets was essentially a jump ball thrown 50 yards (close but not into the endzone) as time ended in the first half.

Doug Jolley did not enter the game, though he was active and no injuries were reported for the second-year tight end.

K: Sebastian Janikowski made both of his field goal attempts, connecting from 46 and 48 yards out easily. The Raiders did not score a touchdown.

Pass Defense: The Raiders limited Plummer and the Broncos to only 105 passing yards, but there is almost no need to throw, anyway, when Clinton Portis can move forward virtually at will. Phillip Buchanon did have a coulda-been-critical interception on the two-yard-line in the 4th quarter. Overall, though, the weather played as much or more of a factor to limit the vertical game as the Raiders' defense did.

Rush Defense: 46 total carries, 193 total yards, and Oakland's run defense was a total joke. The team was pounded by Clinton Portis relentlessly, and they didn't do anything to stop it after the 1st quarter. Portis was held up early, gaining nothing on the Broncos' first drive, and had only 19 yards on 10 carries in the first 15 minutes of the game. A glance at the box score can tell you everything after that.