Footballguys Game Recap Writers: Mike Anderson, Bill Brown, Michael Brown, Jeff Caldwell, Stan Dorsey, Cathy Fazio, Rich Fix, Mike Flynn, Bradley Gabbard, Cory Gilbert, 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

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Cleveland Browns

QB Kelly Holcomb was unable to get anything going against a Ravens pass defense that was torched by Pittsburgh for 260 yards and 3 TDs. He completed just 17 of 37 passes for 147 yards. He repeatedly missed receivers on the sidelines, alternately overthrowing or wobbling his passes. He threw 2 INTs and looked uncomfortable in the pocket.

WR Quincy Morgan caught just 2 passes for 18 yards. He was targeted team-high 9 times, but none of them in the 1st half. Kevin Johnson caught 6 for just 34 yards. He was Holcomb's target in the end zone twice, catching the Browns lone TD. Dennis Northcutt led the Browns with 5 catches for 62 yards, despite Holcomb's tendency to under-throw him.

RB William Green carried 17 times for 54 yards. He fumbled once and his longest run was 8 yards. He failed to get into any sort of momentum, and showed no ability to break tackles or make anyone miss.

Despite the lack of offense, the Browns only trailed 16-13 entering the 4th quarter, before their complete inability to stop Ravens RB Jamal Lewis caught up with them.

Baltimore Ravens

RB Jamal Lewis backed up his pre-game prediction by breaking the NFL single-game rushing record with 295 yards on 30 carries. He scored 2 TDs, one of 82 yards and the other 63 yards. He also had a 60-yard TD called back by a holding penalty downfield. He was credited with 48 yards on that run. Lewis showed a burst of speed that he hasn't shown since his rookie year in 2000. The Ravens racked up a team record with 343 rushing yards for the game.

QB Kyle Boller continued his struggles, as he went 7 of 17 for just 78 yards, with a fumble and an interception, before Chris Redman replaced him late in the 3rd quarter after hurting his left knee while being sacked. Backup Chris Redman entered and promptly fumbled his first snap. For the remainder of the game, he handed the ball off to Jamal Lewis very well. Redman finished his quarter of play 0-1 passing with a fumble.

WR Travis Taylor led the Ravens anemic pass offense with 2 catches for 27 yards. The way they were running, there was little need for a passing game, which was fortunate for the Baltimore offense. Baltimore receivers finished with 62 total yards, with 45 of them coming on two plays during a 1st quarter drive which resulted in a field goal by Matt Stover.

TE Todd Heap finished with just 1 catch for 7 yards. He had an apparent 19-yard catch ruled incomplete, and was targeted just 4 times in the game.

Safety Ed Reed intercepted 2 passes and ran the second one back for a 54-yard TD on the final play of the game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Cleveland Browns

QB: Kelly Holcomb looked out of sorts and had difficulty reading the Ravens defense. At halftime the Browns had exactly one first down. Along with the 2 INTs, he under-threw Northcutt on a fly pattern in the 1st and only a great play by Northcutt prevented the interception. He repeatedly threw the ball out of bounds on passes to the sidelines and completed absolutely nothing downfield. Another pass to Northcutt on the last drive of the 2nd quarter was nearly picked off. His receivers didn't help much either, as Morgan had two drops, Northcutt had a drop and a 1st quarter completion to William Green was called back on a penalty.

RB: William Green never got established against the Ravens run defense. He finished with 54 yards on 17 carries and caught 1 pass for 7 yards. He fumbled on a 7 yard run in the first quarter, the 2nd longest run of the game for him. His long was 8 yards. He seemed to go down immediately with the first defensive contact and showed absolutely zero big-play ability.

Jamel White received 6 pass attempts, but managed just one catch for 8 yards. He also carried the ball once for no gain.

WR: Dennis Northcutt was the clear big play threat for the Browns. He had 5 catches for 62 yards on 8 targets. The 3 failed targets included the 2 near INTs above and a 3rd quarter pass that was intercepted by Ed Reed. He also had a 20-yard catch called back due to an illegal block in the back.

Kevin Johnson was targeted 8 times, catching 6 for just 34 yards. His 4-yard TD catch came just 2 plays after he was the intended receiver in the end zone, so Holcomb seemed to be seeking him out in the red zone.

Quincy Morgan was targeted 9 times in the game, but none of those came in the first half. He was unable to get open downfield until the 4th quarter, when Holcomb under-threw the wide-open Morgan and the ball was tipped away at the last minute.

TE: Steve Heiden caught 1 red zone pass for 5 yards, setting up the lone Cleveland touchdown of the day to Johnson on the following play.

K: Phil Dawson converted both of his field goal attempts, from 35 and 44 yards out, and his lone extra point. He also had one kick off that went out of bounds, short and well left of the end zone.

Pass Defense: The Browns pass defense played well, ending with 3 sacks and 1 interception while limiting the Ravens to 78 passing yards (50 net). They also forced fumbles by both Baltimore QBs. This was accomplished despite the fact that they kept 8 to 9 men in the box for the majority of the game.

Rush Defense: The Browns run defense was terrible. They allowed 343 rushing yards total and an all-time NFL record 295 to Jamal Lewis. They stacked 9 men in the box on Lewis' first run, an 82-yard gallop up the middle. Despite the fact that the Ravens completely abandoned the passing game in the 2nd half, they could not stop the run. To add insult to injury, they allowed 2 carries for 36 yards to fullback Alan Ricard while Lewis was catching a breather on the sideline.

Baltimore Ravens

QB: Starting quarterback Kyle Boller was ineffective the first 3 quarters until being replaced by Chris Redman after hurting his knee on a 3rd quarter sack. He was also sacked and fumbled ending the previous drive, a play in which he showed no pocket awareness or ball protection. He finished with 78 yards on 7 of 17 passing, along with an interception. This was despite a running game that pounded the Browns and resulted in Cleveland keeping 8 or 9 in the box on most offensive snaps. He over-threw Frank Sanders in the end zone in the 1st quarter and under-threw Marcus Robinson for his interception. He also fumbled on a 3rd and 7 play in the 3rd quarter, but it was recovered by the Ravens.

Chris Redman entered near the end of the 3rd quarter and fumbled his first play. His only pass was an incompletion, intended for Todd Heap. The Ravens best play of the day was the handoff, and that is about all he was allowed to do during his time on the field. That Ravens outscored Cleveland 17-0 with him in the game, but Redman had little to do with that fact.

RB: Jamal Lewis was flat-out unstoppable, despite a concerted effort by the Browns to stop him. His 1st carry of the game went for an 82 yard TD run. He started up the middle, then cut left and broke an ankle tackle before eluding the final Cleveland defender at the 10-yard line. His next run went up the middle for 24 yards. In the 2nd quarter he had a 60-yard run, again up the middle, called back at the Browns 12 on a holding penalty by Marcus Robinson. This led to a Stover field goal. Lewis started the 4th quarter with a 63-yard TD straight up the middle. He ran right through ankle tackles all day long and showed a burst of speed that he didn't show last season. He had a chance for 300 yards, but was on the sideline when the Ravens ran the ball down to the 3-yard line on their final drive, eliminating that opportunity. Aside from that, he finished with no catches on the day.

Lewis' backup Chester Taylor carried 5 times for 8 yards. FB Alan Ricard carried twice for 36 yards. The non-Lewis runs occurred mainly when Lewis was on the sideline sucking oxygen after long runs.

WR: Travis Taylor led the Ravens with 2 catches for 27 yards. That alone pretty much sums up the passing game. He made a nice sliding catch for 20 yards in the 1st quarter, the same drive where Frank Sanders caught his lone 25-yard pass. He also caught a 7-yard slant in the 2nd quarter, and ran a 1-yard reverse on the first play of the game. He was never targeted otherwise, although Boller appeared to be looking for him on the play he fumbled.

Frank Sanders caught 1 pass for 25 yards. He was open in the end zone in the 1st quarter, but Boller threw it out of reach.

Marcus Robinson had a 10-yard catch. He was the intended receiver on Boller's interception, which was under-thrown. In the 1st quarter, he appeared to dog an out pass from Boller, not coming close on a pass that should have been caught. He also committed the holding penalty on Lewis' apparent 60-yard TD run.

TE: Todd Heap caught 1 pass for 7 yards. He also had an apparent 19-yard reception ruled incomplete. The ref ruled it incomplete on the field and upheld the incompletion on replay, although Heap looked like he reeled it in. He was not targeted in the red zone.

K: Matt Stover hit from 20, 21 and 40 while missing wide left from 45. He made a 51-yarder as well, but that was called back on a penalty. Wade Richey came on to try it from 56 yards out, and nailed it with leg to spare.

Pass Defense: The Ravens defense put pressure on Holcomb most of the afternoon and limited the Browns to 115 net yards passing, despite playing the 4th quarter in prevent mode. Ray Lewis wreaked his usual havoc, and Ed Reed picked off 2 passes, running the last one back for the Ravens final score. The Ravens finished with 3 sacks.

Run Defense: The Ravens run defense held the Browns without any big running plays. The longest run went for 8 yards. They swarmed Green when he carried the ball and allowed little in the way of broken tackles.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders offense started off quickly, scoring ten points within the first 4 minutes of the game. But they struggled the rest of the way, managing two more field goals. The Raiders consistently found themselves in third and longs throughout the game and struggled to keep drives moving. The run-pass ratio in the first half (minus two give up runs on the final drive) was 7:15. In the second half, the ratio was closer to 1:1, but Gannon continued to struggle, leading to many drive ending third and longs. Not helping matters, was the Raiders' continued propensity for penalties at inopportune times (a roughing the passer on an incompletion on 2nd and 10, and a pass interference call on 4th and 1).

Rich Gannon did not look sharp often overthrowing wide open receivers and never looking quite comfortable in the pocket. Gannon completed less than half of his 28 passes on the way to a 103 yard afternoon.

Oakland, at times, seemed to be determined to establish their running game but never truly stuck with it. Charlie Garner looked very quick when given opportunities to run totaling 63 yards on just 13 carries. Garner also chipped in with 5 receptions for 39 yards. Reserve Justin Fargas broke a 53 yard run. Tyrone Wheatley had 4 carries for 14 yards and punched in a two yard TD for their lone score on offense.

Coinciding with Gannon's struggles, Raider receivers did not fare well. Rice and Garner led the way with 40 and 39 yards respectively with the remainder of the four receptions scattered among four players.

The Oakland defense was on the field all day. The first two series they looked very tough but then were exposed by Corey Dillon (until his knee injury) and then the efficient Bengal passing game. The Raiders D did hold the Bengals to 20 points, which should've definitely been more. Also, they tallied two sacks and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a TD by Phillip Buchanan.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals game plan for this game seemed to be all very vanilla concentrating on not making mistakes. This strategy was working almost perfectly until the 4th Quarter when ironically, a mistake by Jon Kitna cost them the game. The Bengals had the ball for 35+ minutes in attempting to keep the Oakland offense off the field.

QB Jon Kitna was fairly productive completing 25 of 41 passes for 303 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs (1 was a desperate heave at the end of a game). Kitna also made a crucial mistake late in the 4th quarter, throwing an interception to Phillip Buchanon that was returned 83 yards for a TD. WR Chad Johnson made several acrobatic catches (especially in the second half) for 131 yards. WR Peter Warrick finished with 109 yards and 1 TD. Both had 8 catches. The Bengals offense spent most of the day picking on second year corner, Phillip Buchanon, beating him repeatedly on several slant routes (in fairness, his INT return for a TD was on a slant route he jumped).

You need to know two things about Corey Dillon. First, Dillon was pulled in a short yardage situation in favor of Brandon Bennett in the 1st quarter but eventually scored on that series when he re entered the game. Second, he left the game with a hyper-extended knee near the end of the 2nd Quarter and was used minimally after that point and was not as effective as he was earlier in the game.

Peter Warrick and Chad Johnson both had very good afternoons. Johnson had 8 catches for 131. Warrick had 8 catches for 109 yards and a late touchdown to tie the game. Warrick nearly caught an additional 40+ yard TD which went off his hand in the endzone.

The Cincinnati Defense may have been more of a benefactor of Oakland ineptitude than having a strong effort themselves. Regardless, they deserve some credit for Oakland not being able to consistently move the football. However, they did not register a sack or turnover.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Oakland Raiders

QB: Rich Gannon (13-28 103 yds 0 TD, 0 INT) Rich Gannon again, didn't look like Rich Gannon. He was erratic and inaccurate with double figures of overthrows. Receivers were getting open, but Gannon was just missing them. Gannon did not look like himself until the last series where he completed 3 of 5 passes for 39 yards and drew a big pass interference penalty on a throw to Jerry Rice. He clearly missed the speed and athleticism of Jerry Porter, as Brown and Rice had difficulty getting off the line in bump and run and finding the soft spots in the zones.

RB: Charlie Garner (13-63 rushing, 5-39 receiving, 5 targets) One could say Garner was the only player on the Raiders who had a typical game. Garner still nearly tallied 100 total yards. Garner was quick and decisive on his runs, but the low number of carries in consecutive weeks is worrisome.

Justin Fargas (2-56 rushing, no receptions, 0 targets) Fargas received minimal playing time but did break off a very nice 53 yard run on some form of an end around. Fargas looked very fast on this run and would be a fine substitute were something to happen to Garner. Fargas was stripped on the end of the run clearly before he was down, but this was not a "reviewable" call as the officials ruled down by contact.

Tyrone Wheatley (4-14 rushing 1 TD, no receptions, 0 targets) Wheatley did his typical job of carrying the ball in short yardage explaining his 2 yard TD dive. Wheatley also gave Garner a break for a couple plays in another series where he picked up the rest of his 12 yards.

WR: Jerry Rice (4-40 receiving, 7 targets) Rice's numbers were held down by Gannon's struggles. Rice was able to get open but was overthrown on a few occasions. The biggest play of the game was Rice drawing a late pass interference call to set up the game winning field goal.

Tim Brown (1-7 receiving, 7 targets) A comparable number of targets to Rice, just no help from Gannon. A very quiet afternoon nevertheless. Benefited from the absence of Jerry Porter but failed to connect with Gannon consistently.

TE: Doug Jolley (1-8 receiving, 4 targets) Jolley did receive some looks earlier on, but was only hit one time on the game winning drive.

Teyo Johnson (1-9 receiving, 1 targets) Johnson caught the only ball throw to him.

K: Sebastian Janikowski (3-3 FG (40,26,39 yds), 2 XP) Janikowski hit all his kicks on the day with one bouncing off the upright and through.

Pass Defense: The Raiders Defense bent but didn't break. The Bengals were content with quick-hitters: slants, outs, etc. with occasionally Chad Johnson working down the field. Phillip Buchanon was the target of most the Bengals attention. When a corner ends up with 8 tackles, he is getting beat a lot. The Bengals rarely threw at Charles Woodson (he had an INT on the Hail Mary at the end of the game and another INT negated by penalty). The Raiders finished with 2 sacks, but had a difficult time pressuring Kitna in the second half. There was often blown coverage on the WR's also with Warrick being all alone a few times. The absence of Rod Woodson might have had something to do with the struggles. Buchanon did make a huge play jumping on what seemed like the 100th slant to Johnson and taking it 83 yards for a score.

Rush Defense: Oakland started strong against the run, but after the first two series, Corey Dillon got to work gaining 73 yards on 16 carries in the first half alone. After Dillon went down, the Defense tightened up against the run, holding Bennett to a little over 2 yards per carry.

Cincinnati Bengals

QB: Jon Kitna's final numbers were not bad, but somewhat misleading. At times, he looked very efficient and comfortable. But he also floated several passes, missing open receivers. Several Kitna passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage. He made a crucial mistake with the game tied and 4 minutes to go when he threw an interception that was returned for a TD. Kitna faced a lot of pressure in the first half (7 of 14, sacked twice), but settled down in the second getting time to look over his receivers making several big plays. Kitna, overall, was a little shaky but made enough plays to keep the Bengals in the game.

RB: Corey Dillon (19-84 rushing 1 TD, 1-6 receiving, 1 targets) Dillon looked fabulous for the first half of this game running hard and picking up good yardage. Dillon had accumulated 73 yards when he went out with a knee injury at the end of a second quarter at 4.56 yards per carry. Dillon came back in the second half but was not quite as effective as you can see his knee was bothering him. Also, the Bengals are awful in short yardage. Dillon carried the ball down to the one yard line and was pulled for Brandon Bennett. Dillon re entered the game and scored from the 1 yard line. Dillon and the Bengals attempted several runs from the 1 yard line and were stuffed on other occasions as well.

Brandon Bennett (19-43 rushing, 1-16 receiving, 1 target) Brandon Bennett was seeing spot duty in the first two quarters including a goal-line carry. However, Bennett had to carry the load for a while in Dillon's absence. Bennett did not embarrass himself, but a little over 2 and a quarter yards a carry is nothing to get excited about.

Jeremi Johnson (0-0 rushing, 2-1 receiving, 2 targets) Kitna threw to the rookie FB twice on swing passes for not much yardage.

WR: Chad Johnson (8-131 receiving, 12 targets) Chad Johnson is a big time player. He made many tough catches (including a beauty on the sideline dragging both feet) and was getting good separation throughout the game. A dozen targets is very encouraging as well. Johnson was running a lot of slant routes but also working a little deeper on the sidelines and a few posts.

Peter Warrick (1-2 rushing, 8-109 receiving 1 TD, 14 targets) Warrick has marvelously quick feet. He was able to make some great moves after the reception to pick up some YAC. Warrick was surprising targeted more than Johnson. On Warrick's TD, he made a nice move in the middle of the field faking one way while facing the QB and then darting the other getting wide open. Warrick also often found himself all alone in blown coverages. On the downside, Warrick continued to display his propensity for drops (including a 3rd down pass in the red zone).

Kelley Washington (0-0 receiving, 3 targets) Kitna took a few deep shots to Washington, all of which were broken up by the Raider DB's.

TE: Reggie Kelley (3-24 receiving, 6 targets) The Bengals were making an effort to get Kelly the ball with the about of targets he received in addition to the amount of game time he received over the other TE. However, Kelly was still not much of a factor.

Matt Schobel ( 1-13 receiving, 1 targets) Surprisingly, after last week, Schobel did not get on the field much and was only targeted once, catching a nice slant on a hot route.

K: Shayne Graham (2-2 FG (31, 22 yds), 2 XP) Graham hit on all of his attempts. Interestingly, the commentators mentioned something about Rackers coming back when his knee is better….

Pass Defense: Tory James had an excellent game against his former teammates making plays all over the field. The Bengals, on the whole, had little pass rush, but played solid coverage, keeping the Porter-less Raiders at bay. The solid coverage led to several pass deflections and frustrated Gannon, making him hold the ball longer than he is accustomed. Of note, Gannon was hit hard on several occasions in the first half and never seemed to regain his confidence and accuracy until late in the ball game. The Bengals were held without a sack or interception. The Raiders OL did an excellent job of picking up the blitz.

Rush Defense: Oakland never really stuck with the running game with only 20 carries as a team from scrimmage. When they did run, they ran effectively, but for some reason would not dedicate themselves to the run. The Bengals rush D allowed 6.7 yards per carry, but the low totals are more due to Oakland's play calling. The Bengals' linebackers were especially bad, getting caught out of position time after time. The defensive line was sturdy on run plays but allowed large cutback lanes for Garner to run to.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Detroit Lions

Joey Harrington and the Lions came back down to earth after their decisive win against the Arizona Cardinals last week. The Lions were unable to get anything accomplished on either side of the ball. Harrington completed 26 passes out of 55 attempts for 241 yards. His receivers dropped passes that should have been completions. And after throwing zero interceptions last week, he threw three this week. The most glaring difference between this week and last is that the Lions were completely shut out of the endzone.

The Detroit Lions running game was virtually nonexistent. The Lions abandoned the rushing game in the second quarter after most of their rushing attempts were shut down. Olandis Gary started the game but Shawn Bryson was the leading rusher with 7 attempts for 43 yards, 31 of his yards came in the last drive of the game.

The Lions defense was unable to stop the run, primarily in the first quarter. They could not contain Ahman Green or Najeh Davenport who seemed to be able to run against them at will.

One of the few bright spots for the Lions came from special teams, when Bracy Walker recovered a muffed kick. The Lions went on to score the first of their two field goals after the recovery.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers were able to put their loss to the Minnesota Vikings behind them this week, with an impressive win. Brett Favre's week was average statistically speaking. He completed 15 passes out of 28 attempts for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. But it seems as though he gave last weeks penchant for throwing interceptions over to Harrington as Favre only threw one this week.

WR Though listed as questionable on this week's injury report with a strained knee, Robert Ferguson played and played well. He was one of Favre's favorite targets turning his 7 targets into 3 receptions for 29 yards. Ferguson was able to catch a sharp pass over the middle from Favre for a touchdown. Antonio Freeman was a welcome addition to the Packers team and fans alike. Freeman was able to compensate for the loss of WR Donald Driver last week, completing 4 catches for 32 yards. And with every catch, the Packers fan let him know that they were glad to see him back in a Packer's uniform once again.

RB Ahman Green had an outstanding game. On his first touch of the game, he broke a tackle and ran 65 yards for a touchdown. Green finished the game with 23 rushing attempts for 160 yards and one touchdown. Green has become the fourth Green Bay running back to rush for over 4,000 career yards.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Detroit Lions

QB: Joey Harrington (26-55-241, 0 TD, 3 Int) Harrington's play this week was consistently inconsistent. He did complete 26 passes for 241 yards, but there were 29 other passing attempts that were incomplete. His incomplete passes were off target, were dropped by the receivers, and were deflected by the Packers defense. Typical of Harrington's inconsistent play this week would be a drive in the third quarter where he rolled out of the pocket and threw a deep pass to Scotty Anderson. The very next play though he overthrew a screenplay intended for rookie RB Avon Cobourne. He was unable to sustain any sort of momentum for the Lions offense. Harrington did contribute to the receiving game by completing an 8-yard pass to himself. His pass was batted by Green Bay Packer defensive end Chukie Nwokorie and came back towards him. Harrington was able to make the catch.

RB: Shawn Bryson (7-43 rushing, 5-48 receiving, 9 targets) Bryson was the both the leading rusher and leading receiver for the Lions. The majority of Bryson's carries and rushing yards came at the end of the game on the Lions last drive. With his 9 targets, he was one of Harrington's top targets and was often targeted for short screen passes.

Olandis Gary (9-8 rushing, 2-7 receiving, 3 targets) Gary started the game at RB for the Lions. He was hit for a loss on the Lions' first offensive play and that typified his play for the rest of the game. He was completely shut down by the Packers defense and found no room whatsoever to run.

WR: Bill Schroeder (3-42 receiving, 9 targets) Harrington spread the ball fairly evenly to the Lions starting wide receivers, not favoring one over the other. Former Packer, Bill Schroeder made a catch in the fourth quarter and showed the presence of mind to dive and gain enough yards for a first down.

Charles Rogers (4-38 receiving, 10 targets, 1-5 rushing) Charles Rogers stats for the week are similar to last weeks except for one glaring omission of last weeks two touchdown receptions.

TE: Mikhael Ricks (2-14 receiving, 6 targets) Early in the game Ricks bobbled and dropped two passes that he should have caught. The rainy weather may have been a factor in his inability to hold onto the ball, but his dropped passes slowed any momentum the Lions offense was gaining. In the third quarter, Ricks was in the wrong place at the wrong time and a pass intended for WR Charles Rogers was deflected off of Ricks back and intercepted by the Packers. The very next drive, Harrington's second interception came at Ricks' expense as well as it was a pass that was intended for him.

K: Jason Hanson put the only points on the board for the Lions, making both a 22-yard attempt and a 52-yard attempt.

Pass Defense: The Lions pass defense was adequate holding Brett Favre to 132 yards passing. They were able to deflect a number of his passes. Dre Bly intercepted a ball intended for Robert Ferguson. But it was not enough to stop Favre, especially in the redzone where Favre was able to complete two touchdown passes.

Rush Defense: The Lions rush defense was unable to contain Ahman Green and missed the tackles that would have prevented his 65-yard rushing touchdown early in the first quarter. After giving up 126 rushing yards in the first quarter, they tightened up for the rest of the game and gave up a total of 200 yards for the game.

Green Bay Packers

QB: Brett Favre (15-28-132, 2 TD, 1 Int) Brett Favre seemed more like his old self this week after coming off of a devastating loss to the Minnesota Vikings where he threw 4 interceptions. Favre's stats for the week were not stellar, but enough to give the Packers the edge over the Lions. Favre's first touchdown pass came in the second series of the first quarter as a shovel pass to RB Tony Fisher. His second touchdown came in the third quarter after he rolled out of the pocket and completed a sharp pass over the middle to WR Robert Ferguson. His lone interception was a pass thrown into coverage intended for Robert Ferguson. Favre passed Fran Tarkenton on the NFL's career completions list when he completed his 3,687th pass today. Favre is now fourth on the list with 3,692 career completions.

RB: Ahman Green (23-160 rushing, 1 TD, 2 targets) Ahman Green made his presence known on the Packers second offensive play with a 65-yard touchdown run. The Lions rush defense was unable to stop him. His total of 160 yards rushing on 23 attempts for an average of 7 YPC was one of the deciding factors in the game.

Najeh Davenport (8-32 rushing) Davenport came into the game primarily to spell Ahman Green.

Tony Fisher (4-8 rushing, 2-16 receiving, 1 TD, 3 targets) Fisher's contribution to the game came in the first quarter when he caught a short shovel pass from Favre and ran it in for a touchdown.

WR: Antonio Freeman (4-32, 5 targets) Antonio Freeman is a Packer once again and the Packers and their fans are glad to have him back. His first reception was a sharp catch over the middle and it elicited a loud cheer from the fans, as did the rest of his receptions. Favre had a huge smile on his face after Freeman's first reception.

Robert Ferguson (3-29, 1 TD, 7 targets) Though being listed as questionable on this week's injury report, WR Robert Ferguson played an important role in the Packers offense. Favre targeted him for a deep pass in the first quarter, but he was overthrown. He looked solid.

Javon Walker (2-25, 7 targets) Javon Walker was only able to turn his 7 targets into 2 receptions. Though one incomplete pass intended for him drew a pass interference call for the Lions defense and kept the Packer's drive alive leading to a field goal.

TE: Bubba Franks (2-21, 3 targets) Bubba Franks contributions to the game were minimal. Franks was targeted in the endzone, but the ball was thrown high and went over his head. The Packers lined up with 3 TE sets a couple of times, but the TE contributions to the game were small seeing as how the Packers WRs stepped in to cover the loss of Donald Driver.

TE David Martin (1-7, 1 target) Martin's lone contribution to the game came early in the first quarter and then he was all but forgotten.

K: Ryan Longwell (1-1 FG 46 yards, 4 XP) Longwell contributed to the game with a 46-yard field goal.

Pass Defense: The Green Bay Packers pass defense looked sharp against the Lions. They were able to cover the Lions wide receivers and time after time break up the passing attempts. They were able to read Harrington, anticipate where he would be passing the ball, and intercepted him three times.

Rush Defense: The rush defense held the Lions to only 15 rushing yards in the first half and a total of 56 yards in the game. The Lions found no room to run early in the game. The Packers forced the Lions to abandon the rushing game and focus on passing.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh rode big plays by the defense followed by long passes by Tommy Maddox to build an early lead. From there, the Kansas City defense took over by collapsing the pocket and blanketing receivers. Kansas City dominated both sides of the line. Maddox wound up with three interceptions to go with his 336 yards passing.

The Steeler running game is in disarray. Pittsburgh gained only 60 yards on 16 rushes. 37 of those yards came on two carries by Amos Zereoue late in the game after the Chiefs allowed some cushion up front. Zereoue did not play in the second quarter, giving way to Jerome Bettis and Verron Haynes.

The Pittsburgh defense played tough despite the Chiefs putting 41 points on the board. The Chiefs only gained 282 total yards and the Steelers intercepted Trent Green twice.

Kansas City Chiefs

Trent Green had a below average outing. Green threw two early interceptions by forcing the ball into a predetermined spot. The Chiefs' longest completion went to Eddie Kennison for 21 yards.

Penalties and run stuffs in the middle forced Kansas City into third-down passing situations in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Priest Holmes started taking the ball outside the tackles. The pulling line cleared the way on sweeps and pitches from side to side.

The Chief defense and special teams won the game for Kansas City. They had touchdown returns from a kickoff and an interception. Dante Hall almost had a second return touchdown when he almost broke a 45-yard punt return to pay dirt.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB: Tommy Maddox (28-47-336 1 TD, 3 INT) looked deep the whole day. Unfortunately, most of the day his pocket collapsed and his receivers were tightly covered as he was sacked four times.

RB: Amos Zereoue (11-48 rushing, 2-17 receiving, 2 targets) started and was ineffective. He did not play in the second quarter. Gained 37 yards on two carries and got his two receptions late, after the Chiefs starting giving up some cushion.

Jerome Bettis (4-7 rushing, no receptions, 1 target) filled in for Zereoue in the second quarter and was equally ineffective. Took the action from Zereoue inside the five. Had a screen pass broken up and had a five-yard run called back on a hold.

Verron Haynes (no carries, 3-21 receiving, 3 targets) lost a fumble in the fourth quarter to end Pittsburgh's chances.

WR: Hines Ward (1-5 rushing, 9-146 receiving, 13 targets) caught a 50-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. He had a deflected lob in the end zone from 5 yards out. Had a couple of tough catches go off his hands and he couldn't keep his feet in on a diving sideline catch.

Plaxico Burress (7-115 1 TD receiving, 15 targets) did not show any effects of his quad injury. Came out of the game for one play in the third when he tweaked his knee. Burress got away with a push-off when he went up over two defenders on his 33-yard TD. He could not control an easy three-yard toss in the end zone. Did not come back strong to help a scrambling Maddox on one play and cut off his route that fell incomplete on another.

Antwaan Randle El (3-15 receiving, 6 targets) saw all of his looks on quick slants. Also saw his normal duty on punt and kickoff returns.

Chris Doering (3-21 receiving, 4 targets) had a pass in the end zone deflected away from 26 yards out. Saw most of his action late when the Steelers went to five receivers wide.

TE: Starter Jay Riemersma and Mark Bruener were not targeted for receptions.

K: Jeff Reed (2-2 FG, 2-2 XP) was strong on his 51-yard field goal at the end of the first half. Also hit a 20-yarder.

Pass Defense: CB Chad Scott got the Steelers going with a 26-yard interception return on the Chiefs' first possession. Pittsburgh contained well until Priest Holmes' success forced them to focus on the run.

Rush Defense: DT Casey Hampton and company shut down the middle early. However, the Chiefs started taking it outside and the offensive linemen dominated the corners. LB James Farrior was all over the field on passes and rushes.

Kansas City Chiefs

QB: Trent Green (15-21-125 1 TD, 2 INT) was adequate. Threw two interceptions early. Settled down and kept drives moving in the second half as the Steelers keyed on Holmes. With Priest Holmes in the backfield, he won't be asked to carry this team.

RB: Priest Holmes (26-122 3 TD rushing, 2-6 receiving, 3 targets) Holmes continues to be amazing. He took over the game in the second quarter. He was stuffed in up the middle early, started taking out side and his linemen dominated the corners. Had a 13-yard screen pass called back on an illegal block.

FB Tony Richardson (5-19 rushing) spelled Holmes on occasion and picked up a couple of garbage time carries late.

WR: Eddie Kennison (4-43 receiving, 7 targets) was the primary target in the first half. Caught a pass inside the ten and drew a 30-yard pass interference.

Johnnie Morton (4-44 receiving, 5 targets) became the target in the second half after the Steelers were keying the run. Drew a 10-yard pass interference.

Dante Hall (1-2 receiving, 1 target, 208 return yards 1 TD) showed his breakaway ability with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 45-yard punt return.

Marc Boerigter (no catches, 1 target) had a short ball thrown at his feet on his only look of the game.

TE: Tony Gonzalez (2-8 receiving, 4 targets) seemed to run okay on his bum ankle but was unable to separate from defenders. Green threw a ball away over Gonzalez on a corner fade in the end zone and had a short slant picked off.

Blocking TE Jason Dunn (1-3 1 TD receiving) caught a touchdown in the back of the end zone on his only look.

K: Morten Andersen (0-0 FG, 5-6 XP) hit the upright on one of his PAT attempts.

Pass Defense: Burned deep early while keying the run, showed great coverage causing 4 sacks and 3 picks. Eric Warfield starred in the backfield, as Jerome Woods returned an interception for a TD and Shawn Barber picked one off in the end zone.

Rush Defense: DT Ryan Sims led the run-stuffing defense that held the Steelers to 60 yards on the ground.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New England

Tom Brady was sharp as he totaled 255 yards on 30 of 44 passing. He spread the ball around to 10 different receivers and 8 of those receivers caught more than one pass. He looked like the Tom Brady of 2002 who made smart decisions with the ball and less like the Tom Brady of last week.

Antowain Smith led the team in carries with 12, but 8 of those came after the Patriots were up 24-7 and trying to take time off the clock. Kevin Faulk was the main rusher for the Patriots with 7 carries for just 23 yards. Faulk was active (and more effective) in the passing game catching 4 passes for 59 yards.

Tight End Christian Fauria caught 2 touchdown passes. Both were under 10 yards and both came off of play-action.

Philadelphia

Donovan McNabb had perhaps his worst game as a professional. He completed only 18 of 46 passes for just 186 yards and no touchdowns. He also threw 2 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles. Some credit for his poor numbers goes to the terrific New England gameplan but a lot of the responsibility must fall on McNabb. He consistently overthrew wide open receivers, was careless with the ball when under pressure in the pocket, and made several poor pass decisions.

For the second week in a row, Correll Buckhalter has been listed as the starting RB and has failed to get a rushing yard. Duce Staley (5) and Brian Westbrook (6) split what few rushing attempts there were but McNabb out rushed them both with 53 yards on his 6 carries. Staley did score from the 2-yard line. No Eagle RB got many carries because they spent the whole game playing from behind.

James Thrash was the leading receiver for the Eagles with 6 catches for 80 yards but almost half of those came in the 4th quarter when the Eagles were desperately trying to make anything good happen.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New England

QB: The Patriots committed to the pass early and started the game in a 5 receiver set and then passed on the first 7 plays from scrimmage. Tom Brady (30-44, 255yds, 3TD; 6-7 yds rushing) looked sharp, directing the Patriots passing attack with an effective mix of screens, flat passes, and shots downfield. He completed passes to 10 different receivers for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. He heavily targeted his starting WR's Troy Brown and Deion Branch. Brady benefited greatly from play action passes which left his receivers open downfield.

RB: Antowain Smith (12-25yds rush; 2-2yds receiving) finished the game with the majority of the carries but most of them came late in the game as the Patriots were trying to kill the clock. He was ineffective in short-yardage situations early in the game, twice failing to gain 1 yard for a first down. Smith had just 25 yards on his 12 carries and didn't show the explosiveness through the hole that Faulk did.

Kevin Faulk (7-23yds rush; 4-59yds receiving) was a bigger part of the New England offense as they built their lead in this game. He rushed for just 23 yards on 7 carries but was much more effective as a receiver with 59 yards on 4 catches. Most of his catches came on screens where he was able to get behind a wall of pulling linemen and gain yards.

WR: Deion Branch (6-89yds receiving, TD) took advantage of a depleted Philadelphia secondary and led the Patriots with 89 yards and a score on 6 catches. Like the other Patriots receivers, Branch benefited from the openings created by the play-action pass.

Troy Brown (7-43 yds receiving) led the team with 7 catches but they were all under 17 yards. He was Brady's security blanket and spent most of the game running mid-range crossing patterns.

No other Patriot WR had more than 2 catches.

TE: Christian Fauria (3-19 yds receiving, 2TD) had 3 catches in the game, 2 for scores. On both touchdowns Fauria was open as the result of a play-action pass.

K: Adam Vinatieri made his only field goal attempt and all 4 of his PAT's. A potential 40-yard attempt was aborted due to a bad snap.

Pass Defense: The Patriots kept heavy pressure on McNabb all game, sacking him 7 times, forcing three fumbles and intercepting 2 passes, one of which was returned for a score. The Patriots blitzed all game on all 3 downs so there was no way for the Eagles to guess when it was coming.

Rush Defense: The Patriots used select run-blitzes early in the game to contain the 3-headed Eagles rushing attack. The Patriots did not allow an Eagle RB a rush longer than 9 yards.

Philadelphia

QB: Donovan McNabb (18-46, 186yds, 0TD, 2INT; 6-53yds rushing) had possibly his worst game as a pro. He completed only 18 of 46 pass attempts for a measly 186 yards with 2 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles and no touchdown passes. McNabb missed wide-open receivers on at least 4 occasions. One interception was returned for a touchdown and the other looked like he was just heaving the ball as far downfield as he could; there wasn't a receiver within 20 yards of it. McNabb was pressured all game by a blitzing Patriots defense and never got into any sort of passing rhythm. He rushed for 53 yards on 6 carries.

RB: Duce Staley (5-17yds rushing, TD; 3-16 receiving) got the lone goal line carry and scored from 2 yards out. He finished the game with just 17 yards on 5 carries. Staley also lost his 2nd fumble of the season. He had no fumbles last season.

Brian Westbrook's (6-29 rushing; 1-7 receiving) role in the backfield was expanded this week. He rushed for 29 yards on 6 carries. Westbrook lost a fumble on a punt return.

Correll Buckhalter (1-21 receiving) started the game at tailback but didn't have a carry. He had one catch for 21 yards.

WR: For the second week in a row James Thrash (6-80 receiving) used garbage time late in the game to pad his receiving totals. After only having one catch in the first half he finished with 6 catches for 80 yards. Almost half of those receiving yards came in the 4th quarter while the Eagles were trying to make the score respectable.

Todd Pinkston (3-35 receiving) was McNabb's primary WR target early in the game but between dropped balls and poorly thrown passes he finished with only 3 catches for 35 yards. He had a sure 50 yard touchdown opportunity slip away due to an underthown McNabb pass that was easily defended by the beaten defender.

Freddie Mitchell (3-16 receiving) had 3 catches in the game. Again, McNabb's inaccuracy kept Mitchell from another 2-3 catches.

TE: Chad Lewis (3-36 receiving) could have doubled his catch total if McNabb had been on his game. Instead Lewis finished with just 3 catches for 36 yards.

K: David Akers kicked a 57(!) yard field goal with room to spare. He also converted his only PAT.

Pass Defense: The depleted Eagles secondary did not fare well against the Patriots. They did sack Brady twice but for most of the game he had plenty of time to make his progressions and find an open receiver.

Rush Defense: The Patriots started the game passing and didn't get away from emphasizing the pass until the game was well in hand so the Eagles rush defense didn't have much of an effect on the game.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina did just enough to beat the Bucs. Actually, the Carolina Panthers took a page out of the Tampa Bay Bucs playbook by playing smash mouth defense. Jack Delhomme got his first start and was a paltry 9-26 for less than a hundred yards.

Stephen Davis went over the century mark against a Bucs team known for shutting down the run. Davis finished the day with 142 yards rushing on 33 carries. However, the big story of the game was the penalties by both teams and the two blocked field goals and an extra point blocked by the Carolina Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers managed less than 300 yards of offense and came away with a Division win and improved to 2-0.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay had more opportunities to win the game than the Carolina Panthers. Martin Gramatica had two field goals blocked, along with an extra point that would have won the game in regulation.

Brad Johnson threw over 60 passes with an injured groin and without the services of Joe Jurevicius who went out with a knee injury in the 2nd half. Keyshawn Johnson took a beating going over the middle. Which was evident at the end of the game when he dropped a sure touchdown pass. However, Keenan McCardell came through in the end, catching a 6-yard pass as time expired in regulation.

The running game for the Tampa Bay Bucs was virtually non existent two weeks in a row. Michael Pittman led the way with 38 yards on 10 carries.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

QB: Jack Delhomme made his first start of his career and was promptly welcomed by a blazing Tampa Bay Bucs Defense. He threw 2 interceptions. However, when it was needed most he converted third downs in the 4th quarter. He finished the day 9 for 23 for 96 yards.

RB: Stephen Davis was his bruising self, rushing 33 times for 142 yards. His long for the day was 16 yards, but he showed toughness against the Bucs Defense that hasn't been seen in a while.

WR: The Carolina Panthers didn't have many opportunities to catch the ball against the Tampa Bay Bucs. The receiving corp. spent most of the day blocking. Muhsin Muhammad lead the way with 4 catches for 61 yards. He was physical and used his height on a couple of receptions "going up the ladder".

Steve Smith only caught 3 passes for 27 yards but was a huge part of the Panthers win. In overtime, he took the Buccaneer punt 52 yards down to the Tampa 40 yard line. Carolina gained just 11 more yards on the drive and then kicked the game winning FG.

TE: Kris Mangum caught one ball for zero yards. The Carolina Panthers only used their Tight ends for blocking and containing the Tampa Bay Bucs front 4 defensive linemen.

K: John Kasay was his dependable self, connecting on all 4 attempts, including the 47 yard game winner in over-time.

Pass Defense: The pass defense created problems all day. Although, their defense was only credited with one sack. Brad Johnson was under pressure from the beginning of the game. Julius Peppers and company flat out caused havoc. Tampa Bay was called for numerous holding penalties trying to contain them.

Rush Defense: The rush defense held the Tampa Bay Bucs to 61 yards on 21 carries. The Carolina Panthers defense came in with a chip on their shoulder and dominated.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB: Brad Johnson was under pressure all day. Although, he was able to complete 34 passes for 339 yards, with one TD and one interception. He played the latter part of the 3rd quarter on with a pulled groin. Johnson looked excellent as he drove the Bucs down field with the tying score as time expired.

RB: There really isn't much to say about the rushing game other than the RBs weren't used very often. Even when they were used, it was with little success. Michael Pittman was the leading ball carrier, gaining 38 yards on 10 carries. Mike Alstott disappeared from the running game, only rushing the ball on short yardage situations.

WR: Keyshawn Johnson lead the way with 9 catches for 109 yards. He dropped the game-tying touchdown in the 4th quarter. However, Keenan McCardell (5 catches, 51 yards, 1 TD) saved the day with is spectacular catch in the end zone as time expired. Joe Jurevicius left the game in the 2nd half after Mike Alstott plowed into his right knee. It looked ugly on the TV replays but it wasn't known immediately how serious the injury is.

TE: Ken Dilger and Todd Yoder combined to catch 4 balls for 38 yards. Ken Dilger at times is Brad Johnson's favorite target. However, there are several games where Brad Johnson looks elsewhere to distribute the ball.

K: Martin Gramatica had two field goals blocked, along with an extra point that would have won the game.

Pass Defense: The Tampa Bay's front four dominated most of the game. Simeon Rice had another sack and forced fumble. However, the defense looked sluggish at times; quite possibly due to the temperature on the field being 120 degrees. The defense also had two picks.

Rush Defense: The Bucs seem to have trouble with bigger backs. Stephen Davis ran for over 100 yards and seemed to effectively find the seams in the defense.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers avoided what could have been a fantasy football disaster. Both Terrell Owens and Jeff Garcia left the game in the first quarter with what the announcers called concussions. Fantasy owners breathed a huge sigh of relief as both returned for the first series in the second quarter.

WR Cedrick Wilson committed a painful error at the end of regulation where instead of falling down on the last play to call timeout and give the 49ers a shot at the game winning FG, he kept running as time expired.

RBs Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow shared the workload nearly equally this week. Both backs had 11 carries - Hearst had the yardage edge (89 to Barlow's 45), while Barlow had a TD.
Barlow also caught three passes (to Hearst's one).

The defense missed Kordell Stewart this week. They did hold the Rams to only 67 yards of offense in the first half. 69 of those yards came on the Rams 1st half TD drive, so they held the Rams to -2 yards combined on their other 7 possessions. The second half was a different story when the Rams only had three possessions, but scored on every one while controlling the ball for almost 19 minutes in the three drives.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams are still having trouble holding on to the football. They fumbled four times (to go with 6 last week).

QB Marc Bulger recovered from a shaky first half (nine incompletions, three sacks, two lost fumbles) to go 15-for-17 with a TD and no turnovers in the second half and OT. Bulger improved his record as a starter to 7-1 dating back to last season (and his only loss came in a game where he got hurt on the first series and didn't play the rest of that game - so essentially he's undefeated in games he starts and finishes).

Marshall Faulk had twice as many carries (18) as he did last week (9), but he still managed only 57 yards on the ground. He did have a 2 yard TD run and a great 26 yard run off left tackle (his first 20+ yard run in his last 130 carries), but take away that run and his yards per carry would have been less than 2.

Faulk did miss most of 2 series after being poked in the eye. Lamar Gordon made the most of his time gaining 31 yards on just 6 carries and catching 3 passes for 26 yards.

The defensive strategy was to force someone other than Terrell Owens to beat them. Adam Archuleta was successful at a very unconventional strategy of single covering Owens with a safety. The Rams didn't want Owens to take advantage of his size advantage over their smaller corners, so they had the 6ft, 210lb safety follow him all over the field. The strategy worked until the last drive by the 49ers when Owens ended up beating Aeneas Williams for the game tying score with only 19 seconds remaining.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

San Francisco 49ers

QB: Jeff Garcia (19-35-222, 2 TD, 1 Int + 1 rec. for 6 yds) was hit hard early and often. He sustained what the announcers described as a concussion after getting hit hard immediately after handing the ball off. He showed no ill effects of the concussion and came up huge in the 4th quarter leading the offense 85 yards with 3 minutes remaining in the game on the tying drive. Then with only 9 seconds remaining in regulation he hit Cedrick Wilson on a 29 yard pass to the St. Louis 30 yard line which would have given Jeff Chandler (K) a chance at a game winning 46 yard field goal. Instead of falling down and calling time out, Wilson fought for extra yards and the clock ran out. Garcia spread the ball around to produce decent fantasy numbers, and was willing to scramble to buy time, and even caught a swing pass for six yards. Five of the seven plays San Francisco ran in the red zone were passes, including both of Garcia's TD passes.

Tim Rattay (1-2-15 passing) played one drive in the first quarter, and saw heavy pressure when he tried to pass. The 49ers moved the ball with Rattay in the game, but the drive stalled on an offensive pass interference penalty that kept them out of field-goal range.

RB: Garrison Hearst (11-89 rushing, 1-15 receiving, 5 targets) got the start, but only played in half of the drives. Hearst had most of his success running off tackle and outside, including a 26-yard run late in the fourth quarter that eventually led to the game-tying TD. Most of the incomplete passes thrown his way were poor passes.

Kevan Barlow (11-45 rushing 1 TD, 3-35 receiving, 2 targets) came off the bench and played half the game. Barlow did not display the same speed burst as Hearst, but was more effective than Hearst running inside and breaking tackles, including a key 4th-and-1 conversion that set up his TD two plays later. Barlow's TD was a 19-yard run that he cut back up the middle through traffic for the score. Barlow was in on three of the four possessions inside the red

WR: Terrell Owens (5-42, 1 TD) sustained a mild concussion and for most of the day was a non factor…until the 49ers last drive in regulation. Owens caught the game tying TD beating Aeneas Williams over the middle for a 13 yard score with only 19 seconds remaining.

Tai Streets (4-53 receiving 1 TD, 7 targets) became the primary WR while Owens was out. Streets' TD catch was the result of a slick double-move getting himself open by two steps to catch the pass inside the 5 and walk in for a 16-yard score.

Cedrick Wilson (4-57 receiving, 7 targets, 1-1-6 passing) played in 3 WR sets and while Owens was out. While effective in the 3-WR passing game (and on a trick play where he took a handoff and threw a pass back to Garcia for a 6-yard gain), Wilson's most memorable play was the last one of regulation - Wilson caught a pass and gained 29 yards on the play, but let the clock run out and prevented the 49ers from attempting a potential game-winning field goal.

TE: Jed Weaver (3-35 rec.) showed up in the box score this week after not catching a pass in the 49ers first game.

K: Jeff Chandler (1 FG - 35, 3XP) missed a 43 yard field goal attempt midway through the second quarter.

Pass Defense: the 49ers blitzed often, sacking QB Marc Bulger five times and recovering two Bulger fumbles. The frequent blitzing left too many Ram receivers in single coverage, and the Rams adjusted to quick-hitting passes and more runs to string together three long drives in the second half.

Rush Defense: The run defense played great. The held Faulk in check except for his one long run. Take that away and there was nowhere for him to go all day. Most of the game they played eight men "in the box" and dared Bulger to beat them.

St. Louis Rams

QB: Marc Bulger (25-36-236 2 TD, 2 Lost Fumbles) played well enough for a victory. He fumbled twice in the first half, but settled down. Bulger was fantastic after the half, completing 15 of 17 passes for 155 yards and one TD with zero turnovers. The Rams called more short, quick-hitting passes (and more running plays) in the second half to neutralize the 49ers pressure defense.

RB: Marshall Faulk (18-57 yds, 1 TD rushing, 4-33 rec.) endured another frustrating day carrying the football. He saw few holes to run through and more often than not, he seemed to be dodging tacklers in the backfield just to get back to the line of scrimmage. Until the offense finds their signature "big plays", this could be a recurring theme for Marshall on the ground. Bulger did throw behind Faulk who had gotten free on a 49ers blitz early in the 4th quarter on what would have been an easy 29 yard TD reception.

Lamar Gordon (6 carries for 31 yards, 3 rec. for 26 yards) filled in well while Faulk was getting checked out for his eye injury. All six of Gordon's carries came on the same drive, but was lifted when the Rams got inside the 10 in favor of Faulk.

WR: Torry Holt (6-64 yds, 1 TD) Isaac Bruce (6-63 yds) and Dane Looker (5-47 yds, 1 TD) all shared equal billing for the Rams receiving. Holt made a great catch (even though he was wide open) on his TD pass and also displayed great hands catching a low ball for a crucial first down on a 3rd and 5 on the TD drive that put the Rams ahead in the 3rd quarter.

Isaac Bruce (6-62 receiving, 7 targets) helped move the chains with six catches, but disappeared for long stretches, and was not targeted in the red zone.

Dane Looker took advantage of Rams injuries to fill in as the slot receiver. The former World Bowl MVP played in 3 WR sets, which was often for the Rams. Four of Looker's five catches were for either first downs or a TD, including a 19-yard TD catch early in the 4th quarter. Looker was wide open at the goal line after a great play-action fake by Bulger.

TE: Cam Cleeland had 1 catch for 3 yards. Brandon Manumaleuna had 3 passes thrown his way, two of which were very catchable balls he dropped.

K: Jeff Wilkin had 2 short field goals (28 and 29 yards) and 3 XP's.

Pass Defense: Statistically not a great day only registering 1 sack and 1 interception, but holding Terrell Owens to 5 receptions and 42 yards receiving is an impressive feat under any circumstances. Adam Archuleta surely got a game ball for his performance. The 49ers first TD pass was the result of Arlen Harris fumbling a punt at the 11 yard line giving them the short field to work with. Travis Fisher dropped what would have been an easy interception return for a TD late in the second quarter.

Rush Defense: The rush defense was spotty. They allowed the 49ers to average nearly 6 yards per carry. The Rams contained Hearst inside, but let him bounce outside for a couple big gains. They gave up a first down on 4th-and-1 to Barlow, but only one big gain.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Buffalo Bills

Well, two weeks into the season, the Bills appear to be for real.

For the second straight week, QB Drew Bledsoe was on fire, and in perfect rhythm with his favorite target WR Eric Moulds. Bledsoe had plenty of time to throw all day and used it well, consistently finding his receivers open downfield. Josh Reed who delivered with a solid performance.

RB Travis Henry scored three times - obviously a nice day in fantasy terms - but those scores masked an otherwise difficult afternoon for Buffalo's RB.

On defense, the Bills played with an intensity similar to what they showed in their opening-week shutout of New England. Jaguars QB Mark Brunell was under pressure much of the game, and when he did have time, he was forced to settle for underneath throws and check downs.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Offensively, the Jags moved the ball in spurts, but were never able to mount anything noteworthy. Mark Brunell did a nice job finding open receivers, and making plays on the move. The problem was that most of those receivers were backs and tight ends, as he was forced by the Bills secondary to dink and dunk the ball all afternoon. This offense sorely misses the presence of Jimmy Smith.

Fred Taylor was perhaps the lone bright spot. He failed to reach the endzone, but made the most of his limited opportunities, and finished with a respectable 71 yards rushing.

QB Byron Leftwich did make a cameo appearance late, leading an impressive 90-yard touchdown drive on which he went 7-for-8, but the game was well out of hand at that point.

Jacksonville's defense did a decent job stuffing the rushing attack of the Bills, but they were absolutely hapless to stop anything and everything Buffalo tried through the air.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Buffalo Bills

QB: Drew Bledsoe (19-25, 314 yds, 2 TDs) was in the "zone" all day. Hardly pressured at all by the Jags woeful pass rush, he simply sat in the pocket and picked apart Jacksonville's secondary. Bledsoe didn't waste time with the small stuff either. He consistently threw the ball downfield, as he completed four passes of 24 yards or more, including TD strikes of 36 and 54 yards to Eric Moulds and Bobby Shaw respectively. He also seems to be getting more comfortable with second year wideout Josh Reed, who he looked for several times in key third down situations. When given this much time to throw (no sacks), Bledsoe will almost always be successful, which adds value to the entire receiving corps.

Alex Van Pelt (1-2, 14) came in for fourth quarter mop-up duty, and hooked up with Reed for his only completion of the day.

RB: As noted earlier, Travis Henry (21-26 rushing, 1-2 receiving, 3 TDs) scored three times on runs of 1, 6 and 4 yards. No doubt, that's good stuff. However, for a top-15 back to average 1.2 yards per carry is a bit worrisome. Jacksonville did a nice job clogging the middle for much of the afternoon, but Henry looked indecisive at times and did a poor job breaking tackles at the point of attack that could have resulted in big runs (see Jamal Lewis and Ahman Green).

Joe Burns (7-22 rushing) picked up all of his carries on two drives late in the fourth quarter once the Bills were well ahead.

Sammy Morris (1 for -2) got his only carry on an odd trick play that backfired for the Bills. He did have a nice 52-yards kickoff return to open the game.

WR: Eric Moulds (7-133 receiving, 1 TD) was simply unstoppable. The Jags had no answer for his speed and quickness. He made several tough catches in traffic early in the game, and then simply outran the secondary in the second half. Short or long, he basically toyed with the Jags DBs. It's early in the season, but he and Bledsoe - who targeted Moulds 9 times - are already in a scary-good rhythm.

Josh Reed (5-71 receiving) redeemed himself from a lackluster performance in Week 1. He consistently was able to find the soft spot in the Jaguars zone, and Bledsoe rewarded him, throwing his way 9 times on the day, including several key third down situations.

Bobby Shaw (3-81 receiving, 1 TD) hooked up with Bledsoe for a 54-yard score late in the second quarter. Not to take anything away from Shaw, but he is generally not considered a deep threat. His long score was partially the result of a coverage bust in the Jaguars' secondary.

TE: Mark Campbell (3-38 receiving) had a nice 26-yard grab early in the game. Bledsoe did look his way once in the red zone for a 5-yard grab that set up Henry's 6-yard TD scamper.

K: Ryan Lindell connected on his only field goal (27 yards), and all five of his extra points.

Pass Defense: The Bills defensive backs did an excellent job of keeping the Jaguars' receivers in front of them all day. They did not notch any interceptions, however, they allowed Brunell to complete only one pass of more than 20 yards on the day. Buffalo kept pressure on Brunell for most of the day, relying primarily on their front-four, while their linebackers handled coverage duties.

Run Defense: The Jaguars actually had some success running the ball, averaging 4.3 yards on 22 carries. But with Jacksonville playing catch-up for most of the afternoon, this probably is not the best game to evaluate the Bills run defense. Buffalo never really faced any consistent threat on the ground.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB: Mark Brunell (19-32, 122 yds passing, 2-13, 1 TD rushing) didn't have much to work with on Sunday. He was frequently flushed out of the pocket by the Bills defensive line, and his wide receivers had a hard time getting open -- anywhere. In fact, he only completed 5 passes to WRs for the entire game. To his credit, Brunell withstood the pressure pretty well. He took what the Bills gave him, and despite his age, was still able to escape the rush in order to buy himself more time. It's clear, however, that this offense is desperately in need of a deep threat to stretch the defense. Jimmy Smith can't return soon enough.

Byron Leftwich (7-8, 92 yards passing) looked great on a late fourth quarter touchdown drive, showing impressive arm strength on an out route to the wide side of the field, and threading the needle on a crossing route near the goal line. But at this point in the game, Jacksonville was trailing 38-10, and the Bills had most of their defensive starters on the bench. Still, Leftwich showed poise in the pocket, and recorded the team's only passing score of the afternoon.

RB: Fred Taylor (14-71 rushing, 5-10 receiving) looked very good when he got his hands on the ball, breaking tackles and making Bills defenders miss. Problem is, he only saw 14 carries as the Jaguars were forced to play from behind all day. And until Jimmy Smith returns, it appears Brunell will rely on Taylor pretty heavily in the passing game as well (he targeted Taylor 6 times on Sunday). Of course, Taylor did stay healthy for another week, which is always good news.

LaBrandon Toefield (5-5 rushing, 1-6 receiving) was ineffective as Taylor's primary backup. He was indecisive in choosing his holes, and showed no burst when trying to reach the corner on a sweep play.

Marc Edwards (5-35) got involved in the passing game thanks in large part to the inability of the team's wide receivers to get open downfield,

WR: Matthew Hatchette (2-12 receiving, targeted 7 times by Brunell) was simply unable to get any separation from the Bills defenders. Winfield and Clements blanketed him all afternoon.

J.J. Stokes (1-7 receiving) barely showed up on the radar screen. Brunell only looked his way three times on the day as he struggled to find openings in the Bills defense.

Rookie Cortez Hankton (3-42 receiving) seemed to have a good chemistry with Leftwich, during Jacksonville's fourth-quarter scoring drive, but was otherwise not a factor in the game.

Jermaine Lewis (1-10 receiving, 1-6 rushing) had a nice grab early in the game, but injured his knee on a reverse midway through the second quarter. After the game, Coach Jack Del Rio said the injury was "serious."

TE: Kyle Brady (5-42 receiving) was Brunell's favorite target on the afternoon (7 targets), which was largely due to the glove-like defense applied to the Jaguars inept wideouts. Brady responded and even flashed a little speed on a 26-yard reception in the third quarter, Brunell's longest pass of the day.

George Wrightser (2-21, 1 TD) turned in an impressive effort, albeit on a meaningless fourth quarter touchdown drive. He displayed nice hands on both catches, keeping the ball away from his body.

K: Seth Marler (1-2 FG, 2 XP) squeaked a 44-yard attempt just inside the right upright, but was wide right on an earlier kick from 48 yards. He had plenty of leg on both kicks.

Pass Defense: Nonexistent. The Jaguars were determined to stop Travis Henry and did just that, but their defensive backs did not hold up under the pressure. They were simply outclassed by the Bills combo of Moulds-Reed-Shaw.

Run Defense: Give it to Jacksonville, they accomplished what they set out to do corralling Travis Henry and holding him to 26 yards on 21 carries. Unfortunately, they could not contain Henry near the goal line, where he punched it in three times.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Seattle Seahawks

WR Koren Robinson was benched due to disciplinary reasons. Bobby Engram started in his place. Official word concerning this wasn't announced until after the kickoff.

RB Shaun Alexander owners can take a relaxing breath. Backup RB Maurice Morris had more yards in the game on fewer carries than Alexander, but it was mostly in scrub time with the game well in hand. The 100+ degree temperatures on the field caused Alexander to sit out several plays, but Alexander was sure to get back in the game once Seattle was inside the ten yard line.

Besides the two long TD passes to WR Darrell Jackson, the Seattle offense was never on track. They didn't sustain any drives during the entire game.

The Seattle defense turned this into a blowout by causing six turnovers, including four on the first four Arizona possessions. Rookie safety Ken Hamlin had his hand in four of the plays. Hamlin forced a fumble, made two hits that resulted in interceptions, and picked off a ball himself.

Arizona Cardinals

WR Anquan Boldin followed up his week one performance with a respectable showing. He was Jeff Blake's first option and Arizona ran plays specifically for him. He was the most targeted WR in the game.

The Arizona offensive line gave RB Emmitt Smith a few gapping holes to run through, but Smith didn't show any explosion hitting them. Smith ran hard and broke a few tackles, but he didn't look quick. Marcel Shipp garnered only a few carries, mostly in the second quarter spelling Smith due to the heat.

QB Jeff Blake suffered a severely bruised foot at the end of the first quarter. Backup QB Josh McCown played the last three quarters. McCown looked like you'd expect - an inexperienced QB. He did not put the same zip on the ball that Blake had.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Seattle Seahawks

QB: Matt Hasselbeck (8-19-175 2 TD 0 INT, 1-2 rushing 1 TD) Hasselbeck was out of rhythm all day. Not having his number target in the game from the get go might have rattled him, but he didn't handle the adversity well. He wasn't poised in the pocket and threw some horribly inaccurate balls in the game. However, his two deep balls to Jackson were both right on target.

RB: Shaun Alexander (13-51 rushing 1 TD, 2-11 receiving, 2 targets) Alexander's lackluster numbers were mostly due to the heat. On most days Alexander would have stayed in the game to rack up some statistics, but the heat was a killer today. However, Alexander did show a pension to "dance" a bit behind the line of scrimmage looking for the big play. This did allow him to break outside and score his lone TD.

Maurice Morris (11-67 rushing, 0-0 receiving, 0 targets) Morris was decisive and quick through the holes ripping off several long gains. He had the benefit of coming off the bench fresh while the players on field were noticeably exhausted from the heat.

WR: Koren Robinson (0-0 receiving, 0 targets) Robinson did not play for disciplinary reasons. Head coach Mike Holmgren had ample opportunities to go into detail, but refused to divulge any specific information. Robinson was suited up on the sideline and ready to go. He showed enthusiasm for the team's success and didn't seem to sulk. Given the nature of the lopsided affair it was a reasonable response.

Darrell Jackson (3-133 receiving 2 TD, 5 targets) If Arizona could have kept the game close; Jackson might have had a record-breaking day. Besides his two long scores, both on go routes, he was wide open for another on a deep post pattern that was badly under-thrown by Hasselbeck.

Bobby Engram (2-28 receiving, 3 targets) Engram didn't see much action for the same reason as above. The score dictated Seattle's play conservative calling.

TE: Itula Mili (2-9 receiving, 4 targets) Mili didn't see the ball much, but was targeted on Seattle's first possession in the end zone.

Jeremy Stevens (0-0 receiving, 2 targets) Stevens has been working his way back into the lineup, but took a vicious hit again in the third quarter that he was very slow to get up from. Check the injury reports this week to see if there is anything to worry about.

K: Josh Brown (1-1 FG: 37yd) Brown hit his only field goal attempt to stay perfect on the season.

Pass Defense: The Seattle pass rush didn't get to the quarterback much (2 sacks), but the defensive backs, led by rookie safety Ken Hamilton, seemed to be everywhere putting huge hits on receivers all day. CB Ken Lucas and Hamlin led the team in tackles with 8 and 7 respectively.

Rush Defense: The Seahawks only gave up 60 yards rushing to the Arizona running backs, but it was mostly due to the score. The off-season additions of DT Hand, MLB Godfrey, and defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes have the limited Seattle faithful encouraged after getting bowled over week after week last year.

Arizona Cardinals

QB: Jeff Blake (7-14-55 2 INT passing) Both of Blake's interceptions came on either deflected or tipped balls. Blake was accurate and sharp during his quarter of work while focusing in on wide receivers Boldin and Johnson. Twelve of Blake's fourteen attempts were targeted to the pair of rookie receivers. He left the game with a foot injury and seemed to be in pain on the sidelines. He noticeably flinched on the sidelines when the trainer put pressure on the heel area of his foot.

Josh McCown: (18-32-150 2 INT passing, 6-33 rushing) McCown does not have the same arm that Blake possesses. He was only sacked twice, but Seattle hurried and chased him out of the pocket on several occasions. The 33 rushing yards should not indicate that McCown is fleet of foot. Seattle was dropping seven defenders in coverage and the four pass rushers showed no discipline in trying to contain the quarterback. They were garbage time freebie yards.

RB: Emmitt Smith (14-54 rushing, 0-0 receiving, 0 targets) Smith still has a strong hold on the starting job in Arizona. However, he didn't hit the holes quickly, even when they were gaping wide. Smith will continue to power through some tackles, but his long runs of the year will be between 15 and 20 yards. He seems to have completely lost the "homerun" gear.

Marcel Shipp (4-6 rushing, 0-0 receiving, 0 targets) Shipp was a non-factor in the game. He didn't get his first carry in the game until the second quarter when the game was seemingly out of reach.

WR: Anquan Boldin (8-62 receiving, 14 targets) Boldin was targeted early and often by Blake. Boldin was targeted on the first four third down plays of the game by Arizona. Arizona ran plays specifically for Boldin including a wide receiver screen. It appeared that Arizona wants to get him the ball on passes less than twenty yards down field hoping he can break free and take off. His strength and athleticism make him a tough man to bring down in the open field.

Bryant Johnson: (7-68 receiving, 12 targets) Johnson caught the first pass of the day from Blake, and then promptly fumbled it away leading to the first Seattle score. However, he kept his head in the game and was targeted deep on several plays.

Jason McAddley: (3-28 receiving, 9 targets) The targets don't really tell the story here. McAddley was an afterthought in the Arizona scheme behind Boldin and Johnson. He didn't see a pass come his way until the mid-second quarter when the game was getting out of hand.

Larry Foster & Brian Gilmore: Both sat out this week with injury.

TE: Freddie Jones (4-25 receiving, 5 targets) Jones was not targeted by Blake in the first quarter. He received all his targets from McCown. The incompletion thrown his way was deflected away and picked off.

K: Bill Gramatica (0-1 FG) Gramatica missed his only field goal attempt form 53 yards.

Pass Defense: Lions QB Joey Harrington put 4 touchdowns on these guys last week and it's not hard to see why. Darrell Jackson got behind the Arizona cornerbacks with ease. Compounding the problem, the pass rush didn't hurry Hasselbeck into making any mistakes.

Rush Defense: The long bright spot for the Cardinals was that they kept Shaun Alexander pinned down for the entire game. They closed gaps quickly and swarmed to the ball on run plays causing Alexander to try and bounce runs to the outside.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins will go as far as Ricky Williams will carry them. Last week, he was unable to really get into the flow of the game against Houston, and Miami could not establish the run. Today, Williams was fed early and often, resulting in 125 yards and a touchdown for Williams. And importantly to Dolphin fans, a win for Miami.

Jay Fiedler played a smart, efficient game. His numbers weren't overwhelming (14-19, 190 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) but he made all the plays he had to. He added 35 yards on the ground and a touchdown in which he took out Jets' CB Donnie Abraham.

The Dolphins defense bottled up Curtis Martin all day long. As of halftime, the Jets had just 9 rushing yards and finished the game with just 21.

New York Jets

The Jets running game was utterly anemic. In fact, after the game, Jets coach Herman Edwards said that he told offensive coordinator Paul Hackett to just stop calling run plays because they obviously wouldn't work. The numbers back him up, as Curtis Martin had just 10 carries for 32 yards and Santana Moss lost 11 yards on an end-around.

The blame for this loss at least cannot be placed on Vinny Testaverde. Despite throwing a late interception that pretty much sealed the deal for Miami, Testaverde showed excellent precision and good arm strength. Testaverde was 29-45 for 373 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He went over 40,000 yards for his career, only the 9th quarterback all time do accomplish this feat.

Santana Moss did a lot with a small number of touches. Though he caught only 5 balls, he finished with 142 yards and a TD, thanks mostly to a 61-yard reception in which he gained at least 45 yards after the catch. It appears that there is no clear number one in New York, as Wayne Chrebet, Curtis Conway, and Moss all received a fairly equal number of touches.

The Jets run defense is continuing the trend of starting off the season unable to contain the opponent's running game. Today it was Ricky Williams who carved them up, and along with Jay Fiedler and Travis Minor, the Dolphins gained 187 yards on 44 rushes.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Miami Dolphins

QB: Jay Fiedler managed the game well. He didn't try to do too much, but was able to take his shots downfield to Chris Chambers, especially after Jets' CB Donnie Abraham left the game due to injury. In fact, Fiedler was the one who put Abraham out of the game after a violent collision at the goal line on a play in which Fiedler scored. His favorite target was Chris Chambers, who he threw to 6 times, completing 4 passes for 91 yards.

RB: Ricky Williams made the Dolphins go today. He carried the load all day long in 94% humidity and wore down the Jets defense relentlessly. He carried 34 times for 125 yards and a TD and also caught 4 passes for an additional 37 yards. He did carelessly fumble once, but recovered the ball himself. He avoided serious injury on an awkward takedown on the sideline that was eerily reminiscent of Priest Holmes' injury late last season. However, Williams left the game for just two plays and soon returned to the game just in time to score a TD.

WR: Chris Chambers appears on his way toward fulfilling his potential. He caught 4 balls for 91 yards, including a very nice catch and run up the sideline in which he faked out the DB who had him dead in his tracks. One of his receptions came on a ball that was likely intended for Randy McMichael but sailed over his head and into the waiting arms of Chambers.

The announcers commented on how the Dolphins were going to make a better effort to get the ball into the hands of Derrius Thompson, who had no catches last week. Well, they did get it to him more this week-once. His only reception resulted in a nice 24-yard gain, but he was only targeted two other times, both of which were incomplete.

TE: Randy McMichael caught just two balls, but he made them count as one went for a TD. He is a favorite target of Fiedler in the red zone, and the play he scored on (from 8 yards out) was designed for him to be the primary option. McMichael later fumbled in the game, but luckily for him (and McMichael owners), it was incorrectly ruled an incomplete pass by the refs.

Pass Defense: This isn't the usual Dolphins pass defense we're used to seeing, as Vinny Testaverde threw for 373 yards. Then again, that isn't the usual Vinny Testaverde we're used to seeing, either. The Jets' pass yards were more a result of Testaverde's accuracy than any problems of Miami. One concern, however, was the play of Jason Taylor. One week after registering zero tackles, he only came up with half a sack today and no solo tackles. In fact, most of the tackles registered by Miami were from its DBs, which is partly a result of receivers getting open and partly a result of the Jets abandoning the run.

Run Defense: Did a fantastic job of containing the run, and never allowed Curtis Martin to establish himself. Adewale Ogunleye stuffed a run by Santana Moss almost single-handedly, making a great open field tackle on the shifty receiver. Other than that run by Moss, all of the carries for New York were by Curtis Martin. And for the second consecutive week, he had nothing. There weren't many holes there, and what few holes there were, Martin did nothing with.

New York Jets

QB: This loss, at least, can't be blamed on Vinny Testaverde. He came out slinging the ball all over the place, spreading it around, and getting the job done. It appeared that if he had any help from a running attack, he could have led the Jets to victory. He did a good job in not locking on to any one guy, spreading the ball evenly amongst Chrebet (9 targets), Conway (8 targets), and Moss (9 targets). Made some nice throws, especially a 3rd and 16 conversion to Santana Moss that helped set up a field goal. Two crucial mistakes, however, were overthrowing Anthony Becht on a 4th and 4 in the end zone and the interception he threw right into the hands of Patrick Surtain that all but sealed the deal.

RB: Herman Edwards commented after the game that he told offensive coordinator Paul Hackett to just stop calling running plays, because they obviously weren't going to work. That is how sorry the Jets rushing attack was in this game. Curtis Martin had a 9-yard run to close out the first half, and until that point, the Jets had accumulated a total of zero rushing yards. Martin finished with just 32 yards on 10 carries. Martin owners looking to gleam one positive aspect of this game was the fact that Martin did not come out when the Jets got inside the 10 yard line, and was in fact targeted for a pass near the goal line.

Lamont Jordan did not receive any carries in the game, but he did catch 5 passes for 61 yards. All of the receptions were short passes over the middle when the Dolphins were playing a deep zone, but still Jordan showed good moves and nice speed after the catch.

WR: The story of the game for the Jets wideouts was Santana Moss. He caught 5 passes for a game-high 142 yards, which included a sparkling touchdown grab where he fully extended and made a great catch. The previous play, he had dropped a sure first down so the TD reception gave him some redemption. Moss has such electric speed and incredible moves after the catch that it sometimes appears he is trying to make a move before he actually has possession, which could account for his several drops in the game. On his 61-yard reception, he turned a simple 15-yard hitch into a huge gain.

Wayne Chrebet appears to be Testaverde's go-to guy when he needs a big play. Quietly, Chrebet caught 7 passes for 69 yards. He didn't do anything spectacular, but consistently got open and found seams to work in.

Curtis Conway ended up with 5 receptions for 81 yards and like Chrebet, didn't do anything out of the ordinary but played a very solid game.

TE: Anthony Becht was targeted 5 times, coming down with 3 receptions for 12 yards. His day could have looked a lot better, but Vinny Testaverde overthrew him on a 4th and goal from the 4-yard line. Becht got open in the back of the end zone, but the pass sailed over his head incomplete.

Pass Defense: Didn't really have anyone to contain Chris Chambers once Donnie Abraham left with an injured shoulder, and Ray Mickens was immediately picked on upon entering the game. It seemed like the Dolphins could easily move the ball through the air against this unit, perhaps because the Jets were so preoccupied with stopping Ricky Williams.

Rush Defense: Had no answers for Williams and company. He consistently wore down the defense all day long, and the Dolphins accumulated 187 yards on the ground. This enabled Miami to run sustained drives and keep the ball out of the hands of New York. Each of the past two seasons, New York has started off very slowly in the early part of the season defending the run before improving over the season's second half. It appears that their early season woes are continuing in 2003, though there is no guarantee that they will turn it around.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Washington Redskins

On a day when three key Redskins recorded career highs (QB Patrick Ramsey with 356 passing yards, WR Laveranues Coles with 11 catches and 180 yards, and WR Rod Gardner with nine receptions), Washington overcame deficits of 17-0 and 24-14 to win a long and wild game.

Ramsey displayed extreme resiliency in overcoming six sacks, including five in the first half, and a pair of lost fumbles to record arguably his best game as professional (25-39-0-356, 2 TDs), at times throwing almost exclusively to Coles and Gardner, who accounted for 80 percent of Ramsey's completions, 84 percent of his yards and both touchdowns.

HC Steve Spurrier again utilized an RBBC approach with RBs Trung Canidate (15-89 and the day's most explosive performance), Ladell Betts (11-34 and one TD) and even the sweetly named Rock Cartwright (who rushed three times for one yard and a TD).

Washington out-gained Atlanta 146 yards to seven in a game-changing third quarter. For the game, the Redskins collected a Spurrier-like 435 yards of total offense, including 251 in the second half.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons started quickly with a 17-0 second-quarter lead thanks to two touchdowns on consecutive carries by RB T.J. Duckett (7-35) But ended miserably. The Falcons were outscored 33-7 following the aforementioned advantage, denying HC Dan Reeves his 200th career victory.

QB Doug Johnson (16-36-2-197, two touchdowns) looked rusty and out of sorts in his second relief appearance of the injured Michael Vick, completing just 44 percent of his passes on an afternoon when many of his attempts were off the mark.

RB Warrick Dunn (13-62) gained 37 of his yards on consecutive second-quarter carries that set up a 1-yard scoring reception by Alge Crumpler, Atlanta's brightest star against Washington.

In perhaps the most telling stretch of the game, Atlanta ran three plays or less on three of its first four second-half possessions, enabling Washington to turn a 24-17 deficit into a 33-24 lead.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Washington Redskins

QB: Despite a pressure-filled first half (five sacks, two fumbles) during which he completed just 12 of 24 passes for 170 yards, Patrick Ramsey responded with a simply magnificent second half, going 13-of-15 (87 percent) for 186 yards and two scores (a 21-yarder to WR Rod Gardner and a 19-yarder to WR Laveranues Coles), the latter coming on the series immediately following Armistead's safety.

Of his 13 second-half completions, 11 went to Gardner (6) and Coles (5) for 161 yards. On the day, Ramsey completed six passes covering 21 yards or more and three of 31 or more.

RB: Trung Canidate got the start and ran hard, covering 35 yards on five first-quarter carries. Inexplicably, he didn't carry the ball at all in the second quarter, but finished the game with 89 yards on 15 carries.

Surprisingly, neither Canidate nor RB Ladell Betts got the call on three straight shots from the 1-yard line following Ifeanyi Ohalete's 30-yard interception return to set up Washington's second touchdown. That responsibility fell to RB Rock Cartwright, who twice got stuffed for no gain before punching it in.

Aside from Betts' 13-yard TD run, a tough jaunt up the middle during which he broke two tackles, Washington's Week 1 rushing leader managed just 21 yards on his 10 other carries. Betts also caught two passes for 18 yards.

FB Bryan Johnson caught one pass for 12 yards and ran once for a yard.

Return specialist Chad Morton gained nothing on his lone carry.

WR: Career days from the Redskins' top two receivers meant that bulk of Ramsey's darts went to Coles (11-180-1) and Gardner (9-118-1). Coles, who twice left the game with neck and back spasms, caught passes of 31, 23, 33 and 19 yards, the last his touchdown that put Washington ahead, 33-24. Coles took his hardest hit out of the endzone when he slipped following his touchdown grab.

If not for one drop and a pair of Ramsey misses, Gardner's day would have been even bigger. Nonetheless, his 35-yard reception in the second quarter paved the way for Betts' TD run and his 21-yard TD grab came despite pass interference by Falcons CB Ray Buchanan.

Darnerien McCants finished with one third-quarter reception for 21 yards.

TE: Robert Royal's lone reception - a once-tipped seven-yard grab on third-and-6 - could've been big, had Ramsey not fumbled one play later.

Zeron Flemister was inactive.

K: Although John Hall badly missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt on Washington's second possession, he drilled a crucial 54-yarder just before halftime to bring the Redskins to within a touchdown, 24-17. He made all four of his extra-point attempts.

Pass Defense: The Redskins' pass defense played extremely well all afternoon long, picking off two Doug Johnson passes (Ifeanyi Ohalete returned his 30 yards to the Falcons' 1-yard line, while Matt Bowen's stopped a fourth-quarter drive at Washington's 6-yard line), recording three sacks (including two by Jessie Armstead) and scoring a game-turning safety.

Rush Defense: The Redskins surrendered TD runs on back-to-back carries in the first half and yielded 99 yards rushing on 22 carries (an average of 4.5 YPC); but keep in mind that 50 of those yards came on three carries.

Atlanta Falcons

QB: Doug Johnson started the game hot, going 5-of-8 passing for 93 yards (including 19- and 28-yard momentum-building strikes to TE Alge Crumpler) as Atlanta crafted a 17-0 lead. During the rest of the first half he completed just one pass (a 1-yard scoring toss to Crumpler) in seven attempts and suffered an interception that was returned to Atlanta's 1-yard line.

Although Johnson did hit WR Jimmy Ferris in stride for a 42-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, he threw an interception one series earlier deep in Washington territory that likely cost the Falcons any chance of a comeback win.

The Falcons placed third quarterback and Week 1 addition Woody Dantzler under center on first-and-goal from the Washington 2-yard line in the second quarter, but a defensive encroachment penalty killed the play. On the next play, Johnson hit Crumpler for the 1-yard score.

RB: Warrick Dunn was targeted on six of Atlanta's first 11 plays, rushing five times for 15 yards and catching one pass for four yards. On the day, Dunn paced Atlanta with 86 total yards (including 5-24 receiving) on 18 touches.

Duckett looked his best on the consecutive TD runs in the first half, and his presence in the backfield on Johnson's play-action fake drew enough attention from Washington that Crumpler was left wide open. Duckett's two scores - the first a 13-yarder around left end and the second a one-yard job following a Ramsey fumble - came during a one-minute, three-second span.

Seldom-used FB Justin Griffith caught two passes for 25 yards, including a 24-yarder on Atlanta's first scoring drive, and also took one carry for three yards.

WR: Much hyped off-season acquisition Peerless Price has yet to get untracked in Atlanta and caught just two passes for 28 yards, with a long of 19. Johnson was off-target on a handful throws to Price.

Unheralded Jimmy Ferris caught a Johnson pass in stride for a 42-yard score late in the game, and he finished with a team-leading 58 yards on two catches.

Starter Brian Finneran missed the game with a broken hand.

Quentin McCord, expected to see increased playing time in Finneran's absence, was an absolute non-factor.

TE: Alge Crumpler (4-54-1) was a first-half superstar for the Falcons, hauling in three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. He was called for holding on Jay Feely's first field-goal attempt.

Brian Kozlowski finished with one catch for eight yards.

K: Jay Feely's 28-yard first-quarter field goal was called back due to a holding penalty and he calmly booted it through again, this time from 37 yards. And despite making all four of his PATs, his miss from 45 yards kept Atlanta from going up, 20-0.

Pass Defense: In a word: So-so. In a tale of two halves that bore dramatically different results, the Falcons kept consistent pressure on Patrick Ramsey for two quarters, sacking him five times and forcing two fumbles. Still, the Falcons recorded no interceptions despite 39 passes, and rarely got to the quarterback in the second half.

Rush Defense: Atlanta allowed 13- and 1-yard TD runs in the first half and yielded 125 yards on 31 carries (an average of 4 YPC).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tennessee Titans

This outing was a disaster for the Titans on the injury front. QB Steve McNair dislocated the ring finger on his throwing hand, but returned to the game until the win was unattainable. Defensive end Albert Haynesworth sprained his left elbow early, and starting guard Benji Olson sprained his right knee in the second quarter. Neither returned. There was also a scare with DE Javon Kearse as he left the game briefly walking gingerly on his right leg. The announcers for the game pointed out that the Colt's home field is the last stadium in the league with the old style Artificial Turf.

Eddie George had a long day at the RCA dome, Finding no room to run as the Colts shut him down.

Derrick Mason's numbers are artificially inflated this week due to a pass happy attack late in the game, but he is most certainly the number one option in the air, if not overall for the Titans.

Indianapolis Colts

After last week's air attack, the Colts won this game with Defense and Ball Control, proving they could win with power football. RB Edgerrin James carried the ball 30 times for 120 yards, and lost another 19 yards due to holding penalties. There were no flashy runs, he was just even and steady throughout the game. Like years past, James ran with power, and was able to push and move the pile. Definitely different from last season when he was still recovering from his returning from a torn anterior crucial ligament.

Rookie TE Dallas Clark looked like Marcus Pollard circa 2001. Clark had 6 targets, catching 4 passes for 63 yards. Could have had another catch and 11 yards on a pass interference call against CB Samari Rolle. This game leads you to believe that the changing of the guard is underway.

Statistically, Manning had an off day. It was entirely due to the Colt's Power Running game plan. Manning looked crisp and sharp.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Tennessee Titans

QB: Steve McNair (5 of 24 for 138 yards with a TD) He was pressured all day when in the game, and couldn't get the offense in a rhythm. Went down in the 3rd quarter as DE Chad Bratzke came through the line and dislocated McNair's right (throwing) ring finger. The TV camera was able to get a close-up while McNair sat on the field, and his finger was severely bent over to the right. McNair did return in the game, but later left as the game was all but over.

Billy Volek (6 of 9 for 61 yards and an INT) Came in after McNair dislocated his finger. Pressured, and hurried, he had no chance to get the offense going. Sacked by Rookie Robert Mathis. Intercepted by Nate Harper for a 75 yard TD return. Came back into the game for McNair when the game was out of contention. He wasn't terrible, but it seemed pretty clear that the Titans will be in serious trouble if McNair was to miss any significant time.

RB: Eddie George (Targets: McNair 1) 15 carries for 46 yards. Stopped at the one yard line on back to back carries. George was all but shut down by a strong Colt's Defense.

Robert Holcombe (Targets: McNair 3) 3 carries for 8 yards. 2 Receptions for 22 yards. Holcombe was unable to fare any better than George with his carries against a tough Colt's Defense.

WR: Derrick Mason (Targets: McNair 11 / Volek 3) 10 Receptions for 96 yards. With the Titans needing to move the ball late, Mason was the intended target for 8 of the last 12 passes of the game. He had a big 3rd down reception to get the Titans into the Red Zone. Lost out on a possible TD because Nate Harper was charged with Pass Interference against Mason in the End Zone. Of those 14 Targets, 8 came in garbage time when Tennessee was throwing the ball on every down. It's nice to see that Mason is definitely the goto receiver in crunch time, but understand that his catches and yards are unnaturally augmented this week.

Drew Bennett (Targets: McNair 1 / Volek 1) Clearly wasn't a factor.

Justin McCareins 2 Receptions for 19 yards. (Targets: McNair 2 / Volek 2) saw a couple of balls thrown his way from both QBs but did not contribute much.

Tyrone Calico (Targets: McNair 3 / Volek 0) All he does is catch Touch Downs. 1 Reception for 7 yards and a TD. A "Home Run" pass attempt to Calico was broken up.

TE: Frank Wycheck Did not play due to injury.

Erron Kinney (Targets: McNair 3 / Volek 1) 4 Receptions for 24 yards. McNair's main safety valve while under constant pressure from the Colts. He's got pretty good hands for a guy this big and the Titans would like for him to fill the void left by Wycheck.

Shad Meier (Targets: McNair 2 / Volek 0) 2 Receptions for 29 yards. Used as a out receiver, finding the crease in the coverage. Not the short dump passes that Kinney received.

K: Gary Anderson 1 of 1 XP.

Pass Defense: DE Kevin Carter sacked Manning. No pressure on Manning as the Colt's crammed the ball with James all day.

Rush Defense: LB Keith Bullock led the Unit with 9 Tackles and 2 assists. Not a standout performance as James ran over them.

Special Teams: SS Scott McGarrahan recorded the Titans only First down in the 1st quarter. It was a Reception for 10 yards on a Fake Punt.

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning (14 for 24 for 173 yards, and a TD) With the Colts operating with a power running attack, Manning didn't have to be overly productive, but he was efficient. Fumbled once due to contact with James, but made up for it by recovering both that fumble, and another credited to C Jeff Saturday who thought Manning was under Center but was back in shotgun.

RB: Edgerrin James (3 Targets) 30 carries for 120 yards, and a TD. 2 receptions for 9 yards. Runs of 19 and 8 yards called back for holding. James set the tone for the game carrying the ball 8 times on the Colts' first possession. Unlike last season, the most noticeable change in James is his regained ability to push the pile for extra yardage after contact. Came out of the game with equipment problems for 2 carries down at the 2 yard line.

Ricky Williams 2 carries for 7 yards. Williams' two carries were in the Red Zone. After getting the ball to the 2 yard line, James had problems with his helmet, and had to come out of the game for the two carries to get it corrected.

WR: Marvin Harrison (7 Targets) 3 receptions for 59 yards, and a TD. 9 yard pass interference called on CB Samari Rolle while defending Harrison. Harrison was targeted in the back of the End Zone, but Manning over threw the ball. The TD was a typical Harrison great catch in the endzone.

Reggie Wayne (5 Targets) 2 receptions for 22 yards. Picked up 10 yards on a WR screen to get the Colts into the Red Zone on the Titan's 8. Worked over the middle of the field for half his passes.

Troy Walters (1 Target) 1 reception for 7 yards.

TE: Marcus Pollard (2 Targets) 2 Receptions for 12 yards. Might have lost his luster as Manning went to Clark early and often.

Dallas Clark (6 Targets) 4 receptions for 63 yards. 11 yard Pass Interference called on CB Samari Rolle while defending Clark. Manning was zoned in on Clark throughout the game. Watching the game, you were certainly led to believe that Pollard's numbers will be entirely eaten up by Clark this year.

K: Mike Vanderjagt 4 FG (29, 41, 23, 48) and 3 of 3 XPs.

Pass Defense: The Colts kept constant pressure on McNair, and later Volek throughout the game, recording 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Backup DE Robert Mathis led the way with 2 sacks and a Forced Fumble. DE Chad Bratzke had a sack and a forced fumble. DE Dwight Freeney and Backup DE Raheem Brock each recorded sacks. Following up his huge game last week, Nate Harper recorded another INT this week, taking it back 75 yards for a TD.

Rush Defense: LB David Thornton lead the Colts with 10 Tackles and 3 assists. Shut down Eddie George with strong play all day.

Special Teams: KR/PR Brad Pyatt shows no fear when back to return. On half of his opportunities, he took off running in traffic after the catch when he should have caught the ball. It's exciting, but could easily lead to Special Team Errors, leaving the Colts in poor field position, or worse.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Houston Texans

The Houston defense kept them in the game for the first half against the Saints but unrelenting pressure by the Saints' defense proved too much for the Texans to handle. The Texans managed just 10 points in the first half and none in the second.

Unlike last week, QB David Carr spent most of the game running for his life as he was sacked five times and hurried almost every time he dropped back to pass. He completed less than 50% of his pass attempts and his one highlight was a great run for the Texan's only touchdown from 2 yards out, which left safety Jay Bellamy stuck in the turf as he made a nice fake and then stretched out for the goal line.

The Houston running game never got going as the Saint defenders met Stacey Mack in the backfield early and often. Mack's first 5 carries gained 1 yard and his longest run of the day was 10 yards. Even those runs that ended with positive yardage often started with Mack avoiding defenders behind the line of scrimmage. Houston replaced Mack with Domanick Davis on 3rd downs.

Rookie WR Andre Johnson and WR Jabar Gaffney each caught 5 balls but Johnson also had a big drop on a third down play that would have kept a drive going.

New Orleans Saints

The Saint's defense set the tone for the day as they provided constant pressure against both the Houston running game and passing game. They disrupted RB Stacey Mack in the backfield all day and sacked QB David Carr 5 times. They held Houston to 10 first half points and allowed the New Orleans offense time to get on track. They returned one of their two interceptions for a touchdown and held the Texans scoreless in the second half.

QB Aaron Brooks played pitch and catch with Joe Horn all game, seldom looking at any other targets until he hooked up with WR Donte Stallworth on a perfect pump and go down the left sideline for a 35-yard touchdown reception. Horn, who was playing with a knee contusion, finished with 10 catches for 111 yards.

RB Deuce McAllister played almost every down on offense until he was relieved by backup RB James Fenderson on the last series of the game. McAllister finished with 112 total yards and a touchdown run, touching the ball 24 times in the game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Houston Texans

QB: David Carr (17-36-213, 0 TD, 2 INT, 4-14 rushing, 1 TD) must have felt like it was 2002 all over again as the Saints continually pressured him on pass plays. He was sacked 5 times and he was hurried on more than 18 of his attempts. He was knocked down at least 10 times as well. Carr didn't get a lot of support from his receivers as there were several dropped passes, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown that bounced off of TE Billy Miller. He seldom looked deep, in part because he didn't have much time to set up for longer pass plays.

RB: Stacey Mack (13-31 rushing, 1-0 receiving, 2 targets) wasn't able to find any room to run. He was stuffed, usually having to avoid defenders behind the line of scrimmage as New Orleans put eight men up front. Domanick Davis replaced him on third downs.

Domanick Davis (6-23 rushing, 2-26 receiving, 4 targets) came in on third downs and played the last few series of the game when Houston was playing catch up. His rushing attempts usually came out of the shotgun formation on passing downs.

WR: Andre Johnson (5-71 receiving, 10 targets) started and was one of Carr's favorite targets. He started the game with an 18-yard reception on a slant. He did have a costly drop on 3rd and 13 that would have given the Texans a first down.

Jabar Gaffney (5-61 receiving, 10 targets) started opposite Johnson and also received attention from Carr. He had one reception that he took down to the New Orleans 2-yard line that saw him step out of bounds just before he could stretch into the end zone.

Corey Bradford (2-34 receiving, 4 targets) was the deep threat for Houston. His 31-yard catch near the end of the half led to a field goal that gave Houston the lead going into the locker room.

TE: Billy Miller (2-12 receiving, 5 targets) had one of Carr's passes bounce off of him and was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

K: Kris Brown was successful on his lone field goal and extra point attempt.

Pass Defense: While the Houston defense held Aaron Brooks to 189 yards passing they did not intercept him. They did sack Brooks twice but they did not put consistent pressure on him. The defensive backs had a hard time keeping up with WR Joe Horn.

Rush Defense: The first half saw Houston bottle up the Saint's running game except for one play, a 24 yard touchdown run for McAllister. They gave up 110 yards for the game on 27 carries. They held the Saints to 4 first downs rushing.

New Orleans Saints

QB: Aaron Brooks (18-27-189 2 TD, 3-4 rushing) was efficient, looking to Joe Horn almost exclusively for most of the game. Perhaps with all the dropped passes last week he only trusted Horn. Of his first 9 attempts 8 went to Horn with one to TE Ernie Conwell, which he dropped. He was not intercepted and used a perfect pump fake to allow WR Donte Stallworth to get open down the left sideline for a 35-yard score. Most of his passes were short throws, many on crossing patterns. He moved around just enough to avoid pressure and buy some extra time, getting sacked twice. Both of his touchdown passes came in the second half.

RB: Deuce McAllister (20-96 1 TD rushing, 4-16 receiving, 6 targets) ended up with nice numbers but it was due to two plays. He had a 24-yard touchdown run to the right side and a 31-yard run off left guard while his other 18 carries totaled 41 yards. He was virtually untouched on the touchdown run and he ran through several defenders, carrying some with him, on the 31-yard run. He played all but a couple of downs during the game, finally coming out for the last series as the clock was being run out.

James Fenderson (3-8 rushing, 0 targets) relieved McAllister briefly in the third quarter, getting 1 carry and taking over for good on the final series to run out the clock.

WR: Joe Horn (10-111 receiving, 1-2 rushing, 14 targets) had come into the game with a sore knee, hurt in last week's game at Seattle. It didn't seem to affect him as Brooks threw to him on 8 of the first 9 pass attempts. Most of the passes were short crossing patterns, one of which Horn took for 38 yards, 27 of the yards after the catch. It was his longest reception of the day.

Donte' Stallworth (2-46 1 TD receiving, 2 targets) was only targeted twice this week, but one went for a touchdown of 35 yards. He had no drops this week, and wasn't involved in the passing game at all until the third quarter. He took advantage of a nice pump fake by Brooks to run past the defender and take a perfect throw into the end zone.

Jerome Pathon (1-14 receiving, 2 targets) Although Pathon started he had a quiet day. He caught one pass and had only one other thrown his way.

TE: Ernie Conwell (1-2 1 TD receiving, 5 targets) had the other touchdown pass, the second attempt to him in the red zone on the drive. He also had a drop of the only pass that did not go to Joe Horn in the first 9 attempts. The passes to Conwell were all short attempts.

K: John Carney was perfect on his field goal attempt from 39 yards away and all four of his extra points.

Pass Defense: The pass defense was very effective. Constant pressure was applied to David Carr as he was knocked down and hurried all afternoon. As the game wore on they put more pressure on the QB, resulting in 5 sacks and 2 interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. They held Carr to under a 50% completion percentage.

Rush Defense: The job done against the Texan's ground game set the tone for the game. They filled the running lanes from the very first play, stacking up Stacey Mack in the backfield continuously. They never allowed the running game to become a factor. The Texans averaged 3.1 yards per attempt. They did allow Carr to score on a scramble but that was the only blemish on the day.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

Both QB Jake Plummer (three TD passes) and tailback Clinton Portis (126 rushing yards) made an impression in the first half before leaving with injuries in the second half. Plummer was sidelined with what was originally called a concussion but is now believed to be a shoulder injury. Portis left after receiving a blow to the chest. Denver's running attack continued to dominate in the second half, as Mike Anderson contributed 65 yards and a TD, while backup QB Steve Beuerlein was efficient, even though he didn't find the end zone.

No Denver receiver had a major offensive impact, however wide receivers Ashley Lelie and Rod Smith and tight end Shannon Sharpe made several key receptions to keep drives alive.

With Beuerlein in the game, he appeared to look to TE Shannon Sharpe more often than Plummer did. File that away if Plummer misses significant time.

The Broncos' run defense allowed some big chunks of yardage in the first half but got stingier as the day went on, giving the Chargers little running room after halftime. The pass defense couldn't get much of a rush on the quarterback and only had one interception on a brilliant individual effort by a Broncos linebacker.

San Diego Chargers

QB Drew Brees had time to throw all day, but overthrows and penalties were the order of the day for the Chargers' QB. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes (20 of 41) That inaccuracy cost San Diego a couple of sure touchdowns. Brees did manage to throw one strike, a beautiful corner route, for the team's lone TD.

LaDainian Tomlinson showed his owners that he's fine after last week's poor showing. He broke off several big runs and got the majority of his 93 yards rushing in the first half, but a couple of penalties kept him from getting some goal line carries within the 5. The Chargers lost the time of possession battle in the second half, thus limiting his usage.

Wide receiver Eric Parker didn't have eye-popping numbers (five catches, 59 yards), but he appeared to emerge as a reliable target for Brees with some tough catches, including a clutch TD reception in the corner of the end zone.

The Chargers' run defense allowed nearly 200 yards on the ground, with big runs setting up short TD passes in the first half.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

QB: Denver's success on the ground really set up the roll out for QB Jake Plummer on two of his three TD passes. He passed for just 94 yards in the first half before leaving with a concussion suffered on a fourth-and-1 play where Plummer scrambled and dove for the first down near the right sideline. That play led to his final TD pass.

Steve Beuerlein was quite effective filling in, although he threw for just 98 yards. He could've had a TD pass were it not for a Rod Smith drop at the Chargers' 1 in the fourth quarter. Beuerlein made a more concerted effort than Plummer to get the ball to tight end Shannon Sharpe.

RB: Clinton Portis gained 100 yards rushing in the first quarter alone, and set up the Broncos for short TD passes on all three first-half scores. On Denver's second drive, he took the team down to the Chargers' 1 before Plummer found Sharpe in the end zone on third down. Portis had 129 yards overall on just 12 carries, including a 58-yard burst early in the first quarter. He left the game in the first half after suffering a blow to the chest.

Mike Anderson was solid in the second half and found the end zone on the third try at the goal line. He ended up with 65 yards, including a key 20-yard run following a sack that led to a Jason Elam field goal.

Reuben Droughns had no carries and just one catch, but it was good for a 12-yard TD.

WR: Rod Smith (five catches, 71 yards) made some key sideline receptions but also dropped a potential first-down pass and a catch that would have put the Broncos at the Chargers' 1, if not in for a TD. Beuerlein also threw a pass behind Smith on Denver's final drive that was a sure touchdown.

Ashley Lelie made a nice sideline catch to keep the drive alive on Denver's fifth drive, although it didn't lead to a score. Overall, he didn't make much of an impact, catching just two balls for 47 yards.

Ed McCaffrey made his first, and only catch on the Broncos' seventh possession.

TE: Although Shannon Sharpe caught a TD pass from Plummer, Sharpe got more involved in the offense with Beuerlein at quarterback. Sharpe helped out the QB on a spectacular catch that set up Denver at the Chargers' 2 before Anderson's TD run.

K: As usual, Jason Elam was money all afternoon, nailing all three field goals, including his longest of 45 yards.

Pass Defense: Denver didn't put much pressure on Brees; his inaccuracy accounted more for the limited passing yards than the Broncos' pressure. The team's lone interception was a spectacular defensive effort on a tipped ball by the linebackers.

Rush Defense: Tomlinson gained nearly 100 yards on the ground but was much more effective in the first half. Denver basically nullified big running plays in the second half.

San Diego Chargers

QB: Brees was just 20 of 41 for 182 yards with one TD but had several opportunities for big plays. He had time to throw all afternoon and still managed to overthrow several balls for would-be touchdowns. In fairness to Brees, though, he was also hurt by a drop in the end zone in the third quarter. Brees then proceeded to miss an open receiver for a score later in the same drive. His one TD pass was a perfect strike in the corner of the end zone where only his receiver could make the catch.

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (93 rushing yards) moved the chains on the first few Chargers possessions. He lost an opportunity to score within the Broncos' 5 after a holding penalty on the opening drive. Another penalty nullified a big run on the team's fourth drive that would have put him over 100 yards on the day. He got San Diego down to the Broncos' 16 on the first possession after the half, but the Chargers decided to try and score through the air, falling short on 3rd and goal. Tomlinson's effectiveness was limited in the second half as the Chargers went primarily through the air, trying to recover from a large deficit.

WR: With David Boston out, Eric Parker (five catches, 59 yards) may have emerged as Brees' go-to guy after making several pivotal receptions, including a picture-perfect TD catch in the corner of the end zone. Brees also overthrew an open Parker in the end zone on a 3rd and goal play on San Diego's first drive after halftime.

Tim Dwight (two catches, 19 yards) missed out on two possible TDs. One was his fault, as he dropped a sure score; the second was an under thrown pass by Brees. Dwight also ran two nice reverses for 28 yards.

TE: Justin Peelle (three catches, 26 yards) made two nice first-down catches but was relatively quiet.

K: Steve Christie nailed both of his chip-shot field goals.

Pass Defense: The Chargers didn't allow any big passing plays, forcing Denver to keep the ball short in the middle of the field. Unfortunately, the defense also didn't generate much pressure on either Broncos QB and managed just one sack.

Rush Defense: The Broncos ran wild in the first half, using gaping holes to gain huge chunks of yards at a time. Portis and Anderson averaged nearly seven yards per carry.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Chicago Bears

QB Kordell Stewart tried to keep his new team in this game, going 13 for 21 for 137 yards and a touchdown to WR David Terrell. Stewart left late in the game due to injury (apparent strained neck - unknown status at this time).

The Chicago running game showed signs of improvement over Week 1, calling run plays early in the game to try and establish control. RB Anthony Thomas broke a 34-yard run on his second carry, but was held in check for the remainder of the game (10 carries, 53 total rushing yards). Stewart also carried the ball five times (and a kneel down) in the first half, gaining 25 yards. RB Rabih Abdullah had the only other RB carry of the game - rookie RB Adrian Peterson never touched the ball.

The run game could not control the clock or the game effectively, and was abandoned for most of the second half as Chicago tried to catch back up on the scoreboard through the air. Despite Stewart's over 60% completions, the passing game also struggled. WR Dez White (3 catches, 67 yards) and TE Desmond Clark (4-33) made nice catches and helped to move the chains. WR David Terrell was targeted four times, but only caught the ball once (the lone Chicago TD).

The inability of the Chicago defense to force Minnesota off the field and the lack of a run attack kept the Bears one-dimensional for much of the game. Chicago held the ball for only 21:18 of the game, and the Vikings pulled away in the end.

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota came out attacking on the very first drive of the game. The first play was a pump-fake to Randy Moss, then a deep completion to WR Kelly Campbell for 51 yards. This set up RB Moe Williams" TD plunge from the one two plays later.

RB Onterrio Smith made his debut, splitting time in the backfield with starter Moe Williams. The Vikings were able to get Smith's feet wet in the NFL, giving him 9 carries (47 yards) and 2 pass targets (1 catch - 9 yards). However, Smith was not part of the goal-line package - that is still Moe Williams' job. Moe Williams got the bulk of the work, gaining over 100 yards rushing and 50 more receiving, helping Minnesota control the clock.

The Viking rushing attack had 39 total carries, and assisted greatly in controlling the game for Minnesota. Two long drives of 7:12 and 9:42 helped the Vikings to hold the ball for nearly 39 minutes of the game.

WR Randy Moss was targeted often in the red zone by QB Daunte Culpepper, almost to a fault. Culpepper stared Moss down four times in the red zone, three times inside the Chicago 10. This led to a sack and fumble by Culpepper, who put the ball on the carpet twice (one lost fumble). Moss was limited to catching four balls for 27 yards and carrying once for 11 more. The passing game to the WRs was quiet for much of the night after the long Campbell pass. Minnesota wide receivers had only 6 catches for 53 yards after that completion. The remainder of the completions went to the tight ends and running backs in an effort to have both balance and ball control.

TE Jim Kleinsasser had a career night, catching two touchdowns from Culpepper. He ended with four catches (five targets) for 29 yards.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Chicago Bears

QB: Kordell Stewart (13-21-137 1TD, 0 INT, 6-25 rushing, 1 fumble - own recovery) threw a perfect deep ball to Dez White in the third quarter and was rather accurate for the night, going 13 for 21 for 137 yards and a TD and no INTs. The Chicago game plan also called for Stewart to run as well, as he called his own number 5 times in the first half, gaining 25 yards. Stewart left the game late with what has been cited as a neck injury, but no more news was made available just after game time.

Chris Chandler (1-2-8, 1 INT) replaced the injured Stewart and threw one pass complete to TE Desmond Clark. His next pass, intended for WR Marty Booker, was intercepted.

RB: Anthony Thomas (10-53 rushing, 0-0 receiving) was the featured back of the night, carrying 10 times for 53 yards.

Rahib Abdullah (1-2 rushing, 2-10 receiving) carried just one time and was also 100% for receiving, both catches adding up to 10 yards.

Stanley Pritchett (0-0 rushing, 2-11 receiving) was targeted twice, catching both for 11 yards.

Rookie RB Adrian Peterson (0-0, 0-0) never touched the ball.

WR: Dez White (3-67 receiving, 4 targets) had a very good game, catching 3 of four possible balls for 67 yards. He made a very nice catch for 49 yards in the third quarter, when the game was still in doubt (17-10 Minnesota at the time).

Marty Booker (2-10 receiving, 4 targets) never was a factor in the offense this game.

David Terrell (1-14, TD, 4 targets) should have had a better evening, but dropped a nice pass from Stewart.

TE: Desmond Clark (4-33 receiving, 6 targets) had a good night, catching 4 of 6 tosses that came his way. Stewart seemed to be looking to him often, and his stats reflect that - he had the most catches and targets of any Bear.

K: Paul Edinger did his part, making all his kicks. He finished with 2 FGs of 42 and 43 yards, and an extra point.

Pass Defense: The Bears were beaten on the first play of the game deep by the speedster WR Kelly Campbell, but they were also able to shut down Randy Moss. This forced Culpepper to look elsewhere, and he did - finding Kleinsasser twice open in the end zone. The pass rush did put pressure on Culpepper, recording 3 sacks and causing him to fumble three times. The passing statistics were held down more by the Minnesota emphasis on running the ball and balance rather than the Chicago defensive effort.

Rush Defense: The Bears gave up 202 yards on the ground on 39 time-consuming carries. Whether it was Williams or Smith, there were large holes in the defense for them to run through. They simply could not get off the field all game, and were at the mercy of the Minnesota offense.

Minnesota Vikings

QB: Daunte Culpepper (20-26-214, 2TD, 0 INTs, 7-17 rushing, 3 fumbles, 1 lost) had an efficient night, completing over 75% of his passes. He hit TE Kleinsasser for two scores, but he did make his share of mistakes. First, he fumbled the ball three times - and the one he lost was at the Chicago 7 yard line. This leads to his other big mistake of the evening, which was focusing too hard on getting the ball WR Randy Moss. Aside from holding the ball a bit loose and trying to force it to Moss, Culpepper played well and did make good decisions in managing the victory.

RB: Moe Williams (21-108 rushing, 1 TD, 4-50 receiving, 6 targets) was the featured back for Minnesota. Williams established himself early, scoring from 1 yard out on his second carry. He had over 100 all-purpose yards by halftime, and was also the leading receiver and most targeted receiver on the night.

Rookie Onterrio Smith (9-47 rushing, 1-9 receiving, 2 targets) saw his first NFL action, working into the game early. He was the lone set back on the second drive, and had about a third of the carries throughout the game. However, he was not used in the goal-line package.

WR: Randy Moss (1-11 rushing, 4-27 receiving, 6 targets) was not as involved in the Minnesota offense as he normally is, but he was often targeted in the red zone by Culpepper. Moss was clearly the primary target on three separate occasions in the red zone, but could not get open. Additionally, Moss got a carry at the Chicago 18, gaining 11 on an end-around. He was also the critical decoy on a pump-fake on the first pass to Campbell, drawing double coverage and the safety away from Campbell's deep route.

Kelly Campbell (1-19 rushing, 2-53 receiving, 2 targets - also partially blocked a punt) contributed early, collecting 51-yards on a bomb from Culpepper on the opening play. Campbell outran coverage and was well behind everyone, yet still made a remarkable catch as he had to make an effort to keep both feet in as he cradled in the catch.

Campbell also showed his speed in two other ways, first on a partially blocked punt on special teams, then on a 19-yard reverse.

D'Wayne Bates (2-18 receiving, 2 targets) caught two short passes.

Nate Burleson (1-6 receiving, 1 target) started, but caught only one pass for 6 yards.

TE: Jim Kleinsasser (4-29 receiving, 2 TDs, 5 targets) had a career-high two touchdowns. He was involved in the offense all night, including blocking as a lead blocker in the goal-line situation (leading for Moe Williams).

TE Hunter Goodwin (1-9 receiving) caught one lone pass.

K: Aaron Elling was 50% on field goals, making from short range (23 yards) and just missing a long kick (53) at the end of the first half. The 53-yard attempt was long enough, but just left. Elling added three extra points.

Pass Defense: The Vikings kept Stewart from making too many big plays. They did yield one long pass to Dez White, a 49 yard gainer that put the Bears in the red zone. But they were able to hold Chicago to a FG due to consecutive sacks on the next two pass attempts.

The Bears had an efficient passing attack and scored the only TD for Chicago, but they could not convert on many third downs at all. Minnesota kept the Bear receivers in front, stopping them short of first-down yardage all night.

Safety Brian Russell intercepted the last Chicago pass of the game from Chandler.

Rush Defense: Minnesota kept Chicago from establishing the run, only giving up two plays for more than 7 yards. The two long runs (Thomas 34 yards, Stewart 25) were the only rushing first downs the Bears managed all night. A key contribution to this was that Chicago was behind on the scoreboard all night.

The Bears were limited to 80 net yards rushing.