The Jets defense did what it had to do to win a 10-7 game against Cleveland. DE John Abraham was held without a sack for only the third time this year, and the Jets were only able to muster one sack the entire game. But they knocked around QB Jeff Garcia on almost every play until Shaun Ellis knocked him out with an injured shoulder. Garcia did not play in the second half…

Second year Browns LB Chaun Thompson had somewhat of a breakout game with 2-3 tackles and two sacks. He also broke up an important pass in the third quarter. Thompson, though, put it into perspective. "I could have had a million sacks and a million tackles, but if we don't win that game, it don't mean nothing."…

The Cincinnati Bengals seemed to have plenty of momentum with a 7-3 lead and the ball in the second quarter. Steeler LB James Farrior, who is having an All-Pro season, halted that with an interception and a 14-yard return for a touchdown…

The Steeler defense was outscored by their offense by only one point in the win. DE Aaron Smith continues to have an excellent season, as he registered another sack. Smith has had a sack in seven of the team's 10 games…

Steeler LB Kendrell Bell seems to be on the injured list more often than not. His brief return this season was followed Sunday by another groin injury. It's likely he misses a few weeks…

The Bengal defense did a fine job against Pittsburgh. They held them to about 240 yards of offense and only 10 points. They sacked QB Ben Roethlisberger a half-dozen times, many of them at key moments. DE Duane Clemons led the way with two sacks and LB Landon Johnson had 7-6 tackles and a sack…

It seems as though rookie DE Robert Mathis is playing a large role in their defense and ability to produce big plays. Even though he's only 235 pounds and tends to be more a situational pass rusher, Mathis is having a big impact. On Sunday in the Colts 41-10 win over the Bears, Mathis had the big play with a third quarter sack on fourth down that caused a fumble. Mathis recovered the fumble. He now has nine sacks on the season…

It doesn't hurt Mathis that he has Dwight Freeney on the other side. Opposing RBs have a tough call on which way to go to block. And neither Freeney or Mathis are hurt by the fact that with Indy's offense scoring seemingly at will, opposing teams are constantly playing from behind. The end result is constant mandatory pass plays with both ends freed up from worrying about the run…

The Carolina Panthers have had an abysmal season. It's been pointed out in this column that their defense is just not the same and have not, as a unit, been making big plays like they did last year in their Super Bowl run. But it's tough to put too much blame on DE Julius Peppers. In Carolina's 35-10 win over Arizona, the heralded DE had two sacks. That is the fourth time this season Peppers has had a multiple sack game…

Peppers is also on schedule to beat personal season tackle highs this week, after only 11 games…

Buffalo Bills safety Lawyer Milloy has never had more than three sacks in any season. One week after his fifteen-tackle performance against New England, Milloy had an equally impressive game in the Bills 37-17 win over the Rams. Milloy had 6-0 tackles and a career best three sacks. Milloy is clearly putting up some great IDP numbers since his return and should be picked up if available in your league for the remainder of the season…

In five of the Baltimore Ravens seven wins this season they have scored a defensive touchdown. In Sunday's 30-10 win over the Cowboys, it was DB Chad Williams' turn, with a fourth quarter interception and 44-yard return for a score…

Raven's safety Ed Reed had an interception for the third straight game…

Cowboys safety Lynn Scott started Sunday in place of Tony Dixon. With Darren Woodson injured to start the season, Dixon had hoped to be the permanent replacement. But Dixon has been plagued by missed tackles and overall disappointing performance. I don't think Scott is the long-term answer there for the Cowboys, but it also appears Dixon is not either and is unlikely to return next year…

49er safety Tony Parrish got his first interception of the season Sunday in a 35-3 drubbing at the hands of Tampa Bay Sunday. He also got his second. Parrish, who led the team with nine interceptions last year, has struggled more this year in getting the ball. His tackle numbers, however, are as good as ever…

Clinton who? The much-ballyhooed trade with the Redskins that sent star RB Clinton Portis to the Redskins brought Denver a different kind of playmaker. They got perhaps the best cover man in the league in Champ Bailey. In Denver's 34-13 win over the Saints, Bailey produced again 11-2 tackles and an interception…

Bailey opened the game tackling RB Deuce McAlister for a loss. Bailey opened the second quarter with another tackle of Deuce for a loss. Bailey is proving more and more that he is not just a cover man but a force on run defense as well….

Bailey's interception is still the talk of the town in Denver. Although the game seemed in hand for Denver at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Bailey's play is what legends are made from. Saints QB Aaron Brooks saw a wide-open Joe Horn in the endzone and threw him the sure touchdown. Out of nowhere, it seemed, came Bailey. No one saw him coming, as he seemed so far away from the play that he had no chance to get there on time. Not only did Bailey get there, but also he caught the ball. Although the officials initially ruled that Bailey had not gotten his foot down, the call was overturned. Simply a remarkable play by a remarkable player…

Vikings DE Lance Johnstone has been a situational pass rusher only in recent years. That seems to be working. With nearly 60 career sacks, Johnstone added another three to his resume in Sunday's 22-19 win over Detroit…

One of Johnstone's sacks was actually almost a mistake. On a third and 8 play with about four minutes left, Detroit QB Joey Harrington was forced to his right side. Johnstone was on the opposite side and was supposed to stay outside of his blocker to protect the weak side. Johnstone, though, saw an opportunity and came inside his blocker. Luckily, Johnstone got to Harrington before Harrington could expose the weakness. "It was one of those 'no, no ... yes, yes!' plays," Vikings defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell said. "But that's Lance. He has big-play ability."…

Lions DE James Hall had two more sacks to give him a team-high eight for the season…

The Tennessee Titans, in an 18-15 win over the Jaguars, were forced to employ a patchwork group of defensive backs. Already playing with players out with injuries (including Tank Williams), the Titans lost three key DBs (McGarrahan, Rolle and Wolfolk) in the early part of the second half. By the time the game ended they'd used a six-man package that included every healthy defensive back available…

Jaguar DE Greg Favors had a pair of sacks, one of which resulted in a safety…

There's no denying that the play of the day in the Seattle/Miami game came with less than a minute left in the game and the Dolphins in Seattle territory. The game was tied at 17 when Seahawk safety Michael Boulware stepped in front of an AJ Feeley pass and returned it 63 yards for the game-winning score…

With Seattle DE Grant Wistrom back in the lineup after missing over a month, the Seahawks applied increased pressure on Feeley. Wistrom finished with 4-2 tackles and a recovered fumble…

It appears likely that Dolphin LB Zach Thomas will miss this weekend's game against San Francisco with a partial hamstring tear. The team hopes that the MRI result (expected Monday evening but not available at the time of this writing) will reflect the injury to be the least severe of hammy tears, which usually only means 1-3 weeks of missed games. As you know if you've been reading this article, Thomas easily leads the NFL in tackles…

After not having a sack in five of the first six games this year, Packers DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila has five sacks in the last three games, including two in Sunday's 16-13 win over Houston. With 43.5 career sacks, Gbaja-Biamila is now third in Packers team history behind only Reggie White and Tim Harris…

Kansas City rookie DE Jared Allen continues to impress. He had two sacks Sunday in a 27-19 loss to New England. That gives him five on the season. He's one to keep your eye on in upcoming weeks, with starter Eric Hicks and Vonnie Holliday not having good years…

Until next time…

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