The Houston Texans defense forced Raider QB Kerry Collins into five turnovers Sunday in their 30-17 win. The first turnover came from Jamie Sharper hit Collins, jarring the ball loose. Sharper recovered the ball and ran 16 yards for the score. On the play, Sharper was credited for a sack, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble and a touchdown. Sharper added 8-2 tackles in the game…

Rookie Texan CB Dunta Robinson had his first two interceptions of his short career…

Texan safety Jason Simmons gave Raider tackle Barry Sims the hit of the day after Dunta Robinson intercepted a pass. Sims was seen looking dazed and confused on the sideline long after the play was over. Sims outweighs Simmons by about 100 pounds…

Giants safety Gibril Wilson made the most of his second start this year after replacing the injured Shaun Williams by grabbing a team-leading 10-2 tackles in the Giants win against Green Bay…

The Giants defense didn't give up any long passes and held both the Packers passing and running games in check. It didn't hurt that Brett Favre left the game with a concussion in the first series of the second half…

Green Bay LB Na'il Diggs, my preseason sleeper pick in an earlier FBG article, finally had a big game with a league-leading 15 total tackles…

The Packers got rid of disgruntled CB Mike MacKenzie by trading him to the Saints on Monday. The six-year vet ended a lengthy holdout following the regular season opener, but still made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the team. It was presumed he was upset at his contract, which went through 2006, and wanted more money. One thing is for sure… he had become a major distraction for the team. He played in only nine plays of the home game against the Bears, and the general feeling out of Green Bay, at least from the front office, was good riddance…

The undefeated Philadelphia Eagles made a big defensive stand in the second quarter against the Chicago Bears. LB Ike Reese broke up a pass on first down and Lito Sheppard stopped Bernard Berrian on second down. An incomplete pass on third down meant the Bears had to settle for a field goal after having a first and ten on the Eagles seven-yard line. Sheppard had 4 solo tackles and a sack in the game…

LB Lance Briggs had another good game with 8-2 tackles…

The Bears can not get the injured MLB Brian Urlacher back on the field fast enough…

Colts LB's Rob Morris and Cato June made the big play Sunday against Jacksonville. With Indianapolis ahead 24-17 over Jacksonville and two minutes remaining in the game, the Jaguars had a fourth and one at the Colts 45-yard line. The play went to RB Fred Taylor, who smashed directly into the line. June got an arm on Taylor while Morris came in to knock him down for no gain. Game over…

Colts LB David Thornton continues to put up consistent numbers. On Sunday, Thornton had 4-1 tackles and forced a fumble from Fred Taylor that was recovered by fellow LB Cato June…

The Jaguars are reportedly interested in the services of DE and former Colt Chad Bratzke. After getting just four sacks in their first four games, Bratzke has been contacted about playing again…

Down 10-3 at the start of the second half, the Cleveland Browns looked to be on their way to another loss against the Washington Redskins. Then, on the very first play in the third quarter, Browns DT Michael Myers forced a fumble by Skins RB Clinton Portis and LB Andra Davis recovered it. Four plays later, QB Jeff Garcia threw a TD to tie the game at 10…

The Browns defense held Clinton Portis to just 58 yards on 20 carries…

Any chance the Buffalo Bills had of catching the New England Patriots went out the window when LB Tedy Bruschi forced a Drew Bledsoe fumble at about the Patriots 30-yard line. DT Richard Seymour picked up the ball and ran it back 68 yards for the score to make it 31-17 New England. Running 68 yards was not an easy task for the 310-pound lineman. "A lot of sucking air," Seymour said, laughing…

Bruschi's line for the day was 4-3 tackles, 2 sacks and the forced fumble…

The Bills secondary was already missing safety Lawyer Milloy, out since preseason with no update on his return, when they found out that CB Troy Vincent will miss at least two weeks with a right knee injury. The 12-year vet and 5-time Pro Bowler hurt his knee on the opening drive as he tumbled out of bounds on a play…

The Patrick Kerney hit parade just keeps on rolling. The Atlanta DE had another 2 sacks making a league-leading 7, as the Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers 27-10. He added 8-1 tackles and a forced fumble…

With the score 13-10, Falcon CB Kevin Mathis intercepted a Jake Delhomme pass and returned it 35 yards for the score near the start of the fourth quarter. The Panthers never recovered…

Atlanta's defense, the NFL's worst last season, put together its fourth consecutive impressive outing…

Cardinal safety Adrian Wilson had 5 solo tackles, but it was his 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown that started things off the Arizona Sunday against the hapless New Orleans Saints. The Cardinals have forced a league-high 8 fumbles…

One of the lone bright spots for the Saints defense has been the play of DE Charles Grant. Grant added a sack Sunday and leads the team with 5 on the season…

Another good sign for the Saints has been the play of rookie LB Courtney Watson, who had 7-1 tackles against the Cards, but the news has been negative almost across the board on the team. The Saints rank second to last on defense as a whole…

Weakside LB Steve Foley of the San Diego Chargers had 5-2 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble as his Chargers defeated Tennessee 38-17.

Rookie defensive linemen Antwan Odom, Travis LaBoy and Randy Starks, along with rookie LB Rob Reynolds, are taking a lot of heat, as opposing teams are running right at them with success…

Ex longtime Tampa Bay Buc safety John Lynch, now with the Denver Broncos, returned to Tampa for the first time. It proved to be a very emotional game for Lynch, who had 6-1 tackles, in the Bronco win. However, the sole Tampa touchdown came against Lynch, who gave up on a play versus WR Michael Clayton as Clayton laid on the ground. Clayton got up and ran helmet-less toward the endzone and completed a 51-yard score…

For the second straight game, Denver cornerback Champ Bailey did not play wide receiver. Bailey totaled 19 plays - 11 against Kansas City and eight against Jacksonville - in the first two games…

Former first round pick CB Willie Middlebrooks, now a nickel-back with Denver, has finally begun to show some production. Middlebrooks had 4-1 tackles against the Buccaneers, including his first sack allegedly since "pee-wee" football…

It was all about the Abrahams Sunday for the NY Jets in their win over Miami. CB Donnie Abraham intercepted a Jay Fiedler early in the second half and returned it 66 yards for the score to put the Jets up by 8. Neither team scored again. DE/LB John Abraham also had a nice game. His recovered fumble at the end of the game sealed the win. He added 3-1 tackles and a pair of sacks…

As for Miami LB Zach Thomas? He had 4-7 tackles to boost his league-leading total tackle number to 49…

After being nearly nonexistent in the first couple weeks, especially on the stat line, Rams DE Leonard Little showed he's still capable of making plays. Little had 6 tackles and a sack in the Rams win against San Francisco. Little also recovered a fumble in the first quarter that led to a Rams TD. The Rams moved Little around a bit, which they had been discussing doing all year, to what amounts to the LB position, a few feet behind the line of scrimmage…

Rams LB Pisa Tinoisamoa enjoyed a nice game with 8-4 tackles and ½ sack.

Star 49er MLB Derek Smith has torn ligaments in his ankle and could be out 2-3 weeks. Jeff Ulbrich will slide from his outside position to middle linebacker, while Jamie Winborn takes over for Ulbrich…

49er CB Mike Rumph broke his radius in his forearm and is expected to miss 8-12 weeks…

It was the Kansas City defense that looked the most impressive in their Monday night win over the Baltimore Ravens. They held Raven RB Jamal Lewis to only 74 yards rushing and QB Kyle Boller to 154 yards passing…

The Chiefs got a sack each from four separate defensive linemen; Eric Hicks, Gary Stills, Lional Dalton, and Ryan Sims…

Troy Polamalu punished former USC teammate and roommate Carson Palmer in more ways than one when Polamalu's Steelers faced Palmer's Bengals on Sunday. With Pittsburgh up 21-17 and about two minutes to play, Polamalu intercepted Palmer's pass and ran towards the goal. He went one way, then the other, breaking a half-dozen tackles before he found himself near the goal. His last impediment? Carson Palmer, standing alone at the goal. Polamalu ran right over and through Palmer for the score, treating Palmer anything but like an ex-roommate. Palmer was quoted as saying, "He didn't give me a break on that at all. That one hurt." In more ways than one…

Steelers LB James Farrior has three fumble recoveries in four games…

Bengal safety Madieu Williams and LB Brian Simmons combined for 19-1 tackles in the loss…

Until next week…

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