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

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

Thanks to Footballguys recap writers: Andrew Abouzeid, Mike Anderson, Michael Bartlett, Bill Brown, Michael Brown, Christopher Clark, Timothy Creech, Cathy Fazio, Bradley Gabbard, Cory Gilbert, Chris Gilman, Anoop Jalan, Alex Knapik, Jeff Lewis, Scott Martin, John Matthes, Doug Mobley, David Oleyar, Jeff Pasquino, Greg Porzucek, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Jeff Siedsma, Dave Teller, Chris Thomas, Dave Thompson, Rob Umberger, Mark Westmyer, George Willock, and Todd Young

Edited by Joe Bryant with Cathy Fazio

Washington Redskins 26 at San Francisco 49ers 16

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Washington Redskins

The Redskins' defense was once again the story. The Washington defense forced 49ers quarterback Ken Dorsey into four interceptions en route to a dominating performance. The San Francisco passing attack was thwarted because of turnovers, and the running game wasn't able to do much, either.

RB Clinton Portis had an unspectacular day, carrying the ball 35 times for 110 yards. He also lost a fumble, and was stuffed on numerous scoring opportunities inside the five-yard line.

QB Patrick Ramsey continued his late-season progression towards being a solid NFL quarterback. Ramsey completed 67% of his passes and most importantly, did not turn the football over.

San Francisco 49ers

QB Ken Dorsey had a rough game. He was pressured right from the outset, and was hit on numerous occasions in the first half. He had little more time in the second half, and was a turnover machine, throwing four interceptions.

RB Maurice Hicks received the majority of the carries for San Francisco, but because they fell behind early he was never really able to get anything going. He did show a "shiftiness" running between the tackles, but the Redskins' defense more often than not was able to stop him.

TE Eric Johnson made his way back onto the statistical leaders, grabbing a game-high 8 passes and played a very integral role in the offensive scheme.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Washington Redskins

QB: Patrick Ramsey (18-27-214, 1 TD, 1 for -1 rushing) had a very effective game. He came out on the opening drive going 4-4, capping it with a touchdown strike to TE Robert Royal. In recent weeks, Ramsey really sought out his tight ends down near the end zone and this game was no exception. Unfortunately for Ramsey owners, that was his only touchdown of the game. On several occasions, he completed passes to receivers inside the five-yard line, but they were tackled before getting in. Head coach Joe Gibbs opted to utilize Clinton Portis inside the five on many occasions, with Portis coming up short each time. Twice, Washington had a first and goal from inside the five, and each time the series went like this: Portis run, Portis run, Ramsey pass, field goal. It seemed they only wanted to throw it in close if they had no other choice. Still, it was a solid effort by Ramsey, who continues to improve with each outing.

RB: Clinton Portis (35-110 rushing; 3-20 receiving on 3 targets, 1 fumble lost) quietly piled up yards. His per-carry average was just over 3.0, so he didn't exactly light up the stat sheet. Not only that, but he fumbled away a ball late in the game which hurt his fantasy stats, and he was also stuffed on four separate carries near the goal line. He didn't look bad necessarily, but he didn't exactly roll as many of his owners were expecting.

WR: Rod Gardner (6-111 receiving on 7 targets, 1-11 rushing) had a big day, going over 100 yards for the second time this season. He nearly came up with a touchdown, but was taken down at the 3-yard line following a 39-yard completion. He was later taken down inside the five following a reception, then was overthrown in the end zone by Ramsey for what should have been a score.

Laveranues Coles (4-39 receiving on 10 targets) didn't post big numbers, but it wasn't for a lack of looks. Coles was targeted on ten pass attempts, but only caught four of them. A lot of that had to do with three of his targets coming on deep balls that ended up falling incomplete. Coles at least appears to be a greater part of the offense, even if his production doesn't match his role.

TE: Robert Royal (1-12, 1 TD receiving on 1 target) caught the touchdown, but Chris Cooley (3-21 receiving on 3 targets) was the more active tight end. Neither made much of a splash after halftime, however.

K: Jeff Chandler (4-4 FG, 2 XP) Chandler, the recently-signed free agent kicker, made an immediate impact with his new team. He nailed field goals from 49, 25, 20, and 26 yards and was a big difference-maker in the game.

Pass Defense: Phenomenal. While Ken Dorsey went over 200 yards and two touchdowns, much of that production came in the latter stages of the fourth quarter when the game was pretty well in hand. The Redskins' defense forced Dorsey into four interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. They very nearly had another one earlier, but the refs ruled that Sean Taylor had lateraled the ball forward to a teammate during the return. It was debatable, because it appeared Taylor's hand was hooked in front of the ball and pitched it straight, but nonetheless, it was ruled a forward pass. CB Shawn Springs did not play due to effects from the concussion he suffered a week ago.

Rush Defense: Because Washington jumped up 23-9 at halftime, the 49ers pretty well abandoned their running game in the second half. For the game, San Francisco totaled just 55 yards on the ground against this stout Washington front. It should also be noted that 25 of those yards came on one carry by Maurice Hicks. That means that the other 17 carries by San Francisco went for just 30 total yards. LaVar Arrington suited up and played sparingly in this game, lining up at left defensive end on several occasions. He made one tackle in the game. Safety Sean Taylor was drilled in the side of his helmet on one play and busted up his lip. He left to get stitches, but returned to the game showing no ill effects. CB Fred Smoot blew an interception late in the game on a deep ball intended for WR Brandon Lloyd. Smoot jumped a little bit too soon, had the ball in his hands momentarily, and then dropped it.

San Francisco 49ers

QB: Ken Dorsey (20-38-206, 2 TD, 4 Int, 1-0 rushing) had a mostly bad day. Though he turned the ball over four times, at least two of the interceptions weren't entirely his fault. On one, his arm was hit as he threw and the ball was sent straight up in the air, where it was easily picked off. On another, Antonio Pierce basically shoved Cedrick Wilson to the ground in order to step in front of a Dorsey pass and return it for a touchdown the other way. That said, the other two Dorsey interceptions (yes, he threw four) were entirely his fault. Specifically, his last interception with the team still clinging to some hope of pulling out a win. On a fourth and 9, he threw a pass right in front of Walt Harris on their last possession that was easily picked off. Dorsey had earlier suffered a broken left ring finger, which may have been a contributing factor in his fumbled snap, though he did recover it himself.

RB: Maurice Hicks (11-37 rushing; 2-18 receiving on 2 targets) looked fairly decent, though nothing spectacular. He did display good shiftiness when running between the tackles, and also managed to shake free for a 25-yard gain. Now for the bad news: his other 10 carries went for a total of just 10 yards. He disappeared in the second half with San Francisco trying to play catch-up.

Kevan Barlow (6-18 rushing) didn't fare much better than Hicks, and also wasn't seen or heard from much in the game. Barlow came on late in the first quarter but didn't make much of an impact one way or the other.

WR: Brandon Lloyd (4-51, 1 TD receiving on 10 targets) was very active from start to finish, though much of his production came early on in the contest. He caught a touchdown on the opening drive and had three first half receptions en route to a seemingly big day. But he caught just one pass in the second half, as Fred Smoot just about shut him right down. Lloyd saw several deep passes during the game, but with Smoot all over the play, none were completed.

Cedrick Wilson (3-40 receiving on 7 targets) Two of Dorsey's interceptions were on passes intended for Wilson.

Curtis Conway (3-24, 1 TD receiving on 9 targets) Conway made an 11 yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

TE: Eric Johnson (8-73 receiving on 9 targets) really came on strong in the second half when the 49ers were trying to play catch-up. Johnson caught 6 of his 8 receptions and saw 7 of his 9 targets after the first half and was the main receiver for the 49ers as the game wore down. Johnson set the all-time 49ers record for most receptions by a tight end in a single season. He is now up to 77.

K: Todd Peterson (2 XP) connected on each extra point attempt, but didn't attempt any field goals.

Pass Defense: They only managed to sack Patrick Ramsey once (late in the game), didn't intercept any passes, and allowed Ramsey to complete 67% of his pass attempts. This is a Washington team that had been one of the most anemic offenses in the league as of three weeks ago. It could be a case of Washington finally coming together or the 49ers defense falling apart, but it was most likely a combination of the two. Ramsey never felt much pressure, and even when he did he nearly always had an open receiver to throw to. San Francisco was able to stay away from giving up the big plays for the most part, but it came at the expense of allowing the short underneath routes to be open all game long.

Run Defense: Much of the Washington run game came late in the contest, with the team trying to run time off the clock. That accounts for a big reason why Clinton Portis' yards per carry average was so low. Still, he didn't rip off any big gainers during the early parts of the game, either. In fact, Portis was stuffed at least four times by the San Francisco defense in close to the goal line. Each stuff of Portis set up third and goal situations that Washington was unable to convert. This resulted in the Redskins kicking field goals rather than scoring touchdowns, and enabled the 49ers to stay in the game much later than they probably should have been.

Pittsburgh Steelers 33 at New York Giants 30

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jerome Bettis was again the plow horse that led the Steelers' offense. With Duce Staley being deactivated to rest his nagging injuries, Bettis carried the ball 36 times for 140 yards. Bettis also punched in a short TD run late in the game. Verron Haynes returned from injury and looked very sharp in his role as the third-down back, making contributions both on the ground and in the passing game, including a 10-yard TD catch.

Ben Roethlisberger found himself in a very different position than in recent weeks. With the game in doubt for all 60 minutes, Roethlisberger threw the ball 28 times, completing 18 for 316 yards. He threw a 35 yard TD to Antwaan Randle El in the first half but also threw two bad interceptions. Randle El and Hines Ward both had over 100 yards on the day, and Randle El had two TDs, one receiving and one passing.

The Steelers' defense was shaky in this contest, particularly on third downs. The Giants were consistently able to convert in these situations and sustain drives. The special teams coverage was a major culprit, as Giants' kick returner Willie Ponder ran the opening kickoff back 91 yards for a score, and brought two other kickoffs back to midfield. With the Giants starting in such good field position, the Steelers took fewer chances with the blitz, and allowed Eli Manning to get comfortable in the pocket. As a result, the game was far more of a tightly contested shootout than anyone had anticipated.

New York Giants

The Giants played a very strong game offensively. On the ground, Tiki Barber was tearing off chunks of yardage virtually at will early in the game. The Giants were winning the battle in the trenches early, but appeared to wear down in run blocking as the game progressed. Barber's productiveness decreased as the game went on as a result. He still finished with 114 combined yards and contributed a short TD run in the fourth quarter.

Eli Manning had by far his finest day as a pro. Manning looked poised in the pocket, and was given plenty of time to throw by the Giants' offensive line. Manning finished with 182 passing yards and threw short TD passes to Marcellus Rivers and Jeremy Shockey. Manning spread the ball around well, completing passes to 7 different receivers, which served to keep the Giants receivers' overall numbers in check. Manning did throw one late interception which all but sealed the game for Pittsburgh. David Tyree led the Giants in receiving with 49 yards.

The Giants' defense was porous. The Steelers piled up almost 500 yards of total offense in the game. They did, however, tighten up in the red zone, holding the Steelers to field goals on 3 of 5 possessions inside the New York 20 yard line. Frank Walker and Brent Alexander got interceptions for the Giants, and they also recorded three sacks - one apiece by Nick Greisen, Osi Umenyiora, and Brent Alexander.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB: Ben Roethlisberger (18-28-316, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 for -1 rushing) Roethlisberger made a few poor throws in the game - both his interceptions came on plays during which he scrambled away from pressure and attempted to force a pass into tight coverage down the field. He also missed an open Hines Ward on a play which could have gone for a TD. Aside from these few lapses, however, Roethlisberger played a strong game. Forced to play from behind for more of the game than the Steelers are used to, Roethlisberger proved capable of doing damage with his arm, as evidenced by his career-high 318 yards.

RB: Jerome Bettis (36-140 rushing, 1 TD, 1-3 receiving on 2 targets) Bettis relishes a heavy workload, and he sure got it. His 36 carries were Bettis' most in a game in 5 years, and he showed just as much burst in the fourth quarter as in the first. Bettis was frequently able to gain the tough yardage that the Steelers needed to pick up first downs late in the game. His TD run was a 1 yarder in the fourth quarter.

Verron Haynes (2-21 rushing, 3-28, 1 TD receiving on 3 targets) Haynes was excellent in his first game back after missing several weeks with an injury. He scored on a 10-yard shovel pass from Randle-El in the first quarter. He also made a terrific move to avoid a tackle on a screen pass and was able to convert a 2nd and 19.

WR: Antwaan Randle El (5-149, 1 TD receiving on 7 targets, 1-1-10, 1 TD passing) Randle El had a monster game in place of the injured Plaxico Burress, and made huge plays all game long. He threw the aforementioned TD pass to Haynes in the first quarter, caught a 35-yard TD from Roethlisberger in the second, and made a great catch inside the Giants 10 yard line in the fourth, which set up the winning TD. He was simply outstanding, and will allow Pittsburgh to rest Burress' ailing hamstring as long as they see fit.

Hines Ward (9-134 receiving on 15 targets) Ward got looks early and often in the game. He was able to get open repeatedly against the Giants secondary, and almost had a monster game. He got open early deep in Giants' territory, but Roethlisberger's pass was too high, preventing what would have likely been a 50+ yard TD. Nevertheless, Ward played his strongest game in weeks.

Lee Mays (1-12 receiving on 3 targets) Mays had one catch for 12 yards, and also drew a pass interference penalty.

TE: No Steelers' TE received a target in this game.

K: Jeff Reed (3 XP, 4-4 FG) Reed hit all four of his FG attempts, from 21, 28, 33, and 36 yards

Pass Defense: The Steelers' pass defense was sub-par. They were unable to create pressure on Manning, and the rookie completed almost 70% of his passes. Willie Williams did make a fantastic grab late in the game to intercept Manning and end the Giants' final possession, but they relinquished way too many 3rd-and-long conversions to the New York offense. Their only sack of Manning came on a 2-point conversion attempt, which does not count in the official statistics.

Rush Defense: The Steelers' run defense picked up late in the game after surrendering a lot of yardage to Tiki Barber early. They made a great play on 3rd and goal in the third quarter to stop Barber at the 2 yard line and force a field goal. This turned out to be a pivotal play in the game.

New York Giants

QB: Eli Manning (16-23-182, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2-18 rushing) Manning had easily his best game since taking over the reins to the Giants' offense. He was well-protected by the line, and was able to really get into a rhythm. Most of his passes were short, however, and he completed only one of his big shots down the field. Manning kept the Giants' offense moving and played almost mistake free until late in the game. On the Giants final possession, Manning threw an ill-advised deep ball which was picked off by Willie Williams and ended the Giants attempt to pull the game out.

RB: Tiki Barber (18-76, 1 TD rushing, 5-38 receiving on 6 targets) Barber ran very well early, but was effectively bottled up in the second half. He had a couple of big runs in the first half and scored from a yard out in the fourth quarter. Barber was heavily targeted by Manning, and was even lined up at WR on a couple of plays. He could have really had a big game, as he received several carries inside the 5, but the Steelers were able to stone him on at least 3 occasions before Barber was able to get into the end zone late.

Ron Dayne (1-2 rushing) Dayne received only 1 carry in relief of Barber.

Jim Finn (1-13 receiving on 2 targets) The big fullback caught one ball in the flat, and was able to turn upfield and bull his way to a first down.

WR: David Tyree (1-49 receiving on 1 target) Tyree led the Giants' diverse passing attack in yardage, courtesy of a 49-yard grab in the third quarter. Outside of this, his contribution came mainly by making tackles on special teams.

Amani Toomer (2-34 receiving on 3 targets) Toomer made both of his catches on the same fourth-quarter drive which culminated in a go-ahead TD for New York. He was very quiet outside of that.

Ike Hilliard (3-34 receiving on 5 targets) Hilliard led the Giants wide receivers in targets, and made a couple of nice sideline catches to sustain Giants' drives.

TE: Jeremy Shockey (3-13, 1 TD receiving on 5 targets) Shockey caught a one yard TD pass from Manning in the first quarter and nearly had another. He caught another ball at the 3 yard line and was dragging Pittsburgh safety Chris Hope into the end zone on his back before James Farrior stepped up and met him at the one, preventing the TD.

Marcellus Rivers (1-1, 1 TD receiving on 1 target) Rivers made the most of his one target, getting wide open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

K: Steve Christie (3 XP, 1-1 FG) Christie hit his only field goal of the day, a 22 yard chip shot.

Pass Defense: The Giants' pass defense did a poor job of containing the Pittsburgh wideouts. Even without the injured Burress, Hines Ward was able to run amok, and Antwaan Randle El made game-changing plays all day long. The Giants did generate a decent pass rush when they sent additional blitzers, but on the plays in which Roethlisberger was able to get rid of the ball quickly; they were susceptible to big plays.

Rush Defense: The Giants' rush defense was unable to stop Jerome Bettis. Late in the game, when the Giants were out of time outs and desperately needed stops to get the ball back, they could not contain the Steelers' back. This allowed Pittsburgh to run out the clock and ice the victory. The Giants were selling out against the run early, but once Roethlisberger began to pick the defense apart through the air, things opened up for the Pittsburgh run game, and they were eventually able to wear the Giants down.

Carolina Panthers 31 at Atlanta Falcons 34

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers put forth an impressive effort in this do or die game, but in the end they were unable to overcome multiple turnovers given up by the team's offensive and special teams units. The Panthers were particularly impressive on the defensive side of the ball. Carolina came up with four Falcons' turnovers, including a 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Julius Peppers, who was all over the field.

Jake Delhomme played very well for stretches in this game, but also lost 2 fumbles and threw the interception that set up the Falcons' game winning field goal in overtime. Delhomme finished with 340 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Muhsin Muhammad continued to be Delhomme's favorite receiver. Muhammad made some great catches in this game, and finished with 10 catches for 135 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Nick Goings and the Panthers' ground game was kept largely in check by the Falcons' undersized but speedy defensive unit. The Panthers seemed committed to the run early, but eventually turned to the passing game after managing just 6 total yards of offense in their first 3 possessions. Goings managed just 61 yards on 24 carries, though he did find the end zone.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons were up and down in this game, largely on the coattails of a streaky Michael Vick. Atlanta benefited from 4 Carolina turnovers and excellent field position provided by the Falcons' return game. The seesaw battle ended in overtime with a 38-yard field goal by Jay Feely, set up by a 30-yard interception return by Aaron Beasley.

Michael Vick was either very hot or very cold. He offered up his usual slate of highlight reel plays, including a 12-yard scamper to the end zone to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. But Vick was also plagued by poor decision-making and poor execution, both of which contributed to his underwhelming passing statistics of 11-28-154 with 2 TD and 2 INT. Vick ran for 68 yards on 8 carries.

The Falcons' receiving corps was led by Dez White, who finished with 71 receiving yards and a touchdown on 3 catches. Brian Finneran also found the end zone. Despite a team-high 7 targets, Alge Crumpler managed only three catches for 78 yards. He also lost a fumble.

With T.J. Duckett out with a knee injury, Warrick Dunn was the feature ball carrier for the Falcons. He put his critics to rest with a very strong performance against a stout Panthers' defense. Dunn found lots of running room inside on his way to 134 yards and touchdown on 28 carries. Surprisingly, Dunn had no receiving yards and was only targeted twice in the passing game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Carolina Panthers

QB: Jake Delhomme (24-35-340, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2 fumbles lost, 1-0 rushing) showed poise and confidence as he led his team on successive scoring drives to help the Panthers overcome a 14-point fourth quarter deficit. He also showed a strong connection with Muhsin Muhammad, as they connected time and again, including a short 5-yard touchdown reception. Delhomme also threw a perfect pass to Kris Mangum for an 11-yard touchdown. Delhomme's mistakes, which included an interception and two lost fumbles, proved costly to his team. In his defense, both of Delhomme's fumbles came when he was hit from his blindside.

RB: Nick Goings (24-61, 1 TD rushing, 3-29 receiving on 4 targets) was held under 100 rushing yards for the first time in 5 games. Goings found little room to run against the quick Falcons' defense. His touchdown came on a 5-yard run late in the fourth quarter. His long run of the day was 8 yards.

Brad Hoover (2-11 receiving on 4 targets) was used only in the passing game. Notably, 3 of his 4 targets were in the red zone.

WR: Muhsin Muhammad (10-135, 1 TD receiving on 14 targets) played an incredible game. He used his size and strength to get open against the smallish Falcons' secondary, and displayed great hands on a number of acrobatic catches. His touchdown reception came on a short hitch from the 5 yard line. Muhammad did fumble while trying to get extra yards after a catch, but the ball was recovered by the Panthers.

Keary Colbert (1-43 receiving on 1 target) had a quiet game, but his one reception was pivotal to the Panthers' comeback in the fourth quarter. It was also his first and only target in the game.

Ricky Proehl (2-40 receiving on 5 targets) had 2 catches for 40 yards. He was targeted on a deep pass, but the ball was overthrown.

Julius Peppers (0-0 receiving on 1 target) checked into the game as an eligible receiver in the red zone. He was targeted on a fade to the corner. He made a nice catch on the ball, but landed out of bounds.

TE: Kris Mangum (4-53, 1 TD receiving on 5 targets) had a solid game, catching the ball on 4 of his 5 targets, including an 11-yard touchdown reception. He was targeted on one other occasion in the end zone, but the ball was tipped away by the defender at the last moment.

Mike Seidman (2-29 receiving on 2 targets) had two big catches to extend Panthers' drives in the fourth quarter.

K: John Kasay (4 XP, 1-1 FG) was perfect on the night, with 4 extra points and a 21-yard field goal.

Pass Defense: The Panthers' pass defense played very well. They came after Vick with a ferocious pass rush, led by Julius Peppers, who had an incredible game. The Panthers allowed just 143 yards receiving, and sacked the quarterback 4 times. They also came up with 2 interceptions and returned a Vick fumble 60 yards for a touchdown.

Rush Defense: The Panthers' rush defense did not have a great game. They were gashed by Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick for over 200 yards.

Atlanta Falcons

QB: Michael Vick (11-28-154, 2 TD, 2 INT, 8-68, 1 TD rushing, 1 fumble lost) was both hot and cold in this game, but in the end he came through with enough big plays to lead his team to victory. Despite throwing touchdowns to Dez White and Brian Finneran, Vick did not fare particularly well in the passing game. He was frequently off the mark with his throws, and also seemed to throwing the ball too hard at times. In his defense, Vick was absolutely pummeled in this very physical game, but he continued to drag himself up off the turf following big hit after big hit. Vick's first interception came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half; his second interception came on an underthrown ball to Peerless Price.

RB: Warrick Dunn (28-134, 1 TD rushing, 0-0 receiving on 2 targets) had a solid game, gaining 134 yards on the ground against a strong Panthers' defense. Dunn showed agility and speed, running behind very good Atlanta blocking. His touchdown came on a 6 yard run to the right side of the line.

Jason Wright (2-2 rushing, 0-0 receiving on 1 target) was just called up from the practice squad, but was not a factor in the game.

WR: Dez White (3-71, 1 TD receiving on 4 targets) had a solid effort in this game. He left the game briefly in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury, but returned to make his second touchdown catch of the season on an absolute bullet thrown by Michael Vick.

Michael Jenkins (1-22 receiving on 1 target) got a penalty for taunting following his only catch of the game.

Brian Finneran (3-19, 1 TD receiving on 4 targets) got his first touchdown catch of the season on a high-floating pass from the 1 yard line.

Peerless Price (1-4 receiving on 6 targets) continued his disappearing act with the Falcons. He dropped a highly catchable ball on the Falcons' first possession, and did nothing of note after that. He was targeted once on a long pass to the end zone, but the ball was overthrown.

TE: Alge Crumpler (3-38 receiving on 7 targets, 1 fumble lost) was held in check by the Panthers' defense. He was slow to get up after a catch in the fourth quarter, but returned to the game. Crumpler also lost a fumble at a critical juncture in the game.

K: Jay Feely (4 XP, 2-3 FG) made 37 and 38 yard field goals, but missed a 45 yard attempt.

Pass Defense: Despite giving up 340 yards and 2 touchdowns in the passing game, the Falcons' pass defense played well in this game. They kept Delhomme under constant pressure, and forced him to throw 2 interceptions. They also forced 2 Delhomme fumbles and sacked him 3 times.

Rush Defense: The Falcons' run defense played very well. They held Carolina to just 61 yards on the ground, and effectively bottled up Nick Goings for most of the evening. The longest run allowed was for only 8 yards.

Dallas Cowboys 7 at Philadelphia Eagles 12

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas actually gave their fans some hope on the day and actually had the lead midway into the 4th quarter. A Billy Cundiff FG miss from 46 yards gave the Eagles good field position allowing McNabb to lead them down the field for the game winning TD.

A great game in real life, but in fantasy terms this was a dud. The Cowboys went with a very conservative ball control offense designed to keep the Eagles offense off the field. This led to fairly sub par performances by all of the Cowboys' offensive players. Keyshawn Johnson did score the only Cowboys' TD on a great leaping catch in the end zone but that was really the only highlight of the day for Dallas.

Julius Jones came back down to earth gaining only 80 yards on 25 carries. Not a horrible performance, but it is way off the bar he's set in the last 3 games. He still is making everyone slightly less upset that the Cowboys passed on Stephen Jackson to take him in the draft this year.

Philadelphia Eagles

Terrell Owens left the game in the third quarter after being pulled down from behind by Roy Williams. He grabbed his knee in pain but limped off the field under his own power. He somehow made it to the locker room by himself then he was helped down the tunnel by trainers. It was reported later that he'll need surgery and will likely be out 4-5 weeks.

Philadelphia had a sub par day as well. McNabb was rarely pressured by the Dallas front line, but he rarely hit anything downfield. 20 yards was his longest completion of the day. There were actually only 2 plays in the game over 20 yards the other being a Keyshawn Johnson catch. Bryan Westbrook ended up with a pretty good day in the air catching 8 balls for 78 yards, but he ended up splitting carries out of the backfield with Dorsey Levens with 12 carries each.

Now that the Eagles have sewn up home field advantage throughout the playoffs, look for Andy Reid to rest some of the regulars in hopes to avoid any more serious injuries.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Dallas Cowboys

QB: Vinny Testaverde (16-28-176, 1 TD, 2 INT) Testaverde was his usual immobile self, but he was only sacked 3 times by the often blitzing Philadelphia defense. On his first interception, he tried to force the ball into double coverage of Keyshawn Johnson but his second was a game ender.

RB: Julius Jones (25-80 rushing, 2-21 receiving on 4 targets) Jones had a below average game based on his recent performances. It wasn't entirely his fault as he frequently faced defenders in the backfield that likely were supposed to have been blocked by someone, so part of the blame rests on a second straight poor performance by the Dallas offensive line.

Richie Anderson (1-9 receiving on 2 targets) did have a couple of 3rd down targets but that is it.

WR: Keyshawn Johnson (5-61, 1 TD receiving on 7 targets) made a great leaping catch on his first TD and just barely missed another in the 4th quarter that would have made his day very good. He's still the Cowboys most reliable receiver, but with the running game in the tank and the Cowboys trying to play ball control, there weren't a lot of targets on the day.

Quincy Morgan (2-19 receiving on 4 targets) was the only other WR to make a catch. This is just not a downfield passing attack.

Dedric Ward and Terrance Copper also had just one target each but no catches.

TE: Jason Witten (6-66 receiving on 11 targets) has now broken every Dallas TE receiving record. He made some good catches on difficult balls and he also displayed some quick moves after the catch.

K: Billy Cundiff (1 XP, 0-1 FG) Cundiff missed a crucial 46 yard field goal that would have put the Cowboys up by 4 late in the game. He's been very inconsistent this year making only 15 of 21 attempts.

Pass Defense: The pass defense was either awful or non existent. McNabb's average day was no fault of the Cowboys' defense. Most of the day he had so little pressure that it seemed that Dallas wasn't even rushing the passer. They did have 2 sacks and 2 interceptions, but both the interceptions were on poor McNabb passes and had he been any more accurate, he could have had a great day. There were several times he missed open receivers and it wasn't due to any pressure.

Rush Defense: The run defense actually played pretty well for the Cowboys. It seemed as if they were content making McNabb beat them through the air. The longest run they gave up all day was a 19 yard McNabb scramble. Other than McNabb, they held the Eagles' running backs to just under 4 yards per carry.

Philadelphia Eagles

QB: Donovan McNabb (20-35-223, 1 TD, 2 INT, 4-29 rushing) McNabb was the main reason the Cowboys were in this game until the end. Several times on the day he missed open receivers with inaccurate passes. He wound up with a TD and 200+ yards but the 2 interceptions were costly. Clearly, this offense needs Terrell Owens. Both the interceptions came after Owens' injury.

RB: Brian Westbrook (12-48 rushing, 8-78 receiving on 10 targets) Westbrook had an average game on the ground, but he showed why he leads all NFL running backs in receptions with 8 catches on the day. He's used extensively in their passing game and for leagues that reward receptions he's a must play. The only negative is that he's been yielding goal line carries to Dorsey Levens.

Dorsey Levens (12-43, 1 TD rushing, 1-17 receiving on 1 target) It looks like the Eagles have moved towards Levens as the short yardage back. This is likely to reduce wear and tear in these situations on Westbrook.

WR: Todd Pinkston (2-34 receiving on 5 targets) was actually the Eagles' leading receiver on the day. This day really seemed more like the Eagles of last year where the wide receivers were more of an afterthought.

Terrell Owens (2-24 receiving on 6 targets) had his worst day of the season statistically combined with getting injured and it was a very bad day for Owens owners likely playing in their league playoffs.

Both Freddie Mitchell (2 targets) and Greg Lewis (3 targets) had chances, but no catches.

TE: L.J. Smith (4-41 receiving on 5 targets) and Chad Lewis (2-20, 1TD on 4 targets) both figured prominently in the game. With the wide receivers not getting open, McNabb was looking towards his backs and tight ends early and often.

K: David Akers (0-1 XP) Akers had his only attempt of the day blocked by Greg Ellis.

Pass Defense: The rush defense was its usual blitzing self. They constantly pressured Testaverde and if it weren't for the Eagles' offense turning the ball over giving the Cowboys the ball with a very short field, this likely would have been a shutout. It's surprising that the only ended up with 3 sacks since it really seemed like they were in Testaverde's face all day long. The also ended up with two interceptions on the day and really kept the Cowboys in front of them which is the goal of every pass defense in the league.

Rush Defense: The run defense played above their heads based on their season average. If you give blame to the Cowboy's offensive line then you have to give credit to the Eagles defensive line. They spent a lot of time in the Cowboys backfield and kept the Cowboys out of the end zone on the ground for the first time since Jones first game as a starter.

Jacksonville Jaguars 28 at Green Bay Packers 25

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB Byron Leftwich and the Jacksonville Jaguars proved that they could handle the cold weather as they withstood a late Packers rally and held on to win in a turnover-filled game in frigid Lambeau Field. Despite a bruised left wrist suffered early on, Leftwich was efficient, throwing for two scores on just nine completions. His lone turnover came on a questionable fumble that first appeared to be an incomplete pass and eventually resulted in a Packers touchdown.

RB Fred Taylor ran hard all day and was rewarded a couple times with big holes up the middle. Taylor's 46-yard quick hitter set up Jacksonville's first score, and Taylor later found the endzone on a 37-yard touchdown run. In all, he carried 22 times for 165 yards, and received some assistance from backup Greg Jones, who handled much of the late duty and scored the winning touchdown from one-yard out on 4th and 1.

WR Jimmy Smith lit up the Packers secondary, including CB Al Harris, catching touchdown passes from 31 and 16 yards out. He finished with four catches for 87 yards. His nice juke move against Harris on his second touchdown catch allowed him to get wide open in the end zone. Smith and Taylor combined to make sure the Jaguars answered immediately both times Green Bay took a lead in the game.

Jacksonville's defense benefited from 5 turnovers, including three interceptions. The best of these was FS Deon Grant's theft of the ball from Green Bay WR Donald Driver's hands, turning a possible touchdown into another missed opportunity. In all, Green Bay was able to score just 10 points off six trips inside the Jaguars 22-yard line.

Green Bay Packers

QB Brett Favre's attempt at a late rally fell short, as the Packers were unable to over come several missed chances. Favre contributed to the missed opportunities with three interceptions in an otherwise outstanding performance. He threw for 367 yards and two touchdowns, but the three inexplicable interceptions left even Favre looking confused.

RB Ahman Green ran hard but continued to have problems securing the football, so much so that he was eventually taken out of the game whenever the Packers got near the red zone. Green fumbled on the Jacksonville 12-yard line on the Packers opening drive, then botched a handoff at the Jacksonville 31, a fumble that was credited to Favre. In the 3rd quarter, Green had another ball ruled a fumble at the Jacksonville 35, but he recovered the ball himself. Green finished with 94 yards on 17 carries.

WR Javon Walker was nearly un-coverable. He caught 11 passes for 152 yards and seemed to get open at will most of the game. Favre figured this out quickly and threw him the ball 16 times. Walker had no drops and made nearly every play he had a chance to make.

S Darren Sharper made the heads-up play of the game when he scored on a 15-yard fumble return in the 2nd quarter. On the play, Leftwich was hit by Green Bay's Kabeer Gbaja Biamila and the ball came loose. Everyone on the field thought it was an incomplete pass, so when Jacksonville G Vince Manuwai picked up the ball, he just stood there. Along came Sharper to hit the ball out of Manuwai's hands, scoop it off the ground and run in for the score, which was upheld after replay.

Green Bay's defense was otherwise atrocious, as they continued to commit too many penalties in the passing game and allow big chunks in the running game. Along with the turnovers, this resulted in the first regular season loss in sub-34 degree temperature of Favre's career.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB: Byron Leftwich (9-20-121, 2 TD, 3-9 rushing, 1 Fumble Lost) played well despite the cold weather and a bruised left wrist suffered early in the game. Other than his questionable fumble, Leftwich was in control of the game. He opened the scoring with a perfect pass to the back of the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown catch by jimmy Smith. Later on, he had a nearly exact pass dropped by Smith in almost the same spot, although it is questionable that Smith could have gotten his feet in. His other touchdown was quite easy, as Smith got wide open. Given all the Packers defensive penalties, it appeared as if Jacksonville could have thrown the ball all game long if they wanted to do so.

RB: Fred Taylor (22-165, 1 TD, 1 target) appears to be getting tougher as the season wears on. He certainly was in this game, running hard for 165 yards. He got the Jaguars going on their opening drive with a 46-yard burst up the middle on 2nd and 18. He was also untouched on his 37-yard touchdown run later on, even pausing on the way in to look back at the defense that got nowhere near him. When he had to, he ran defenders over, getting good yardage after contact, although he was stuffed at the 1-yard line on his lone red zone try. However, Taylor set up that eventual Greg Jones score with back-to-back runs of 15 and 21 yards.

Greg Jones (9-20, 1 TD) got plenty of action late, scoring easily on 4th and inches to give Jacksonville a 28-17 lead. He also carried the ball almost exclusively on the Jaguars two failed attempts at running the clock out.

WR: Jimmy Smith (4-87 on 8 targets, 2 TD) made a nice catch for a 31-yard score to open the game for Jacksonville, and then gave the Jaguars a 14-10 lead on his third catch of the game from 16 yards out. On the play, Smith burned Green Bay's Al Harris with a head fake and found himself wide open in the back left end zone. Smith was held to just one catch and 14 yards in the second half.

Reggie Williams (1-11 on 4 targets) caught just one pass on four tries, which resulted in first down.

TE: Kyle Brady (1-3 on 2 targets) was effective on his two targets, getting a 28-yard pass interference call on Hannibal Navies which led to one score, and catching a 3-yard slant to the Green Bay 1-yard line, leading to another score.

K: Josh Scobee (4 XP, 0-0 FG) made all his tries. Jacksonville's red zone efficiency kept him from attempting any field goals.

Pass Defense: Other than a couple mistakes, Brett Favre threw at will on the Jaguars, but they made enough plays to win. Deon Grant made a brilliant play to go over Donald Driver in the end zone and take the ball out of his hands, preventing what looked like a sure touchdown. Rashean Mathis was the beneficiary of interceptions on two horrible throws by Favre.

Rush Defense: Jacksonville held Green Bay under 100 yards rushing. McCray forced a fumble by Ahman Green and DT John Henderson had seven tackles.

Green Bay Packers

QB: Brett Favre (30-44-367, 2 TD, 3 INT, 2--1 rushing, 1 Fumble Lost) nearly led Green Bay back after a couple mistakes dug Green Bay a hole. His first interception came in the 3rd quarter with Green Bay trailing 21-17. Favre marched the Packers down the field only to throw the ball right to Rashean Mathis in the end zone. Mathis was a few steps in front of TE Bubba Franks, the apparent intended receiver. Trailing 28-17, Favre under threw Walker and Mathis picked that one off also. On the next drive Favre threw a perfect bullet to Donald Driver in double-coverage, but Grant made an incredible play to take it away. Favre responded with a nice drive, ending in 6-yard strike to Antonio Chatman and a 2-point conversion to Driver. Driver caught Favre's other touchdown, getting wide open on a 32-yard pass play.

RB: Ahman Green (17-94, 2-11 receiving on 3 targets) was effective as well, but did not secure the football. His biggest play was his first-quarter fumble in the red zone. He later missed on a Favre handoff, resulting in a fumble credited to Favre. Green ran well when he held onto the ball, including a nice, powerful 27-yard run that led to Favre's first interception in the end zone.

WR: Javon Walker (11-152 on 16 targets) caught everything near him and showed toughness to get extra yards after the catch. Unfortunately for the Packers, he was not a target often in the red zone, where the packers failed miserably. He did make one nice 12-yard catch in the red zone, turning a two-yard catch into a first down on 3rd and 7. He also caught a 10-yard pass down to the 6-yard line on Green Bay's final drive.

Donald Driver (4-74 on 10 targets, 1 TD) played well, but the one he couldn't hold onto will be the one he remembers most. Driver started off well with a 32-yard touchdown reception. Favre under threw the pass, but Driver was so wide open after a good play-fake by Favre, that he was able to come back and catch the ball, tumbling into the end zone. Driver also scored on a two-point conversion.

Antonio Chatman (4-48 on 6 targets, 1 TD) continued to show good skill as a 4th receiver and even got his first touchdown on a 6-yard pass. Chatman could see additional action depending on the injury to Robert Ferguson, who was leveled by Donovin Darius' forearm shiver after a 31-yard catch. The hit was so vicious that Darius was ejected. Despite a couple dropped passes, Chatman has shown the potential to produce when given the opportunity.

TE: Bubba Franks (2-10 on 3 targets) was not a major factor. He may have been the intended receiver on Favre's horrible interception in the end zone.

K: Ryan Longwell (2 XP, 1-2 FG) missed right on a 31-yard field goal, ending his streak, and earlier made a 35-yard field goal.

Pass Defense: Jacksonville looked like they could throw at will. Despite good pressure at times, Green Bay allowed too many open receivers, and committed too many penalties to succeed. Darren Sharper provide the lone bright spot, with his aforementioned touchdown.

Rush Defense: Fred Taylor ran all over the Packers, finding big holes up the middle on at least three big plays. Taylor averaged nearly eight yards per carry.

St. Louis Rams 7 at Arizona Cardinals 31

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

St. Louis Rams

The Rams continue to suffer due to the injury to their starting quarterback, Marc Bulger. Last week, QB Chris Chandler was called upon to lead the offense against Carolina. Chandler's six interception performance caused head coach Mike Martz to keep Chandler on a short leash and make sure that backup QB Jamie Martin was ready.

Chandler picked up where he left off, completing 1 pass out of 6 attempts for 1 yard and an interception in the opening quarter. And Jamie Martin entered the game. Martin performed modestly, but it was clear that he was neither comfortable nor familiar with the Rams' offense.

Given the passing game woes, it would have been expected that the Rams would lean towards their running attack. Marshall Faulk started, but had only 10 carries in the game - and he was the only running back used by St. Louis. Stephen Jackson was noticeable by his absence, as he failed to play a single down in the contest.

For the first time since December 2002, the Rams failed to score an offensive touchdown. Their lone score came on a 61-yard fumble recovery and return just before halftime by DE Leonard Little.

Arizona Cardinals

Josh McCown led the Cardinal offense effectively and efficiently from start to finish. McCown threw to seven different receivers, engineering over 400 yards of offense for the Cardinals for the first time since Week 1 of 2003. WR Larry Fitzgerald caught both touchdowns on short passes in the red zone.

McCown also contributed in the ground game, rushing 9 times for 22 yards. More importantly, he found the end zone twice, including the final Cardinal touchdown.

Emmitt Smith led the rest of the running game for the Cardinals. Smith rushed for 71 yards on 19 carries and was the main contributor of a 40-carry effort by Arizona, as the team gained 131 rushing yards. Smith was forced from the game in the second quarter due to a minor injury, but returned for the second half.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

St Louis Rams

QB: Jamie Martin (16-30-188) replaced the ineffective Chris Chandler with over 12 minutes left in the second quarter. Martin led the Rams' offense for the remainder of the game. His effectiveness was limited, as Martin completed just over 50% of his pass attempts and did not get to 200 yards or throw for a touchdown. However, he did keep from turning the ball over, the problem that had plagued Chandler and the Rams for the last 5 quarters.

Chris Chandler (1-6-1, 1 INT) was kept on a short leash for this game based after his six interception game last week against Carolina. Chandler attempted just six passes in the first quarter, but completed just two. Unfortunately for him and the Rams, one of those two was again to the opposition.

Chandler looked completely uneasy in the pocket, taking two sacks and under constant pressure from Arizona. Chandler's lone completion was a short 1-yard pass to Torry Holt on his first pass attempt of the game.

RB: Marshall Faulk (10-22 rushing, 1-13 receiving on 2 targets) was the sole ball carrier for the Rams, and his carries were limited. Even with the shaky Chandler under center, Mike Martz still did not rely on his running game. Faulk had just two carries in the first quarter, and only eight at halftime. Faulk had one run over 5 yards, a 12-yard run in the second quarter. All other carries were for 4 or less, including two for negative yardage. Faulk's only catch came in the fourth quarter, a 13-yard run and catch that ended with a fumble. Fortunately for St. Louis, WR Kevin Curtis was able to fall on it.

Steven Jackson did not play.

WR: Torry Holt (6-95 receiving on 13 targets, 1 fumble lost) caught three passes for over 20 yards, all in the third quarter. Holt had the best chance of any offensive player for the Rams to score, as he caught a 22-yard pass just outside the red zone of Arizona. Unfortunately for Holt, the original line of scrimmage was the 23, and he fumbled the ball as he was being tackled at the 1-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by the Cardinals for a touchback. Holt also gained 15 yards for his team by drawing a 15-yard pass interference call in the second quarter.

Isaac Bruce (4-37 receiving on 13 targets) Bruce only caught four of the 13 balls thrown his way. Many of the targets were just off-line, with little or no chance for a reception. Bruce had no deep balls thrown his way; most passes were within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. He also lost an 8-yard reception on a penalty.

Shaun McDonald (2-14 receiving on 3 targets) caught two passes in the fourth quarter, an 11-yarder and a 3-yarder long after the game had been decided. McDonald was also used on punt returns, gaining 28 yards on 5 attempts.

Kevin Curtis (1-4 receiving on 6 targets) caught just one pass in the fourth quarter for a 4-yard gain. Curtis also had a 5-yard catch called back due to penalty.

TE: Cameron Cleeland (2-16 receiving on 2 targets) made a brief appearance for the Rams in the third quarter, catching consecutive passes for 9 and 7 yards, respectively. Besides that one drive, he was not a factor.

Brandon Manumaleuna (1-10 receiving on 2 targets) caught just one pass for 10 yards in the second quarter. His other target was a ball thrown short of him in the third period.

K: Jeff Wilkins (1 XP) connected on his lone extra point attempt.

Pass Defense: The Rams were ineffective in holding down the Arizona passing game. Cardinal QB Josh McCown completed over 60% of his passes and hit for two touchdowns without throwing any interceptions. St. Louis recorded two sacks, but the defense was ineffective in producing consistent pressure on McCown.

Rush Defense: Arizona controlled the game and the clock on the ground, running 40 times for 131 yards. QB Josh McCown scrambled for two touchdowns, and RB Emmitt Smith carried 19 more times for 71 yards. The Cardinals gained 8 first downs via the ground game, and were able to control the clock and the time of possession with the lead. Arizona held the ball over 37 minutes in the game.

Arizona Cardinals

QB: Josh McCown (22-34-287, 2 TD, 9-33, 2 TD rushing) looks to have solidified his status as the starting QB for Arizona, as he had the best day of his young career. McCown accounted either directly (rushing) or indirectly (throwing) for all 4 Arizona touchdowns. McCown threw for nearly 300 yards and completed over 60% of his passes. He got everyone in the offense involved, completing passes to seven different Cardinals. Most of his passes were for short yardage, as he only had 3 completions for over 20 yards. The opening pass of the game was the longest toss, as the others were of the catch-and-run variety.

Speaking of running, McCown showed his footwork when it counted. He dashed when he needed to, gaining four first downs on the ground himself and putting the ball in the end zone twice.

RB: Emmitt Smith (19-71 rushing, 2-24 receiving on 2 targets) was the main running back for Arizona, starting as the lone setback for the Cardinals. Smith broke two long runs, of 19 and 20 yards, during the contest. Smith also added two catches for 24 yards in the first half.
Smith left the game in the second quarter with what was originally called a neck stinger, but later changed to a migraine headache. Regardless, Smith returned and played in the second half.

Josh Scobey (9-23 rushing, 3-52 receiving on 3 targets) stepped in for Arizona on two separate yet distinct occasions. Scobey was Emmitt Smith's replacement when Smith was out, and Scobey was also the running back of choice to finish out the game and run out the clock. Seven of his 9 carries came in the second half. Scobey also had two nice receptions, one for 13 yards in the second quarter, and a bigger catch-and-run for 36 yards in the third.

Obafemi Ayanbadejo (2-2 rushing, 4-45 receiving on 4 targets) contributed most through the passing game. Ayanbadejo caught all 4 balls thrown at him, turning 3 of them into first downs.

Damien Anderson (1-2 rushing) made a brief appearance in the fourth quarter, running once for two yards.

WR: Larry Fitzgerald (4-37, 2 TD receiving on 7 targets) scored both Arizona receiving touchdowns. His first score came on an 8-yard toss in the second quarter, a play that officials also called defensive pass interference. The call could have gone against Fitzgerald, but the DB Travis Fisher never looked at the ball. The second touchdown was a 4-yard catch in the third period. Fitzgerald added a 10-yard catch in the fourth and a 15-yarder in the second quarter.

Anquan Boldin (4-48 receiving on 9 targets) was the most targeted Arizona receiver, getting 9 looks from QB Josh McCown. Boldin was used at times to stretch the defense, and one of his targets was a deep ball that was just overthrown. He also lost a 16-yard reception in the third quarter due to a penalty.

Bryant Johnson (3-69 receiving on 5 targets) was the primary deep threat for Arizona. Johnson set that tone early, catching a 30-yard strike on the first pass play of the game. His other two catches came in the second quarter, a 14-yard reception and a 25-yarder. The 25-yard catch was empty yardage; however, as it was a catch-and-run on the last play of the half where Arizona was deep in their own territory. The Rams were in a prevent defense.

TE: Freddie Jones (2-12 receiving on 5 targets) caught two short passes of 7 and 5 yards in the first half. His contributions were limited in this game.

Eric Edwards (0-0 receiving on 1 target) was not a factor in the game.

K: Neil Rackers (4-4 XP, 1-1 FG) made a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter, his only field goal chance in the game. Rackers made all four extra points.

Pass Defense: QB Chris Chandler was forced from the game after just one quarter. Chandler was under constant pressure, as he was sacked twice and intercepted once. His replacement, QB Jamie Martin, was kept in check and out of the end zone. Martin was limited to 16 completions for 188 yards, and was also sacked once. The one scoring threat was a catch and run by WR Torry Holt, but FS Ifeanyi Ohalete stripped the ball out and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

Rush Defense: The Rams never really tried to get a running game going, as they only had 10 carries on the game. Marshall Faulk was the lone ball carrier for St. Louis, and he only gained 22 yards. The effort was also limited due to the score, as the Rams felt as they had to throw the ball nearly every play in an effort to catch up.

New Orleans Saints 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

Special teams accounted one of the Saints' touchdowns when Aaron Stecker ran the kickoff back for a touchdown. Michael Lewis also returned a punt to the 4 yard line in the 4th quarter that led to Joe Horn's touchdown score. The Saints' defense has now two games in a row allowing less than 300 yards of offense after not keeping anyone under that figure all year.

Deuce McAllister put forth a workhorse effort carrying the ball 25 times against a stout Tampa Bay line. He provided protection for Aaron Brooks, not through his blocking, but rather by running the ball. His 89 yards rushing helped keep New Orleans in the game.

Joe Horn was contained but not shut down making a nice reception on a 4 yard grab in the 4th quarter to put New Orleans within striking distance of the win that they eventually attained. Donte' Stallworth made the 7 yard game winning touchdown reception with less than a minute in the game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brian Griese's stats are not completely indicative of his performance. He looked impressive in the first half throwing for 10 completions in 16 attempts for 73 yards, but virtually disappeared in the second half completing only 3 more passes for 45 yards. Tampa Bay could have put this game away in the second half but Griese did not provide the quarterback play needed to do so.

Michael Pittman rushed for what would have been a career-high 135 yards had he not lost 4 yards on his second-to-last carry. His last carry was the most costly as he fumbled the ball allowing the Saints to drive 41 yards for the game winning touchdown. It appeared his forward progress had been stopped and he may have hit the ground, but the play was not overturned in replay. Earlier, he had an 8 yard gain nullified on a holding penalty.

Joey Galloway nearly led his team to a victory. He drew an illegal-contact penalty that extended Tampa Bay's opening drive, and followed that up a couple plays later with a nice speed-move on the defender to create space and get wide open for a 3 yard touchdown reception. Later he returned a punt 59 yards for Tampa's only other touchdown.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

New Orleans Saints

QB: Aaron Brooks (14-21-169, 2 TD, 3-17 rushing) looked befuddled in the first half throwing for only 38 yards. He was battered around all day by the tenacious Buccaneer line. At one point in the first half Brooks was sacked on 4 out of 5 plays. He was sacked 7 times on the day. However, when his team needed him, he sprang to life throwing two 4th quarter touchdowns.

RB: Deuce McAllister (25-89 rushing, 1-9 receiving on 1 target) put forth a workhorse effort pounding away at the Buccaneers. He was only able to break one long run of 18 yards but his efforts kept the Saints in the game.

WR: Joe Horn (4-64, 1 TD receiving on 6 targets) was blanket covered much of the day by the Tampa Bay defense. He made a nice play on his touchdown reception using quickness and positioning to get open on a slant-pattern.

Donte' Stallworth (2-29, 1 TD receiving on 4 targets) made the most of his opportunities starting for the first time ahead of Jerome Pathon. He made a nice run on his first reception turning a short pass into a 22 yard gain. Later he made a nice grab on the game-winning touchdown and battled his way into the end zone.

Jerome Pathon (1-15 receiving on 2 targets, 1 fumble lost) did not help his cause in earning his starting job back by fumbling the ball on Tampa Bay's 5 yard line at the end of the 3rd quarter. He was not hit on the play and allowed the ground to cause the fumble.

TE: Boo Williams (0-0 receiving on 1 target) fell down in the end zone as he was being targeted for a touchdown. It would have been an easy catch. Joe Horn scored on the following play.

K: John Carney (3-3 XP, 0-1 FG) missed a 38 yard field goal that appeared to be important when the Saints pulled within 3 points in the 4th quarter. It's worth noting that the missed field goal came after one of Brooks' many sacks.

Pass Defense: This unit surprised by holding Tampa Bay to just 118 yards passing.

Rush Defense: The Saints' defense surrendered over 160 yards rushing including a couple big runs by Michael Pittman, however didn't allow the Buccaneers to score on the ground.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB: Brian Griese (13-22-118, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2-0 rushing) really should have been much more effective against what has been a soft Saints' defense all year. He looked sharp and in command in the first half, only to come up small in the second half. His interception in the end zone was a bad decision and a horrible pass.

RB: Michael Pittman (24-131 rushing, 2-10 receiving on 6 targets, 1 fumble lost) Pittman will be remembered in this game for his fumble. That's unfortunate because it appeared his forward progress had clearly been stopped prior to the ball being ripped away from him. Also, prior to that he put forth a tremendous effort routinely plowing through the Saints' defense. He had a great 58 yard run right up the middle of the line. He first shook free of a tackle by a lineman, juked by the linebackers then ran past the defensive backs.

WR: Michael Clayton (4-53 receiving on 4 targets) made the most of his opportunities and continues to grow in maturity. His routes looked crisp and sharp and the reason he catches most of the passes to him is because he is finding openings in the secondary.

Joey Galloway (2-18, 1 TD receiving on 4 targets, 2-19 rushing, 1 TD punt return) showed absolutely no lingering effects from his earlier hamstring problems. He had another sure touchdown pass slip just inches beyond his fingertips on the 2nd drive of the game.

TE: Ken Dilger (1-5 on 2 targets) Dilger made one reception for 5 yards in the second quarter.

K: Jay Taylor (2-2 XP, 1-1 FG) Taylor made a 37-yard field goal attempt.

Pass Defense: To lose a game after notching 7 sacks has to make the Buccaneers' defense sick. They dominated this game for most of the game. Despite the 21 points scored by the Saints it is worth noting that one touchdown came from a kickoff return, one on a 4 yard drive after a punt return, and one on a 41 yard drive after a fumble. However, when it counted they couldn't make the big play to keep the Saints out of the end zone.

Rush Defense: The Buccaneers gave up only 115 yards rushing with a solid effort. Deuce McAllister gained almost 90 yards on the ground but it took him 25 carries to do it.

Tennessee Titans 35 at Oakland Raiders 40

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tennessee Titans

In four seasons, Drew Bennett has undergone a transformation from an undrafted free agent trying to make the Titans' roster to one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. After back-to-back tremendous games the past two weeks against Indianapolis and Kansas City put him in the spotlight, Bennett had another huge effort with 13-160 and 2 more touchdowns at Oakland. With 8 TDs in three games, he tied no less than Jerry Rice for the NFL record (Rice accomplished the feat twice in his storied career).

With Steve McNair out for the rest of the season, the Titans have to be impressed with Billy Volek's improvement. Like Bennett, an undrafted free agent out of college, Volek made just his sixth NFL start a productive one. Operating behind a banged-up offensive line and with a non-existent running game, Volek attempted 60 passes, completing 40 of them for 492 yards. He had 4 touchdown passes and scored himself on a 1 yard sneak late in the game. The downside was that Volek threw an interception, lost a fumble, and, in the final seconds, allowed himself to get trapped in the end zone by a three-man rush and drew an intentional grounding penalty that was assessed as a safety.

Wide receiver Derrick Mason sprained his ankle the previous Monday night against Kansas City, but rebounded with a solid game. Mason had 9 catches for 121 yards, and scored on a 3-yard pass from Volek early in the fourth quarter. Mason limped off the field during the fourth quarter, but went right back in the game.

Oakland Raiders

Kerry Collins tied his career high with 5 touchdown passes, despite throwing only six times in the fourth quarter as the Raiders tried to work on the clock with a lead. Collins completed 21 of 37 attempts for 371 yards, with 1 interception. He had a connection going early and often with WR Jerry Porter, who ended up with 3 TD catches. Collins might have had an even bigger day, but he overthrew open receivers several times and had a couple of drops. Tennessee mounted little pass rush, so Collins had all day to find open targets.

Wide receiver Jerry Porter had one touchdown in each of the first three quarters on his way to a huge day. Porter had 8 catches for 148 yards and was open on nearly every play. He had only two receptions in the second half, but one went for a 3-yard TD.

Tight end Teyo Johnson was the man early for the Oakland offense, but then became the forgotten man. He caught all three passes targeted to him in the first quarter, including an 18-yard TD strike from Collins that opened the scoring. However, Collins looked his way just twice more, overthrowing him both times.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Tennessee Titans

QB: Billy Volek (40-60-492, 4 TD, 1 Int, 1 fumble lost, 1-1, 1 TD rushing) Volek looked good for most of the game, especially in the two-minute drill at the end of the first half when he marched his team 76 yards to a TD on 4 plays in just 26 seconds. His low point was a critical fumble late in the third quarter while back to pass. The Titans were down just seven points, but the Raiders cashed in the turnover to jump up by 14. On the next Tennessee possession, Volek threw an interception on a fourth down play that appeared to be a miscommunication with rookie TE Ben Troupe.

Craig Hentrich (0-1-0 passing) The Titans' punter and holder tried to hit TE Shad Meier with a pass on a fake field goal in the fourth quarter.

RB: Antowain Smith (16-45 rushing, 4-38 receiving on 5 targets) Tennessee didn't try to run much, but Smith was reasonably productive when asked. His highlight of the day was a 17-yard reception in the first quarter that helped set up the first Volek-to-Bennett touchdown.

Troy Fleming (2-15 rushing, 2-21 receiving on 2 targets) The rookie from Tennessee had both of his catches in the fourth quarter as the Titans were trying to come from behind.

Robert Holcombe (1-6 receiving on 1 target) Holcombe's lone catch came on the Titans' opening drive.

WR: Drew Bennett (13-160, 2 TD receiving on 17 targets) Bennett was remarkably consistent throughout the game, catching 4 passes in the first quarter, 3 in the second, 2 in the third and 4 in the fourth. On Bennett's first-quarter touchdown, he beat double-coverage on a 17-yard post route. Early in the second quarter, he made a highlight-reel TD grab, laying out to get both arms under the ball in the end zone, despite being interfered with. The Raiders paid special attention to Bennett in the second half and did not let him get open deep.

Derrick Mason (9-121 receiving on 16 targets, 1 TD) Mason had a productive day despite not being 100 percent due to last week's ankle injury. He had no catches and just one target in the third quarter, but came back with a clutch touchdown reception in the fourth.

Eddie Berlin (3-69 receiving on 3 targets) As much as Volek threw the ball, it is surprising Berlin didn't get more opportunities. All three of Berlin's targets and receptions came in hurry-up situations at the end of both halves.

TE: Ben Troupe (6-75, 1 TD receiving on 10 targets) The rookie tight end from Florida got his first NFL touchdown late in the second quarter on a 7-yard pass from Volek. He displayed tremendous athleticism on two of his late catches, hurdling would-be tacklers and picking up extra yardage. He nearly had a second TD, but was tackled at the 1-yard line after a 19-yard catch and run.

Shad Meier (2-2 receiving on 5 targets) Meier lost 2 yards on his first quarter reception, but his 4-yard catch early in the fourth quarter converted a third and 3 at the Oakland 6. Four plays later, Volek connected with Mason for a TD. Meier was the target on Craig Hentrich's pass on a fake field goal, but the ball was knocked away on a good defensive play.

K: Gary Anderson (5-5 XP, 0-1 FG) Anderson missed barely wide right on a 41-yard field goal attempt with three seconds left in the second quarter. That left the score tied at 21 at the half.

Pass Defense: Tennessee's pass defense didn't do much. Oakland's Kerry Collins threw for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns, and seemingly no one thought it was a good idea to cover Jerry Porter. The Titans did pick up one interception on a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and picked off by LB Keith Bulluck.

Rush Defense: Tennessee was able to contain Oakland's running game, and did not allow the Raiders to grind out the clock in the fourth quarter. Oakland managed 57 yards on 22 attempts, just 2.6 yards per carry.

Oakland Raiders

QB: Kerry Collins (21-37-371 passing, 5 TD, 1 Int, 4-10 rushing) The veteran quarterback enjoyed a career day against the Titans' porous pass defense. Collins was rarely pressured and was sacked just twice. He looked to be in control as he picked apart the Titans.

RB: Zack Crockett (8-27 rushing, 1-11 receiving on 1 target) Crockett accounted for Oakland's longest rush of the day in the second quarter: an 11-yard gain that set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Porter on the next play.

Justin Fargas (7-17 rushing, 1-21 receiving on 1 target) Fargas could find little room to run, as his longest gain was 5 yards. His 21-yard reception in the first quarter got the Raiders out of bad field position and helped set up their first TD.

Amos Zereoue (1-4 rushing, 2-11 receiving on 2 targets) Zereoue didn't see a lot of action behind Crockett and Fargas.

Chris Hetherington (1-14 receiving on 2 targets) The nine-year journeyman from Yale helped set up a third quarter touchdown with his 14-yard catch down to the Tennessee 7-yard line, one play after an Oakland fumble recovery.

J.R. Redmond (2 for -1 rushing, 0-0 receiving on 3 targets) Redmond worked mostly as a third-down back, but he was unable to catch any of his 3 targets.

WR: Jerry Porter (8-148, 3 TD receiving on 12 targets) Porter continues to be a big-play receiver, despite not having a lot of other targets to distract opposing defenses, especially since Ronald Curry was injured. In the first half, Porter caught 6 of the 7 passes thrown his way, including TDs of 32 and 18 yards. He added a 3-yard scoring catch in the third quarter.

Alvis Whitted (2-61 receiving on 2 targets) Whitted got blasted making his first catch, a 4-yard reception that converted a third-and-3 situation, and had to leave the game for a while. In the fourth quarter, he came up with a huge, 57-yard catch on third and 9 from the Oakland 20, beating double coverage. The long reception set up a field goal that extended the Raider lead to 10 points with 3:39 to play

Doug Gabriel (2-52, 1 TD receiving on 5 targets) The second-year wide receiver from Central Florida is still looking for consistency. He scored on a 45-yard pass from Collins in the third quarter; his first TD since Week 1. He was targeted twice in the second quarter, three times in the third.

Johnnie Morant (0-0 receiving on 1 target) The rookie from Syracuse dropped what could have been his second career reception in the second quarter.

TE: Teyo Johnson (3-49, 1 TD receiving on 5 targets) Johnson was busy early, making all 3 of his catches in the first quarter, including an 18-yard touchdown grab. He was targeted just twice more in the final three periods.

Doug Jolley (1-4 receiving on 3 targets) Jolley had a quiet day. All three of his targets came in the second quarter.

K: Sebastian Janikowski (5-5 XP, 1-1 FGs) Janikowski made every kick asked of him. His 42-yard field goal extended Oakland's lead from 7 to 10 points late in the game.

Pass Defense: Oakland's pass rush managed 3 sacks, which isn't a lot when the opposing quarterback drops back 63 times. Tennessee receivers were open most of the day. Oakland's lone interception came on a fourth-down play, and Volek threw the ball right into the arms of Denard Walker.

Rush Defense: Oakland did a good job against the run. Tennessee rushed for 61 yards on 19 attempts, a 3.2-yard average.

San Diego Chargers 21 at Cleveland Browns 0

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

San Diego Chargers

San Diego came in determined to establish the run, and hardly utilized the passing game. Drew Brees only attempted 6 passes the entire game and completed 4 of them for 85 yards. Tight End Antonio Gates turned one of those passes into a 72-yard touchdown play. The Chargers' plan of relying almost exclusively on the run and playing solid defense paid off as they were able to shut out the Browns at home in very cold, snowy conditions. Brees did what was asked of him, which was hand the ball off and make a few throws on third and long situations.

LaDainian Tomlinson led a very impressive running attack. Early in the game he slipped trying to elude a Cleveland defender with a hard cut, and after that seemed to decide to run with more power and less shiftiness. He ran hard between the tackles and while he still displayed some elusiveness, he usually lowered his shoulder and carried defenders with him for extra yards. Tomlinson finished the day with very impressive numbers of 26 carries for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. San Diego made it inside the 10-yard line twice during the game, and on both trips, they kept running Tomlinson until he scored. San Diego's offensive line is to be commended for doing a fine job for Tomlinson and his back up, Jesse Chatman, who gained 48 yards on 14 carries.

The Chargers' receivers were not asked to do much other than block in the running game. The one big play was turned in by Antonio Gates, who caught a pass that was thrown approximately 20 yards to him, turned and ran for another 50-plus yards for a 72-yard touchdown play. Gates showed very good speed on this play as he outran several Cleveland defenders easily as they tried to catch him. The Chargers were so dominant on the ground, at one point in the game they ran the ball 19 consecutive times. In the second half only one pass play was called.

The Chargers' defense played very well and helped record their first shutout in several years. They pressured Cleveland quarterback Luke McCown almost every time he dropped back to pass. While they recorded just 1 sack and 1 interception, San Diego's defensive line and linebackers made McCown hurry most of his throws. The Chargers' run defense did give up some long runs to Lee Suggs, who did not start the game but once he entered stayed in, as he was Cleveland's most effective offensive option. In the first half, a Cleveland punt hit a Charger and the Browns recovered at the San Diego 5-yard line. On the next play, San Diego linebacker Donnie Edwards intercepted McCown's pass. San Diego faced another similar situation in the second half, when Cleveland had the ball 1st and goal at the 8-yard line. They stopped Suggs for a 4-yard loss and forced McCown into 3 incompletions after that to preserve their shutout.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns' passing game was ineffective at best as Cleveland was unable to establish any threat through the air. Luke McCown showed a strong arm on a couple throws, but missed receivers. In his defense, both Dennis Northcutt and Antonio Bryant dropped passes that they should have easily caught.

Cleveland's best offensive player by far was Lee Suggs. Suggs showed power and broke several tackles throughout the day on his way to amassing 105 yards rushing on 21 carries for an impressive 5.0 yards-per-carry average. He ran very decisively and showed good speed once he made it through the defensive line. However, he was stopped on a crucial 1st and goal run from the 8-yard line for a 4-yard loss. This series ultimately resulted in no points being scored by Cleveland.

Dennis Northcutt was the most accomplished receiver for Cleveland, but was inconsistent. He dropped a couple passes that he should have caught. Though he did have one reception for 39 yards, he dropped another deep pass that would have put Cleveland inside the red zone. Those were the only deep opportunities in the game for the Browns. On one drive inside the 10-yard line, Antonio Bryant's number was called twice. He caught one pass for a 7-yard play, but dropped the second pass, which would have resulted in a touchdown, though the coverage was very good on the play.

The Browns' run defense could not contain the San Diego running game at all. San Diego made a commitment to the run but though Cleveland knew what was coming they could not stop it. The Chargers ran for 175 total yards at a respectable 4.0 yards-per-carry. Cleveland's defensive line was pushed around by San Diego's offensive line for much of the game, and their linebackers had to make most of the tackles. San Diego only attempted 6 passes, so Cleveland was unable to develop any sort of rhythm in their pass defense. Cleveland attempted some trickery when they attempted an onside kick at the beginning of the second half. However a Cleveland player overran the ball and a San Diego player recovered the ball.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

San Diego Chargers

QB: Drew Brees (4-6-85, 1 TD, 6 for -1 rushing) Brees was not asked to do much in this game. His passes usually were attempted on third down plays. His one touchdown came as a result of a nice throw of about 20 yards to Antonio Gates who ran the rest of the way for a 72-yard touchdown play. Thanks to the weather, the game plan and the effective running game, Brees' numbers were very low. He only attempted one pass in the second half. Half of Brees' rushing attempts came when he kneeled down three consecutive times at the end of the game.

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (26-111, 2 TD rushing, 1 for -5 receiving on 1 target) Tomlinson ran the ball very well and showed his versatility by becoming more of a power runner due to the inclement weather. Tomlinson received all the carries on the 5 plays San Diego ran inside the 10-yard line on two separate drives, scoring touchdowns to cap off both drives.

Jesse Chatman (14-48 rushing) Chatman ran very well in relief of Tomlinson, running low to the ground with good power. He took defenders on and dragged some for extra yards.

Lorenzo Neal (4-16 rushing) Ran up the middle with good power on the few times he was asked to carry the ball. He spent the rest of the game opening holes for Tomlinson and Chatman.

WR: Eric Parker (2-18 receiving on 2 targets) Parker was not asked to do much in the passing game and caught both of the balls thrown his way.

Malcolm Floyd (0-0 receiving on 1 target) Brees threw deep to Floyd on San Diego's first drive and was not heard from afterwards.

TE: Antonio Gates (1-72, 1 TD receiving on 2 targets) Gates made the most of the one pass thrown his way in the first half. He was the only player who had a pass thrown to him in the second half. He got open deep but was called for offensive pass interference.

K: Nate Kaeding (3-2 XP) Kaeding made all 3 extra points attempts and did not have any field goal attempts.

Pass Defense: The Chargers' pass defense was solid. While they did not record a lot of sacks they pressured McCown throughout the game and the defensive backs prevented any big plays downfield.

Rush Defense: The rush defense was average, as Lee Suggs averaged 5.0 yards-per-carry. Apart from Suggs the other Cleveland runners averaged 2.6 yards-per-carry on 8 attempts, including 2 failed reverses.

Cleveland Browns

QB: Luke McCown (11-27-108, 1 INT, 1-4 rushing) McCown battled a solid defense and poor weather conditions and ended the day with very poor numbers. He displayed some arm strength, but was erratic on several of his throws. He locked in on his wide receivers, throwing 18 of his 27 passes to Dennis Northcutt and Antonio Bryant.

RB: Lee Suggs (21-105 rushing, 1 for -2 receiving on 1 target) Suggs ran the ball very well. He showed power and explosion through the hole and usually was not stopped by one defender. Suggs' numbers are even more impressive as Cleveland's passing game was ineffective and San Diego was able to focus on him.

William Green (5-17 rushing) Except for one 13-yard run, Green was ineffective and gave way to Suggs when he entered the game.

WR: Dennis Northcutt (4-61 receiving on 9 targets, 2-0 rushing) Northcutt was Cleveland's best option in the passing game. He ran good routes to get open, but did not run away from defenders after making catches. He was also involved in 2 reverses that were unsuccessful. Northcutt displayed some speed on a 39-yard pass play where he used some moves to turn the defender around and make a nice catch.

Antonio Bryant (3-30 receiving on 9 targets) Bryant dropped some passes he should have caught and could have had bigger numbers. However some of those balls were defended closely as he was unable to gain much separation from the Chargers' defensive backs. He was targeted twice inside the 10-yard line; gaining 7 yards on one play and dropping a touchdown catch on the next.

Frisman Jackson (1-6 receiving on 2 targets) Jackson was not involved much in this game.

TE: Aaron Shea (1-8 receiving on 4 targets) Shea left the game in the first half with a sprained knee but returned in the second half. He was used more as a blocker.

Steve Heiden (1-5 receiving on 2 targets) Like Shea, Heiden contributed more in the running game as a blocker.

K: Phil Dawson (0-1 FG attempts). Dawson missed his only field goal attempt, which was from 39 yards.

Pass Defense: The Browns' pass defense was not asked to do much as San Diego attempted just 6 passes in the game. They did give up a touchdown to Antonio Gates who was uncovered when he caught a pass then turned and ran untouched for a 72-yard score. The few times San Diego attempted passes the receivers were usually open.

Rush Defense: The Browns' run defense was not good. San Diego was able to remain committed to their running game, as all of their running backs were able to run successfully against the Browns. San Diego had 2 drives inside the Browns' 10-yard line, and ran the ball exclusively, scoring touchdowns both times.

Baltimore Ravens 10 at Indianapolis Colts 20

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens seemed to have a single plan for success: Pound Manning, throwing as many different looks at him as possible. They were quite successful in the first half, holding the Colts to a pair of FGs. The Ravens defense pressured Manning, never giving him the time to throw, and brought so many different looks at him defensively, they would be difficult to count. Manning was forced to audible constantly, and always seemed to be directing his offense to try and pick up defenders. Manning was also forced to drop back into shotgun numerous times just to try and get time to throw.

Jamal Lewis is incredible. That is certainly not enough that should be said about his ability to run the ball. Lewis runs with dominating power, but still has the skills to weave, spin, and cut through the field. Of Lewis' 130-yards, easily 50-60 of them came after contact when a lesser RB would have just gone down. He runs right over defenders, and when that is not possible, he has moves that leave them behind just wondering what happened. The Ravens are a very different team with him in the lineup.

At the end of the game, TE Todd Heap looks good statistically with almost 60 yards and a TD in a low scoring game. The reality is that Heap truly struggled in the game. He was used almost exclusively as a blocker in the first half, not seeing a target. He dropped at least 3 easily catchable balls where they hit not one, but both of his hands. Heap had 9 targets, and was able to bring down only 4 of them. Heap lost what would have easily been another TD when he was out in front of the defenders, and got both hands on the ball in the end zone, but was unable to make the catch.

Indianapolis Colts

Last series of the game: Boller had just thrown an interception, giving the ball to the Colts at Baltimore's 4 yard line. Manning needs just one TD to tie the all-time TD record in front of the home crowd. Colts are up by 10 with just seconds left on the clock, and Head Coach Dungy calls a pass, and Manning audibles out of the play to just kneel down. The Camera is on Dungy as you can see him ask an Assistant about the pass play, and the assistant is agreeing with him that a pass was called. Dungy seems very confused on the sideline at the time over the play change. Class act all the way around for Manning, even if the home crowd did boo for not going for the record.

This was not what we have come to expect from the Colts. Manning was pressured all game with different fronts and attacking players that he was seeming unable to deal with. Manning was always on the run, scrambling against much faster players, and just trying to get rid of the ball. Manning was able to get enough going to win the game, but he was clearly uncomfortable during the game. Manning threw poor balls, the receivers dropped and bobbled passes, and James was never able to pick up the team and carry them on his back. It took almost the entire first half for Manning to rack up 100-yards passing.

Dwight Freeney was in the backfield on every play. He would come around Jonathan Ogden, who would simply push him around the outside of Boller early on in the game. Freeney had a great sack where Ogden blew his blocking assignment. Freeney did get the better of Ogden for the game.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Baltimore Ravens

QB: Kyle Boller (19-40-210, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1-2 rushing) Looking back at the game stats gives you a different impression of Boller's performance than watching the game. Perhaps it comes from seeing Manning struggle so much, and noting that Boller didn't seem bad in comparison. Lewis took a ton of pressure off of Boller, and the chains kept moving when the Ravens had the ball. He also showed a ton of hustle and headiness when Lewis fumbled the ball, and Boller sprinted forward to recover it. Looking solely at the stats, Boller failed to complete 21 passes, and his WRs stat lines are just as abysmal.

RB: Jamal Lewis (20-130, 2-17 receiving, 2 targets) Lewis is a dominating runner. He showed power, strength, and amazing cut and spin moves throughout the game. This was a display of what a great runner looks like in a game. A joy to watch as Lewis moved the team down the field, and took Boller out of trouble snap after snap. Lewis caught both balls thrown his way.

Chester Taylor (7-22, 2-20 receiving, 3 targets) Taylor was used throughout the game to spell Lewis. He ran with good power, and had two nice receptions, gaining 1st downs on both of them.

Jamel White (1-6, 1-6 receiving, 1 target) White got in the game in the last series, and ended with a carry for six yards, and caught the only ball thrown his way. The Raven's were simply giving all the bench players a little action.

Alan Ricard (1-3 receiving, 1 target) Ricard caught the only ball thrown his way deep into the 4th quarter.

WR: Travis Taylor (2-39, 10 targets) Taylor had a terrible game. Taylor received opportunity after opportunity to make a play, and continued to come up empty. At the end of the day, 2 receptions on 10 targets is abysmal. Taylor just couldn't bring in the ball.

Kevin Johnson (4-33, 6 targets) Johnson struggled with the entire passing attack in the first half, seeing only two targets as Boller continued to try and go to a failing Travis Taylor. Johnson was able to pull in some balls in the second half. Johnson's 4 receptions was the bright spot of the Raven's WRs on the day.

Clarence Moore (1-17, 6 targets) Moore was targeted often, having 3 opportunities to make a catch in each half. By the end of the game, he came away with one reception.

TE: Todd Heap (4-58, 1 TD, 9 targets) Heap finished the day strong statistically, however, he didn't have a great game. He went the entire first half without a look or target, as he was used for blocking assignments. He did have 9 targets in the second half, but flat out dropped 3 of those. The best example came as Heap got both hands on the ball in the end zone, but failed to bring it in for the TD. As for Heap's score, if Stover's FG had not been nullified on the play before, Heap might never have had even the opportunity for the TD. Heap lost an 18-yard gain when the Center was called for being illegally downfield on a pass.

Darnell Dinkins (1-10, 2 targets) Dinkins finished with a single catch on two targets.

Terry Jones (1-7, 1 target) Jones caught the only ball thrown his way late in the game. He was a non-factor.

K: Matt Stover (1 XP, 1-2 FG)

Pass Defense: The Pass defense swarmed Manning, throwing him out of rhythm all game. Manning was hurried, constantly forced to change the play looking for more protection, and was held in check for a lot of the game. Manning had little time to throw as the Ravens threw an uncountable number of different looks at him.

Rush Defense: The Rush defense had a big scare as Ray Lewis came down on his right wrist early in the game and had to take a few plays off. Lewis was able to return, but was slow to get off the field, and was attended to on the sideline. The Ravens held James in check from really going off. However, a large part of that would most likely be attributed to the pass defense. With the Pass defense so dominating, the Colts just couldn't get their offense going.

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning (20-33-249, 1 TD, 2--2 rushing) Manning said before the game that he would "like to leave a mark" on the game. The way the game started, it looked like his mark was going to be his impression on the turf. The Ravens came out to stop Manning and the Colts, and they really came at him. Manning faced an almost uncountable number of different looks as the Ravens brought men at him from all over the field. Manning was constantly seen waving his arms around, barking out changes to maximize protection, and dropping back into shotgun more than has been seen all season. Manning had little time to throw the ball, with defenders chasing him down on almost every play. One of the big points that the announcers made was that every member of the Raven's defense was faster than Manning, and it was very evident. Many times a Raven's defender would come across the line almost if not totally untouched. Manning was eventually able to find some rhythm, and was able to move the ball around enough to win. Manning had a great drive on the Harrison TD audibleling the plays perfectly to get a drive going, while seemingly totally confusing the Ravens defense.

RB: Edgerrin James (22-69, 1 TD, 1-23 receiving) Later in the game James was able to find a little running room, and advance the ball. With the Ravens coming across the line so fast to disrupt Manning, the "stretch" handoff to James didn't work very effectively. It was surprising that the Colts didn't try a number of draws to try and take advantage of the Ravens attack into the backfield. James had little to no success running side to side, but was able to advance the ball forward. The Raven's Defense was able to stop the Colts and James dead in their tracks on most series resulting in FGs and punts. The one big knock against James over the years has been his inability to get the hard yards. On James' score, the offensive line opened a huge whole allowing James into the end zone against a seriously stacked defensive line.

WR: Reggie Wayne (8-88, 9 targets) With everything seemingly failing for the Colts, Wayne had a fantastic game. He found ways to get open, moved the chains, and caught every ball but one that he really had no chance at. Wayne made a number of great grabs.

Marvin Harrison (5-73, 1 TD, 9 targets) Harrison's TD came as he was in single coverage from Chris McCallister. McCallister turned the wrong way, leaving Harrison completely wide open to walk into the end zone with the ball. Harrison had a great game given the level of pressure on Manning, we have just become accustomed to much more from the entire Colt's offense.

Brandon Stokley (3-18, 6 targets) Stokley made a key fumble recovery when James lost the ball early in the 3rd quarter. Stokley lost a 9-yard gain as Baltimore was called with illegal contact.

TE: Marcus Pollard (2-34, 6 targets) With all the pressure Manning was facing, he went to his old "safety blanket" early in the game with little success. Pollard saw 6 targets come his way in the first half, but was only able to catch 2 of them. He was able to break off a 31-yard reception, but that was the only bright spot on the day. Manning was under pressure from the start of the game, and the usually excellent Pollard couldn't make a catch. Take away his one big catch, and Pollard finishes with a single reception for 3 yards on 5 targets.

Dallas Clark (1-13, 2 targets) One would have thought that the TEs would have a great game with Manning under pressure looking for the short dump. The reality is that Manning barely had enough time to dump the ball off. Clark caught one of the two balls thrown his way. He was not targeted in the second half.

K: Mike Vanderjagt (2 XP, 2-3 FG)

Pass Defense: Last week the Colt's pass defense was a huge deciding factor in the game. This week, the Ravens had a terrible passing attack, but it's unsure how much of that can be attributed to the Colts. Clearly they did a great job holding Boller to just 19 completions on 40 attempts, but Boller really did have time to throw the ball. While Manning couldn't find two steps to set up, Boller enjoyed a ton of time. The lone bright spot of the Colt's pass rush was Dwight Freeney, who had a great play when OL Ogden blew his blocking assignment. It was the secondary that kept the Ravens from succeeding, not the pass rush.

Rush Defense: The best thing that can be said about the Colt's rush defense this week is that the Colts won the game. Jamal Lewis is a dominating power runner that seemed almost unstoppable. Lewis would take carry after carry, and stretch it out for another 5 yards with ease. Lewis is that good, and the Colts were unable to contain him. LB Rob Morris suffered a concussion in the game. He'll be evaluated this week.

Minnesota Vikings 28 at Detroit Lions 27

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings squeezed out a narrow victory in Detroit and took one step closer to making the playoffs for the first time in four years. Minnesota can win the NFC North with victories at home against the Green Bay on Christmas Eve and at Washington in week 17.

QB Daunte Culpepper upped his perfect, career record against the Detroit Lions to 9-0 and threw for 404 yards and three long touchdown passes. Culpepper hit WR Nate Burleson for two touchdown passes of 36 and 37 yards and connected with WR Randy Moss for the longest play of their careers, an 82-yard TD strike.

The Vikings offense once again used the running back by committee approach in their ground attack. Michael Bennett started the game and was the most effective rusher, gaining 51 yards on 13 carries. Bennett also contributed with 3 catches for 51 yards out of the backfield. Onterrio Smith was given a chance early with 3 carries in the Vikings' opening drive, but only had 1 carry after that and none in the second half. Smith finished with just 6 yards on 4 carries. Moe Williams was used as the short yardage and third down back and came up big late in the fourth quarter. He ran over and through tacklers on his way to an 11-yard TD run that proved to be the game winner.

The dynamic duo of Nate Burleson and Randy Moss scorched the Detroit secondary for 236 yards on 9 catches and 3 touchdowns. Burleson had a career-high 2 touchdowns and amassed 134 yards on 5 receptions, while Moss garnered 102 yards on 4 catches and a touchdown. TE Jermaine Wiggins contributed with 6 catches for 39 yards.

The suspect Minnesota defense was horrible as they allowed 463 yards of offensive production to the Lions' timid offense. Even worse, the secondary allowed much maligned QB Joey Harrington to throw for a career-high 361 yards and march down the field and score a possible game tying touchdown with just 8 seconds left on the clock. On the bright side, the defense caused three turnovers and sacked Harrington twice.

Detroit Lions

It looked like overtime after a thrilling, late touchdown drive, but a botched extra point attempt with 8 seconds left in the game led to a heart breaking one point loss for the Detroit Lions.

Playing with the flu, QB Joey Harrington completed 25 out of 44 passes for a career-high 361 yards passing and threw two touchdown passes to WR Roy Williams in the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, Harrington rose to the occasion and was 10 for 16 for 160 yards, 2 touchdowns and a successful 2-point conversion. Harrington threw two interceptions inside the Vikings 20, both passes were intended for Roy Williams.

Also suffering the affects of the flu, RB Kevin Jones ran for 79 yards on 19 carries. Jones was an effective target out of the backfield, gathering 4 catches for 35 yards. He had a nice run for a 16-yard TD in the second quarter, but also lost a fumble in the third quarter.

The Lions also had a pair of 100-yard receivers as Az-Zahir Hakim and Roy Williams combined for 212 yards on 11 catches on 20 targets. Hakim finished with 4 catches for 108 yards and Williams caught 7 balls for 104 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns. Williams injured his right hip late in the second quarter was questionable to return for the second half. Although hobbled and playing in pain, Williams gutted it out and turned in a wonderful performance.

The Detroit defense applied consistent pressure on Daunte Culpepper and sacked him five times and recorded one interception. However, the secondary was burnt for three long touchdown passes, all of them on third down and surrendered 404 passing yards.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Minnesota Vikings

QB: Daunte Culpepper (25-35-404, 3 TD, 1 INT, 4-22 rushing) continued his dominance of the Detroit Lions and put up some impressive numbers, even though he had poor protection from his offensive line and was sacked five times. Culpepper was accurate, completing 71% of his pass attempts and when given time to throw he found the open receiver for big gains. Culpepper came through in the clutch as all three of his touchdown passes came on third downs. His first TD pass came on the opening drive when he hit a wide-open Nate Burleson down the right sideline for 36 yards. Early in the second quarter on third and 24, Culpepper aired it out and hit Randy Moss in stride for an 82-yard TD pass play. It was the longest play of his career. Culpepper and the offense struggled in the third quarter as he only threw for 46 yards and was picked off when he badly under threw a pass intended for Moss. Midway through the fourth quarter, Culpepper hit Burleson on a short crossing route and Burleson avoided a tackle and tiptoed down the left sideline and into the end for a 37-yard TD play. On the Vikings final scoring drive, Culpepper showed his leadership as he guided the offense 83 yards down the field in 10 plays for the go ahead score.

RB: Michael Bennett (13-51 rushing, 3-51 receiving on 4 targets) started the game, but was shut down in the first half managing just 6 yards on 5 carries. On the first play of the second quarter, Bennett caught a screen pass and raced 30 yards for the third down conversion. Bennett was very effective in the second half as he amassed 45 yards on 8 carries. The play before Moe Williams TD run, Bennett ran around the right side and fumbled after being hit, but luckily he recovered the fumble himself.

Moe Williams (2-12 rushing, 1 TD, 1-28 receiving on 2 targets) continues to be a clutch performer for the Vikings' offense. In the final drive, Williams had his only catch on a screen pass that he took for 28 yards. On third and 2 from the Detroit 11, Williams busted up the middle, ran over safety Brock Marion at the 5 and bounced off two more tacklers to get into the end zone for the score.

Onterrio Smith (4-6 rushing, 2-18 receiving on 2 targets) had 3 rushes each for 3 yards in the Vikings opening possession. However, Smith's only other carry was for a 3-yard loss early in the second quarter and he did not have another carry after that.

WR: Nate Burleson (5-134 receiving on 5 targets, 2 TD) caught everything thrown his way and averaged a massive 26.8 yards per catch. Burleson caught his first pass of the game for a 36-yard TD, late in the first quarter. He had 2 catches for 53 yards in the Vikings' final drive before halftime. On his last catch of the game, midway through the fourth quarter, Burleson turned a short crossing pass into a 37-yard TD when he raced by a would be tackler and tiptoed down the left sideline before diving into the pylon.

Randy Moss (4-102 receiving on 9 targets, 1 TD) looked to be fully recovered from his hamstring injury when he blew by the Detroit secondary for an 82-yard TD connection from Culpepper, early in the second quarter. It was Moss' longest play of his career. Moss had just 2 catches for 11 yards in the second half, but was the intended target on Culpepper's badly under thrown interception in the third quarter.

Marcus Robinson (1-9 receiving on 3 targets) made his only catch for 9 yards and a third down conversion, early in the fourth quarter.

TE: Jermaine Wiggins (6-39 receiving on 7 targets) is a big part of the Vikings' passing attack and continues to be a favorite outlet for Culpepper as he was targeted 7 times in the game. Wiggins caught his first pass for 8 yards and a third down conversion in the opening drive. He had a huge 27-yard reception nullified in the third quarter due to an offensive chop block penalty.

Sean Berton (3-23 receiving on 3 targets) had all three of his catches for 23 yards in the second half.

K: Morten Andersen (4-4 XP, 0-0 FG) converted on all four of his extra point attempts, but did not have a field goal attempt in the game.

Pass Defense: The pass defense was shredded by a flu stricken Joey Harrington as he threw for a career high 361 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. They recorded two sacks and safety Corey Chavous and cornerback Brian Williams each had an interception deep in Vikings' territory in the second half. The defense allowed the Lions' offense to score back-to-back touchdowns on their final two drives of the game, the last with just 8 seconds left in the game.

Rush Defense: The run defense had one of their better performances as they held Kevin Jones to just 79 yards on 19 carries. Linebacker Chris Claiborne stripped Kevin Jones of the ball and recovered the fumble, midway through the third quarter at the Vikings 29. It was the first lost fumble by a Detroit running back this year.

Detroit Lions

QB: Joey Harrington (25-44-361, 2 TD, 2 INT, 3-13 rushing) had a tougher time battling the flu than he did the Vikings' secondary. Harrington threw for a career-high 361 yards and engineered two long TD drives in the fourth quarter to rally the Lions. After throwing two interceptions in the second half, both intended for Roy Williams, Harrington redeemed himself by throwing consecutive TD passes to Williams on the Lions' final two drives of the game. The first one, he hit Williams in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard strike. Trailing by 7 points, with no timeouts left and only 1 minute and 37 seconds left in the game, Harrington quickly moved the offense down the field. With 12 seconds left, Harrington hit Williams for a 1-yard TD on a fade pattern and went to the sidelines to prepare for overtime. He wasn't even watching when he heard the groan from the crowd and realized the botched extra point attempt cost him a chance at victory.

RB: Kevin Jones (19-79 rushing, 1 TD, 4-35 receiving on 5 targets, 1 fumble lost) was also a victim of the flu bug. Midway through the second quarter, Jones carried the ball 5 consecutive times for 37 yards, ending with a 16-yard scamper around the left end for the TD. Jones lost his first fumble of the year, midway through the third quarter. Jones had 2 catches for 16 yards on Detroit's final drive.

Shawn Bryson (2-19 rushing, 3-51 receiving on 3 targets) was used as the third down back. Bryson had 19 yards rushing and receiving in the first half. On the first play of the fourth quarter, he had a 7-yard reception for a third down conversion. Bryson was on the receiving end of the lateral from Hakim in the fourth quarter and dashed for 25 yards.

Cory Schlesinger (1-2 rushing, 1-7 receiving on 1 target) bulled up the middle for 2 yards and a fourth down conversion, early in the fourth quarter.

WR: Az-Zahir Hakim (4-108 receiving on 9 targets) had his first catch for 12 yards and a third down conversion, midway through the second quarter. Late in the second quarter, Hakim had a big catch down the middle of the field for 36 yards. On that same drive, Harrington targeted Hakim in the end zone on back-to-back passes. The first was overthrown, but Hakim dropped the second one. Midway through the fourth quarter, Hakim turned in the play of the game when he caught a ball down the middle for 37 yards and just before he was tackled, lateraled the ball to Shawn Bryson for another 25 yards. Hakim caught his last catch for 23 yards in the Lions' final drive.

Roy Williams (7-104 receiving on 11 targets, 2 TD) was Harrington's favorite receiver as he was targeted 11 times in the game. Williams' first catch was for 9 yards and a first down in the opening drive. His next catch was midway through the second quarter for 24 yards and a third down conversion. Late in the second quarter, Williams injured his right hip and was taken into the locker room for x-rays and his return was questionable. With heavy padding on his hip and in obvious pain, Williams started the second half and took a slant pass for a huge 37-yard gain. After the play he gingerly limped off the field, but returned a play later. He was the intended target when Harrington and Williams had a miscommunication and the pass was intercepted at the Vikings 3, midway through the third quarter. Williams was again the intended target on Harrington's second interception at the Vikings 18, early in the fourth quarter. He caught his first TD for 9 yards in the back of the end zone for a third down conversion, midway through the fourth quarter. On the last drive, Williams drew a 14-yard pass interference penalty and the ball was placed at the Vikings 1. The next play, Williams caught a 1-yard fade pass for his second TD of the fourth quarter. Williams was visibly hobbled in the second half, but still managed to compile 5 catches for 71 yards and 2 TDs after the injury.

Tai Streets (4-30 receiving on 8 targets) had 3 catches for 15 yards in the first half. Streets made a reception for a successful two-point conversion after Williams' first TD catch in the fourth quarter. Streets' last catch was good for 15 yards in the final drive of the game.

TE: Stephen Alexander (2-26 receiving on 4 targets) did not have a target in the first half. Midway through the third quarter, Alexander had his first catch for 15 yards and a third down conversion. His other catch was for 11 yards to start the Lions' final drive of the game.

Casey Fitzsimmons (1 target) fell down on his only target of the game.

K: Jason Hanson (1-1 XP, 2-2 FG) converted on both his field goal attempts from 32 and 23 yards in the first half. However, on the final extra point attempt with 8 seconds left in the game, holder Nick Harris was unable to handle a poor snap and was tackled before he was able to spot the ball for Hanson.

Pass Defense: Although the Lions brought plenty of pressure and harassed Culpepper for much of the game, they got punished by the big play. All of Culpepper's three passing touchdowns came on third down plays and he finished with an enormous 404 yards passing for the game. The defense recorded 5 sacks and 1 interception, but cornerback Dre' Bly dropped an easy interception at the end of the first half that he might have been able to return for a defensive touchdown.

Rush Defense: The Detroit rush defense dominated the Vikings' offensive line in the first half only allowing a meager 13 yards on 10 carries to the Minnesota running backs. The Lions held the Vikings to just 91 total net yards on the ground for the game, but they allowed Moe Williams to break several tackles on his way to a game deciding 11-yard TD run late in the game.

Denver Broncos 17 at Kansas City Chiefs 45

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

RB Tatum Bell (9-50 rushing, 1-58 receiving on 2 targets), did not start, but got the bulk of the RB load when Denver fell behind and Bell's speed was more valuable. Bell broke off a few nice runs, mostly plays that started to the right with Bell cutting back across the middle. Bell took a screen pass for 58 yards and had a chance to score, but safety Glen Wesley knocked the ball loose at the Chiefs 5, and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback.

QB Jake Plummer (23-41-292 passing, 1 TD, 2 INT, 2-29 rushing) struggled against the blitz, throwing two interceptions and making several other poor throws. Denver's offense was pass-heavy after falling behind (26 passes, 6 runs in the second and third quarters), and they had trouble when the Chiefs knew the pass was coming.

WR Rod Smith (6-75 receiving on 10 targets, 1 TD) caught a 22-yard TD pass in the first quarter, and was the most effective weapon in the passing game, often catching passes across the middle with defenders around him. He did lose a key third-down reception when he was flagged on a questionable offensive pass interference penalty.

Kansas City Chiefs

RB Larry Johnson (30-151 rushing 2 TD, 0-0 receiving on 0 targets) was the main beneficiary of a dominant Chiefs offensive line, often having plenty of running room and rarely getting hit in the backfield. Johnson scored twice on the ground, and racked up 151 yards even while getting pulled early in the fourth quarter with the game decided.

QB Trent Green (16-19-224 passing, 3 TD, 0 INT, 0-0 rushing) often had plenty of time to throw, and took it, waiting for receivers on slow-developing routes to get open. Green threw just three incomplete passes all day, did not turn the ball over, and his three TDs came in just over three quarters of work.

WR Eddie Kennison (7-101 receiving on 8 targets, 2 TD) flourished even with WR Johnnie Morton in the lineup to draw attention, going over the century mark in receiving yards, and catching all six passes Green threw his way. Kennison catch two passes in the end zone for TDs while covered by CB Champ Bailey, and also returned a Denver onside kick 31 yards deep into Broncos territory.

The Chiefs offensive line mowed down the Broncos defensive line and linebackers, consistently opening holes for RB Larry Johnson, and offering ample protection for QB Trent Green.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

QB: Jake Plummer (23-41-292 passing, 1 TD, 2 INT, 2-29) rushing) had a productive first quarter, completing 5 of 8 passes and throwing a TD. But when the Broncos fell behind and Denver had to throw almost exclusively, Plummer threw two INTs, and narrowly escaped two more. Plummer struggled when the Chiefs blitzed, often throwing into traffic and/or off target.

RB: Tatum Bell (9-50 rushing, 1-58 receiving on 2 targets) showed some speed in the running game, cutting back against the grain for gains up the middle. Bell carried the ball on 5 of 7 plays in on first-quarter drive, gaining two first downs and getting the Broncos into the red zone. Denver's longest gain from scrimmage came on Bell's lone pass reception, a 58-yard screen pass. However, fumbled at the end of the play, with safety Glen Wesley knocking the ball loose at the Kansas City 5, and the ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback and turnover.

Rueben Droughns (4-27 rushing, 3-17 receiving on 4 targets) started at RB, but was pulled in favor of the faster Bell when the Broncos fell behind early. Droughns had a 10-yard run called back on a clipping penalty.

Garrison Hearst (1-2 rushing, 5-49 receiving on 5 targets) was thawed out for some garbage-time action. His did have 5-yard TD run, but the Chiefs were up 45-10 at the time, and did not offer much resistance.

WR: Rod Smith (6-75 receiving on 10 targets, 1 TD) caught a slant at the Kansas City 10 and slipped through three defenders on his way to the end zone for an impressive 22-yard TD late in the first quarter.

Triandos Luke (5-40 receiving on 7 targets) had one particularly impressive catch, a jumping grab near the left sideline. Luke was pulled down to the ground by the helmet opening (15-yard penalty, similar effect as a face mask grab), but hung on to the ball. Luke played a lot after Denver fell way behind and used a lot of spread formations in pass-heavy play calling.

Ashley Lelie (3-37 receiving on 9 targets) dropped a potential 30-yard sliding catch. It was a tough play with two defenders nearby, but the ball did hit him in the numbers. Both Chiefs INTs were on ball intended for Lelie, including one where Plummer apparently expected Lelie to break off his route at the first-down marker, but Lelie continued down the sideline, and Chiefs had an easy INT.

Darius Watts (1-14 receiving on 1 target) caught a 14-pass near the end of the first half while the Denver was running a hurry-up offense. Watts was not targeted the rest of the day.

TE: Jeb Putzier (3-30 receiving on 6 targets) was a frequent target on short routes when the Chiefs blitz broke through. Putzier also saw some time at WR in 4-wide sets.

Dwayne Carswell (1-9 receiving one 1 target) caught a 9-yard swing pass in the third quarter. He did not play much after Denver abandoned the run.

K: Jason Elam made all of his kicks - one 27-yard FG, and two PATs.

Pass Defense: the secondary struggled, but the lack of a pass rush was a big contributor to Green's 84.2% completion rate. Play-action passes were also effective, especially in short-to-medium yardage situations.

Rush Defense: was overpowered by the Chiefs offensive line. The Broncos gave up TD drives of 87, 90, and 97 yards, and the Chiefs establishing the run set up those long drives.

Kansas City Chiefs

QB: Trent Green (16-19-224 passing, 3 TD, 0 INT, 0-0 rushing) took advantage of outstanding pass protection for an efficient and productive day. With his offensive line dominating and the running game clicking, Green could wait for receivers to get open, and utilized play-action passes to create space. Green's TDs were a play-action pass to Kennison dragging across the end zone, a post pattern to Kennison after looking off other receivers, and a deep ball up the sideline to Sammie Parker in stride after Parker beat his man deep. Green was pulled early in the fourth quarter when the game was no longer in doubt.

Todd Collins (1-4-42 passing, 1-4 rushing) mopped up the fourth quarter, playing the last three drives, long after the game was decided. Collins completed one of his four passes, a pretty deep ball to Kennison who had his man beat in single coverage for a 42-yard gain.

RB: Larry Johnson (30-151 rushing 2 TD, 0-0 receiving on 0 targets) had plenty of running room all day, and produced big yardage. While Johnson's big day is largely thanks to the Chiefs' offensive line moving down Denver's front four all afternoon, both of Johnson's TD runs were impressive. His first was a 5-yard run on a slow-developing play to the left side. There was no hole at first, but Johnson was patient, and blasted through to catch the front corner of the end zone. His second TD was a 32-yard scamper up the middle, breaking through the line and racing untouched to the end zone.

Omar Easy (4-1 rushing) shifted from fullback to halfback for four garbage-time carries.

Tony Richardson (0-0 rushing, 1-11 receiving on 1 targets) made most of his contribution blocking for Johnson on running plays, but did catch an 11-yard swing pass for a first down when the Chiefs were backed up deep in their own territory, moving the chains on what became a 99-yard TD drive.

WR: Eddie Kennison (7-101 receiving on 8 targets, 2 TD) had a great day, even while getting extra attention without Johnnie Morton in the lineup. Kennison caught all six passes Green threw to him, and beat Champ Bailey in the end zone twice for TDs. His longest gain was Todd Collins's only completion, a 42-yarder where Kennison had single coverage, and Collins just lofted the ball in the air and let Kennison chase after it. Kennison also returned a Denver onside kick 31 yards to the Denver 12.

Sammie Parker (3-84 receiving on 6 targets, 1 TD) had both his first NFL reception and his first NFL TD today. Parker beat the cornerback deep in zone coverage down the left sideline, made the catch in stride, and ran the last few steps in to the end zone. Parker also showed some ability after the catch in the first quarter, turning a 5-yard comeback route into a 23-yard gain. Two of his targets were from backup QB Todd Collins, both incompletions.

Dante Hall (2-17 receiving on 5 targets, 1-6 rushing) started at WR in Johnnie Morton's absence, but made a much bigger impact on special teams when he returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a TD. Hall was not targeted in the red zone.

Johnnie Morton did not play

TE: Tony Gonzalez (3-44 receiving on 5 targets) caught passes on back-to-back plays for first downs in the third quarter, but overall was not noticeable in the passing game.

Jason Dunn (1-9 receiving on 1 target) spent most of the day knocking Broncos backwards on running plays, but also made a great diving catch with a man all over him.

K: Lawrence Tynes made all of his kicks - a 39-yard FGs and six PATs.

Pass Defense: heavy blitzing forced Plummer into several hasty, poor decisions, resulting in two interceptions and several other poor throws. The Chiefs gave up three passes longer than 20 yards, but forced a fumble on the longest pass play of the game (a 58-yard screen pass to Tatum Bell) for a touchback and turnover.

Rush Defense: was unimpressive, but not needed. In the second and third quarters, Denver called 26 pass plays versus just 6 runs. The rushing TD yielded was in garbage time.

Buffalo Bills 33 at Cincinnati Bengals 17

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Buffalo Bills

In their drive toward the playoffs the Bills started slow versus the Bengals, falling behind 7-0 before Coach Mike Mularkey dipped into his bag of tricks to pull out a flea flicker that ignited his team. The perfectly executed play went for 60 yards from Drew Bledsoe to rookie Lee Evans and led to a 5 yard TD pass to Evans 3 plays later to tie the score. From here, the Bills special teams and defense each chipped in a TD of their own off of the Bengals next 2 drives to give the Bills a commanding 21-7 lead from which they would not look back.

The Bills offense was not impressive on this day as the only TD they scored was after they surprised the Bengals with the aforementioned flea flicker. Willis McGahee was a non factor as he was held in check during the first half of the game before hyper extending his knee and heading to the locker room with a couple minutes left before halftime. McGahee would start the second half but leave the game for good just before the end of the third quarter. By this time the Bills were solidly in control of the game.

With the offense sputtering it was again the Bills defense that came to the rescue scoring 1 TD and forcing 3 turnovers that directly led to 3 Rian Lindell field goals. The turnovers gave the Bills a short field to work with each time and although they weren't able to convert for touchdowns they were able to give Lindell fairly short field goal attempts.

Drew Bledsoe had what seemed to be his typical game this year completing 50% of his passes for 183 yards and 1 TD. With McGahee banged up, rookie Shaud Williams finished as the Bills leading rusher with only 30 yards. And in what is becoming a more recurrent theme, Lee Evans was the Bills leading WR with 101 yards and a touchdown. Although the Bills did not play impressively, they received scoring input from all 3 units of the team to control the outcome and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Cincinnati Bengals

Although Jon Kitna was starting at QB in place of an injured Carson Palmer it was not believed they would lose much based on Kitna's success last year. Unfortunately for the Bengals, Kitna could not shake the rust off of sitting the bench all year and his ineffectiveness cost the Bengals any chance of winning this game. Too often Kitna missed open receivers on third downs to kill drives. But his costliest mistake came at the beginning of the second quarter when he was pressured on a screen pass and made a horrible throw that Takeo Spikes intercepted and returned 62 yards for the TD that put the Bills up 21-7 and gave them control of the game. Later in the second quarter Kitna would fumble the snap from center and get intercepted - both turnovers leading to field goals that would put the Bills up 27-10 at the half.

Kitna's awful game was even harder to swallow for Bengals fans considering the fine game turned in by Rudi Johnson versus the Bills highly ranked run defense. Johnson ran strong up the middle and between tackles for 130 yards and 1 touchdown. After the Bengals recovered a Lee Evans fumble early in the game, Johnson ran 4 times for 21 yards to put the Bengals on top 7-0. At the end of the first with the Bengals down by 7 Johnson carried on 7 of 8 plays before Kitna threw the interception to Spikes. Of course Johnson was not without a mistake of his own as he fumbled at the end of a 20 yard run late in the third quarter. The Bills defense and Kitna's ineffectiveness held the league's number 1 WR tandem to a total of 53 yards receiving. Kelly Washington ended up as the Bengals leading WR with 60 yards and TE Matt Schobel caught Kitna's only TD pass.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Buffalo Bills

QB: Drew Bledsoe (15-30-183, 1 TD, 2-13 rushing) Bledsoe was not particularly impressive throwing the ball today but he did manage the game well from the standpoint that the defense set him up with a short field on a number of occasions, and while he did not get in the end zone he also did not turn the ball over allowing the Bills to at least put 3 on the board each time. While the Bills did not convert a first down on their first 2 drives, it was a perfectly executed flea flicker which gave the Bills life. Bledsoe actually had his choice of either Evans or Moulds as both were open and he chose Evans. 3 plays later Bledsoe found Evans over the middle for the touchdown. Without his 2 starting tight ends Bledsoe has lost a bit of the security he's had in checking down when the WRs are covered. No passes were completed to tight ends. Meanwhile the Bills coaching staff proved they would not ignore any possibility in their bag of offensive tricks by twice calling for a QB draw. Both calls were from inside the 10 yard line and while Bledsoe didn't look like Michael Vick he did gain 8 and 5 yards respectively.

RB: Willis McGahee (11-25, 2-1 receiving on 3 targets) McGahee was surprisingly ineffective especially considering the Bengals are ranked 28th versus the run. His longest run was for 14 yards on a play he bounced to the outside. However, 2 plays later he injured his right knee when he landed awkwardly attempting to catch a pass out on the wing. It looked like he hyper extended the knee when his cleat caught upon landing. He went to the locker room just before the 2 minute warning but returned to start the second half. He again went to the sideline during the Bills last drive of the 3dr quarter and limped into the locker room for good just before the start of the fourth quarter.

Shaud Williams (14-30, 1-10 receiving on 1 target) Williams filled in for McGahee and ended as the Bills leading rusher with 30 yards. McGahee was injured on a drive inside the 10 yard line of Cincinnati and Williams was given the carry on 3rd and goal from the 2 but was stuffed easily as he is much smaller than McGahee.

WR: Eric Moulds (5-47 receiving on 9 targets) Moulds had a very quiet game catching 5 balls but was targeted twice near the goalline. The first time was after the flea flicker but he wasn't really open. The second time he was dragged down at the 1 and the Bills ended up settling for a field goal.

Lee Evans (5-101, 1 TD receiving on 6 targets, 1--14 rushing) Each week Evans becomes more of a weapon in the Bills offense. On the flea flicker he was 4-5 yards past the defender but had to wait a bit for the ball and was brought down at the 5. He was targeted on the next play and although incomplete he scored the TD 2 plays later over the middle. Besides the deep targets he also shows shifty moves which allows him to create more on a play. While usually a good thing he did fumble early on the Bills second drive on a second effort reaching the ball out for the first down marker. This fumble led to the Bengals first TD.

Josh Reed (2-24 receiving on 4 targets) Besides Reed's 2 catches he also got open and forced an 18 yard pass interference on a 3rd and 6 to keep an eventual scoring drive alive.

Ryan Neufeld (1 target) No catches today.

K: Rian Lindell (3 XP, 4-4 FG) Lindell converted all 4 of his attempts at the end of short Bills drives.

Pass Defense: The Bills pass defense was the difference in this game as they pressured Kitna into poor throws that either ended drives in punts or turnovers. Pressure that forced him back on a screen that he eventually floated up to be picked by Takeo Spikes turned out to be the winning points for the Bills. Chris Kelsay tipped a ball at the line and intercepted it just before half leading to a field goal. The Bills also had 3 sacks on the day.

Run Defense: The defense was not strong versus the run today yielding 130 yards to Rudi Johnson. Johnson ran through the gaps into the linebackers quite often. Nate Clements forced a fumble on tackle after a 20 yard Johnson run. However, they did stop Johnson on couple key 3rd downs and on a 3rd and 1 at the 5 forcing a field goal.

Cincinnati Bengals

QB: Jon Kitna (16-32-151, 1 TD, 2 INT, 4-8 rushing) Kitna started out sharp hitting 3 different receivers on the fist drive. However, he missed an open receiver on 3rd and 1 and was not sharp afterward missing open receivers in spots that could have extended drives. The interception he threw to Spikes on the screen was horrible, a gift. The sad part is that it came on the play after he converted a 4th and 2. He fumbled the snap from center and was intercepted by a defensive lineman in the second quarter - both leading to Bills scores.

RB: Rudi Johnson (23-130, 1 TD 0 catches on 2 targets) Johnson ran strong and had one of the better days versus a highly ranked Bills rush defense. He broke through the defensive line often and was strong and shifty. He ran for 21 of the 40 yards on the first drive, powering in for the score over the right side. He was stuffed on 3rd and goal later in the second quarter. One blemish on his game was a fumble at the end of a 20 yard run in the 3rd quarter.

Kenny Watson (3-9)

WR: Chad Johnson (2-10 receiving on 8 targets, 1-2 rushing) Nate Clements vowed to play physical with Johnson and although Johnson earned a pass interference call in the first quarter he was pretty much taken out of the game as Kitna just could not connect with him. He did have an end zone target late but Kitna missed him.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (4-43 receiving on 6 targets) Houshmandzadeh caught a nice 24 yard pass on 3rd and 7 on a play that beat the Bills blitz leading to a 2nd quarter field goal. He also had an 8 yard reception to the Bills 5. No end zone targets.

Kelley Washington (4-60 receiving on 6 targets) Washington ended as the Bengals leading receiver. Washington was open the most of any Bengal receiver and could have had a bigger yardage day if Kitna wouldn't have under and over thrown him on various occasions. Had a 21 yard reception down to Bills 4 yard line late.

TE: Matt Schobel (3-20, 1 TD receiving on 4 targets) Schobel scored the Bengals final TD of the day and had a clutch catch on 4th and 2 in 2nd quarter.

Reggie Kelly (3-18 receiving on 3 targets) Came up short of 1st down on a third down catch when it looked like he should have been able to run over the defensive back.

K: Shayne Graham (2 XP, 1-1 FG)

Pass Defense: The pass defense would have had a real nice day had it not been for giving up the 60 yard flea flicker. They did give up a couple 3rd down receptions that kept drives alive but didn't let Bills receivers beat them otherwise. Only 2 sacks and no interceptions.

Run Defense: The Bengals have been killed this year by their lack of run defense but today they shut down the Bills. Even though McGahee got injured the Bengals only allowed him to bounce outside once and gang tackled well.

Houston Texans 24 at Chicago Bears 5

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Houston Texans

The Texans came to Chicago and dominated the Bears with a tenacious defense and a very effective ground game. With the temperatures at game time hovering in the single digits and a wind chill below zero, the Texans managed to outlast the Bears and survive the frigid weather in a lackluster game by both teams. The Texans scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Domanick Davis led the Texans with 95 yards rushing on 25 carries and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run. Davis has now scored a touchdown in each of his last seven games. Davis' touchdown run ended a 14-play, 56-yard drive with an 11 yard scamper with 4:23 to play in the game.

David Carr played a solid game considering the weather conditions, throwing for 220 yards and a touchdown and most important no interceptions. Carr completed 7 of 13 attempts in the first half including a 37 yard touchdown strike to WR Corey Bradford.

WR Jabar Gaffney had the best game of his NFL career in terms of yardage with 109 yards on just 4 receptions. Gaffney's big play of the game was a 69 yard reception in the fourth quarter that almost went the distance for a touchdown.

Chicago Bears

Chicago looked like the "warm weather" team playing in extremely cold weather as the Bears' offensive found no rhythm against an aggressive Houston defense. Chad Hutchinson struggled on the day, finishing 17-of-34 passing for 168 yards with an interception for Chicago. Though he was pressured throughout the game, Hutchison displayed some poise, completing several passes in the face of a strong pass rush from the Texans.

Thomas Jones started off the game with some success running the ball, carrying nine times for 32 yards and one reception for 14 yards. All of this came on the Bears first possession as they marched down the field against the Houston defense. Unfortunately for the Bears on the ninth carry Thomas Jones fumbled the handoff from Chad Hutchinson and the drive was over. Jones never seemed to recover from the fumble and neither did the Bears offense. Jones would finish the game with just 40 yards rushing.

The Bears defense played a solid game and provided the first points for Chicago late in the third quarter. The Bears had pinned Houston back on its own five-yard line with a nice punt and an offensive penalty. On second down, Carr felt pressure up the middle, backpedaled into the end zone, and threw the ball into the ground. Carr was immediately called for intentional grounding, which resulted in a safety, making it 7-2 at the 4:06 mark of the third quarter.

This was the first meeting between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans in a regular season game. The Bears played without All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher, who was hampered by a sore hamstring. The Bears are now 0-5 with Urlacher in the lineup. The Bears have scored 10 or less points in seven games this season. The game marked the third coldest home game in Chicago Bears history.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Houston Texans

QB: David Carr (13-28-220, 1 TD, 6-8 rushing) Carr struggled through most of the first half under relentless pressure from the Chicago pass rush. Carr frequently found himself with little time in the pocket and often being knocked to the ground. Shortly before the half, Carr engineered an impressive scoring drive covering 67 yards in just 6 plays. Carr completed 3 of 5 attempts on the drive for 62 yards, capped by his 37 yard touchdown pass to WR Corey Bradford. The touchdown pass from Carr was a beautifully thrown pass just over the defender towards the sideline that Bradford hauled in for the score.

RB: Domanick Davis (25-95 rushing, 1 TD, 4-22 receiving on 5 targets) Davis put up some very good numbers on the day leading the Texans with 95 yards rushing and a touchdown. Davis sealed the win with his 11th rushing score of the season late in the fourth quarter. Davis scored his touchdown on a burst up the middle that saw him lunge into to end zone with a defender around his ankle.

Jonathan Wells (3-3 rushing) Wells managed one carry in the second quarter and two in the third quarter and was not a factor in the ground game for Houston.

WR: Jabar Gaffney (4-109 receiving on 9 targets) Gaffney was Carr's favorite target in the game. Jabar Gaffney set a career long reception when he hauled in a 69 yard pass from Carr that put Houston and the Bears' seven yard line. Gaffney was seemingly wide open down the left sideline on the play as CB Jerry Azumah bit on the pump fake from Carr and Azumah was left with no safety help. On that same drive, Gaffney was a target in the end zone but Carr's pass behind Gaffney and went through his hands.

Corey Bradford (3-58 receiving on 6 targets, 1 TD) Bradford had several nice catches in the game including his 37-yard touchdown reception. Bradford beat the defender in man-to-man coverage with 27 seconds left before halftime to give Houston a 7-0 lead. After his over-the-shoulder grab, Bradford fell into the end zone and then got up and fired the football into the stands, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Andre Johnson (2-31 receiving on 5 targets) Johnson saw double coverage during most of the game and did not play a big role in the passing game. Both of his receptions came in the first half, one for 26 yards that help set up the touchdown pass to Bradford.

TE: Billy Miller and Mark Bruener - Neither of the Houston tight ends had a reception but they did have a combined 3 targets in the game.

K: Kris Brown (3-3 XP, 1-2 FG) Kris Brown was perfect on extra points connecting on all three attempts. He missed his first field goal attempt wide right from 42 yards away. There appeared to be some problems with the holder getting the snap down and the footing for Brown on the missed attempt. Brown was successful on his second attempt from just 20 yards away.

Pass Defense: The Texans managed just two sacks in the game but were relentless in the pass rush against Chad Hutchinson. Hutchinson took plenty of punishment after releasing the ball and was driven into the frozen turf on several occasions. Rookie CB Dunta Robinson had another great game with 7 tackles, one sack where he forced a fumble and an interception. The forced fumble by Robinson was recovered by another Houston rookie, LB Charlie Anderson, who returned the fumble 60 yards to put an exclamation point on the rout. The Texans held Chad Hutchinson to just 168 yards passing in the game. Veteran CB Aaron Glenn had an interception on a fake field goal attempt by Chicago early in the second quarter.

Rush Defense: The rush defense dominated the Chicago offensive line and held Thomas Jones to just 40 yards on 15 carries. Bears RB Anthony Thomas was not effective either as he gained just 21 yards on 6 carries. The Texans held the Bears to a total of 54 yards rushing in the game and an average of 2.1 yards per carry. The five points allowed by the Texans was the fewest points in team history.

Chicago Bears

QB: Chad Hutchinson (17-34-168, 1 INT, 3-0 rushing) Hutchinson was under pressure all day from the Texans' 3-4 defense and finished the game completing 17 of 34 passes for just 168 yards. Hutchinson struggled with the brutal temperatures and swirling winds with many of his passes falling short of his intended receiver. Hutchinson had two turnovers including a fumble returned for a Houston touchdown. Hutchinson played poorly for his second consecutive game and had failed to throw a touchdown pass in either of those games.

RB: Thomas Jones (15-40 rushing, 7-37 receiving on 9 targets, 1 lost fumble) Jones started off with some hard nose running, even breaking tackles on a 4th and 1 for a 5 yard gain. But three carries later he had a handoff from Chad Hutchinson squirt right through his arms that was recovered by Houston. The fumble was a huge blow to the Bears offense which never seemed to get back the rhythm after the first series. A possible cause of Jones' was the fact he was wearing forearm pads on both arms due to the extreme cold which he typically does not wear. Jones saw limited action after the fumble until the third quarter.

Anthony Thomas (6-21, 1-19 receiving on 2 targets) Thomas was not a big part of the Bears game plan and saw 5 of his 6 carries in the second quarter. His lone reception of the game put the Bears in field goal position early in the second quarter but the attempt would fail.

Jason McKie (1-7 receiving on 3 targets) McKie caught his only reception on the second play of the game and was not a factor.

WR: David Terrell (3-41receiving on 6 targets) Terrell was the leading receiver for the Bears with just 3 receptions. He had a nice 20 yard catch late in the second quarter that moved the Bears from deep in their own territory. Terrell did have a couple of dropped passes in the second half that could have been first downs for Chicago.

Bobby Wade (2-23 receiving on 8 targets) Wade saw the most targets from Hutchinson but had the misfortune of being under thrown or over thrown on several targets. Wade also had a 25 yard reception nullified because of a Chicago penalty on WR David Terrell.

Justin Gage (1-18 receiving on 3 targets) Gage was not a factor in the receiving game. He had his only reception late in the fourth quarter.

Bernard Berrian (1-9 receiving on 4 targets, 2-(-7) rushing) Berrian caught his only pass of the game in the fourth quarter. His rushing attempts were both reverses, one for a 10 yard loss.

TE: Desmond Clark (1-14 receiving on 3 targets) Clark was primarily used as a blocker but did have a 14 yard reception that put Chicago into Houston territory. They went on to miss a field goal attempt.

K: Paul Edinger (0 XP, 1-2 FG) Edinger missed a field goal attempt that hooked wide left from 39 yards and made one from 43 yards. Edinger also threw an interception on a fake field attempt in the second quarter.

Pass Defense: The Bears pass defense played a decent game applying plenty of pressure to Houston QB Carr but were not able to force a turnover. They did have two sacks in the game. They gave up 220 yards passing to Houston and several big pass plays including a 37 yard touchdown.

Rush Defense: The rush defense played a tough game but sorely missed LB Brian Urlacher in the middle of the defense. They contained Domanick Davis in the first half and kept him from the end zone. Unfortunately in the second half, Davis found his way into the end zone. The Bears allowed a total of 106 yards rushing in the game.

Seattle Seahawks 14 at New York Jets 37

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Seattle Seahawks

WR Darrell Jackson started the game after missing the entire week of practice. He examined the team's game plan only hours before the game started. However, he still led the team with 45 yards receiving and 7 targets.

QB Matt Hasselbeck started the game on a continuation of his current hot streak marching Seattle down the field for a touchdown. However, as the game wore on Hasselbeck did not adjust well to the blitz and the Jets ball control offense kept him off the field. Back up QB Trent Dilfer entered the game in the fourth quarter after Hasselbeck injured his right elbow.

RB Shaun Alexander fumbled away any chance that Seattle had of getting back into the game. Alexander lost the ball at the goal line before contact on a 4th and 1 play from the one-yard line. Other than this one play Alexander was solid contributor running and catching the ball. Seattle continued to keep Alexander involved in the offense through the second half when they began to fall farther and farther behind.

The Seahawks have found themselves on the wrong end of disputable instant replay situations multiple times this season. As part of the competition committee head coach Mike Holmgren may lobby for major changes in the administration of the instant replay system.

New York Jets

QB Chad Pennington masterfully guided the Jets offense to scores of six of their first seven possessions including five touchdowns. The only non-score was a missed field goal by PK Doug Brien. Pennington was afforded tons of time in the pocket. The Seattle defense went the entire game without registering even one hit on the quarterback.

RB Curtis Martin sliced through the Seahawk defense for 134 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. Martin ran hard and broke tackles, but also shared time with RB Lamont Jordan. Jordan handled all the short yardage carries and got lots of extra carries in garbage time as the Jets ran out the clock to finish the game.

Playing without DE John Abraham, the Jets defense continues to impress as reserve players stepped in to play solid. They shut an opponent out in the second half for the seventh time this season.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Seattle Seahawks

QB: Matt Hasselbeck (22-30-201 2 TD INT passing, 1 fumble lost) Hasselbeck was hit very hard by the Jets defense on several occasions. He had to leave the game after the first Seahawk possession in the fourth quarter with an injured right elbow. He sustained the injury after being sacked. Early in the game Hasselbeck was on fire. He marched the Seahawks down the field to take an early 7-3 lead with his touchdown pass to WR Jerry Rice. Hasselbeck called an audible on the play at the line of scrimmage. Hasselbeck completed six of his first seven passes to start the game, but the Jets changed things up and started to bring extra pass rushers from different angles disrupting the Seattle offense. Hasselbeck's interception in the second quarter was a bad decision on his part. He was trying to force the ball deep down field to TE Itula Mili. He started to get rattled and nearly threw another interception shortly after this. To his credit, Hasselbeck composed himself and moved Seattle quickly down field just before halftime and threw his second touchdown to TE Jeremy Stevens. Hasselbeck led the Seahawks on a very long time consuming drive after falling behind 30-14, but RB Shaun Alexander's fumble at the goal line ended any chance the Seahawks had. He only saw the field for three more plays before yielding to Dilfer.

RB: Shaun Alexander (19-77 rushing 1 fumble lost, 4-19 receiving on 5 targets) Alexander's impact was limited in the game due to in part to a very effective Jets offense. Seattle was dominated in time of possession (24.5 to 35.5 minutes). This monster time of possession disparity mostly due to the fact that Seattle only had the ball for two minutes of the fourth quarter. However, Alexander did get two of the touches in the fourth quarter on six offensive plays for the Seahawks. Seattle continued to lean on Alexander though the third quarter even though they were down big on the scoreboard, but a fourteen play 68-yard Seattle drive ended with Alexander fumbling at the goal line. Alexander was given three chances to score from inside the 5-yard line on this series.

Maurice Morris (1-6 rushing, 0-0 receiving on 0 targets) The lone carry for Morris came in the third quarter as Seattle was in the midst of a long fourteen play 68-yard drive. Alexander returned to the game after sitting for one play to get a quick breather.

Mack Strong (2-5 rushing, 1-7 receiving on 2 target) Strong converted two short yardage carries into first downs. His 7-yard reception was a dump off pass after QB Matt Hasselbeck had gone through his progression and worked his way back to Strong.

WR: Darrell Jackson (4-45 receiving on 7 targets) Jackson's first target came in the second quarter on an under thrown deep pass to the endzone. Jackson tried to fight back to the ball and pushed off the cornerback for offensive pass interference. His second target was also an incomplete deep ball as well. Jackson and QB Matt Hasselbeck finally connected on a pump and go for an 18-yard reception shortly thereafter. All three of his other receptions were on quick short routes.

Jerry Rice (3-25 TD receiving on 4 targets) Rice caught the first ball on the first Seattle play from scrimmage. Later on in the drive he got Seattle its only lead in the game with a beautiful one handed grab down the right side of the endzone. Rice had to tiptoe after securing the ball to remain in bounds. His only target in the second quarter was nearly intercepted on a poorly thrown ball from QB Matt Hasselbeck

Bobby Engram (4-39 receiving on 5 targets) Engram filled his normal role working out of the slot. He started the game as Seattle choose to show a three wide receiver set in the beginning.

Koren Robinson (DNP) Robinson will be back from his 4-week suspension next week when Seattle plays host to the Arizona Cardinals.

TE: Itula Mili (4-43 receiving on 6 targets) Mili didn't start the game as Seattle started in a three wide receiver set. However, Mili was the first tight end in the game and saw five of the first six targets to a Seattle tight end. Mili was targeted deep down the left seam on QB Matt Hasselbeck's lone interception.

Jerramy Stevens (1-6 TD receiving on 1 target) Stevens only play of the game was his touchdown reception just before halftime. He beat coverage on the outside up the right sideline and scored in the corner of the endzone.

K: Josh Brown (2-2 XP, 0-0 FG) Nothing of significance to report from the Seattle kicking game.

Pass Defense: The Seahawks pass rush didn't touch QB Chad Pennington. Not one hit in the game. New York was able to hold extra Seattle defenders tight near the line of scrimmage with play action fakes. It made the handful of throws to the Jet's wide receivers look too easy. When they did have a chance to make a play the Seahawks couldn't take advantage of the opportunity. LB Orlando Huff had a ball hit him in the hands in the endzone that might have changed momentum in the game, but he couldn't make the play.

Rush Defense: This is where the Seahawks lost this game. They were unable to stop RB Curtis Martin on first and second down. Even when Seattle brought its safeties near the line of scrimmage play action passing burned the Seahawks. The Seattle backup linebackers are not able to get off blocks and make plays. They badly miss LB Anthony Simmons (lost for season).

New York Jets

QB: Chad Pennington (18-24-253 3 TD passing) Pennington conducted a nearly perfect orchestra on the day. The most telling story for the Jets was that P Toby Gowin didn't see the field. The Seahawks weren't able to stop the Jets even once. Pennington and the Jets offense converted 11 of 14 third down attempts. The only drive that the Jets might have felt unsatisfied with ended in a missed 30-yard field goal attempt. Pennington used play action fakes on nearly every pass play. He was able to freeze the Seattle linebackers and safeties repeatedly. Pennington didn't show any sign of the shoulder injury that kept him from delivering the ball down field last week.

RB: Curtis Martin (24-134 2 TD rushing, 0-0 receiving on 0 targets) Martin had a huge game, and it could have been even bigger. Seattle showed no sign of being able to stop Martin. Only the mercy 7-minute clock killing drive that featured RB Lamont Jordan kept Martin from putting up even better numbers. The New York offensive line opened up giant holes for Martin. Martin had at least seven carries and had at least two 10+yard gains in each of the first three quarters.

Lamont Jordan (15-84 rushing, 2-18 receiving on 2 targets) Jordan saw spot duty through the first three quarters. His first two carries in early on were both in 3rd and short situations. In the third quarter the Jets split QB Chad Pennington out wide to the left and Jordan took the direct snap in shotgun formation. He faked the handoff to Martin running left, and then picked up a 33 yards around the right side. The play was set up very well. Jordan was given seven late carries in the fourth quarter as the Jets ground out the last seven minutes of the game that ended in the Seattle redzone.

Jerald Sowell (0-0 rushing, 5-83 receiving on 5 targets) Sowell made huge plays out of the backfield leading the team in receiving yards in this game. Sowell did a great job of turning plays in the flats up field and picking up large gainers. Sowell also made beautiful reception down the right sideline off of a play action pass. The fake held LB Chad Brown while Sowell was able to blow by him for a 34-yard play on 3rd and 2.

WR: Santana Moss (1-12 rushing, 5-83 2 TD receiving on 5 targets) Moss had his end around carry during the first Jets possession. Moss was used mostly on slants and hitches. Moss was targeted with a deep pass in the game. His 32-yard touchdown came on a deep hitch up the right seam. Moss made a nice move to make the safety miss and scooted into the endzone. On his second touchdown he was left alone crossing the back of the endzone on what appeared to be a blown coverage from the Seattle zone defense.

Justin McCareins (3-40 TD receiving on 5 targets) McCareins didn't see many targets just like WR Santana Moss. The reality is that the Jets simply didn't need to throw the ball much to move the sticks. McCareins touchdown was on a quick slant at the goal line. McCareins did a nice job using his body to shield off the defender and make the play.

TE: Anthony Becht (0-0 receiving on 3 targets) Becht dropped what should have been a touchdown reception at the goal line in the third quarter. Becht also was targeted in the endzone during the second quarter. Backup TE Chris Baker was on the field during the game quite a bit as well as the Jets went with dual TE-sets quite often. Baker's lone target and reception came in the third quarter that led to a missed field goal by PK Doug Brien.

K: Doug Brien (4-5 XP, 1-2 FG made 21 missed 30) Brien missed his extra point and his field goal both wide to the left. Both kicks were simply just hooked.

Pass Defense: Playing without DE John Abraham, the Jets were not able to bring any sort of pressure early in the game. When they began to bring blitzes from different angles they started putting hits on QB Matt Hasselbeck. The best defense for the Jets today was their offense. The ability of QB Chad Pennington and RB Curtis Martin to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Seattle offense was a huge help to the Jets defense.

Rush Defense: RB Shaun Alexander was able gain decent yardage for the first three quarters of the game. The Jets front seven were getting pushed off the ball much more than they have been so far this season. However, when Seattle had a chance to punch it in at the goal line the Jets made a fantastic goal line stand. They absorbed four short rushing attempts and held marvelously including a forced fumble on 4th and 1. LB Eric Barton had a particularly impressive game with 10 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery. He seemed to be everywhere.