Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Arizona 14 at Philadelphia 38 Arizona Cardinals: QB Jake Plummer took advantage of 2 Philadelphia turnovers in the first half. He converted both the McNabb fumble and interception into touchdowns. Beyond that he did nothing. Philadelphia's secondary blanketed the Cardinal's receivers and gave Plummer very little space to throw (170 yards). He was sacked 4 times and intercepted once by Bobby Taylor. Plummer never got a chance to engineer a huge comeback against the Eagles, like he has done 5 times before. RB Thomas Jones had 9 carries for 30 yards. 5 of those carries were during the first drive. After he was stuffed on a 3rd and 1 during Arizona's second drive, Marcel Shipp came in as the primary back. RB Marcel Shipp was Plummer's only reliable receiver. He pulled in 6 receptions for 57 yards. He also had 8 rushes for 69 yards. One of those runs was off the left guard for 56 yards that brought the Cardinals to the 22-yard line. On that same drive, with Arizona way behind, Shipp attempted to convert on 4th and 1 at the 13-yard line. He failed to convert and lost 5 yards. WR Jason McAddley caught a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter. It was the first of his young career. It was the only pass he caught all day. Troy Vincent wasn't about to let a rookie outplay him, after being burned by Marvin Harrison last week. It was the only reception by Arizona's top two receivers. Frank Sanders didn't catch a single pass. Arizona's defense barely blitzed at all. Why wouldn't you want to try to attack an immobile McNabb? After taking the first hit that broke his ankle, McNabb was barely touched all game. Philadelphia Eagles: There is bad news for the Eagles and all Donovan McNabb owners. On the third play of the game, McNabb was sacked and broke his ankle. It looks as if he will be out for 6-8 weeks. McNabb refused to get x-rays, so everybody thought he had just sprained it. He had a noticeable limp the entire game. Unable to scramble, he sat back in the pocket and threw 20/25 for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. This matches a career high for thrown touchdowns. It was the first time McNabb had zero rushing attempts. Koy Detmer will start in McNabb's place. RB Duce Staley showed up today after disappearing for 2 weeks. He rushed for 136 yards and helped make it impossible for the Arizona defense to focus on the injured McNabb. He caught 3 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Staley is going to have to keep these numbers up if the Eagles want to make it to the play-offs. WR James Thrash finally found the end zone. He started the season out with a touchdown in each of his first four games, but has been shut out ever since. He broke his dry spell with 2 touchdowns. The first was a 2-yard pass on a play fake to Staley to give the Eagles their first touchdown of the day. The second was a 4-yard run to the left end to give them their final touchdown. He picked up Freddie Mitchell's fumble and advanced it 2 more yards. Baltimore 7 at Miami 26 Baltimore Ravens: Just when it looked like QB Chris Redman would lose his starting job for sure, Jeff Blake threw up an ugly passing performance. In his defense, he suffered through 6 dropped passes, including 4 by WR Travis Taylor. He was also pressured relentlessly. Blake was unable to move this offense downfield on a consistent basis, if at all. RB Jamal Lewis could not find space to run against a Miami defense that always plays tough at home. While lately he has been used in the short passing game, he was only thrown to one time, but it was a nice 26 yard reception. Lewis has an easy schedule the rest of the year, and after a few bad weeks in a row, it might be a good time to buy low. WR Travis Taylor's continues to grow into the # 1 WR role. He caught 4 balls for 48 yards and a touchdown where he was wide open. He did; however, drop 4 passes. His emergence has coincided with the appearance of QB Jeff Blake in the lineup. While Taylor's numbers have skyrocketed with Blake in the lineup, TE Todd Heap has made a virtual disappearance. He grabbed only one ball and was only targeted twice. He was double covered by a safety and a linebacker for most of the game, in his defense. Miami Dolphins: QB Ray Lucas finally put together a decent performance on the field. The reason for this was mainly the focus of running the ball with Ricky Williams. RB Ricky Williams got back on track with a bruising 26 carry, 102 yard performance (3.9 ypc). He also scored twice, and grabbed 5 balls for 28 yards. Even with LB Ray Lewis returning for Baltimore, Williams could not be stopped. After two poor performances in a row, Williams reminded us why you should never bench your studs. The Dolphins have some cold weather games coming up, and Williams will have to carry the load. The Dolphin Defense was swarming all afternoon, holding Baltimore to less than 200 yards of total offense. They are always a good start when playing at home. A great match up to watch was DE Jason Taylor against Jonathan Ogden. Taylor's final line: 1 tackle, 1 sack. Buffalo 16 at Kansas City 17 Buffalo Bills: This game was not the shoot out that everyone was expecting. The Bills should have won this game. Their game plan was to keep the potent Chiefs offense off the field with ball control, and they executed the plan perfectly for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the table was turned and Kansas City ran the ball to control the clock. The Bills took far too many penalties on offense, which likely cost them the game. RB Travis Henry looked good again running the ball and broke a number of big gains. He was very patient behind his blockers and has developed into a premier fantasy RB thanks to the Bills great passing game. Credit both the Bills offensive line and Henry for his stats today. QB Drew Bledsoe didn't really take advantage of the league's worst pass defense, primarily because the game plan was to run and throw short passes. He finished the day with 225 yards and one touchdown, a disappointing day against this defense. Mike Hollis bounced back for a big day with three field goals and a successful on-side kick. Hollis is a premier fantasy kicker behind the potent Buffalo offense. Kansas City Chiefs: PK Morten Andersen tied Gary Anderson for the NFL record with 484 career field goals in the second quarter. He later missed a 45-yard field goal. QB Trent Green had an average day, looking good and bad at times. The Bills dominated time of possession in the game, so Green's numbers were not very good. He took a number of hits and his ankle began to give him trouble and he hobbled around the field so keep an eye on this. Despite the injury, Green was able to do enough to win the game, and had a gutsy scramble for a touchdown to win the game. RB Priest Holmes had a very slow start, but got the ball late in the game displaying the confidence Vermeil has in the running game. He finished with 127 total yards and a touchdown on an "off" day. Simply outstanding for fantasy purposes. The Chiefs made a conscious effort to get Johnnie Morton involved in the passing game, and he finished with 53 yards. Eddie Kennison continues to look good for the Chiefs on deep patterns and led the team with 93 yards. Tony Gonzalez was matched up against several players including CB Antoine Winfield, and only managed 2 receptions for 17 yards. Carolina 10 at Tampa Bay 23 Carolina Panthers: This team was all about defense today. They stayed in the game for almost 4 quarters with solid defensive play (2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles). Their offense was bland and ineffective. QB Rodney Peete played with the middle finger on his throwing hand taped, and his accuracy seemed to suffer; resulting in 3 interceptions on the day. With Peete playing sub par ball, the rest of the skilled position players suffered as well. Muhsin Muhammad led receivers with 59 yards, and Lamar Smith led rushers with 46 yards. Steve Smith did manage to catch a TD. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The defense was dominant once again piling up 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and a forced fumble. QB Brad Johnson spread the ball around well, hitting 7 different receivers on his way to 253 yards and 2 TDs, without throwing a pick. Keyshawn Johnson was his favorite target, hauling in 7 balls for 74 yards and a TD. RB Michael Pittman was Jon Gruden's flavor of the week at running back; amassing 57 yards on 21 carries. He ran hard, but never seemed to make anyone miss. He just runs into defenders like a battering ram. Cleveland 27 at Cincinnati 20 Cleveland Browns: RB William Green had a break out game today with 96 yards on 25 carries but showed very few moves and appeared to be very slow. Green did break one run for 16 yards. QB Tim Couch had all day to find the open receivers and make decisions. Couch had a good day with 242 yards and 3 TDs and an INT. WRs Quincy Morgan and Dennis Northcutt became major targets in this game as Kevin Johnson was heavily covered. Morgan had 5 catches for 81 yards and Northcutt had 6 catches for 71 yards and a TD. Cincinnati Bengals: RB Corey Dillon had a decent game even with several offensive linemen getting injured throughout the game. Dillon had 19 carries for 92 yards and did the usual of getting several solid gains to go with the stuffs allowed by the line. QB Jon Kitna played ok but wasn't able to keep the Bengals drives going down the field. Kitna went 17 of 30 for 258 yards and a TD. The TD was a long 72-yard pass to Chad Johnson early in the game. Kitna also ran in a 3 yard TD. WR Chad Johnson played huge at the beginning of the game with a 72 yard TD and came open in key moments but slowly died down at the end of the game. Johnson finished with 4 catches for 103 yards and a TD. Dallas 3 at Indianapolis 20 Dallas Cowboys: Dallas mounted only one serious drive and capitalized with a 21-yard field goal from Billy Cundiff that made it 3-0 midway through the second quarter. It was the first points Dallas scored in a first half since Oct. 6. QB Chad Hutchison showed some signs that he might be a viable NFL QB in the future. Under heavy pressure, he kept some composure. RB Emmitt Smith was totally ineffective. Smith and Troy Hambrick split the Dallas carries right down the middle, with Hambrick having the better day rushing. Indianapolis Colts: This was the Marvin Harrison show. Harrison had his 6th 100 yard receiving game of the season, and the 33rd of his career. With 70 TDs, He broke Raymond Berry's team record for touchdowns receiving (68), a mark that stood since 1967. He became the fastest player in the history of the NFL to reach 600 receptions, and the first player this season with 1,000 yards receiving. After this record breaking day, Harrison left without speaking to the media. Edgerrin James returned after missing time with injury and posted some excellent numbers. Although he was very slow to get started. James left the game in the fourth quarter after getting his ankle rewrapped. Team officials said later that he was not injured, but he did not return. James Mungro had a terrible day, gaining zero net yards. He did however vulture Red Zone and Goal line carries from James. This may be something to keep an eye on. Denver 31 at Seattle 9 Denver Broncos: Big news is QB Brian Griese left the game with a sprained knee. Early reports vary wildly from him missing a few days to missing 4 weeks. Stay tuned for an MRI on Monday. He actually played quite a bit better than his stats would indicate. After a few shaky goalline plays, Beuerlein looked sharp throwing touchdowns on his first two pass attempts. The first to Patrick Hape was a bit off target and Hape dove to make a nice catch. Denver focused on running the ball while Beuerlein played in the 4th quarter to protect their lead. In limited action, it appeared he favored Rod Smith throwing 2 of his 3 passes (1 was an unofficial pass interference penalty) to him including a wonderfully thrown 14 yard touchdown. RB Clinton Portis dominated this game with 188 total yards. Considering that he was still giving away some touches to Anderson and Gary, this was a dominating performance. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry. It has to be somewhat of a disappointment that he didn't score a touchdown when Anderson did but Portis had his chances in the red zone including the 3rd down goal line attempt. He showed no signs of fumbling and in fact Mike Anderson fumbled which could actually improve Portis' chances at getting touches late in the game. Mike Anderson accounted for only 26 yards but scored a touchdown. He recovered his own fumble in the 4th quarter and it appears that he'll continue to be used as a change-of-pace back. Rod Smith caught 5 passes for 58 yards and 1 touchdown. He should have had another touchdown except for a bad call by the officials and an apparent lack of urgency for the Broncos to review the play. While Dwayne Carswell started in place of the injured Shannon Sharpe, he caught just 1 pass for 12 yards. He was targeted on a pass in the red zone but the ball was poorly thrown and he had no chance to catch it. The Denver Tight End situation is murky without Sharpe. Seattle Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck's performance was not even as good as his mediocre numbers may indicate. He completed 22 of 36 passes but 17 (yes 17) of those were dump off passes to running backs and tight ends. Still looks sketchy. RB Maurice Morris was declared inactive prior to the game. Shaun Alexander may as well have been declared inactive after the game. He averaged only 1.6 yards per carry for 18 rushing yards on 11 carries. In his defense, he had little room to run and the Seattle offensive line missed key blocks that could have sprung him loose. Bobby Engram was as active in the game as Hasselbeck allowed any wide receiver to be, catching 3 passes for 40 yards but fumbled. Green Bay 21 at Minnesota 31 Green Bay Packers: QB Brett Favre put up solid fantasy numbers despite the loss and throwing 3 INTs. He finished with 294 yards passing and 2 TDs. He lost his composure in the second quarter during a drive where he took several hits, including two that drew roughing the passer penalties. Favre never seemed to gain his rhythm after that. RB Ahman Green looked healthy, but was slowed by a defensive game plan designed to contain him as a rusher and receiver. 34 of his 71 rushing yards were on one play. WR Donald Driver nearly matched his career high with 112 receiving yards, though 84 of them were on his TD. WR Terry Glenn was targeted as much as Driver, but Glenn never broke loose for a big gain. The Packers struggled through sloppy play (both teams committed more than 10 penalties each), and their defense missed injured DL starters Joe Johnson and Vonnie Holliday. The Vikings effectively ran inside on them, and Green Bay usually needed to blitz to generate a pass rush. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings used the "sugar-huddle" (not quite a no-huddle, but not a full huddle) in their first three drives, a hurry-up offense that gave QB Daunte Culpepper more time to read plays at the line. They scored TDs on their first two possessions, and opened the second half with an 80-yard TD drive. The fast tempo agreed with WR Randy Moss, who had over 100 receiving yards and a TD in the first half. QB Daunte Culpepper saved his job for at least one more week when he completed 9 for his first 11 passes, including 2 TDs. The Culpepper we have seen most of the season resurfaced after that hot streak, finishing just 13 for 26 passing (212 yards, 2 TDs), plus three fumbles (two at the Green Bay 1) and two interceptions. Culpepper added 48 rushing yards and a TD on a bootleg at the goal line to finish with solid fantasy numbers. RB Michael Bennett had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, but was regularly pulled in short-yardage and goal-line situations. RB Moe Williams scored a rushing TD for the seventh straight game. The Vikings pass defense had their best effort of the season by far. Thanks to some lineup and scheme adjustments, the Vikings intercepted three passes, and got two hands on at least four more. New starting CB Brian Williams contained Terry Glenn, and demoted nickelback Tyrone Carter seemed more comfortable covering slot receivers. Jacksonville 24 at Houston 21 Jacksonville Jaguars: RB Stacey Mack admitted the Jaguars didn't take the expansion Texans seriously enough in their first game and the intensity level for the rematch was definitely upped for Jacksonville. QB Mark Brunell did enough to win the game without a spectacular show. Looked heavily to Jimmy Smith and was mobile in the pocket as always. RB Stacey Mack's vulturing of Fred Taylor's numbers isn't just a problem, it's a problem that's getting worse. Mack saw only 1 less carry than Taylor (13 to 12) and only had 2 less yards (56 to 54) On one series, Coach Coughlin fed Mack the ball 4 consecutive times inside the 5 until he scored. The worse part is that Taylor seems to be healthy and running well. Houston Texans: QB David Carr showed grit and determination as he tried to carry this team. With a non existent running game, it's pretty much all Carr. He looked very good completing 22 of 30 passes and played a conservative game plan. He showed his rushing ability with 2 TDs on the ground to go with his 1 passing TD. WR Corey Bradford is still the primary WR and a deep threat. He just doesn't have enough help to be a consistent producer. TE Billy Miller continues to be a solid and reliable "security blanket" for Carr. Carr stated a couple of weeks ago that of all his receivers, he feels the most comfortable throwing to Miller. New England 20 at Oakland 27 New England Patriots: Tom Brady did not have a great night. He did complete 60% of his passes, but struggled in the redzone. He didn't throw a TD and he fumbled deep in Patriots territory. Brady's poor numbers weren't really his fault, though. Brady owners should not be worried about this performance. Antowain Smith had a very average day. He found little room to run most of the night. Smith did have 64 combined yards, but the Patriots' offensive line was dominated all night by the Oakland front seven. The Patriots scored a defensive TD, but the defense played poorly. Rich Gannon threw for 297 yards and that was the difference here. When Charlie Garner did run, the Patriots almost never tackled him at the line of scrimmage. Oakland Ravens: Rich Gannon had yet another superb fantasy output. Gannon worked the short passing game masterfully all night. Gannon continued his accurate passing form the Denver game and picked apart the Patriots all night. His game was highlighted by a nice TD run in the second quarter. Charlie Garner didn't score a TD, but he was a weapon Sunday night. Garner finished with 122 yards rushing and receiving. Garner nearly broke two different runs for TDs, and Garner is sure to score another TD soon. Zack Crockett was exclusively the goal line back, and had three carries for two touchdowns through two different goal line situations. The Oakland defense was very stout. Brady only threw for 172 yards, and the Raider secondary mostly shut down the Patriots' passing game. The front seven pressured Brady all night - forcing a Brady fumble and another play that should have been called a fumble. Also, Antowain Smith had nowhere to run. New Orleans 17 at Atlanta 24 New Orleans Saints: RB Deuce McAllister left the game in the first half with a sprained ankle. He had it re-taped at halftime and tried to return in the second half only to leave for good in the 4th quarter. He finished with 13 carries for 43 yards and 4 catches for 30 yards. James Fenderson replaced McAllister but New Orleans was committed to the pass by then. QB Aaron Brooks put up good numbers due in part to the McAllister injury which forced the Saints to pass more than they might have. Also, Atlanta had built a 20-7 lead and the Saints were forced to play catch up. Brooks finished with 279 passing yards and 26 rushing yards to put him over 300 combined for the game. WR Joe Horn rung 134 yards up on just 3 catches with a 57-yard score thrown in for good measure. He wasn't the major player in the game he usually is, though, with the Atlanta secondary doing a terrific job on him for most of the day. Atlanta Falcons: QB Mike Vick had another terrific fantasy game and another ordinary NFL passing game. While his yardage total (161 yards) wasn't that impressive he did throw 2 TD's and run for third. He threw his second interception of the season but that's because his targeted receiver fell down on his route. It wasn't due to a bad decision. He did struggle with accuracy all game and finished with a completion percentage below 50% (11-23). RB Warrick Dunn took advantage of T.J. Duckett's absence to post another solid rushing game as the featured back. He carried 26 times for 90 yards and he added 4 catches for 29 more yards and finished above the magic 100-yard mark for fantasy owners in performance leagues. T.J. Duckett was activated for the game but not see the field. NY Jets 31 at Detroit 14 New York Jets: RB Curtis Martin had a nice day running the ball, carrying the ball 22 times for 112 yards and catching 4 passes for 28 more yards. Martin showed good power and nice speed on his runs, keeping the Lion defense honest and allowing the Jets to utilize play action passes to confuse the Lion defense. The Jets did not go to Lamont Jordan as often as had been talked about due to Martin's excellent performance. QB Chad Pennington looked very good while going (21/26 with four TD's and one INT. Pennington was able to take advantage of play action passes to beat the Lions secondary, who bit on every play action Pennington gave them. Very nice performance, but it was against a weak Lion defense who also lost key defensive lineman Robert Porcher to injury during the game. WRs Laveranues Coles and Wayne Chrebet both had good games, with Coles catching 7 passes for 114 yards... but no TD's. Wayne Chrebet caught four passes for 46 yards and two TD's. The Jets receivers had an easy time against the Lions weak secondary. The Jet run defense got beat up by James Stewart. The Jets had major problems stopping the Lions run attack up the middle. The allowed Stewart 93 yards on 16 carries (5.8 yards a carry)... most of it in the first half alone. The Jet pass defense was a little spotty, playing well most of the time but showing some lapses at others. They allowed a 37 yard TD pass from Lion QB Joey Harrington to Bill Schroeder and a 47 yard one from Harrington to (FB) Cory Schlesinger... most of which came after the catch. Detroit Lions: The Lions suffered two potentially devastating injuries. The first was Az-Zahir Hakim, Joey Harrington's favorite WR target, and the Lions best receiver. He was carted off the field during the Lions first possession of the game. Hakim dislocated and fractured his hip. He's out for the season. The second major injury was to defensive lineman Robert Porcher. He left in the middle of the fourth quarter. Porcher is the Lions best defensive player and the leader of the lion defense... though the Lion defense was poor to begin with, the loss of Porcher would make them completely useless. QB Joey Harrington completed 15/30 for two TD's and one INT. Harrington was extremely inaccurate the whole game, completely muffing several throws to wide open receivers. He should have had at least two more INT's, but one that was actually picked off was nullified by a (questionable) roughing the passer penalty on the Jets, and one other went right through the hands of a Jet defender. The INT that did stand was a pass intended for TE Mikhael Ricks in the Jet endzone. WR Bill Schroeder got some redemption after his awful performance against his former team (the Green Bay Packers) last week. Schroeder was benched in the second half of the Packer game and demoted to third WR for this game. He moved up to the number one spot after Az-Zahir Hakim went down with an injury very early in the first quarter. Schroeder proceeded to catch 3 passes for 57 yards and two TD's, including a nice 37 yard pass from Joey Harrington. With Hakim's injury, Schroeder will see increased play time. The Lion secondary looked bad... very bad. Jet QB Chad Pennington had no problems throwing against the Lions almost non-existent pass defense. The Lions did manage to pick off Pennington once. The Lion run defense was no better, allowing RB Curtis Martin to run rampant on them even with a sore ankle. They did manage to keep both Martin and RB Lamont Jordan out of the endzone, however. Pittsburgh 23 at Tennessee 31 Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh scored on the first play from scrimmage but that would be all on offense for three more quarters. Pressure from the Titan front four disrupted Tommy Maddox's rhythm. Maddox was knocked out on the last play of the third quarter by a clean hit from Titan linebacker Keith Bulluck. Maddox regained consciousness on the field. Early reports indicated he suffered from a lack of sensation in his extremities before being taken to the hospital. Kordell Stewart was sharp on underneath routes in the no-huddle offense against a big Titan cushion late in the game. He moved the ball well, leading to two Steeler touchdowns and building his confidence. Amos Zereoue got the start but not see success against the tough Titan defense. Dropped a wide-open pass from Stewart over the middle. Jerome Bettis got a few touches in the first half and did not play after the Steelers fell behind. Plaxico Burress was blanketed by Samari Rolle all afternoon. Did not get his first catch until one minute left in the first half. Hines Ward had a big game and was the primary target. Tennessee Titans: Steve McNair picked the Steelers apart utilizing the spread offense against only occasional pressure. Eddie George was most effective on delays and draws from the spread formation against the Steeler blitzes. Kevin Dyson gained a ton of yards after catches. He gained 23-yards on a ten-yard slant, broke two tackles on a 20-yard gain and showed some keen moves on his nine-yard touchdown. Dyson was overthrown on a deep sideline route, was overthrown in the end zone, dropped a short crossing attempt and had a pass deflected away on a deep post. Defensive end Jevon Kearse is not expected back until next week. Even without him, the Tennessee front seven is very solid. The Titans were able to pressure Maddox even while rushing four or five, at the most. San Francisco 17 at San Diego 20 San Francisco 49ers: QB Jeff Garcia had another solid game. He is not putting up the huge 4 TD, 400 yard games, but he consistently puts up solid numbers. The emergence of Tai Streets as a quality #2 receiver should help Garcia and Terrell Owens down the stretch. RB Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow shared time almost equally. Hearst was clearly the better runner today, but that didn't change the playing time. Barlow actually got one more carry than Hearst. WR Terrell Owens continued his reign of terror on opposing corners, with seven catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Crucial defensive penalties, an unsportsmanlike conduct foul and a pass interference call, helped the Chargers to two of their touchdowns. K Jose Cortez has probably collected his last check with the Niners. He missed another chance to win the game this week, shanking a 41-yard attempt late in the 4th quarter. PK Jose Cortez missed the game winning field goal in overtime. There was talk about Cortez losing his job. Keep an eye on this as the 49er kicker has value. San Diego Chargers: QB Drew Brees got his confidence back and led the Chargers to a come from behind victory. This was not a John Elway performance, but it was a big step in the maturing of a young quarterback. RB LaDainian Tomlinson faced an eight man front most of the day and still managed to be productive. He is a very strong runner and is now a must start running back. WR Reche Caldwell was a favorite target in the red zone today, catching one touchdown and getting a crucial pass interference call in the end zone later on. WR Curtis Conway is still the focal point of the Charger's passing game. He is the primary downfield option of the team. The Charger tight ends were again kept in to block and were rarely looked to in the passing game. Washington 17 at NY Giants 19 Washington Redskins: The Redskins blew a chance to take a late lead when kicker James Tuthill's 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked by New York. Tuthill had missed just twice all year before today, and it appeared that the sloppy Giants Stadium field played a part in the miss as Tuthill's plant (left) foot slipped badly. QB Shane Matthews stood up well to the Giants pressure for the most part. He didn't finish with very good numbers today (15-35, 113 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT), but he did throw for two touchdowns. Both touchdowns were great passes; it was the other 33 that he had some problems making. He does not look like the answer for Washington. RB Stephen Davis returned to the lineup after a 2-game absence. He looked healthy and showed no ill effects from injury. Although at times, it was easy to forget Davis was even in the game. He finished with 19 carries for 59 yards. New York Giants: TE Jeremy Shockey had a monster game. Not only did he catch 11 balls for 111 yards, but he was targeted on 18 passes. He fell just two catches short of the all-time Giants record for receptions in a single game. Forget about Ron Dixon, Herman Moore, or Daryl Jones. With Ike Hilliard gone for the year, it appears that Shockey is the Giant that will take up the slack for Hilliard. QB Kerry Collins had a bad game. For receivers, he would look at Shockey first, then to Toomer. He only had three completions that weren't to Shockey or Toomer. The numbers were poor enough, but he was even worse than it appeared. He missed wide-open would-be touchdown passes to Tiki Barber and Dan Campbell on successive plays. He had 2 balls intercepted, and had numerous other ones either tipped at the line or deflected up in the air that were almost picked. At one point in the game, it seemed as if every pass Collins made was being questioned by the announcers for how poor a decision it was. WR Amani Toomer had his second good game in a row following three very poor ones. Toomer had 16 passes intended for him, as he and Shockey were really the only significant options in the Giants passing attack. Toomer was able to finish with 8 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. Chicago 16 at St. Louis 21 Chicago Bears: Chris Chandler posted decent numbers for the number of times he was hit ( including 7 sacks). St. Louis put consistent pressure on Chandler through the game. It was a miracle that Chandler didn't turn the ball over at all. Unable to deal with the pressure Chicago went to a very short passing game so Chandler could get rid of the ball quicker. Making things even worse LT Marc Columbo was carted off the field in what may be a season ending leg injury. Anthony Thomas found the end zone and ran hard in this game. Thomas owners have been yelling bust for weeks. Making things look worse Leon Johnson got 6 carries in the first half. However, Thomas looked productive and there is still hope he will finish the season strong. Marty Booker is the only consistent weapon that the Bears have. Besides leading the Bears in catches, yards, and targets he also had two passing attempts in the game. St. Louis Rams: Marc Bulger closed out his starting QB stint in St. Louis with another win. Kurt Warner saw the field for one series while Bulger had X-rays taken on an injured finger, but when the X-rays were negative Warner went back to the sidelines until next week. The St. Louis front office has been very clear that there is no QB controversy and Warner will start next week. Lamar Gordon was steady in place of Marshall Faulk, but not spectacular in any way. Gordon did not find many holes to run through, but he caught the ball well out of the backfield. Faulk went from crutches to a possible game time decision during the week. You should expect Faulk to join Warner in the lineup next week. Isaac Bruce had another big game this week making folks wonder who is the real #1 WR in St. Louis. Clouding the issue even more is the fact that Holt (10) was targeted once more in the game than Bruce (9). As if that weren't enough, fantasy owners have to figure out how the return of Warner next week will affect this as well.