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. Miami 24 at Denver 22 Miami Dolphins: QB Jay Fiedler finished the game with broken right thumb. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Denver stuffed RB Ricky Williams all night long and challenged QB Jay Fiedler to beat them. Fiedler didn't lose the game, but his overall performance was a shade under spectacular. He made the necessary throws, but had trouble getting his WRs involved. He managed the game well, but got lucky that John Mobley didn't pick off two of his passes that hit him in the hands. The Miami Defense gave up lots of yards, but made enough big plays to keep the Denver offense in check. Patrick Surtain's INT return for a TD and a forced fumble at the goal line kept Miami in the game. Ricky Williams is the first choice in the red zone for Miami until they are forced to throw, then TE Randy McMichael becomes Fiedler's preferred target. If he's not already, McMichael is becoming a must start. WR Chris Chambers took a vicious hit to the head in the second quarter and did not return. He appeared coherent on his way to the locker room. During the game it was reported he suffered a concussion. Denver Broncos: RB Clinton Portis put an end to the debate for good about the possibility of a RBBC situation in Denver. He had 24 touches in the game compared to 7 for Anderson and 0 for Gary. Denver out gained Miami 410 to 259 yards in the game. The Denver offense moved the ball very well into Miami territory all night, but couldn't finish drives with TD's settling for FGs. The overall feel was much like Denver's other loss to Baltimore. They put up lots of yards and not enough points. The Denver defense is for real. When your RB has to face Denver, you might want to look to your bench. Brian Griese recovered well from his gaffe that resulted in an INT return for a TD. He led Denver down the field for what appeared to be the two winning scores before Mare sucked the wind out of Mile High Stadium. Green Bay 28 at New England 10 Green Bay Packers: QB Brett Favre had all kinds of time to throw and great touch on his passes. He spread the ball around and made very few mistakes. His yardage numbers weren't as impressive only because their game plan was to control the football on the ground. He still passed for 3 touchdowns. RB Ahman Green looked impressive. He was the focal point of the Packer offense and he didn't disappoint rushing for 136 yards on 31 carries. He had 3 receptions for 21 yards and most importantly, he also found the end zone this week for the first time. He scored on a pass reception and on a 1 yard run. TE Bubba Franks was the leading receiver for Green Bay. He caught 5 balls for 46 yards including a touchdown. Bryant Westbrook made a nice interception to stop New England's first drive. The Packers then sacked Brady to start the 2nd half. It was their only sack of the game but they seemed to hurry Brady enough to disrupt his momentum. They forced him to throw 3 interceptions. New England Patriots: Despite throwing 2 interceptions, Tom Brady looked decent in the first half. However Brady struggled after halftime where he completed only 9 of 17 passes for 80 yards. The interception in the 2nd half should have been a touchdown pass to Patten but Brady threw the ball way too low and it was picked off. WR Troy Brown started and caught the first play of the game for the Patriots. He showed no ill-effects of his knee injury but was held to just 5 catches for 37 yards. He made the most of his looks because he was only targeted 6 times. WR Deion Branch made some nice catches and finished the day as New England's leading WR with 38 yards. He had a 9 yard pass called back because of a penalty and had a 22 yard pass negated because he'd stepped out of bounds before the catch. Even with Brown playing Branch looks to be a good play because he was targeted a game high 11 times! WR David Patten was not a forgotten man in the passing game as the game stats might indicate. He was targeted 8 times despite only catching 2 passes. He had a 25 yard pass called back on a holding penalty and was open for a touchdown on the pass Brady misfired for an interception. Kansas City 34 at San Diego 35 Kansas City Chiefs: WR Marc Boerigter is an NFL rookie with CFL experience. Entering this game, he'd managed 1 catch thus far but exploded for 5 receptions, 85 yards and 2 TDs. QB Trent Green was noticeably limping at the end of the game. As he often does, Green did not look great on the field, but finished with excellent numbers - 236 yards and 3 TDs. RB Priest Holmes had another solid game against one of the toughest defenses in the game. Seems to be playing on a different level than the competition. TE Tony Gonzalez, Johnnie Morton, and Eddie Kennison were not an important part of the offense this week catching only 3 passes between them. The Kansas City defense did a great job winning the turnover battle 5-2 and blocked a punt, but they did a poor job of tackling and the secondary had the majority of the tackles. San Diego Chargers: QB Drew Brees proved today he's earned the job as quarterback and team leader. He kept his cool and confidence and brought the team back from a late 10 point deficit. RB LaDainian Tomlinson is the cornerstone of the Charger offense. He proved he is a top 10 back and matched Priest Holmes almost yard for yard. He is a very strong runner. WR Curtis Conway again was the leading Charger receiver. He and Tomlinson are the two offensive players to own in San Diego. Even though the Chargers lost the turnover battle 5-2 and had a blocked punt, the defense held strong and gave Brees and the rest of the offense a chance to win it in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville 14 at Tennessee 23 Jacksonville Jaguars: This team looked good with Brunell in at QB. He was calm, cool and in total control but left the game early with a concussion after a violent Samari Rolle hit. When it was all said and done, the Jaguars attempted only 13 passes against one of the weakest pass defenses in the league. Backup QB David Garrard is a young running quarterback who did great things with his feet but was not good in the passing game throwing for only 53 yards, 2 interceptions, and no TDs. RB Fred Taylor looked much better than his 59 yards rushing would indicate. He looked very fluid running with vision, moves, speed, and he can cut on a dime. Healthy; he is one of the best in the league. However, with Brunell out the Titans put 8 in the box and there was nowhere for Fred to go. Tennessee Titans: RB Eddie George looked like the back he was 2 years ago. He hit the holes hard and ran with good power, always falling forward for extra yardage. His stats would have been even more impressive if his 45 yard td run wasn't called back on a penalty. He finished with 140 total yards and 2 TDs. QB Steve McNair was efficient and in full command of the Titans offense. He threw extremely well out of the pocket while on the move and finished the day with 248 yards of total offense and 1 TD. Kevin Carter looked more like the player who earned a Super Bowl ring in St. Louis a couple of years ago, gathering 2 sacks and reeking havoc in the opposing backfield. Oakland 13 at St. Louis 28 Oakland Raiders: Oakland looked overconfident - but the offense still cranked out good numbers. This loss will likely be a wake up call and shouldn't be cause for concern to owners with Raider players on their team. Charlie Garner owners will be happy to hear that he appears to show no effects from his hamstring injury. Garner didn't find the end zone, but had a very respectable three quarters of work. Garner was pulled in the fourth quarter in what appeared to be a precautionary measure. Oakland's defense looks bad right now. The Rams didn't rack up big yards through the air, but since Faulk ran the ball so well, the Rams didn't need to throw. Faulk rushed for a ton of yards and the Raider front seven looked soft and slow. In the secondary, Charles Woodson will be welcomed when he's ready to return. St. Louis Rams: QB Marc Bulger looked like anything but a # 3 QB. Oakland clearly did not take the Rams seriously Sunday, and Bulger made them pay. Bulger wasn't asked to throw a lot, but when he did he looked poised and accurate. This was Marshall Faulk's day. Faulk destroyed the Raiders. Coach Martz finally allowed Faulk to control a game and Faulk had 30 touches. (26 rushes - 4 receptions) One has to wonder why Faulk doesn't get the ball this many times in every Rams game. The Rams may not make the playoffs, but they showed Sunday that they can still play very tough and score a lot of fantasy points. Detroit 24 at Minnesota 31 Detroit Lions: QB Joey Harrington had an excellent outing despite losing the game, completing 25/41 passes for 309 yards and two TD's. He looked very good, making few mistakes and throwing very accurately. He spread the ball around, hitting nine different receivers while targeting Az-Zahir Hakim the most. A very nice performance from the rookie QB, although it was against a rather poor Viking secondary. TE Mikhael Ricks started off the game on fire, catching 3 passes for 79 yards and a TD, but left the game soon afterwards with an injury to his left groin area. He got taped up and attempted to return to the game, but was yanked after one play as he was in obvious pain. He then went to the locker room and did not return. When healthy, Ricks can put up good fantasy numbers. The Vikings completely shut down the Lions running game. James Stewart carried the ball only ten times for 42 yards... 27 of which came on one run. The Lions continue to struggle with their running game, which will put pressure on their young QB. The Lions defense once again started out well and then proceeded to fall apart as the game progressed. They had a lot of trouble containing Daunte Culpepper, who had several nice runs, including a QB draw that went for a TD. The run defense played little better, allowing Daunte Culpepper to score on a QB draw and giving up another to Moe Williams. Minnesota Vikings: Daunte Culpepper had a good game, both through the air and on the ground. He had several nice runs, including a QB draw for a TD. Culpepper also threw for 295 and a TD while completing 27 of 36 passes. The Viking secondary played poorly, allowing rookie Lion QB Joey Harrington to throw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career and two TD's. The Viking run defense played well, however, and shut down the Lions rush attack, allowing James Stewart only 42 yards and holding him out of the endzone. WR Randy Moss had a decent game, catching 9 passes for 83 yards, but he was held out of the endzone. He still remains Culpepper's go-to guy, and caught a nice 23 yard pass on third and long to bring the Vikings to the Lion two yard line, where Moe Williams plunged in for the score. RB Michael Bennett had a very good game, rushing for 68 yards on 16 carries and going 4/70 receiving, including a very nice run on a screen pass that went for 45 yards and a TD. This was the first week where Bennett was used as the clear # 1RB for the Vikings, and he apparently made the most of his opportunity, although it did come against a poor Lion defense. Atlanta 17 at NY Giants 10 Atlanta Falcons: Backup QB Doug Johnson filled in well for the injured Michael Vick. Coach Dan Reeves said the only change made to the playbook was to remove the planned QB runs. Other than that, Johnson used the same plays Vick has used and performed very well. Finished 19-25 for a career high 257 yards and 1 touchdown. He also added a 15-yard TD run. Displayed very good pocket presence and almost all of his throws were crisp tight spirals. The running game did not get much going today, though T.J. Duckett was the primary ball carrier. He finished with 36 yards on 15 carries but did not make much of an impact in the game. Warrick Dunn had just 6 carries for 8 yards, but he made his presence felt in the passing game, leading the team with 7 receptions and totaling 69 yards. Shawn Jefferson took Willie Jackson's spot in the starting lineup and responded with a big game. He caught just 3 balls, but they went for a total of 84 yards. Had a nice 63-yard catch in which he did a great job of concentrating on the ball as it went through the defender's arms. New York Giants: It seems that every week, a Giants wide receiver will have a good game but it is difficult to predict which one it will be. Today, Kerry Collins focused on getting the ball to Ike Hilliard, especially in important situations. Hilliard caught 3 balls on 3rd down and another on 4th down. He was targeted on 10 passes, and scored the only TD of the game for New York. The Giants gained 113 yards rushing on 27 carries as a team, though one would think they would have been able to do better against a rush defense like Atlanta's. It makes you wonder, if they can't get a real good running game going against the Falcons, will they ever get one going? Injuries hit the Giants hard once again this week; CB Will Peterson, DL Kenny Holmes, and TE Jeremy Shockey were not in the starting lineup due to previous injuries. Today, DT Keith Hamilton was likely lost for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon and star DE Michael Strahan left the game with back spasms (he later returned but only played sparingly). S Omar Stoutmire injured his knee but returned to play. Buffalo 31 at Houston 24 Buffalo Bills: The Bills seemed determined to establish the running game early, which they accomplished very effectively. However, due to their poor defensive play the game once again was won by QB Drew Bledsoe's right arm. This consequently keeps him as one of the top fantasy quarterbacks during this season. RB Travis Henry coughed up the ball late in the game deep in Buffalo's own zone, but somewhat surprisingly Gregg Williams sent him back out on the next possession and kept feeding him the ball. Major endorsement from Williams there who had been keeping Henry on a pretty short leash with the fumbles. The WR duo of Peerless Price and Eric Moulds continued to dominate. Each receiver had 9 targets, and both players caught touchdown passes. While the players are basically equal fantasy wise, Moulds is still regarded more and it may be easier to acquire Price. Houston Texans: QB David Carr continues to improve every week. He made some veteran decisions on the field and put Houston in a position to win the game. Has a cannon for a right arm, and OC Chris Palmer was quoted as saying that the Texans would try and throw the deep bomb about four times a game. RB Jonathan Wells bulled Buffalo for 70 yards on just 12 carries (5.8 ypc). As the game wore on he became the focus of the Texan offense, as opposed to James Allen. WR Corey Bradford is a legitimate deep threat and also David Carr's favorite receiver. He grabbed an 81-yard pass on Houston's first play from scrimmage and also just barely dropped a pass in the end zone. He may still be a free agent in some leagues. Even though they gave up 31 points, the Houston defense is becoming a force. Eric Moulds entered the game with a league leading 41 receptions but was held without a catch in the first half and finished the day with 4. Drew Bledsoe still very effective, but he was held to his lowest total of the year by this Texan Defense. New Orleans 43 at Washington 27 New Orleans Saints: Aaron Brooks wasn't spectacular, but he didn't need to be. He had touchdown passes of 2, 17, and 31 yards. Brooks' only major mistake was an interception that he threw to Redskins safety Ifeanyi Ohalete that was returned 78 yards for a touchdown. With the Saints up in the second half, they relied more on Deuce McAllister to run the ball instead of Brooks throwing it. Eight Saints caught a pass today but only Joe Horn and Michael Lewis had more than one. That's not good news for owners of guys like Jerome Pathon and David Sloan. New Orleans' pass rush was phenomenal. The front seven applied consistent, unrelenting pressure all day, forcing five turnovers and sacking Patrick Ramsey seven times. WR / PR / KR Michael Lewis enjoyed a career day, returning a kick and punt for touchdowns (one of the few players to ever do that) and catching two passes for 70 yards. With the Saints up in the second half, Deuce McAllister was the focal point of the offense. He was bottled up well early by the Redskins defense, especially on the goal line. McAllister was ineffective running to the outside. As the game progressed, he was able to break longer runs. The Saints defense played great today, picking Patrick Ramsey off four times. They were putting pressure on Ramsey constantly, forcing him to make bad decisions. Washington Redskins: Don't let the final score fool you, the Redskins defense had a great game today. They held the Saints to only field goals when they intercepted Patrick near the Redskins goal line. If you take away the points scored off of the Redskins five turnovers and two kick returns, the defense only allowed a field goal. Patrick Ramsey started off terrible, starting 0 for 6 with four interceptions. You should note that two of those interceptions were not his fault. He got no help at all from the offensive line. He was sacked 7 times, and had little time to throw the ball. After the bad start, he began to settle in. He finished with 21 completions for 320 yards and two touchdowns (one pass, one run). To be fair though, he would have been picked off more but drops and defensive penalties negated four more Saints interceptions. Stephen Davis showed no signs of his knee injury of last week. He was not used late in the game as the Redskins were down. Washington's special teams play was absolutely horrible, surrendering touchdowns on a kickoff return and a punt return. Pittsburgh 34 at Cincinnati 7 Pittsburgh Steelers: Tommy Maddox solidified his position as starter, while looking sharp for the most part. Maddox made the quick decisions necessary to move the ball. Definitely seems to look to WR Plaxico Burress. Burress was Maddox's go-to guy. He caught half of the Steeler pass completions. Made a nice adjustment on the 36-yard second play from scrimmage. That play put the Bengal defense on their heels and it was downhill from there. The running game was opened up by the big-gainer to Burress. Jerome Bettis was not touched in the first 20 yards of his 41-yard touchdown run. He sat down after achieving reaching the 100-yard mark midway through the fourth, against the struggling Bengals. Cincinnati Bengals: Jon Kitna got the start and played the entire game. With the situation in Cincinnati, you have to wonder how many more starts he has left in him. Kitna was effective on the opening drive, but just couldn't get things going. Whenever the pocket started collapsing, you knew something bad was going to happen. And it did. Corey Dillon had another frustrating day. The Bengal offensive line is beat up and Dillon could not get outside against the speedy linebackers of the Steelers. He also dropped two passes as the Bengals tried to get the ball in his hands anyway they could. Chad Johnson established himself as the number one receiver in Cincinnati, for what that's worth. Johnson caught seven of Kitna's first 13 completions. The Bengal's defense and special teams were not effective. Cleveland 3 at Tampa Bay 17 Cleveland Browns: QB Tim Couch was hassled all day, and didn't have time to make his reads. He couldn't move the Cleveland offense at all against the tough Buccaneer defense. Though Couch was not effective, he didn't appear to show any effects of his concussion from last week. Give the Tampa Bay defense most the credit for Couch's troubles on the day. RB Jamel White started. But he and William Green split the workload with White running nine times and Green rushing eight times. Neither running back looked good running behind the Cleveland offensive line and against the Buc's dominant defense. The Browns wide receivers were not a major factor in the game as Couch didn't have time to throw. Dennis Northcutt finished the game with the most yardage out of the slot position, but Jamel White had the most receptions by far as the outlet receiver. The Browns looked like they will continue to spread the ball around to all four of their wide receivers which is bad news for Fantasy Owners. For the Browns defense, it was a tale of two halves. The rush defense played well in the first half allowing only 41 yards rushing, but were simply run over by Mike Alstott in the second half after being on the field all day. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The story of this game was the Tampa Bay defense. The Buccaneers defense dominated the first half and held Cleveland to under 100 yards in the half. The second half was more of the same, and they only allowed three points on the day. The Buccaneer running game was terrific with Michael Pittman but surprisingly, Mike Alstott was a big factor too.. Though they started slow in the first half, they Browns defense wore down, and Alstott took advantage in the second half. Pittman was very active running and catching the ball and finished with 148 total yards. In the second half, Alstott scored a touchdown after gaining all 55 yards on the drive and never looked back. Brad Johnson didn't play very well in the first half of this game, but was more accurate and efficient in the second half. The Tampa running game was so effective that Johnson didn't need to do very much. Martin Gramatica had a field goal blocked and also missed a 34-yarder in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers blew another short field goal opportunity with a bad snap. Gramatica finished the day going only 1 for 3. Carolina 13 at Dallas 14 Carolina Panthers: QB Rodney Peete was ineffective on the day throwing 9-15 for 84 yards but had a TD pass off a blown coverage. Peete overthrew Steve Smith for what would have been an easy TD. Peete left the game with a headache sustained from a hit. Weinke fared no better than Peete as he went 7-12 for 114 yards. RB Lamar Smith was held to 25 rushes for 81 yards and wasn't able to break a run for longer than 9 yards. Smith did seem to wear down the Dallas Defense a bit. WR Muhsin Muhammad returned but wasn't 100% recovered. But he provided help in the passing game getting 6 catches for 82 yards and was able to free Steve Smith for a 4 catches for 31 yards. Carolina tied a team record by sacking Quincy Carter 7 times in this game. Dallas Cowboys: Quincy Carter played an ugly game with very inaccurate passing but was able to pull through at the end with an 80-yard TD pass to Joey Galloway and driving the team for a 24-yard TD to Antonio Bryant. Carter finished with 15-32 for 225 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. Dallas seems totally content to allow Carter to grow into the job. Emmitt Smith finished with 13 carries for 59 yards but showed a few bursts of speed including an 18-yard run. Smith appeared to run better without a FB in front of him as he was able to see and hit the holes faster. Joey Galloway, Antonio Bryant, and Darnay Scott each had 3 catches. Galloway and Bryant received most of the targets but Galloway garnered the yards because he had an 80 yard TD reception. Baltimore 20 at Indianapolis 22 Baltimore Ravens: Even with LB Ray Lewis standing in street clothes on the sideline, (First time Lewis missed a game in 64 starts) the Raven's Defense was very effective against the Colt's Offense though 4 Quarters of Football. The Ravens had penetration into the Colt's Backfield on almost every play, Holding James to just 43 rushing yards, and sacking Manning 5 times. Although Chris Redman's numbers look poor, outside of his 3 Fumbles, he played very well. He was able to get the ball off in pressure, made great decisions, and showed poise. Would have had well over 200 yards passing on the day if just a few more dropped passes had been completed. Indianapolis Colts: The NFL's Most Accurate Kicker in History, Mike Vanderjagt, capped his career high 5 FGs with a 38-yard game-winner that completed Indianapolis' last-minute comeback for a 22-20 victory After 10 consecutive 100 yard rushing games, James has been held under 100 yards for his second game in a row. After running well on the first drive, James was hit behind the line all day, couldn't find running lanes, and was brought down on first contact often. Did not look like the James we've come to expect at all. San Francisco 28 at Seattle 21 San Francisco 49ers: Jeff Garcia is starting to come around after a rocky first few games. He threw for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also contributed 48 yards on the ground. He kept a scoring drive alive with a 17 yard run on 3rd and 10. Garcia kept the final drive alive with a key 9 yard run on 3rd and 2. Terrell Owens had his best game of the season. He caught 6 passes for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was seen yelling on the sideline when Garcia didn't throw a pass to him in the end zone. He was featured on the next drive. After his second touchdown, he pulled a marker out of his sock and signed the ball for a friend. Are you allowed to carry pens in your socks? Tai Streets started for the injured J.J. Stokes. He performed well gaining 66 yards. That's more yards than Stokes has gained in any single game this season. Seattle Seahawks: Mild worry signal for Alexander owners - Mack Strong caught a short TD and had a 5 yard run on 1st and goal from the 6. Trent Dilfer performed well. There was no sign of his injury and he even ran the ball for 21 yards and looked pretty good doing it. He threw bullets over the middle of the field all game. He ended up with 212 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he also threw 2 costly interceptions. The second of the 2 interceptions, was tipped by a defensive lineman, before it landed in Ahmed Plummer's hands. Bobby Engram had a breakout day. He took a punt 61 yards for a touchdown, showing surprising speed. Engram looked over his shoulder several times during the runback, wondering where the defensive players were. He was Dilfer's number one target, pulling in 6 receptions for 85 yards. Shaun Alexander ran hard all day, but there wasn't much room for him. Most of his 96 yards on the ground came on a 42 yard run. He added a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter.