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. Carolina 0 at Atlanta 30 Carolina Panthers: The Falcons defense dominated the Carolina offense in this game. Give credit to both the effective defense and the ineffective Panther offense for the outcome. QB Chris Weinke started the game and couldn't move the Carolina offense. He left the game late in the second quarter with a concussion after managing only 26 yards passing and was replaced by Randy Fasani. Fasani didn't fare much better moving the Carolina offense, but was effective scrambling with the ball and avoiding the tough Falcon pass rush. The Carolina running backs and wide receivers were completely ineffective in this game, largely due to the problems at the quarterback position and a tough Falcon defense. Lamar Smith had only 19 yards and a paltry 2.3 YPC average. Nick Goings came in the game in the fourth quarter in an effort to spark the offense. Atlanta Falcons: FB Bob Christian left the game after a concussion and was taken to the hospital. QB Mike Vick continued his solid play in this game and didn't show any signs that his injured left shoulder bothered him. He had a number of nice runs, including a 44-yard touchdown. His athleticism simply makes things possible. Doug Johnson replaced him in the fourth quarter, but it was just a precautionary measure with the Falcons up 24 points. RBs Warrick Dunn and TJ Duckett continued to split the workload in the backfield. In the first half, Duckett looked great in every aspect of the game and drew comparisons to Jerome Bettis from the announcers who jokingly referred to him as the "Diesel". However, Duckett was limited in the second half with a sprained foot. The Falcons spread the ball around and nine players caught passes. TE Reggie Kelly started the game over Alge Crumpler and WR Willie Jackson had a 68-yard pass negated by a penalty. WR Trevor Gaylor saw action in the game and made the most of his opportunities. PK Jay Feely finished the game with three field goals over 40 yards. Jacksonville 10 at Baltimore 17 Jacksonville Jaguars: If you have PK Hayden Epstein on your fantasy squad, drop him and don't think twice. Tom Coughlin went for it on 4th and 2 and 4th and 7 from inside the 25-yard line twice instead of attempting a field goal. QB Mark Brunell showed no signs of the concussion slowing him down this week. Of his three interceptions, two were deflected at the line of scrimmage, and the third was a last desperation throw that ended the game. RB Fred Taylor could very well be the most talented running back in the NFL. He was shifty, speedy, and showed some surprising toughness en route to 151 yards rushing and a touchdown. He also caught 8 passes for 46 yards. Baltimore Ravens: All World NFL linebacker Ray Lewis did not play. He was still suffering from his shoulder injury, but was very vocal on the sidelines and encouraged a young, hungry defense that is growing up very quickly. The Baltimore offense continues to be grind it out football behind RB Jamal Lewis, combined with spectacular plays by the gifted TE Todd Heap. Lewis carried the rock an astounding 28 times. QB Chris Redman continues to be efficient on the field. He once again only passed for 152 yards, but threw two TD receptions to Todd Heap. Minnesota Vikings 7 at New York Jets 20 Minnesota Vikings: Things are ugly again in Minnesota. Daunte Culpepper's first pass of the game was picked off, and everything went downhill from there. Mike Tice claimed the Vikings were going to come out and try to establish the run, but somehow they couldn't get anything going against a defense that had been allowing 191 rushing yards per game. RB Michael Bennett did not break any big runs and without those, he's just not going to get it done as a viable fantasy back. He had a costly fumble early in the fourth quarter, and did not see the field the remainder of the game. Moe Williams finished the game in his place. Bennett owners who were ecstatic over him winning the featured role should be worried. In addition to the big fumble by Bennett, Williams was fairly active in the passing game and scored yet another 1 yard TD. The "Randy Ratio" was thrown away today. Of the 39 passes thrown by Daunte Culpepper, only 8 passes (21%) went to Moss. With the Randy Ratio in place, teams know the ball will be force-fed to Moss. When Culpepper spreads the ball around to his receivers, everyone, including Moss, becomes much more effective because teams can't just key on him. Moss finished with 86 yards. New York Jets: Don't look now, but the Jets execution may finally be catching up to their talent level. Granted, the opponent was Minnesota but the Jets played a near-flawless game in all aspects today. The offense moved the ball through the air and on the ground equally effectively. The defense shut down a solid Vikings rushing attack, and forced 4 costly Minnesota turnovers, which resulted in 13 Jet points. QB Chad Pennington had the breakout game many expected of him. He exudes confidence and looks to be a bright star on the rise. Curtis Martin said of him, "I imagine this is what it must have been like to play with Joe Namath". Pennington was afforded a lot of time to throw, and the Vikings pass defense is not much to speak of, but still Pennington must make the plays. He spread the ball around well and always seemed to throw it to the proper receiver. Laveranues Coles needs to be upgraded big-time after his last 3 performances with Pennington at QB. A lot of people forget that the Jets defense was struggling mightily against the run early last season, much like this year. But they eventually got things turned around in 2001 and got off to a good start on trying to duplicate that today. They allowed just 101 yards on the ground to Minnesota and more importantly, never allowed the Vikings to establish a consistent attack. This forced Daunte Culpepper into some very poor decisions, which the Jets capitalized on. WR Santana Moss had 5 receptions for a career high 111 yards. Don't expect this against every team because Coles is clearly the #1 WR, but it was nice to see Moss come through when he had the opportunity to. Washington 9 at Green Bay 30 Washington Redskins: QB Patrick Ramsey continues to make folks question his outstanding game in week 5 vs a weak Tennessee Defense. Ramsey was unimpressive with the stats he posted and more importantly, how he looked in the pocket. The Redskins couldn't get their offense going today. Ramsey didn't get any time from the offensive line and was sacked 5 times. The only plays that the offense was able to execute on a regular basis were short end-arounds and screens. They were unable to score any touchdowns, scoring only field goals. RB Stephen Davis was given the ball more than in the past (24 carries), but was handled by the Green Bay defense. They were blitzing constantly, and Davis was unable to get any long runs. Coach Steve Spurrier does seem to realize that Davis is his best player. Green Bay Packers: QB Brett Favre left the game in the third quarter with a sprained knee. Green Bay is cautiously optimistic at this point but we'll know more pending an MRI Monday. The Packers have their BYE week this week, so it is possible that Favre could not miss a start. While Favre was playing, he looked very good, completing 11 of 14 for 89 yards. Doug Pederson came in for Favre. Pederson looked solid, but not spectacular. RB Ahman Green had a great game. The Redskins simply had no answer for him. He ran for 88 yards on 24 carries with three touchdowns. Green constantly broke tackles and had several long runs into the secondary. Packer Defense: When they refrained from making costly penalties, Green Bay's pass defense was dominant. They sacked Ramsey 5 times with a combination of good pass rush and excellent coverage. They knocked Ramsey down several times in addition to the sacks. However, this is the second week in a row that Green Bay has given up significant rushing yardage (146 total) despite winning. Houston 17 at Cleveland 34 Houston Texans: This week the two newest expansion teams in the league battled in Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Texans fell apart in the fourth quarter for the second week in a row. QB David Carr had another good game. He did however, fumble the ball late in the 4th quarter deep in his own territory to seal the victory for the Browns. Carr and the Texans completely dominated the 1st half of the game. The score was tied at the half but the yards heavily favored Houston as they controlled the game and seemed on pace for their second win of the year. Jonathan Wells got the start at RB but was out rushed by James Allen in the game. TE Billy Miller led the Texans in receiving but Corey Bradford could have been the man if not for 2 dropped passes and one overthrown pass by Carr. The overthrown pass and one of the drops could have been touchdowns. Cleveland Browns: The Browns snapped a three game losing streak in their new/old Orange jerseys. The Cleveland faithful booed a lot of the play calling and play execution in the 1st half of the game. They were not happy with their Browns getting man-handled by the expansion team. The second half was a different story though. Tim Couch kept the boos at bay by throwing a 25 yard TD to Quincy Morgan in the 3rd quarter. Couch also laid a nice block on 2 defenders, springing Jamel White for a 36 yard gain. The Browns offense didn't commit any turnovers in the game. However, it was the special teams and defense that was the difference. Andre Davis returned a kickoff 95 yards, following a Houston touchdown drive. This proved to be a big momentum swing in the game as the Texans only held the lead for 13 seconds. The defense had gone 13 quarters without a sack, but recorded 9 sacks on rookie David Carr. Chicago 20 at Detroit 23 (OT) Chicago Bears: QB Chris Chandler had a shaky game filling in for Jim Miller, going 16/25 for 163 yards, a TD and an interception. He seemed to favor Dez White as a target, and also threw several times to Fred Baxter, who came in to replace John Davis at TE. Over all, a luke-warm performance from the veteran QB. RB Anthony Thomas never seemed to get his rhythm going, despite rushing for 92 yards and a TD. He also fumbled twice in the game, one of which ended up a Lion TD a couple plays later. The Bear run defense was abysmal, allowing James Stewart to run over them like they weren't there all game long and giving up 172 yards to the Lion RB. When the Lions did pass, the Bear managed to put some pressure on Joey Harrington and make him rush his throws. They tried to intimidate the young Lion QB with blitzes, but Harrington wasn't fazed too much. On one play, Brian Urlacher nailed Harrington hard as he threw the ball, but Harrington bounced right up and patted Urlacher on the back. WR Marty Booker only caught 1 pass (for a TD) while Dez White was the favorite target of Chris Chandler, and was targeted several times downfield. One long pass was called back after the Lions challenged that White had part of his foot out of bounds and won. He also caught another 38 yard pass that led to Anthony Thomas's TD. White ended up with 70 yards for the day. Detroit Lions: QB Joey Harrington's numbers weren't spectacular (16/30, 199 yards), and he appeared a bit shaky and indecisive at times. He didn't throw an interception. But he also failed to find the endzone against the Bears banged up defense. The less than spectacular passing performance was partially due to the Lions finally getting a good ground attack going, and James Stewart having a career day rushing. WR Germane Crowell returned to the field for his first game since October of last year. He was not a big factor and looked rusty but if he can return to his previous form, it's a huge boost to Harrington. RB James Stewart had a career day on the ground, carrying the ball 32 times for 172 yards and two TD's, plus adding a couple receptions for 28 yards. The offensive line dominated the Bears run defense and opened huge holes for Stewart. The Lions secondary continues to have problems. Although they only allowed bears QB Chris Chandler 163 yards and intercepted him once, they gave up several costly long gains to Chandler that led to Bears scores. The Lion WR's were very quiet this game as James Stewart ran over the Bears all game long. The leading receiver for the team was RB Aveion Cason (57 yards), and Scotty Anderson led the Lion WR's with only 34 yards on three catches. San Diego 27 at Oakland 21 San Diego Chargers: RB LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 100 of his 153 yards in the second half and overtime period. He didn't seem to wear down at all as the game progressed. QB Drew Brees started slowly with only 46 passing yards in the first half but completed nine second-half passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. WR Tim Dwight racked up 94 total yards, including a 19-yard reverse in the first half. The rush defense was excellent, allowing only 37 yards on 12 carries but Rich Gannon lit up the defensive backfield for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Oakland Raiders: The passing game was again the focus and Rich Gannon put up monster fantasy numbers (361 yards, 3 TDs). RB Charlie Garner only ran 7 times but he was one of Gannon's favorite targets, catching 7 balls for 80 yards. The defense suffered another blow when rookie corner Phillip Buchanan left midway through the 2nd quarter with a broken wrist. Gannon completed passes to 7 different receivers but the three-headed monster of Rice, Brown and Porter combine for 20 catches for 216 yards and two scores. PK Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals, the first one a 27-yard chip shot. Denver 37 at Kansas City 34 Denver Broncos: This game was all about TE Shannon Sharpe on this side of the ball. The veteran still has something in the tank, catching 12 balls for 214 yards and 2 TDs, including an 82 yarder. 214 yards shattered a 40 year old franchise record. RB Clinton Portis looked good carrying the ball 15 times for 70 yards (4.6 ypc). He did fumble once in the third quarter and whether that was the reason or not, Mike Anderson was seen in single back sets more often after this happened. QB Brian Griese played smart, mistake free football and threw for 376 yards and 2 TDs without throwing an interception. WR Rod Smith caught 7 for 92 yards but uncharacteristically suffered 5 drops on the day. Ed McCaffrey only had 1 catch for 4 yards, while rookie Ashley Lelie saw a lot of action in 3 receiver sets catching 3 balls for 33 yards and looking lightning fast while doing it. Kansas City Chiefs: Priest Holmes, Priest Holmes, Priest Holmes. He has totally taken over this team and there's nothing he can't do. He made the league's leading rush defense look mediocre, and he cemented his position as this year's top fantasy running back while accounting for 151 yards of total offense and 3 TDs. QB Trent Green was efficient running the offense, but nothing special finishing with 172 yards, no TDs and no interceptions. He added 18 yards on the ground and didn't seem effected by his taped sprained ankle. TE Tony Gonzalez was the go to receiver as usual, with no wide receivers establishing themselves in the game. Dallas 6 at Arizona 9 (OT) Dallas Cowboys: Behind a banged-up makeshift line, Quincy Carter was unable to sustain a drive. Tackle Larry Allen did not suit up. The game plan became run the Cardinal secondary to sleep, then throw a deep prayer to Antonio Bryant and maybe they'll get lucky. Carter was sacked on the Cowboys' opening play and was afforded no protection in the backfield from blitzes. He made mistake after mistake, making bad throws into double coverage. Interceptions came from under throwing deep, throwing behind the receiver at the goal line, or into double coverage in the end zone while being pressured out of the pocket. Carter did not seem to recognize the term "ball security". Emmitt Smith ran for a season-high 82 yards. He got virtually all of the carries in the first three quarters. He was doing a nice job picking holes. However, he was running more on his toes than running hard. Still has 93 yards to go to break Walter Payton's record. Troy Hambrick came in the fourth quarter and overtime to give the Cowboys a change-of-pace to Smith. Hambrick's straight-ahead style was effective. Hambrick got to the holes much quicker than Smith as the Cowboy offensive line could not maintain their blocks and holes disappeared as soon as they opened up. Arizona Cardinals: Arizona's game plan was opposite that of the Cowboys. The Cardinals played a conservative, field-position game. This was most evident when the Cardinals did not have any wide receivers on the field for four straight plays inside the Dallas ten, right before the half. Thomas Jones was the man for three quarters. He carried the ball 15 times in the first half. The Cardinals ran out of a single-back or no-back formation throughout the first two drives. Twice Jake Plummer threw to Jones when he was split-out wide. Both times the pass went through Jones' hands. Jones was benched in favor of Marcel Shipp in the fourth quarter after Jones' lost fumble. Plummer's accuracy was non-existent. He was consistently missing receivers or putting the ball where the receiver was unable to gain yards after the catch. Had several nice scrambles, finishing with 46 yards rushing. David Boston was Plummer's main target, even though he only got one look in the first quarter. Boston was wide-open in the second quarter before Dallas adjusted to double coverage in the second half. Plummer missed Boston twice, once on a pass deflection at the line of scrimmage. Boston bobbled an incompletion while wide-open over the middle and dropped a pass when hit by Mario Edwards. Boston was unable to get both feet in bounds on a catch in the corner of the end zone. Buffalo 23 at Miami 10 Buffalo Bills: RB Travis Henry turned in excellent stats against an excellent defense. More important, he looked great in doing so. Maybe he was in a zone, but it seemed like Henry ran exactly how he needed to on each run. On most carries, he took the handoff and burst towards the hole. On some carries, he took the handoff and allowed the play to develop. He had a few long runs (longest was 34 yards) and was able to turn the corner a couple of times against the speedy Dolphins defense. The 70-yard TD from Bledsoe to Moulds was picture perfect. Bledsoe led Moulds perfectly, and Moulds was able to beat Sam Madison and Brock Marion to the endzone. Aside from that play, the Buffalo passing game was largely silent. Miami Dolphins: QB Ray Lucas was terrible. Maybe Jay Fiedler isn't so bad after all. Lucas turned in a QB rating of 26.3 and was responsible for a half-dozen turnovers (4 INTs and 2 fumbles). He looked very uncomfortable for most of the game. WRs Chris Chambers and Oronde Gadsden were sorely missed. Cris Carter will be taking his physical on Monday. He is needed. Speaking of WRs, Bonnie Bernstein reported that Gadsden will test the free agency waters after the season and likely will not be a Dolphin next season. It seems Gadsden was far from impressed with Miami's latest 2-year offer. RB Ricky Williams ran hard and dished out some punishment but had little help from anyone else. Still, he was fun to watch. The Dolphins incurred several (supposedly minor) injuries. Those hurt include Ricky Williams (knee bruise), Dedric Ward (calf bruise), and Robert Edwards (knee sprain). Seattle 20 at St. Louis 37 Seattle Seahawks: Seattle very well could have been shut out in this game. Their first two touchdowns were the result of poor special teams and getting burned on a blitz. Even their 3rd TD was a defensive fumble return. Koren Robinson came up big with two catches that he broke for a 79 yard TD and an 80-yard catch that ended at the 2-yard line. Darrell Jackson, however, was non-existent during the game. Seattle suffered eight drops from four different players, two each for Alexander, Jackson, Robinson and Mili. Seattle completely gave up on RB Shaun Alexander when his last six carries resulted in 0, -1, 5, 0, -4, 1 yards. He was replaced by Maurice Morris during garbage time. The Seattle defensive line was blown off the ball all day. For the fourth time in six games they gave up over 200 yards rushing. St. Louis Rams: Marshall Faulk is officially back to being "The Man". 32 carries and 11 targets in the passing game total 43 plays run for Faulk. Even with the game well in hand Faulk came back off the bench to score his 4th touchdown. Marc Bulger took what the defense gave him and didn't try to win the game by himself. Bulger played very well hitting all the correct people, making the correct reads, and spreading the ball around. Bulger displayed a very strong, but sometimes inaccurate arm. It is apparent that Jamie Martin wasn't kidding when he said that Bulger is the best passer of all the St. Louis quarterbacks, including Warner. He simply lacks experience. Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt didn't see many balls today due to the effectiveness of the running game. St. Louis simply chose to win the game running Faulk instead of looking flashy with the pass. The St. Louis defense suffered a painful loss with the injury to Aeneas Williams (broken leg). As Williams was being carted off the field, you could see the emotion on his face. Defensive Coordinator Lovie Smith must have handed out some fines two weeks ago for lazy play, because the St. Louis defenders were flying to the ball and gang tackling this week again just like they were against the Raiders last week. San Francisco 27 at New Orleans 35 San Francisco 49ers: Jeff Garcia bought time with his feet to allow receivers to get open against a fierce New Orleans pass rush. Didn't force the ball into Terrell Owens who was double- and triple-teamed for most of the game, he instead looked to Tai Streets and his running backs for completions. He threw his first interception of the season late in this game on a play where the cornerback made a terrific play. It was not a bad throw by Garcia. Terrell Owens had weak numbers for Terrell Owens. Just 4 catches for 61 yards but a nice touchdown catch where he easily out jumped the defensive back. He faced double- and triple-teams all day long and wasn't able to control a game like is able to do. Late in the game he had a drop on a tough pass that would have put the 49ers in scoring position. Tai Streets started for the injured J.J. Stokes and made the most of his opportunity. He benefited tremendously from the coverages that were rolled over to address Owens. He got involved early and was actively targeted throughout the game. Streets made several important catches on third down and on the last 49ers drive. He finished with 6 catches for 80 yards. Garrison Hearst is still the primary back due to hard running and excellent help on passing plays. He's not as big as Barlow but he uses his experience to maximize his time on the field. He finished the game with 14 carries for 82 yards and added 4 catches for 43 yards with two short rushing TD's. He would have had a 60+ yard TD but for an ankle tackle that held him to a 20-yard gain in the 3rd quarter. Despite being smaller than Barlow, Hearst saw goalline opportunities and scored on a short yardage TD. New Orleans Saints: Aaron Brooks may have finally moved into the upper echelon of fantasy QB. He threw for three TD's and rushed for another. He showed maturity and patience in the red zone by not forcing passes and by not taking sacks. His passes were tight spirals and on target. He definitely has a favorite receiver in Joe Horn but isn't afraid to throw to any open man on the field, completing passes to 6 different receivers. He used his legs to buy time in the pocket against a strong SF pass rush and had nice gains on called bootlegs. He finished 23-35 for 254 yards and NO interceptions. Deuce McAllister is a big part of this year's Saints' explosion offensively. He's a punishing runner (22-139) and an active part of the passing game (5 catches for 35 yards and a TD). He also had a 53-yard run from scrimmage. He has the patience of a more veteran runner, allowing blocks to set up before barreling into the line or around the corner. The 49ers appeared to finally have McAllister locked down early in the 3rd quarter but he was just too explosive, carrying for 46 yards in the Saints last two possessions. Joe Horn called a personal three-touchdown day in the local papers and got close with two scoring catches on Sunday. He is clearly Brooks' favorite target and totaled 8 catches for 109 yards. He was the featured recipient of scoring chances provided by SF miscues in scoring after a long pass interference penalty on the 49ers and also after the Kevan Barlow fumble. Jerome Pathon and Jake Reed were invaluable assets to the New Orleans passing attack combining for 8 catches and 113 yards. Reed was a frequent 3rd down target and Pathon seemed to be everywhere on the field. Probably not FF starter in most leagues but they should kept in mind if Horn goes down with an injury. They run clean routes and Brooks has confidence in both of them. Tampa Bay 10 at Philadelphia 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Brad Johnson was battered and beaten. He rarely had any time in the pocket. He was sacked 5 times and hurried all game long. He threw for 127 yards and an interception. Brad Johnson was confused by the Eagles defense and was unable to make a single big play. Eventually he had to be taken out of the game because of his bruised ribs. Rob Johnson relieved him, brought the Tampa Bay offense to the Philadelphia 6 yard line, and stalled. Are you surprised? Derrick Brooks recovered a McNabb fumble on Philadelphia's 11-yard line and cruised in for Tampa bay's only touchdown. It is his 4th defensive touchdown of the season. That would be more touchdowns than such players as Randy Moss and Terrell Owens and David Boston. Impressive. Michael Pittman (49 yards) and Mike Alstott (14 yards) had little to no room to run today. After combining for 179 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns last week, you would have thought they were on the right track. Philadelphia's run defense was stellar and Levon Kirkland stuffed practically everything that came his way. Alstott fumbled the ball on Tampa Bay's first offensive drive, which set up David Acker's first field goal. Warren Sapp left the game briefly after being poked in the eye. McNabb threw the 42-yard touchdown to Pinkston, on the first play that Sapp sat out. Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan McNabb faced the #1 ranked defense and won. He didn't put up impressive stats. His 127 yards throwing was the lowest total so far this year. His 4 rushing yards was the lowest of his young career. He played patiently and waited for his opportunities to open up. McNabb threw a 42-yard touchdown to Todd Pinkston to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead towards end of the 2nd quarter. He also added a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the 4th quarter to put the game away for good. Duce Staley was a major part of the game plan today. For once the entire offense wasn't shouldered on McNabb. His 152 rushing yards was his personal best of the season. The Eagles had a very balanced attack and wore down Tampa Bay's defense all day. The offensive line played tough as a unit and gave Staley many great opportunities. In the Eagles final drive Staley picked up 2 huge 1st downs on an 11-yard run and a 57 yard run that made sure the Buccaneers never touched the ball again. Todd Pinkston saw most of the passes come his way today. The rest of the receiving corps saw very little action. Tampa Bay's coverage was amazing, and didn't leave many open receivers. If you were looking for a good old fashion defensive battle, this game did not disappoint. Both teams played like they were the best defensive units in football. Indianapolis 10 at Pittsburgh 28 Indianapolis Colts: QB Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards and a TD but seemed to have trouble with the Steelers pass defense. He made some bad decisions and threw balls high while getting hit on nearly every play. His best play was to Marcus Pollard on a 41 yard TD pass. RB Edgerrin James had trouble running into the teeth of the Steelers D, but looked great catching the ball. Marvin Harrison looked solid, adjusting his routes when Manning was in trouble. Reggie Wayne and Qadry Ismail both got some looks, but neither is a major part of the passing offense. The Colts defense was vulnerable to the run and the short passing game, but didn't let up a lot of big passing plays. It looks like Dungy is doing the best he can with his personnel. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers ran a spread passing offense similar to the one that the Patriots and Raiders used against them in the first two games of the season. Tommy Maddox was very efficient and looked poised running the Steelers offense. He seemed to lock in to Plaxico Burress for much of the game, despite the fact that both of his TDs were to Hines Ward. Jerome Bettis had a pair of TDs and looked solid until the third quarter, when he hurt his knee and left the game. Bettis appeared to be ok laughing on the sidelines but did not return. Amos Zereoue replaced him and looked very good in the third and fourth quarters. Plaxico Burress caught 6 passes for 79 yards, and just missed a long TD pass from Maddox. Hines Ward, whose production had significantly dropped off since Kordell Stewart's benching, played a big role in the passing game tonight catching 5 passes for 76 yards and 2 TDs. The Steelers defense got a lot of pressure on Manning, forcing him into bad throws and three interceptions. After a couple of early miscues, they settled down and were successful in stopping the run.