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Carolina
Panthers 24, Atlanta Falcons 6
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Panthers: They found their running game in
DeShaun Foster and the defense had a big day against Mike Vick.
They have that Super look again.
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Falcons: They couldn't run it, Vick couldn't throw it and
the run defense struggled again. This is a team in trouble in
terms of playoff talk.
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Miami
Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 23
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Dolphins: Give the Dolphins tons of credit for
coming back from a 21-0 deficit. Chris Chambers had a huge day and
it's time to play Sage Rosenfels.
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Bills: There's no excuse for losing the way they did.
Wasn't this supposed to be a good defense? What the heck has
happened?
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Cincinnati
Bengals 38, Pittsburgh Steelers 31
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Bengals: This team is for real. To win a game
like this in December is proof. Carson Palmer and the offense can
score.
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Steelers: This team has defensive troubles. Huh? Believe
it. They can't stop the pass. Ben Roethlisberger had a big day,
but he made some bad throws, too.
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New York
Giants 17, Dallas Cowboys 10
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Giants: The Giants won on a day when the offense
wasn't productive, which is a good thing. The defense had one of
its best days in a long time.
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Cowboys: The defense played well enough to win, but the
passing game struggled.
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Chicago
Bears 19, Green Bay Packers 7
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Bears: Once again, they won a game behind the
defense. Who needs an offense when the defense is this good, even
getting a touchdown off an interception?
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Packers: Brett Favre made two awful throws and it cost his
team. It might be time to play Aaron Rodgers.
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Baltimore
Ravens 16, Houston Texans 15
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Ravens: That was a big-time drive by Kyle Boller
to win it. Maybe it's his coming-of-age moment. Losing to the
Texans might have meant trouble for Brian Billick.
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Texans: It gets more painful by the week. Losing the way
they did -- seeing Boller drive to the winning points in the final
minute -- had to be excruciating. But that's what happens to bad
teams.
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Jacksonville
Jaguars 20, Cleveland Browns 14
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Jaguars: They started slow, but dominated in the
second half. This was a trap game and they got by it. David
Garrard had a nice second half.
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Browns: They lost a game, but might have found out rookie
Charlie Frye is their quarterback for the future. They're still
playing hard, too.
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Tampa Bay
Buccaneers 10, New Orleans Saints 3
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Bucs: This one belonged to the defense -- again.
Ronde Barber had a big day with three interceptions. The offense
struggled in the passing game.
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Saints: Aaron Brooks threw four interceptions, and they
were all bad throws. You can't win that way, even with a good
defensive effort.
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Indianapolis
Colts 35, Tennessee Titans 3
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Colts: Peyton Manning didn't have a big day in
terms of yards, but it wasn't needed. The defense shut down the
Titans and scored a touchdown. That's 7-3 for the defense.
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Titans: It wasn't as bad as the score, but they never could
get anything really going offensively. They aren't in the Colts
class anymore.
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Kansas City
Chiefs 31, Denver Broncos 27
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Chiefs: Larry Johnson had another big day and the
defense did a good job limiting the Denver running game. It was
almost a must-win for the Chiefs and they responded.
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Broncos: Jake Plummer made two big mistakes -- one in the
end zone and another that gave the Chiefs great field position.
The defense gave up too many yards.
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Washington
Redskins 24, St. Louis Rams 9
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Redskins: This one belonged to the running game
with Clinton Portis and Rock Cartwright both going for over 100
yards. The defense had a good day, too.
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Rams: They couldn't get much going on offense as their line
struggled. Ryan Fitzpatrick came back to reality some in his first
start.
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New England
Patriots 16, New York Jets 3
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Patriots: The Patriots started slowly, but they
got it going in the second half. It was a good day all the way
around, which is a big thing for the defense.
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Jets: The defense did a decent job of keeping it close, but
it tired. It's hard to win when you can't score.
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Arizona
Cardinals 17, San Francisco 49ers 10
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Cardinals: Kurt Warner had another big day
throwing the football, including throwing the game-winning
touchdown. The defense did a nice job.
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49ers: When you start a rookie quarterback, there will be
days like this. Alex Smith was picked off three times. That hurt.
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San Diego
Chargers 34, Oakland Raiders 10
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Chargers: They are now hitting stride. The
defense is starting to play much better. We know the offense is
good; even when it doesn't put up huge numbers it can score
touchdowns.
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Raiders: Their disappointing play continued in the second
half of this game. They don't have the players to play with the
Chargers this season. It's that simple. Kerry Collins is starting
to turn the ball over way too much.
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