NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

The curse of Tom Brady continues.

The Pats QB moved to 6-1 all time against the Steelers Sunday night, doing his usual pick apart routine of the Steelers defense, hitting plays all night as New England cruised past the Steelers in stunning fashion 39-26.

By all accounts, it was by far the worst game of the season by the Steelers, who felt this would not be another undressing by Brady after how the Browns easily topped the Pats a week ago in Cleveland.

Instead, it was frustrating from start the finish. The Steelers O-line was terrible, as injuries took their toll as Ben Roethlsiberger was rushed all night, and the run game did little against the Pats after they allowed over 200 yards last week to Cleveland.

While the offense was off all night, despite scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter when the game was pretty much out of reach, the defense played their worst game of the year is allowing Brady to throw all night.

The QB, who makes a living off of beating the Steelers at Heinz Field, threw for 350 yards on 30 of 43 passing. He was not sacked all night, and while there were points when the Steelers got pressure, Brady usually was able to find check downs.

Pats rookie TE Rob Gronkowski, who was a goat last week in Cleveland, scored three times for New England, including an 18-yard TD on the Pats first series, and then again in the third and fourth quarters.

Roethlisberger was sacked five times, and was under pressure most of the night. The run game did little, putting up 76 yards on 18 carries. Rashard Mendenhall had just 50 yards on 11 carries as the team couldn’t get anything going all night.

New England took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, and finally the Steelers got a field goal to cut it to 10-3 when they got to the Pats four but had to settle for a Jeff Reed 22-yard field goal.

Then they had a shot late in the half, but couldn’t score, and then the game got out of hand when the Pats drove 78 yards in 10 plays to take a 17-3 lead and pretty much put the game away.

The Steelers had one last shot to get back in the game, and drove down the field to the Pats 8 with 3:47 left in the quarter, but they failed on third down, and then trying to get to 17-6, Reed’s awful season continued as he missed a 26-yard field goal.

A wild fourth quarter saw the team combine for 39 points, but in reality, it was nothing more than desperation for the Steelers, who couldn’t stop the Pats, and New England seemed to play back on defense, allowing Roethlisberger to march up and down the field.

The Steelers got to 29-18 and 36-26, but there was never really a point where you felt they were going to be able to stop the Pats and really challenge to get close to tying or taking the lead.

At the end of the day, it was their worst game of the year, and it came at a time when they really could have used a win, as it would have put them a game up on the Ravens, who lost Thursday, in the AFC North.

Roethlisberger ended the night 30 for 49 for 387 yards with three TD’s and a pick six. He was sacked 5 times for minus 38 yards.

About the only good note is the fact the other three AFC North teams lost, meaning that the Steelers and Ravens are tied for first at 6-3, the Browns are three back at 3-6, and the Bengals are 2-7.

Next week the Raiders, a team that stunned the Steelers at home last year in the midst of that five-game losing streak, are in town with a record of 5-4 and coming off a bye.

The Chiefs looked nothing like a first place team Sunday in Denver, and it showed as they dropped out of first in the AFC West after losing 49-29 to the Broncos.

KC was dominated by a Broncos team that was 2-6 entering the game. They scored a touchdown on each of their first four possessions and eventually took a 35-0 lead midway through the second period when Jason Hunter returned a Matt Cassel fumble 75 yards for a touchdown.

Cassel threw a ton in trying to bring the team back from the big deficit, as he threw for 469 yards and four touchdowns. The issue all day was he was under pressure, as he was sacked four times and his fumble ended any possible comeback hope.

Dwayne Bowe played well in the comeback on a positive note, as he caught 11 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. He caught a 22-yard TD from Cassel to bring the deficit to 20 points, but the two-point conversion failed.

In one strange turn of events, Chiefs coach Todd Haley did not shake the hand of Broncos coach Josh McDaniels. He didn’t say why he refused to shake hands, calling it a “private” moment.

After the final whistle, Haley and McDaniels met at midfield, and the Chiefs coach pointed at McDaniels and said something, then turned his back instead of shaking McDaniels’ hand.

Now at 5-4, the Chiefs are technically tied for first with Oakland but the Raiders, who beat the Chiefs last week, hold the tiebreaker. If the playoffs were to begin today, they would proceed without the Chiefs.

"We're 5-4 now," Chiefs center Casey Wiegmann said. "We blew a game in Houston. We blew a game in Oakland. We could be way out in front, but it's not what it is. We're tied for the AFC West (with the Raiders) and we have work to do."

The Rams traveled to Candlestick Park to play the San Francisco 49ers and the Rams looked exactly like the team that we saw on the road over the first half of the season. The Rams came out featuring the quick passes because the Rams offensive line was struggling against the 49ers impressive front seven in a 3-4 alignment. The 49ers offense was able to protect Troy Smith who was able to find big plays down the field. Troy Smith also stayed in the pocket too long waiting for his receivers, which allowed the Rams to get sacks on the former Heisman winning quarterback. But, Troy Smith was still able to get loose too often and burn the Rams defense with big plays down the field. The Rams again tried to salt away a lead in the 4th quarter away from home and failed in spectacular fashion in overtime.

Without support from the offensive line, Steven Jackson was unable to get going on the ground, so as the Rams featured the passing game as they were able to throw the ball to Steven Jackson. Brandon Gibson was able to get open downfield when Sam Bradford had the time and use his size and shiftiness. The Rams offensive line took another hit when rookie left tackle Rodger Saffold went down in the 2nd quarter with a ankle injury. He was replaced by Renardo Foster, who replaced Jason Smith at right tackle against Carolina.

Danny Amendola had a quick touchdown pass on a short throw after the 49ers repeatedly continued the Rams offensive drive with penalties. Sam Bradford remained in the pocket even though the 49ers defense was flying around him and he was able to hit his receivers when he needed to. The Rams were able to take the lead in the 3rd quarter on a Steven Jackson run in which he avoided a tackle and the backfield and bounced the ball to the outside for a touchdown run.

The Rams went into the 4th quarter leading by 7 with the ball inside the 49ers territory after the Rams linebacker Bryan Kehl partially blocked a punt. The Rams were not able to get anything out of that drive, but they did pin the 49ers inside the 10 yard line.

The Rams offense and coaching staff again put the onus on the Rams defense to protect the 7 point lead in the 4th quarter and the defense was again giving up big plays to the 49ers offense. The 49ers had a touchdown to Michael Crabtree, but it was nullified by a holding penalty and they had to settle for a field goal. The Rams offense again could not even get a first down on their next drive and went 3 and out before punting the football. The 49ers took advantage of the generosity of the Rams offense and used big plays to move the football down the field and converted a 4th and 18 as the Rams left Frank Gore uncovered on the play. That TD put the Rams down 20-17.

The Rams had two minutes to tie or win the game and Sam Bradford moved the Rams down the field with a lot of crucial throws including a long pass to Steven Jackson on a free play due to a 49ers offside. The Rams were able to drive the ball down to the 15 yard line, but a missed connection with Daniel Fells prevented the Rams from getting any closer.

The Rams offense looked just as lethargic on offense in the overtime as they did in the 4th quarter even though the Rams won the toss and got the ball first. Danny Amendola got the ball out to the 30 yard line on the kickoff, but a short pass, a stuffed run and a sack ended the Rams chances in this game as they punted back to the 49ers offense for the last time.
In a game with a hundred plus plays and twenty plus penalties, the game came down to one play and one penalty. The Rams had the 49ers offense stalled around midfield, but Troy Smith had enough strength to get out of two Rams pass rushers and throw up a prayer down field that no one had any chance to catch as it was at least 5 yards away from the receiver who flopped down as the ball hit the ground harmlessly. Atogwe was not looking for the ball and the receiver ran into Atogwe and the referees concluded that there was defensive pass interference. That ended the game for the Rams as the 49ers ran the ball three times and then kicked a short field goal for the win in overtime.

For all the talk about the Rams turning the corner over the bye week, nothing came of it. The Rams were the same team that played at Oakland and played at Tampa Bay. The Rams cannot continue to attempt to protect slim leads on the road against any one. It has come back to bite them for the 3rd time this season. Another road game, another come from ahead loss as the Rams lead by 7 and then 4 in the 4th quarter and were not able to hold the lead. This loss is as "gut punch" as they come with the Rams up 7 points for most of the 2nd half, but they were unable to put the 49ers away, even on 3rd and 32 and 4th and 18 plays.

The power went out at the stadium momentarily, but the Cowboys turned on a light for their season, as they bounce back and beat the Giants 33-20 . The Giants had too many mistakes and not enough time to win this game.

The Giants started off the scoring, with a Lawrence Tynes 43 yard field goal. But the lead didn’t last long, as the Cowboys came right back and scored on a 13 yard Dez Bryant touchdown.

In the second quarter, David Buehler kicked home a 22 yarder to make it 9-3. After a long Giants drive, Brian McCann intercepted a pass in the end zone and ran it 101 yards for a score, to make it 16-3. Buehler added another field goal, as did Lawrence Tynes to make it 19-6 at the half.

The Cowboys started the 3rd quarter off with a bang, as Felix Jones caught a little screen pass and ran 71 yards for the touchdown. The Giants answered back, after a power outage at the Stadium, on a 5 yard pass to Mario Manningham, to make it 26-13 Cowboys. The Cowboys came right back, however, adding another touchdown on a 24 yard pass to Miles Austin to give the Boys a 20 point lead. Manning and the Giants answered back on a 35 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss, to make it 33-20.

The offense started slow but got its groove as the game went on, especially after halftime. Everything was slow early on, especially with a lot of penalties and turnovers. But they got it moving as the game went on. Nicks had a big game, as did Manningham. Eli was solid, playing the part of the prototypical lader. He rallied his troops. Run game improved as well. The problem was, even as the offense improved, sloppiness and penalties killed them. Penalty brought back a TD near the end. Fumbles, interceptions, penalties. Doesn’t matter how good your offense is, those mistakes will kill you.

Defense, like the offense, started slow but got it going as the game went on. More pressure as the game on, especially after halftime. Corners looked lost, especially when covering Dez Bryant, and Kitna had a field day throwing the ball. But the run game wasn’t that powerful, and they picked it up and looked like the Giants defense we know and love. Unfortunately, Bryant killed them all day, and they allowed enough big plays to make a difference

The Cowboys responded well to the coaching change, as they looked energized and focused. The Giants didn’t necessarily respond well enough to the change, and didn’t seem ready for it. The Cowboys got their game back, and the Giants have to be kicking themselves at a lost opportunity.

THE GOOD

Josh Freeman

Some may wonder how the run game got going more than in any other week. When your quarterback connects 18 of 24 times for 241 and two touchdowns AND runs 5 times for 19 yards and is sacked only once, defenses get caught off-guard. There should be no doubt left that Freeman is giving Vick, Rodgers and Brees a run for their Pro Bowl spots. Even with the fumble, Freeman's velocity was as sharp as his decision-making.

Mike Williams

You have to go beyond the statline. He had 4 catches for 68 yards but his deep speed and physicality get him to draw safeties and other help wherever he goes. He also had a key block on a long Blount run.

LeGarrette Blount

You have to see this to believe it. In the 4th he softened up the defense for Cadillac to shut the lid on the pesky Panthers.

The Secondary

Elbert Mack made a big hit, Talib showed great closing speed. They may have allowed Jimmy Clausen to have his most efficient day as a pro but the defense's ability to clamp down in the red zone and limit the damage helped win them the game. They also overcame 2 turnovers by the offense and special teams.

LOOKING AHEAD:

They go into face a San Francisco team that has its own scrambling, magic-making quarterback in Troy Smith. As bad as the NFC West is, if the 49ers lose today there would be no reason to be experimental or play the back-ups to see what they've got. At 2-7, they'd still be in it. San Francisco always shows up and plays hard.

The Lions have been talking about how this is not the same old Lions team, but with performance as brutal as any over the last 11 years they stamped themselves with the Same Old Lions label.

They came out flat, they were plagued by penalties, they made mistakes, they blew opportunity after opportunity and showed no signs of life.

The offense was terrible as Shaun Hill was inaccurate and the running game was awful. Jahvid Best looks slow and tentative, no doubt a result of his two turf toe injuries.

The offensive line couldn't open holes or remember the snap count. Calvin Johnson had a decent game as did Nate Burleson, but they were hampered by Hill's ineffectiveness.

The defense gave up a handful of big plays and failed to sustain a solid pass rush, but they only allowed 14 points and you can't fault a defense for that type of performance.

I have been a Jim Schwartz fan long before he became the Lions' coach, but at some point he needs to find a way to get this team to play well. They have awful discipline, they haven't played well enough to win in any of their close games and the haven't turned the corner despite being far more talented than last year.

This team has officially shed its up and coming label and they have fallen back into the realm of laughingstock.

In what may have been the strangest game I have ever watched, in a game where 6 different people were under center and threw a pass, in a game where five different quarterbacks were used, and in a game where the running game was absolutely ineffective, the Miami Dolphins somehow found a way to pull out the win, led by their aerial attack.

It seems that this team has decided to almost abandon the running game as a whole. They threw the ball a total of 37 times, as opposed to only 30 times on the ground.

A lot of that gameplan though can be attributed to the teams horrid run-blocking. Seriously, something needs to be done about this, and in the off-season this area needs to be re-evaluated, because whoever thought that we would be fine with Joe Berger as our center should be fired.

Only 88 yards were amassed on the ground, and 49 of those were out of the Wildcat formation, which saw a rebirth of sorts in todays game. The Dolphins used this formation close to the end of the 3rd quarter when Chad Henne went down with a left knee injury. If the Fins would have sent in 3rd-string quarterback Tyler Thigpen before the start of the 4th quarter, Henne or Chad Pennington would not have been able to re-enter the game. So Miami turned to the Wildcat to end the 3rd quarter, and the formation gained 49 yards of total offense.

But back to the QB injuries. The Chad Pennington era was short-lived, in what was an almost eery start to the game. Pennington banged his right arm off of the back of Jake Long as he went down, on the first play of the game for the Dolphins, and never returned. Henne then proceeded to lead the Dolphins into the end-zone for the 7-0 lead.

In light of the benching of Henne for Pennington, Henne came in and had a very promising showing. Maybe the benching lighted a spark under Henne to get him going a little bit. Henne threw for 240 yards on a 19/28 showing. Henne also threw a 13 yard touchdown to Patrick Cobbs, and an interception that was intended for Brandon Marshall.

Henne seemed to get better as the game went along, but there were still some mistakes that should be corrected. Henne still seems to lock onto his receiver, and now that the rumors that he is calling for max-protection during most plays is out in the open, I did notice Henne only sending two receivers out on routes early on in the game.

But after Henne got into a groove, he found his receivers on a pretty consistent basis, hooking up with Anthony Fasano, and Brian Hartline for most of the day.

Fasano finished the day with 5 catches for 107 yards and the game clinching touchdown from Tyler Thigpen, and Hartline registered 98 yards on 5 catches, with a long of 54 yards off of a flea-flicker play call.

Gettin "Thiggy" With It:

With the loss of both of our top two quarterbacks, it was time for the 3rd string quarterback, Tyler Thigpen to come into the game and seal the win for the Dolphins.

After a sloppy over-thrown pass to Davone Bess on his first attempt, Thigpen finished the night 4/6 for 64 yards and a touchdown pass to Fasano.

What was re-assuring and promising in Thigpen's one quarter audition was he seemed that he had the "It-Factor" that the Dolphins regime has been looking for at quarterback for years, ever since the departure of Dan Marino. Thigpen led the Dolphins down the field, 85 yards, and showed that he has what it takes to be in the competition for the starting quarterback job.

After both Pennington and Henne were injured today, it will be more than likely that Thigpen will get the start against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, with Henne getting an MRI at 6:30 pm tonight.

Defense Makes Plays:

Throughout most of the season the Dolphins defense has had trouble coming up with turnovers, forcing two fumbles and one interception. Granted, the interception came on the Titans last series, with rookie Reshad Jones picking off a Vince Young pass in the endzone to end the Titans threat. Jones finished the game with 2 tackles, one sack, and an interception.

The secondary also shutdown Randy Moss during the game, only allowing him one catch for 26 yards, and that was in zone coverage, in the zone of Al Harris. The only other impact that Moss had on the game was a pass-interference call against Vontae Davis. Other than that Moss was completely shut down by Davis, Harris, and Sean Smith. The secondary is improving and it clearly shows. They stepped up and shut down one of the best vertical threats in the game not once, but twice this season, and in two games against Moss, have held him to one catch for 26 yards.

Rollout:

• Yeremiah Bell finished the game with 8 tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble. After going through a mostly disappointing season, it was nice to see him return to his Pro-Bowl form.
• Brandon Marshall was frustrated much throughout the game against single coverage courtesy of Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan. Marshall was held to 34 on 3 catches.
• The Dolphins caught a rather large case of the injury bug today, with Pennington, Henne, Joe Berger, Cameron Wake, Kendall Langford, Yeremiah Bell and Chris Clemons all suffering injuries during todays game.

The Dolphins impressed me today, and came out with a rather convincing victory over a good, quality team in the Titans. The Fins now play the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, and with a short week, and only three days to come up with a gameplan for Tyler Thigpen at the helm, Miami will be looking to move to 6-4 by the end of the week.

Well, it wasn’t the prettiest game for the Indianapolis Colts’ powerhouse offense, but at least they got the job done and helped give Indianapolis a win today over the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-17.

This victory was extremely important for the Colts as they were recently coming off a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week, 26-24, falling to 5-3 and possibly losing the division lead in the AFC South.

But thanks to this win and a loss by the Tennessee Titans, the Colts now have taken full advantage over the AFC South, clinging on to a 6-3 record, one game ahead by the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Titans.

But, boy, what a game for the Colts’ defense. Indianapolis forced five turnovers on the Bengals offense.

The first turnover began when the Colts already had a 3-0 lead when Manning helped start a drive where he was hooking up with tight end Jacob Tamme many times. Tamme would end up seven catches for 73 yards. It was a good drive, but the Colts couldn’t get it done in the red zone.

However, the defense got it done.

Dropping back, Carson Palmer threw and it fell right into cornerback Kelvin Hayden’s hands, as he took it all the way back for a touchdown to bring the Colts up 10-0.

That interception was a lot like what happened about two weeks ago when Indianapolis killed the Houston Texans at home on Monday night, 30-17. Matt Schaub threw right to Hayden as he took it back for a touchdown. It was a lot similar.

It’s about time Hayden is starting to make plays this year. Ever since his screw-up versus the Jacksonville Jaguars when dropping a potential game-winning interception, he has definitely improved himself since then. Great bounce-back for No. 26! Proud of him!

However, the Colts came coming back again on the Bengals offense. Cedric Benson took the handoff and fumbled. It just slipped right out of his hands. He took the handoff and ran for a couple of yards, almost fell, but then the ball just suddenly slipped out of his hands. It was then recovered by defensive tackle Antonio Johnson.

The Bengals possibly had the worst 88 seconds in a football game. In those 88 seconds, they allowed an interception for a touchdown, then a fumble, and then a lost challenge.

The challenge was if Jacob Tamme had a first down on the Colts ensuing drive. The Colts would succeed on that drive, allowing Javarris James to score for a touchdown to put the Colts up 17-0. James showed a bit of signs of his cousin, Edgerrin. As we all know, Edgerrin James is one of the best running backs, maybe the best, to play for the Colts.

This also brings James one of the highest touchdowns-per-carry ratio.

But after that 17-0 lead, the Cincinnati Bengals would come marching back. They would have a field goal after making to the red zone. After the 17-0 deficit, quarterback Carson Palmer went on a roll and was just hot, completing passes everywhere. This would lead to a field goal, 17-3.

But on the next drive for the Bengals, Palmer would lead Cincinnati down the field and throw a long touchdown to Chad Ochocinco. But it was later counted off as No. 85 made a penalty. But the Bengals would drive down the field even more. In the red zone, Palmer would find Ochocinco again and for a touchdown. 17-10.

Ochocinco would finally have a good game after a while, catching seven passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

But the Colts would get themselves together, and end up with a field goal as halftime came. The Colts were up, 20-10.

In the third quarter, nothing really exciting happened and the score stayed the same at 20-10. But as the fourth quarter came up, that is when all the exciting things came.

Palmer would throw yet another interception, which was to Tyjuan Hagler. Hagler would end up with a touchdown, but it would later be called back. The Colts would end up with a field goal, putting themselves up, 23-10.

Palmer would throw another interception, though, as it sailed right towards Aaron Francisco. And that is when I noticed that Terrell Owens started to quit. He could have easily made a catch but he stopped as the ball sailed right past him and into Francisco’s hands. The Colts wouldn’t come up with anything on that drive after the interception.

The Bengals would come back, thanks to Jermaine Gresham. Gresham was on a roll in the fourth quarter, and all his stats were from there, having nine catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown would leave the Bengals down by six points, 23-17.

The Bengals would go for an onside kick with 2:35 remaining in the game. They would surprisingly recover. On the ensuing drive, Palmer would find Gresham open again. He was getting taken over by literally five guys. He broke a tackle and gave a second effort, but then the ball would pop out of his hands and it would lead to the fifth, and final turnover of the game.

The Colts would take a lot off the clock. However, they ran three straight times and ended up at a fourth-and-two. Manning would rush the offense, but would be called with a false start. That was really risky. And it screwed a lot of things up.

Instead of the clock going down to like 30 seconds, it was now at 53 seconds! Cincinnati had a bunch of time to score and win the game.

Palmer took the snap, but got sacked by Robert Mathis, leading to his seventh sack of the season.

As the line was hurrying, Terrell Owens wasn’t. Owens walked back to the line of scrimmage. The CBS announcers were literally quoted saying that what T.O. was doing was just simply pathetic. I couldn’t agree more. With 30 seconds left, the Bengals had a chance, but here is Owens already thinking the game is over.

Palmer would get sacked again by three Colts, or even more. With no time-outs, everyone hurried back to the line of scrimmage. Owens didn’t. Cincinnati managed to get the snap in.

Palmer threw to Ochocinco to about a ten-yard fade, but Ochocinco dropped it.

Game over, Colts win.

The Colts should have destroyed in this one, but it’s fine. Everyone knows Indy destroyed in here. The defense came up big. If it weren’t for the strong support of the defense, the Colts could have lost in a close one.

Carson Palmer would finish going 31-of-42 for 292 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He finished with a 78.7 rating. Peyton Manning was 20-of-36 for 185 yards and a 69.8 rating.

This was Manning’s second game this year without throwing a single touchdown pass. This was his first game this year not throwing 200 yards or more.

The Colts held the Bengals to 66 yards rushing. Brian Leonard had one carry for 42 yards when he fooled the Colts on a trick play. But the big key was stopping Cedric Benson, and they did. He was held to 24 yards on 14 carries.

Donald Brown played well, having twelve carries for 50 yards. Javarris James had ten carries for 26 yards and a touchdown. Pierre Garcon caught five passes for 37 yards in the victory.

Next up are the New England Patriots. That is going to be a good one!

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Talk about a complete team effort…

The Bears handled the Vikings in every phase of the game Sunday and dealt Minnesota their worst loss of what's becoming a terrible season in Vikingland.

On defense, the Bears contained Adrian Peterson, putting on a clinic of gang tackling and running to the ball. On offense, Martz stuck to the running game, and while it didn't generate huge results, it kept the Vikings defense honest. And Devin Hester was a factor on special teams, with a 68-yard kickoff return and 42-yard punt return. Robbie Gould also contributed 2 field goals in windy conditions.

Let's revisit our keys to the game to see how the Bears took it to the Vikings.

1) Adrian Peterson vs. the Entire Bears Defense

AP came into the game averaging 122 yards a game over his career vs. the Bears. That average will take a hit after Sunday's 51-yard performance on 17 carries (3 ypc). The defensive line – powered by Julius Peppers – generated a consistent push against the Vikings O-line. The LBs made solid tackles, and when one Bear defender got his hands on #28, he held on for dear life until a teammate came to help him out.

2) Viking WRs vs. Bears DBs

Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian did not play for the Vikings. Fortunately for them, Percy Harvin did play and scored on a 53-yard touchdown catch as a result of a blown coverage by Chris Harris. Their second biggest play was a long pass interference penalty that led to a Viking field goal. Otherwise, the receivers were no threat to the Bears defensive backfield. It didn't help Favre that Harvin left the game early in the 4^th quarter due to an injury. Danieal Manning also had solid coverage on TE Shiancoe, one of Favre's favorite targets.

3) Julius Peppers vs. MIN Tackle Bryant McKinnie.

Peppers didn't record a sack, but did manage 4 tackles. He played a big role in limiting Adrian Peterson by drawing an extra defender and opening up things for his linemates. The Bears didn't record a sack, but were able to force Favre out of the pocket on numerous occasions.

4) Jay Cutler vs. Brett Favre.

Like many thought, the game between the two gunslingers generated 5 INTs. Coming off the highest passing yardage game of his long career, Favre finished 18 for 31 for 170 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs. Cutler finished 22 for 35 for 237 yards, 3 TDs and 2 picks, including a terrible toss into double coverage in the Vikings' end zone.

The Bears came into the game last in the league in converting 3^rd downs. But Cutler made some big throws and helped the Bears finish 11 for 19 on 3rd downs.

5) The Mullet and Williams Wall vs. The Fighting Mike Tices

Jared Allen recorded a sack against Cutler and appeared to own Omiyale at times. But overall the Bears line performed well. The Allen sack was the only one Mike Tice's big uglies allowed. They also did enough to make Martz confident in calling more running plays – 38 of them for 130 yards.

It appears the Bears line is coming together just in time for their playoff push.

6) MIN Punter Chris Kluwe vs. Devin Hester.

Hester had a nice 42-yard return that put the Bears in great position for points late in the 3^rd…until Cutler threw his bone-headed INT. Other than that the Vikings kept Hester in check, with only one other punt return for 5 yards.

Hester returned to full-time return duties, handling kickoffs in addition to punt returns. A nifty 68-yard kickoff return helped set up a Bears score.

Considering how they handled all facets of the game, it's no surprise the Bears walked out with a win, moving them to 6-3 on the season, tied with the Packers for 1^st place in the North.

Adding insult to what is becoming a disasterous season in Minny, the Vikings fall 3 games behind their hated division rivals.

If this was the last time we'll see Favre in Chicago, Bears fans can take great joy in knowing #4 lost 4 of his last 5 games in Soldier Field. The loss could also lead to changes in the Vikings coaching staff.

As for the Bears, they'll have to quickly turn their attention to Miami for a Thursday night battle in FLA. The 5-4 Dolphins will present a tough challenge for the first-place Bears.

Earlier in the week Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll talked about starting over.

He was entering a Week 10 matchup in Arizona against the Cardinals after his team had lost two straight games. Both his offensive and defensive units had been derailed. His starting quarterback was awaiting clearance to play once again after suffering a concussion two weeks ago. His defense? Shredded by big play after big play.

Leaving the field Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium, Carroll got his wish. The issues that recently plagued his team had vanished as the Seahawks started the second half of their 2010 season with a 36-18 victory over the Cardinals.

The win keeps Seattle (5-4) atop the NFC West standings while Arizona falls (3-6) to two games behind.

In his return to game action, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had season-highs in passing yards and quarterback rating.

Of the 333 yards thrown by Hasselbeck, 145 went to Mike Williams. Stemming from 11 catches, the performance was Williams' second-career 100-plus-yard effort and surpassed his 123-yard game earlier this season against Chicago as his career-best.

Complimenting the aerial attack was a resurgent ground game. In last week's loss to the New York Giants, Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett accounted for 47 rushing yards. Sunday in Arizona, the two were responsible for 93 and two touchdowns.

While the Seahawks' offense clicked throughout the game, the Cardinals' didn't find its groove until the later stages of the game.

Derek Anderson was intercepted by Kelly Jennings on a tipped pass, lost a fumble to Chris Clemons and was sacked five times – twice by Clemons.

After Jay Feely booted a 23-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to tie the score at 10, it would take Arizona 30 minutes and 19 seconds until their final points were recorded. By then, Seattle had a double-digit lead and was minutes away from the victory.

Can't get enough NFLGridironGab?  Follow SeahawksGab Editor Devon Heinen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DevonHeinen.