Andy Richardson

A whirlwind trip through the games I watched the most of yesterday. There were some classics: a defensive struggle in Pittsburgh, a dramatic comeback in Miami, and more reminders that parity appears to have come and gone in the NFL, leaving us with the undefeated or near-undefeated haves and the winless or near-winless have-nots. Anyone want to bet on there being half a dozen teams with 14-plus wins or losses at the end of the season? It's a given. On to the games:

Vikings at Steelers: The game lived up to the hype, but it was more of a defensive battle than a tale of two quarterbacks. Amazing offense: Adrian Peterson putting up 129 yards and trampling a would-be tackler after a critical fourth-quarter reception. It's truly a joy to watch the guy play. Sidney Rice had a spectacular sideline grab as part of his second straight 130-plus yard day, although the one yard he didn't get -- ruled down at the 1 when the Vikings would settle for a field goal -- and the touchdown erased by a bad penalty call will probably stick in Minnesota's minds a little more. Amazing defense: 7 combined sacks, and two turnover return touchdowns for the Steelers, one a lucky bounce off the hands of Chester Taylor in the final minute when it appeared the Vikings would tie or win. And amazing special teams: Percy Harvin's kick return touchdown (which I called, for what little it's worth) that was as much a momentum swing as Pittsburgh's fumble return moments earlier. Honestly, I was more impressed by the Vikings in their loss than in some of their wins. A really good game between two very good football teams.

Packers at Browns: Didn't watch much of this after the first half; what's the point. I did get to see that the Browns are just hopeless on both offense and defense, including throwing, catching, and tackling. Even the 3 points they scored bounced off the upright, and came after the Packers dropped multiple opportunities at a turnover. Green Bay's offense sure looks good when they can protect Aaron Rodgers; should be interesting to see how that works out next week against the Vikings and Jared Allen. Frustrating year for Greg Jennings owners. The problem is Rodgers has a lot of other targets, so why force it to Jennings. Sorry efforts at tackling on a long touchdown reception by Driver. And, they finally let Ryan Grant score a touchdown and have a big game; I'll point out that his touchdown came only after the fullback got stuffed on the previous play. Anyway. I can't imagine how high the emotions will be in Green Bay next week. Huge game. Oh yeah, another grisly stat line for Derek Anderson. His leading receiver was backup tight end Michael Gaines, who the team signed four days ago. Excellent.

Texans at 49ers: Steve Slaton got a goal-line carry early on for a touchdown! And had another impressive touchdown on a diving score after shaking a tackler. Of course, he also lost another fumble and avoided another only because he was ruled down, so it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops for the talented, yet worrisome tailback. The two best receivers in this game were not Andre Johnson (bruised chest, but he's apparently going to be OK) and Michael Crabtree (5 catches), but tight ends Vernon Davis (3 TDs) and Owen Daniels (123 yards) -- Wow. A lot of really good tight ends this year, including both of these guys, making leaping catches all over the field. Shaun Hill, who I've been ripping all year, was benched; Alex Smith played well. No word who will start next week, but my money is on Smith. With Hill back in the lineup a month from now. Frank Gore didn't do much; the Texans' improved run defense is for real. Jacoby Jones would have had another TD (3 receiving, 1 return) but it was called back for a penalty. Texans are 4-3 and you'd start to think playoffs if they didn't still have to play the Colts twice.

Jets at Raiders: The Raiders finally benched JaMarcus Russell. What was odd watching this was that the announcers, with each new Raiders series, acted as if there was some mystery about who the quarterback would be. "And the Raiders take the field, and it's still Bruce Gradkowski...." Normally quarterbacks benched during games don't come back in. Granted, Gradkowski was equally bad, as anticipated, so who know who will start (or finish) next week. There's no fantasy value with this team. As for the Jets, you've got to like them rushing for big totals and actually winning. Leon Washington broke his leg on a pretty ugly play; if you're squeamish I recommend you don't read too much about it. Shonn Greene came in and looked great, with some nice moves, quick feet, and a nice compact running style; he'd get hit and put his head down for more yards. Granted, he was facing the Raiders, but he'll be a nice 2 in the team's 1-2 punch going forward. Good game from Mark Sanchez; only one near mistake, a pretty touchdown pass dropped over David Clowney's shoulder, and a no-doubt satisfying touchdown scramble. Passing game didn't do much, but things will change against Miami next week; they'll have to.

Saints at Dolphins: What a game. You almost have to feel bad for the Dolphins who've really dominated arguably the league's two best teams, the unbeaten Colts and Saints, for much of their games but lost both of them. Plenty to talk about: 3 TDs for Ricky Williams. Key drops by Ted Ginn, including a brutal one with Miami down 6 points in the final minutes (and an earlier one that resulted in an interception return touchdown). Terrible game for him. Resilient effort by the Saints, whose offense can be slowed apparently, but not shut down. Marques Colston's good game could have been huge: he dropped a touchdown late, and had another ultimately ruled down at the 1. Pierre Thomas, outcarried and outperformed by Mike Bell, who some of us dropped a few weeks back; oops. The only things standing between the Saints and 10-0 are the Falcons and Panthers at home and the Rams and Bucs on the road. Their defense proved vulnerable today, but they made the plays on both sides of the ball late. Another month of success (before they face New England in week 12) appears likely.

Cardinals at Giants: Lots of little moments in this game. Beanie Wells' first NFL touchdown, coming after a nice little fake to the inside followed by a run outside, and a stiff arm to a would-be tackler. Another touchdown for Hakeem Nicks, a 62-yard bomb that was like the Brandon Stokely TD in week 1: intended for another receiver, deflected up, and into his hands for a 13-point fantasy play. We knew going in that a quarterback would be harassed into mistakes and poor throws by the opposing defense, we just didn't figure it would be Eli Manning getting taken down by the Cardinals. Big plays by Anquan Boldin, who's apparently fine despite it being reported that he had a "high ankle sprain" by various media outlets. Will Hakeem Nicks be starting soon? Even though his score was lucky, the guy makes plays week after week.

Monday, Monday: A train-wreck game, I suspect. If Jim Zorn can get his team (for now) to somehow play well enough to win this game, he deserves to be the coach the rest of the year. (Actually, that's kind of a punishment. Never mind.) But I don't see it happening. Washington's offense is poor, Philadephia's defense is good. And the Eagles have got to be annoyed by somehow losing at Oakland last week. I don't see any way Washington is competitive here, but I personally could use a Monday night where I get to bed at a reasonable hour, so as Norville Barnes would say in the criminally underrated Hudsucker Proxy, "Gooooooooo Eagles!"

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