Week 9 recap - Pt. 1

PACKERS 33, CHIEFS 22: Man, is that Brett Favre great or what? OK, he had a rough first half, but he got the job done (360 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), tossing both scores to Greg Jennings. The big headline here for K.C. is Larry Johnson's foot injury. No word on the severity yet, but it could be time to grab Priest Holmes, who scored on a 2-point conversion run. More on that when we get some more info. ... Packers RB Ryan Grant was serviceable in his starting debut (19 carries, 55 yards; four catches, 37 yards). It helps that he's involved in the passing game on days like this when they can't run. ... Tough break for Donald Driver owners (99 yards) in leagues that give bonus points for 100-yard games). Don't you hate when that happens?


VIKINGS 35, CHARGERS 17: Holy crap! I know you started Adrian Peterson, but if anybody out there was expecting this, I give you kudos. The kid set the single-game rushing record with 296 yards, beating Jamal Lewis' old mark by a yard. I think this just settled it, I'm probably already moving Peterson up to the No. 2 slot on my 2008 running back rankings, right behind LaDainian Tomlinson. ... Speaking of LT, he was all the offense the Bolts had (Antonio Cromartie also returned a missed FG 109 yards for the longest scoring play in league history). In one of my leagues I played against a guy who started Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers and they combined for zero TDs. That made me smile. Pretty shocking performance against what had been a terrible pass defense.


BILLS 33, BENGALS 21: Lee Evans came up big as I had hoped (165 yards, TD), doing most of his damage in the first half. Then Marshawn Lynch led the way late, rushing for a score and throwing another one. He totaled 153 yards on the ground. I'd be looking forward to starting both those guys next week against Miami. ... More bad news for the Bungles: Chad Johnson had to be carted off the field after a hit. Sounds like a neck injury but nothing too serious. Still, it's not terrible news if you have T.J. Houshmandzadah, who scored again. Carson Palmer threw another one to Jeremi Johnson but Cincy couldn't do anything on the ground. Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson had just 11 yards apiece, although Watson salvaged a decent day with 90 receiving yards. I don't really know what to make of this offense right now, and I'd be a little nervous about next week's game at Baltimore.


LIONS 44, BRONCOS 7: Pretty awful showing here by Denver, and hard to explain. They did essentially nothing except a meaningless Brandon Stokley TD in the waning moments. They also lost Jay Cutler to a lower leg injury and Travis Henry to a knee injury. Henry says his isn't serious, but no word yet on Cutler's. What a mess. Patrick Ramsey ... But anyway, how about those Lions? Their scorers weren't exactly who you'd expect (Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald, TJ Duckett and two defensive scores). But Jon Kitna's prediction is looking pretty good right now, though the remaining schedule is pretty daunting.


FALCONS 20, 49ERS 16: No Frank Gore in this one, but we can't say it was much of a surprise. Those who spot-started Maurice Hicks (49 yards, TD) or Michael Robinson (67 yards) at least got something to show for it. ... Warrick Dunn toughed out a big day (27 carries, 100 yards, TD). Still waiting for backfield mate Jerious Norwood to get involved, though - six carries for 39 yards (6.5 per carry, compared to Dunn's 3.7). They also gave the ball to fullback Ovie Mughelli down at the goal line for a TD. It's getting frustrating if you stashed Norwood on your bench and thought he'd be getting more work by now.

BUCS 17, CARDINALS 10: Not a whole lot of surprises in this game. Jeff Garcia was efficient (18 for 28, 196 yards, TD, no INTs). Kurt Warner wasn't (10 for 30, 172 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) against a decent D. Joey Galloway (84 yards, TD) is still a threat. Earnest Graham had a big day (124 yards, TD) but it helps that he got 34 carries as the Bucs held the ball for an amazing 43 minutes of possession. That also meant the Cards weren't running, which spelled doom for Edgerrin James (nine carries, 15 yards), although he did punch it into the end zone in the fourth quarter.

TITANS 20, PANTHERS 7: A pretty no-nonsense matchup here. The Titans are built on that time-tested philosophy of running the ball and stopping the run, and that's what they did here: Their guy, LenDale White rushed for 100 and a TD, while DeShaun Foster had a predictable 63-yard, no-TD effort, while DeAngelo Williams was basically a non-factor. That's LenDale's third straight C-note, for those counting at home. It's also Steve Smith's second straight game of fewer than 20 receiving yards. You have David Carr (15 for 27, 107 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) to thank for that. I actually thought Carr could succeed if pressed into duty this year - what was I thinking?