Summin’ up

Indianapolis 45, Green Bay 31—The defenses of both teams were nowhere to be found in this match up between reigning co-MVP Peyton Manning and the aging gunslinger Brett Favre. Manning torched Green Bay for all five of his touchdowns in the first half. Brett Favre kept the Packers in the game by hooking up with Javon Walker 11 times for 198 yards and three touchdowns. While Walker’s performance was spectacular, he also became the goat when he was stripped of the ball around midfield late in the fourth quarter, ending Green Bay’s comeback hopes.

New Orleans 28, St. Louis 25 (OT)—In a match up of two star studded offenses, a backup stole the show. Backup running back Aaron Stecker proved himself capable in the absence of Deuce McAllister with a 42 yard touchdown run in the second quarter and 106 rushing yards overall. Isaac Bruce paced the Rams with his third straight 100 yard receiving performance, but it wasn’t enough. Kicker John Carney came through in the clutch, with a game-tying 38-yard field goal with seven seconds left, and then the game-winning 31-yard field goal in overtime.

Jacksonville 15, Tennessee 12—The Jaguars proved they are for real by pulling an upset in the last minutes over the Titans. The Jaguars defense proved to be the star again, holding Steve McNair and company under 250 yards. Chris Brown has filled in nicely for the departed Eddie George, with his third straight 100 yard rushing performance. McNair left the game in the fourth quarter with a bruised sternum, but it didn’t matter as the Tennessee defense let Fred Taylor run in for the game winning touchdown.

Lookin’ Ahead

Indianapolis at Jacksonville—Who would have thought the Jaguars would be undefeated going into this game? The Colts are coming off a high scoring shootout against the Packers, but the Jags stuffed Tennessee’s offense. This could turn out to be a classic offense versus defense match.

Kansas City at Baltimore—Who would have thought the Chiefs would be winless coming into this Monday night game? The Chiefs defense is still awful, and the offense isn’t lighting it up like it did last year. Maybe a little “Prime Time” will get this team jumpstarted. If not, look for Jamal Lewis to run all over them.

<i>Fantasy Watch</i><br />Stud of the Week

Peyton Manning—While other big name quarterbacks had very good weeks, Manning’s performance was the most crucial for his team. Manning threw for 393 yards and five touchdowns, making some fantasy owners very happy.

Dud of the Week

San Francisco 49ers—The 49ers are not anywhere near the team they were back in their glory days, but being shut out and breaking their NFL record streak of scoring in 420 straight regular season games is disappointing. Looks like Ken Dorsey’s college magic has not transferred over.

Burnin’ up

Donovan McNabb—McNabb is proving critics wrong by running the Eagle’s offense very sharply. McNabb has not thrown an interception yet and his accuracy percentage is 69.8 percent, more than 10 percent higher than his career average. Did we mention he has a new friend named T.O.? Look for McNabb to keep his hot streak going against a Bears defense that gave up 360 yards this week in the air.

Roy Williams—Joey Harrington looked locked on his new favorite target against Philadelphia. Harrington was constantly forcing the ball into Williams while passing up secondary receivers. This may not be good for the Lions’ offense, but its great news for fantasy owners. Williams had 135 yards and two touchdowns against a good Eagles secondary. Could Williams be this year’s Anquan Boldin?

Thomas Jones—Jones has looked good so far in a Bears’ uniform. He is finally showing the talent that made him a first round draft pick. Jones is the third leading rusher in the NFL currently. The Bears will need Jones to produce this week if they have any shot of competing against the Eagles.

Ice Cold

Quentin Griffin—After tearing up the Chiefs the first week, Griffin rushed for seven yards on 12 carries against a weak San Diego Chargers team. Griffin also has lost a fumble in every game this season. Fantasy owners who thought they had the steal of the draft may need to be looking for a replacement now.

Miami Dolphins—They never were hot to begin with, but the worse just got worst. Lamar Gordon will probably miss the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder. A quarterback controversy exists, and the acquisition of Marty Booker has proved fruitless so far. The best thing to happen to the Dolphins this week came from an arbitrator ordering Ricky Williams to repay $8.6 million in bonus money.

Warmin’ up

Jamal Lewis—Lewis showed the form that made him the NFL’s leading rusher last year. Lewis ran for 186 yards and a touchdown in their romp over the Bengals. Look for him to show his form again this week against the Chiefs.