Summin’ up

Pittsburgh 27, Philadelphia 3—Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger are for real, folks. A week after upending unbeaten New England, they do the same to Philadelphia in convincing fashion. Roethlisberger is showing the poise of a veteran, and Jerome Bettis is still chugging along. Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens weren’t sharp as Philly couldn’t get its ground game going.

Buffalo 22, New York Jets 17—Willis McGahee is justifying the Bills’ first round pick they used on him in 2003. McGahee rushed 37 times for 132 yards and a touchdown in a game largely hindered by 25-plus mph wind. Chad Pennington played hurt until the fourth quarter when Quincy Carter came in relief. Carter’s second drive ended in a touchdown to Santana Moss, but that was close as the Jets’ would get.

Tampa Bay 34, Kansas City 31—Tampa Bay’s offense was the dominant one in this matchup. Most people were expecting an offense versus defense game, but the Buccaneers’ showed they could put up points too. Michael Pittman had a huge performance rushing for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Trent Green, without the services of Priest Holmes in the second half, threw a costly interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter, ending their best chance at a comeback.

Kerry Collins, returning to the town he once left, managed the game well for Oakland as they beat Carolina 27-24.

Washington showed some life as Clinton Portis rushed to this victory over Detroit 17-10.

Drew Brees and San Diego keep on rolling with a 43-17 blowout over the struggling Saints.

After a convincing win last week against Minnesota, the Giants’ looked exactly the opposite. They committed five turnovers and lost 28-21 to the Bears.

The Indianapolis Colts managed to keep the Vikings’ offense in check and win this Monday night game on Mike Vanderjagt’s leg 31-28.

Lookin’ Ahead

Minnesota at Green Bay—You can always expect a heated rivalry in this border bowl. Minnesota hopes Randy Moss will be ready for this one, as the Packers are well rested coming off their by week.

New York Jets at Baltimore—Both of these teams are second in their conference. Both of these teams need wins in order to catch up to their conference leaders. Expect both teams to rely on their ground games for success.

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

Michael Pittman—Pitmman’s 128 yards and three touchdowns couldn’t have come at a better time. Pittman was expected to play second fiddle to Charlie Garner, but Garner went down with a season ending injury. Pittman’s rushed for over 100 yards the last two games and is looking like a good backup running back.

Dud of the Week

Donovan McNabb—McNabb was pressured all day and couldn’t come up with anything. He finished with only 109 yards and one interception in this losing effort. McNabb will need better performances than this in big time games if he is to lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

Burnin’ Up

Drew Brees—Brees is playing lights out the last two weeks. With LaDainian Tomlinson hurting, Brees has been forced to carry the load. He has thrown nine touchdowns and 269 yards in his last two games. Unfortunately, the bye week couldn’t have come at a worse time for him.

Ice Cold

Travis Henry—Henry had the starting job in Buffalo secure at the beginning of the season, but an injury allowed Willis McGahee to step in and take over. McGahee has proved his worth, and Henry even though labeled as a “co-starter” looks more like a backup at this point.

Under the Radar

Tyrone Wheatley—Wheatley’s a big back that will get many short yardage carries. He has scored three touchdowns the last two games, and looks capable as an emergency running back.