APIt's early, of course, but the AFC West already looks like a two-team race. The San Diego Chargers lead the division, with the Denver Broncos one game back and nipping at the lightning bolt. The Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs aren't far behind, but with two wins between them, they're excluded from the conversation for now.

Peyton Manning's arrival in Denver promised to alter the structure of the division, but it didn't happen immediately. Manning's played nearly as big as his reputation, and between commercial appearances, he's found time to amass a quarterback rating of 101.0 ‒ second best in the league.

Wins haven't accompanied the numbers, though. The Broncos, having played a tough schedule, are under .500. As long as the Broncos get this one Monday night, though, they're not out anything ‒ they'd be 3-3 and tied for the division lead, with their top adversaries owing them a return trip to Denver.

[More NFL: Tom Brady's trash talk backfires after game vs. Seattle Seahawks]

But the Chargers have made some changes, too. The defense is stronger this year than it was last year, and it will have to be if they want to keep Manning in check. After early injuries and struggles, talented running back Ryan Mathews had the best game of his career last week against the Saints. If he can keep contributing at that level, it completely transforms the Chargers offense.

APCheerful and full of light one minute, and racked with depression, memory loss and confusion the next. That was Junior Seau in the months leading up to his suicide, according to a haunting portrait of Seau painted by Jill Leiber Steeg in Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune.

Seau never lost his compassion, sensitivity, or his zeal for helping other people, but in his retirement, Seau's darker side took a stronger hold. They were things out of his control. His brain, for reasons related to football or not, let him down. The farther away he got from football, the worse things became. Here's how Leiber Steeg described the darker side of Seau:

He once had a photographic memory, and never had a documented concussion in his 13 seasons with the Chargers. But he began showing signs of short-term memory loss, diminished concentration, a lack of impulse control and an inability to process numbers. He could snap without warning, becoming verbally and physically abusive to friends, family and loved ones. While some of those symptoms are associated with depression, insomnia and anxiety, they also are associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurring through concussions.

Obviously, it's hard to separate that from football. Seau's family donated their father's brain to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for further research. Seau's son Tyler anticipates getting the results of that study back in three to six months.

I don't think too many people will be surprised if the report comes back with the conclusion that Seau had suffered major damage to his brain through years of repetitive blows to his head. Tyler says now that he's aware of the symptoms for traumatic brain injuries, he knows that his dad "had every single one of them."

Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker made a bet with former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg. If the Washington Redskins had beaten the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, Goldberg, a former Atlanta Falcon, would've had to wear a Washington Redskins jersey. If the Falcons beat the Redskins, which is what ended up happening, Carriker had to dress up like Goldberg.

So Carriker willingly made a bet in which he faced long odds, and if he lost, his punishment was way worse than the other guy's. In other words, Adam Carriker really wanted to dress up like Goldberg. So he did. Via TMZ (Carriker on the left, Goldberg on the right, for comparison's sake):

TMZ's headline says Carriker lost an "embarrassing" bet, and yes ‒ just look at how embarrassed he is. I wouldn't be surprised to learn Carriker was at home rooting for the Falcons. The man was just dying to dress up like Goldberg. He even oiled himself up! I bet it's not the first time he's had that outfit on, either.

US PresswireWhen the New York Giants lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the regular season last year, 49ers defensive back Carlos Rogers snared a pair of interceptions. He also broke out a mock version of Victor Cruz's salsa dance, which Cruz did not like.

A couple of months later, the two teams met in the NFC championship game, and Cruz got a measure of revenge, to the tune of 10 receptions for 142 yards ‒ most of them in front of Rogers.

The two of them will meet again on Sunday, and Rogers first said he was hoping to give Cruz another look at his imitation salsa dance.

"I like the dance, actually. If I make a play or an interception, in my mind, I'll say 'Just do his dance,' " Rogers said.

Cruz made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to see that.

"I obviously won't be OK with that," Cruz said. "But it is what it is — I'm not going to try to retaliate or go crazy. That's not me. But obviously it won't sit well with me as I've stated before."

The dance is a tribute to his grandmother, Lucy Molina, who passed away less than a month ago. He considers the dance to be "sacred" and said for anyone to mock it is a "slap in the face."

Rogers, given this information, then changed his plans.

Later, Cruz's words were passed along to Rogers in the 49ers' locker room. The Pro Bowl cornerback told the Bay Area News Group that he was unaware of the inspiration behind Cruz's celebration and that it "definitely" changed his plans to mimic Cruz's moves.

Hopefully these guys can also make time for some football, too.

Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass for the 48th straight game on Sunday night against the San Diego Chargers, and his New Orleans Saints triumphed in front of their beloved, persecuted, suspended head coach Sean Payton. It was an evening of joy for the Saints and their loyal fans.

Terry Bradshaw hated it. The Fox analyst and four-time Super Bowl champion said on New York's WFAN that he didn't care for the way Drew Brees orchestrated the evening, and wasn't even that impressed with the record itself.

"I was a little upset that he went to the NFL to get Payton and everybody back to watch him break a record," Bradshaw said. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' I never would have gone and asked for them back … I thought it was disrespectful to the San Diego Chargers … So break it, go ahead. Hell, you're throwing it 50 times a game … I'm just against stuff like that. I just don't believe in doing stuff like that."

I hadn't really considered that, but I guess in a certain light, there is a degree of selfishness to it. Brees was breaking an individual record, and asked the league to make a concession so that Payton (along with Joe Vitt and Mickey Loomis) could be on hand to see him take down the record. All of this for an individual accomplishment.

So maybe that's a little self-centered on Brees' part, but on the other hand, it's not like there was some huge spectacle that took away from the game, either. There was an announcement in the stadium, and that was pretty much it. The extra point wasn't delayed, there was no break in the action, and there was nothing that should've affected the opposing Chargers.

Even if you agree with Bradshaw and believe Brees was a little too focused on celebrating an individual achievement, if there was nothing that showed up the opposition, where's the harm?

US PresswireIt didn't make the ESPN broadcast, but legendary defensive end Mark Gastineau was inducted into the New York Jets Ring of Honor on Monday night.

He gave an interesting, meandering and sometimes oddly-enunciated speech at halftime of the Jets loss to the Houston Texans. Induction to the Ring of Honor is certainly worth celebrating, and Gastineau sounds like someone who might have been doing a bit of that.

Here's audio of the speech, via Mike Francesa's radio show.

The hope is that Gastineau is doing well and simply enjoying an honor that was well-earned, but through his career, the guy had his ups and downs (and downs and downs), so I wonder. He said prior that he would probably cry during the speech, but it doesn't sound like that happened. I hope he doesn't cry when listening to a replay.

Top AFC seeds: Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens
Other AFC division champs: New England Patriots, Denver Broncos
AFC wild cards: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers

Top NFC seeds: Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers
Other NFC division champs: Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles
NFC wild cards: New York Giants, Green Bay Packers

• Once again, we'll start in the NFC, because that's where we've got action. A hearty welcome goes out to the blonde gentleman with the ferocious mustache in the upper-right hand corner. Welcome, Minnesota Vikings, to the Absurdly Premature Playoff Picture.

• I'm buying the Vikings. They run the ball, they stop the run, and Christian Ponder is a poor man's Alex Smith. That used to be the kind of unspeakable insult that would drive a Tibetan monk to challenge you to a pit fight, but these days, it's OK. They both have a relatively low number of attempts, a high quarterback rating (Smith's at 108.7 and Ponder is at 95.5), the touchdown count is high and the interceptions are low. That, a two-game division lead, and an upcoming schedule without any top-shelf opponents (their next five are Washington, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Detroit), and I'm in. Color me purple.

• Notable by their absence are the Chicago Bears, and maybe I'm crazy to be buying the Vikings and not them, but I just can't get myself to trust the Bears fully. It's not the defense, obviously ‒ they're a war machine. Easily one of the top five defenses in the league. I'm troubled by the fact that the one time they've been on the field with a good team (Green Bay, which happens to be the team they're going to have to hold off), they weren't even competitive. Also, there's Jay Cutler. Nothing goes smoothly for too long when Jay Cutler is involved. Green Bay hangs on to a Wild Card spot by a thread.

[Related: Pair of Chicago Bears make NFL history]

AP
Winning ugly. Is there such a thing? If you saw any portion of the Ravens vs. Chiefs game, you're probably shaking your head yes, but a lot of teams this week would've sold their soul for a win uglier than a Tony Siragusa pit stain.

This week's biggest risers are the Vikings (top 10, baby!), followed by the Patriots and Steelers. The biggest tumble was a massive one; an 11-spot plunge taken by the Cardinals. You knew it was coming sooner or later.

1. Atlanta Falcons (5-0)
Last week: 1
When you can go on the road and not play your best in the wind and rain, and you still come away with a win, you're probably pretty good. Also, it seems like Tony Gonzalez could average 70 catches a year for 950 yards and eight touchdowns until he's about 65 years old.

2. Houston Texans (5-0)
Last week: 2
It really felt like the Jets were going to empty their bag of tricks on Monday night to get a win, but the Texans withstood it, mostly by feeding the ball to Arian Foster and then just waiting for the Jets to bury themselves. They eventually obliged. A handful of good teams won in a somewhat unattractive fashion this week. It's not a bad list to be on.

[Texans LB Brian Cushing leaves game after uncalled questionable block]

3. San Francisco 49ers (4-1)
Last week: 4
Sure, anyone can look good against the Jets and Bills, the homely stepsisters of the AFC East, but I'm not sure many teams would win a combined 79-3 against them, either. This is an evolving offense and a monster defense. I get all tingly thinking about next week's Giants vs. 49ers game.