They brought to mind greats like Lee Roy Selmon (who was given a place in the team's Ring of Honor today), Doug Williams, Ricky Bell, and John McKay. They also brought back memories of 26 straight losses to begin the franchise's history and Steve Spurrier, starting quarterback. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, looking for their first win since November 30 of last year, put on their old "creamsicle" jerseys and took on the Green Bay Packers at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs had to play catch-up multiple times, erasing Packers leads, but they did that. They also picked off three Aaron Rodgers(notes) passes and sacked Rodgers six times. Rodgers' final pick was returned by safety Tanard Jackson(notes) for a 35-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach at a 38-28 final.

On offense, rookie quarterback Josh Freeman(notes) looked solid in his first NFL start, showing the advantage of his size and mobility when protections broke down and a nice feel for the pocket when he was able. The Packers were up, 28-17 at one point in the foruth quarter before Freeman threw touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow(notes) and Sammie Stroughter(notes). On the day, Freeman completed 14 passes in 31 attempts for 205 yards, three touchdowns and an interception -- not earth-shattering numbers, but great news for a team that's been struggling to get anything going on either side of the ball all season. There are still major problems on defense; Tampa Bay's frequent man coverage and single-safety looks leave them open to more big plays than just about any defense in the game, even though Ronde Barber(notes) played as if he'd found a time machine. But this was a big deal overall, especially for first-year head coach Raheem Morris, who picked up his first win.

Our only fear is that the Bucs will tie this win, and the totemic value of those jerseys together, and we'll see them again. Back to the pewter, guys!

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Once again, this week features the Brees/Manning flip-flop at the top, with Brees placing his foot squarely on top of Manning's head this week. He did have the one interception where Falcons DB Brett Grimes climbed air to snatch it out of the sky, but Brees spent most of the game being pretty damn brilliant. I'm not predicting 16-0 for the Saints, but if there's one reason they can get there, it's that the play they get from the quarterback position gives them a very big margin for error in every game. Like last night, for example.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Not a great week for Peyton, but his season so far gives him enough juice to keep the top spot. It's kind of funny that the guy can complete 31-of-48 passes for 347 yards, and I'm calling it "not a great week," but that's the level of quarterback play we're being blessed with this year in NFL National Football League. Sorry, I wanted to try that.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		The Vikings outplayed the Packers, but did Brett Favre(notes) outplay Aaron Rodgers? Sort of yes, sort of no. Favre was just about flawless, but the burden on Rodgers was far greater. The Packers had no Adrian Peterson to lean on, they don't have a great defense, and they didn't get to play with a lead. They asked Rodgers to do everything, and he responded with 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. I'm giving the edge to Rodgers based on degree of difficulty. As a side note: You know who has the best quarterback rating in the league right now? It's not Brees, and it's not Manning ... it's Mr. Aaron Rodgers. The top two is dangerously close to being broken up.
4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
		Continuing the Rodgers vs. Favre on Sunday discussion from above, I do have to acknowledge some bias towards Rodgers. I know this, and you know this. I still think a slight edge to Rodgers is the right call. Favre's been amazing, but the Minnesota offense is so perfectly tailored to putting the quarterback in a great position. Obviously, that doesn't mean just anyone could step in and put up the kinds of numbers Favre is putting up, but he doesn't have the weight of an entire offense on his shoulders, either.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A week off for Pittsburgh, and Roethlisberger stays put in the five-hole.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Matt Schaub slides a bit this week after a zero touchdown, two interception performance against the Bills. I don't think Schaub will mind, though, because he also got some good news this week: he might soon have a running game, courtesy of Ryan Moats(notes). If the Texans add a consistent ground game to what Schaub and Andre Johnson(notes) are already doing ... sweet sassy molassey, that's going to be quite an offense.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It's so difficult to hash out the bottom of this list every week, because there's so little separating so many quality quarterbacks, but it seems like Philip Rivers is the one guy who can be counted on for consistency. His QB rating has been 93 or better in his past four games, and he's never been below 84.5 on the year. Thank you, Phil, for making this slightly easier.
8. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Just 15 minutes and 30 seconds into the Cowboys/Seahawks game, Tony Romo had already hit five different receivers. By the end of the game, 10 different Cowboys had caught passes. I love that stat, because it shows that a quarterback is getting through his progressions, making all kinds of different reads, and isn't relying too heavily on one guy. Three stellar weeks for Romo and counting.
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		Here's what Flacco accomplished on Sunday: 20-of-25, one touchdown, no interceptions, one win against an undefeated team and one big, sloppy wet kiss from Dan Dierdorf avoided after the game. I like Dierdorf, but he does tend to get carried away at times ... and yet, the unyielding river of verbal lust that he lavished on Flacco on Sunday was completely warranted.
10. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady had the week off, so let's talk about the two other guys who were considered for this spot. First, Eli. After reaching as high as number two on this list, he is now completely gone. Sorry. There are too many good quarterbacks here for three bad weeks to be tolerated. Second, Mr. McNabb. Great, great game on Sunday, but you know what I'd like you to do? Have two of them in a row. You've burned me before, sir.
Noses pressed against the glass: Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants; Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

Aside from the Lambeau boos, and the overcooked storylines, and the "Man O' the People, coming off his tractor to save the NFL" garbage, there was a game to play in Green Bay, and it had some pretty serious division ramifications. Early on, it looked like the Packers forgot about that -- Brett Favre(notes) carved up their pressure-proof defense, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) was sacked four times in the first half alone. The Vikings and their Mississippi Queen went to the visitors' locker room at halftime with a 17-3 lead, and pumped it up to 24-3 early in the third quarter when Favre threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Percy Harvin(notes). It looked as if the Pack were going to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation.

But Green Bay scored the next 17 points unanswered, as adjustments were made to the protection schemes in order to keep Rodgers upright, and the defense got stronger, and Rodgers started hitting his targets. Greg Jennings(notes) and Donald Driver(notes) combined for 14 catches and 147 yards, and the Pack got within five points late in the fourth quarter, 31-26, after missing a two-point conversion. Favre's Vikings went six-and-out on their next drive, and Green Bay had a chance to pull it out. Didn't happen, Even when Rodgers completed a long pass to Donald Driver under extreme duress and was gifted with an extra 15 yards courtesy of Ray Edwards'(notes) roughing-the-passer penalty with 7:33 left in the game, the home team couldn't capitalize. A sack, an incomplete pass, and a missed field goal followed.

Then, the Vikings proved that they simply had more talent on their roster with their final scoring drive. A quick screen to Adrian Peterson netted 44 yards, down to the Green Bay 15, as no Packers defender had an answer for Peterson's downfield motion. Two plays later, Favre hit Bernard Berrian(notes) for the touchdown that put the game out of reach at 38-26. Rodgers followed with a series of desperate incompletions, and it was over.

Quite simply, the Packers aren't in the Vikings' league. They have major issues along their offensive line, they are incapable of putting together a consistent running game, and their defense, while occasionally dynamic, can be burned by speed and sheer physical talent in a way that elite defenses aren't. It may not seem faithful to the Green Bay faithful that Favre could manipulate the situation and wind up on a ready-made team, but there are more important things to worry about. The Packers have some work to do through the season, and into the offseason, before they can challenge this Vikings team.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Again, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees(notes) trade spots. What did Peyton do against the Rams? Nothing too special: 235 yards passing, three touchdowns, no interceptions. Nothing that set the world on fire, but nothing to dispel the notion that he's the best quarterback in football, either.
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
		Besides, it was more about what Brees did than what Manning did. I don't want to send the message that a game-winning second half is outweighed by a horrendous first half, but if you want the top spot, you can't have one touchdown, three interception days. You just can't. He might've even fallen out of the top two if he didn't lead that tremendous comeback.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		Making the biggest jump this week is Aaron Rodgers, who benefits from a week where a lot of the top guys weren't overwhelmingly awesome. Rodgers -- and this is a sick statistic -- has a quarterback rating of over 110 in each of his past four games. And he does this while leading the league in number of times sacked. Incredible.
4. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		He leads the league in yards passing, and he leads the league in touchdown passes. Whether or not your brain is ready to accept it, Matt Schaub is one of the NFL's most dangerous offensive weapons. Riding Schaub's arm, the Texans are winners of three of their last four.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		There is one quarterback in the NFL completing more than 70% of his passes (actually, there are two, but Peyton Manning doesn't count, because I believe he's actually half robot), and his name is Ben Roethlisberger. He slides a tad, because he didn't have a great day against a tough Vikings defense: 14-of-26, 175 yards, one touchdown.
6. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		Likewise, Favre also slides a bit because he didn't have a great day against a tough Steelers defense. He had a touchdown taken away from him on a phantom leg-whip call, and the interception bounced off of Chester Taylor's(notes) palms, but still, he didn't do enough to win.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		Rivers jumps back up the list a little bit after a week of feasting on the Chiefs secondary: 268 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Even better news for Rivers is that the Chargers showed some slight signs of maybe doing some things that might help him, like, oh, I don't know ... blocking and having a running game.
8. Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants
		Poor Eli continues to tumble down the list. Giants everywhere are tumbling down all kinds of lists, as we see that maybe their dominant start had something to do with the meatballs on their schedule: Washington, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland to start the season. All the sudden, Eli plays two good defenses, and he has two bad games. Perhaps this is not a coincidence.
9. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Handsome Tom drops two spots in the rankings: One for each interception he threw this week. I'm not going to get too down on the guy, though, as he also threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He's had big games in the last two weeks against bad defenses, while struggling a bit earlier in the season against some good defenses. He's sort of the anti-Eli, in that way.
10. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		I kept going back and forth here between Kyle Orton(notes) and Joe Flacco. Orton's doing a fantastic job with the Broncos this year, but here's the question that decided it for me: If I had to pick one guy to take his team the length of the field in 60 seconds, where there's no time for screens, slants, or dump-offs, who would I take? I take Flacco. Orton's doing great in a take-care-of-the-ball, don't-risk-much offense, but I see Flacco as the more dangerous quarterback.
Noses pressed against the glass: Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Matt Ryan(notes), Atlanta Falcons; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

"Cry, Whine and Moan" is a weekly Sunday evening feature where fans of victory-challenged teams can gather to commiserate. Feel free to vent your frustration with your team's players, coaches or management in the comments below. And please, fans of teams who aren't on the list: Leave those less fortunate alone. This post is a taunting-free zone. The losers deserve that much.

Chicago Bears: Cedric Benson(notes), worthless as a Bear and the league's leading rusher as a Bengal, had the kind of performance today that could only be born out of spite and resentment. Bears fans were already a little sensitive on the subject of Cedric, and now they're downright sick. Benson rolled the Bears for 189 yards on the ground, which is, of course, a career high. Matt Forte(notes), meanwhile, who was supposed to make everyone in Chicago forget about Benson, had another impotent day, carrying just six times for 24 yards.

Oakland Raiders: The crash back down to reality is never fun, is it? After an unlikely win over the Eagles last week, the Raiders were coldly reminded of their place in the NFL food chain by the Jets. The Raiders allowed two Jets to run for more than 120 yards, coughed up four turnovers and were doubled up in first downs. 

Cleveland Browns: The saddest stat of the day might be that the Browns were unable to sack the extraordinarily sackable Aaron Rodgers(notes). It's the first game this season in which Rogers hasn't hit the turf. The Lions got him five times, and even the Rams got him twice. Cleveland, however, allowed him 246 yards and three touchdowns on just 20 attempts. Ryant Grant went buckwild on them too, with 148 yards and a touchdown.

Kansas City Chiefs: Matt Cassel(notes), with a fair amount of help from the Chiefs receivers, had a rough day: 10-of-25 for 97 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. That's not good, especially against a Chargers pass defense that's been pretty porous this season. The good news? Lance Long(notes) had a couple of receptions for the Chiefs, so maybe he can quit the pornography business soon.

St. Louis Rams: Another Rams game, another wasted Steven Jackson performance. He carried 23 times for 134 yards, and you'd think it would be hard to lose when you're getting that kind of production from the running back position. But not only did the Rams lose, they got pasted 42-6. We've got to find a way to get Jackson out of St. Louis. This isn't fair.

Carolina Panthers: How do you lose when you win the time-of-possession battle by almost 10 minutes, rack up 425 yards of offense and hold the other team to 167 yards? Turning the ball over four times is a good start.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Well, at least it wasn't the first time today that the people of England had to watch a Glazer-owned team get beat down.

AFC First-Round Byes:
Indianapolis Colts
Denver Broncos

Other AFC Divisional Champions:
Pittsburgh Steelers
New England Patriots

AFC Wild Cards:
Cincinnati Bengals
Houston Texans

NFC First-Round Byes:
New Orleans Saints
Minnesota Vikings

Other NFC Divisional Champions:
New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wild Cards:
Atlanta Falcons
Green Bay Packers

See last week's absurdly premature playoff picture here.

• The top two spots in the AFC remain the same; even solidified. It doesn't seem like anyone else wants it.

• The NFC has a change among the first-round byes, though, as the Giants drop out in favor of the Vikings. I'm not dropping the Giants because they lost to the Saints -- I'm dropping them because they didn't compete against the Saints. I believe they can compete, and I'm 100% in support of a rematch sometime in late January, but what happened on Sunday was a flat-out beating. And it made Richard Seymour very happy.

• When I started this thing, I had the Bengals winning the AFC North and the Steelers as the Wild Card. That probably makes more sense, since they're tied with 4-2 records, and the Bengals won the head-to-head game, but as you can see, I flipped them. I just can't ignore that the Steelers have more going for them. They're allowing 74.5 rushing yards per game, and their quarterback seems unstoppable right now. It's extremely close, but ... sorry, Bengals. My head says Steelers, and is quite adamant about it.

• We've got a new face among the AFC Wild Cards: the Houston Texans! Yay! Welcome Texans!

• Here's why: There's a group three-loss teams who can make the argument for inclusion. The Jets, Ravens, Jags, Texans, and even the Dolphins are in play. It was the Jets last week, but it can't be them this week, because they just lost to Buffalo, for Fouts's sake. The Ravens have lost their last three, so they're out. The Jags' last two wins have come against Tennessee and St. Louis, with a 41-0 loss to Seattle in between, so I'm far from sold on them. Miami is still too ... I dunno, Henne-ish? So I'm going to go with the Texans, who seem to be trending upward, and have a quarterback playing some of the best ball in the league.

• Two new faces in the NFC, too: the Falcons and the Packers. The Falcons had a playoff game to get into the Absurdly Premature Playoff Picture against the Bears, and they won that, so they're in. It was still close between Green Bay and Chicago, but again, I'll ride with the quarterback I like better. In this case, it's Aaron Rodgers(notes).

• I should note, though, that I still think Philadelphia, when playing with some semblance of motivation, is better than either of those two teams. I won't reward them for losing to the Raiders, though. That should count as two losses in the standings. And if they lose to Washington on Monday night, that should count as four. With automatic elimination from the playoffs.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		What do you do if you want the top spot back? You go up against the best pass defense in the league (though I think that myth is pretty much dispelled at this point) and you carve them up like a delicious glazed ham. It was Peyton Manning's(notes) turn to lose the top spot while on a bye week=. You got served, sucker!
2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
		I hope you had a wonderful bye week, Peyton, filled with dreams of even more endorsement dollars and Kenny Chesney concerts. Looking ahead, it's the Rams this week and their 27th-ranked pass defense. If this Brees vs. Manning battle were to go on all year, you wouldn't hear me complain about it.
3. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		Between Tom Brady's(notes) day, Drew Brees' day and some other dramatic happenings around the league, Ben Roethlisberger's 417-yard day against the Browns somehow got lost. Roethlisberger is now your NFL yardage leader with 1,887 on the year.
4. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		I feel dirty when I have to move him up the list, but that's just it: I have to. When the Vikings need big chunks of yardage, Favre gets them. He doesn't have the yardage total of some guys, but that's only because the Vikings didn't need or ask him to throw the ball in the first two weeks. The last four, they have, and he's been top-notch.
5. Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants
		'Twas not a great day for Eli against the Saints, as he only managed 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception. I'm going to consider the whole year's body of work before I start dropping him too far, though. Some guys are gaining on him, but I still love the efficiency.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Quick: Who leads in the NFL in touchdown passes? Did you guess Matt Schaub? I hope so, since this is the Matt Schaub section, and if you didn't, you might be a bit of a numbskull. I'm even open to arguments for Matt Schaub cracking the top five here. He's first in touchdowns and second in yardage. His day of 392 yards and four touchdowns sort of got overshadowed, too.
7. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		Another week, another quietly excellent performance from Rogers. True, it was only the Lions, but 358 yards are 358 yards. It also helps that he was playing against Daunte Culpepper(notes) (6-of-14, zero TDs, one INT) and Drew Stanton(notes) (5-of-11, zero TDs, two INTs), because those two can't help but make another quarterback look good.
8. Tom Brady, New England Patriots.
		It took six weeks, but here he is. I get hate mail all the time from Brady fans for not including him in the power rankings, but based on his play this year, he just hasn't deserved it. In fact, I'd still caution everyone from jumping on the "Brady is Back" train, because that otherworldly performance on Sunday came against possibly football's worst secondary since the invention of the forward pass.
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		Flacco threw for 385 yards in Baltimore's comeback attempt against the Vikings, but couldn't pull out the win. No disrespect to Derrick Mason(notes) is intended here, but would anyone else like to see what Flacco could do with a deeper receiving corps and a better tight end?
10. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		I suspect that many of you will accuse me of a homer pick here, selecting Rivers for the final spot ahead of Orton. And that's fine, since I am a homer. I still think this is the right call, though. I've been amazed by what Orton's been doing all season, and it's not meant to slight him, but the Chargers just ask Rivers to do more. He goes downfield more, and he's basically their whole offense. Believe me, it's much better to do it the other way.
Fell out: Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Matt Ryan(notes), Atlanta Falcons; Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos Also narrowly missed: Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

On Nov. 1, Brett Favre(notes) will return to Green Bay for his first away game against the Packers, and the mayor of Green Bay is looking for a way to welcome him. He's asking fans to send in ideas, and he'll pick his favorite four on Oct. 28.

One gentleman has already suggested making the world's largest waffle in the shape of a "4." I like that idea, and I humbly offer seven of my own below. The mayor has asked that the ideas be "respectful" and "tasteful," but I think some of these might fall short of that. Sorry, mayor.

• Turn this T-shirt into a billboard, placing one at every major entryway into Lambeau Field

• Change the name of "Brett Favre Pass" to "When We Really Needed You In the Fourth Quarter Against the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, You Threw A Really Great Pass."

• Wrangler jeans are declared illegal in the state of Wisconsin.

• Remember the goat that was painted like Brett Favre and locked in the trunk of some lady's car? Find it, dye it greener than a Chia Pet, put it in a customized goat-cut Aaron Rodgers(notes) jersey, and have it on the sidelines for the game. Also, if we could do this without it being considered cruelty to animals, feed it Taco Bell and Ex-Lax all day, while lining its cage with pictures of Favre's face.

• Burn Brett Favre's Steakhouse to the ground. Locals can throw their own Favre merchandise into the special fire for $1 an item. All proceeds benefit the local fire department.

• Declare the Thursday before the game "Brett Favre Day," where everyone in Green Bay is encouraged to tell lies all day, quit their jobs, and then show up at their jobs on Friday like nothing ever happened. Also, between the hours of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., it would be perfectly legal to stab a resident of Green Bay, so long as they're stabbed in the back with a purple knife.

• Offer Eric Mangini $1 million to change his son's middle name to "Aaron."

Submit your own ideas here at the mayor's website, or in the comments below.

It's clear that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) is out of step with Blamescaping in the NFL, 2009-Style. While Seahawks coach Jim Mora calls his kicker out in public, Maurice Jones-Drew(notes) makes his dissatisfaction with the Jaguars' play-calling very public, and Clinton Portis(notes) negates the contributions of fullback Mike Sellers(notes), one guy with a legitimate beef against five of his teammates has refused to get sucked in.

That would be Rodgers, whose 20 sacks leads the NFL. Most of you saw just how bad the Packers' injury-decimated line was in that Monday Night Favreapalooza game, when Jared Allen(notes) went ballistic and spent full time in the Packers' backfield. Still, with all that going on, when Rodgers was asked about his pass protection on Wednesday, he stuck with the old-school code.

"It really doesn't do any good. I trust those guys. I love those guys. They take care of me, I take care of them. That's the way it goes. We have a tight-knit relationship. Nothing gets done when you do something like that publicly.

"We're all pros. We all hold ourselves to a standard of play, and I'd say myself and those guys included would probably all agree that personally, we haven't played up to our potential at all times. We all want to play better. We're going to play better."

Rodgers has a few things on his side this Sunday. The Packers are going up against the Detroit Lions, whose pass rush doesn't inspire fear. Over the next couple of weeks, the Pack will get left tackle Chad Clifton(notes) back from injury, which will do a lot to right the ship. The Packers have some work to do in re-energizing their line (expect it to be a focus in the 2010 draft) but in the meantime, kudos to Aaron Rodgers for being a stand-up guy -- even when he's spending far too much time on his butt.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Another week, another 300 yards, another leisurely jog to victory. Up next, the Colts have a bye week, and then in Week 7, it'll be a bloodbath against the Rams. Enjoy your mop-up time, Jim Sorgi(notes).
2. Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants
		Watching Eli against the Raiders defense was like watching an in-his-prime Mike Tyson fight Urkel. He just did whatever he wanted. He didn't even play an entire game; in fact, he played just a smidge more than a quarter. What he did do, though, was perfect. He had a 158.3 quarterback rating on the day.
3. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Is it a teensy bit unfair to drop him a spot when he didn't play? Yes. It's nothing against Brees, of course, it's just how strongly I feel about Eli Manning at the moment. Those of you who prefer Brees, though, don't fret: They'll get a chance to sort it out when they go head-to-head this week.
4. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		Large Benjamin inches up a spot after a 277-yard, three-touchdown day in Detroit. He hit six different receivers, too, and spreading the ball around isn't always a strength for him.
5. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		After last week's fantastic performance against the Packers, the Vikings slipped back into "We don't need Brett to be great, and he wasn't, but he was certainly good enough for us to win" mode. He also threw a lollipop of an interception to James Laurinaitis(notes), which doesn't help him in these power rankings.
6. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		Rivers and the Chargers had the week off, so he'll stay in the six hole. I'll say this, though: If the Chargers weren't able to use the bye week to make improvements in the offensive line, the running game, and the defense's ability to stop anyone, it will be extremely difficult for Rivers to stay here.
7. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		In a lot of ways, Rodgers is in the same boat as Rivers. If the help around him doesn't improve, it's going to be really hard for him to keep playing well. Chad Clifton(notes) is back at practice this week, so that's a positive. So is playing Detroit on Sunday.
8. Matt Ryan(notes), Atlanta Falcons
		Ryan finally slips into the top ten this week, on the shoulders of a 22-of-32, 329-yard, two touchdown day against the 49ers. He's played well all year, but there's so much great competition at the quarterback position in the NFL this year, that his yardage totals needed a bit of a bump to be among the elite. This week was his first game of the season with better than 250 yards.
9. Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos
		Say, before the season, someone asked you how many games the Broncos would win when Kyle Orton had to throw the ball 48 times. Your answer, unless your last name is Orton, would have likely been "none of them." But not only did they win one, they did it against the Patriots. Orton had a completion percentage of 72.9, and went for 330 yards.
10. Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles
		He's only been back for one week, but what a week it was: 16-of-21, 264 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That's a rating of 157.2, which led all quarterbacks with more than 10 attempts this week. Expect the McNabb train to keep rolling along with the Raiders on the schedule next week.
Fell out: Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens, Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans, Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears Also narrowly missed: Matt Hasselbeck(notes), Seattle Seahawks, Kurt Warner(notes), Arizona Cardinals, Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots