7. Thanksgiving football

What this means, NFL fans, is that not only is Super Bowl Sunday a holiday in itself, but we've also pretty much taken over Thanksgiving, so we've got two major national holidays where we are actually expected to watch football. Yeah. Be jealous, fans of any other sport in the world.

6. "The League" on FX. From what I understand, "The League" is being drubbed in the ratings by infomercials for giant cupcake makers, and that's a shame. It's a funny show. It's not re-writing television history or anything, but it's funny, it's filthy and it revolves around fantasy football. What more could you ask for in a TV show?

Do me a favor, and go watch an episode or two for free on Hulu. At the very least, check out this 79-second clip (a naughty language warning applies for either link) demonstrating how a child's birthday party can actually be useful for fantasy football purposes.

5. Twitter. I know a lot of you hate Twitter. You think it's part of the dumbing down of America. You think it's for 13-year-old girls telling each other that they just saw Zac Efron in a magazine with his shirt off. You are wrong, and you are missing out.

Open up a Twitter account, and you can get updates from NFL writers, bloggers, reporters, rumor guys, beat reporters, players, official team websites, NFL employees and John Stamos. If you're ignoring it as a possible supplement to your NFL information stream, you're cheating only yourself.

4. Movin' the Chains. The entire SIRIUS NFL Radio channel is awesome, but this show in particular, every weekday from 3 pm - 7 pm ET, raises the bar for sports radio. I don't know if other guys just don't know as much, or they aren't willing to share as much, but Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan bring the X's and O's like no one else. Listen to one show -- even one hour of one show -- and I promise you that when you're done, you'll know more about the game and the players who play it than you did before you started.

3. The quarterback play in '09. Good quarterback play is what makes the difference between okay games and great games, and the quarterback position right now is better and deeper today than it's ever been in NFL history. There's no doubt in my mind about that.

There are five guys right now with QB ratings over 100, and if that holds, it would be an NFL record. There are seven other guys with ratings over 90. Let's take a look at how that's progressed over the last 30 years. Ten years ago, we had one guy over 100 (Kurt Warner(notes)), and four others at 90 or better (Steve Beuerlein, Jeff George(notes), Peyton Manning(notes) and Brad Johnson(notes)). Twenty years ago, we had one guy over 100 (Joe Montana) and just two others over 90 (Boomer Esiason and Jim Everett). Thirty years ago, we had just one guy over 90 (Roger Staubach) and no one close to 100. Forty years ago, no one got out of the 80s.

We are witnessing the golden age of quarterbacking, right now. Breathe it in. It's the best time in history to be an NFL fan.

2. Rich Eisen and the NFL crew. The gold standard in sports is still Ernie Johnson and the TNT NBA crew, but if there's one group that comes close, it's Rich Eisen and the NFL Network gang. That's the best way I know how to compliment them.

They've got strong personalities in Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders and Warren Sapp(notes), and Eisen just knows how to pull it all together. He knows when to step into the background, when to rein in a conversation, and how to make the set feel like a group of knowledgeable cats just sitting around and talking about something they love. Of all the studio shows, the NFL Network's has the least ego, mugging for the cameras and artificial laughter. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the rest.

1. Today's mobile phone technology. I don't want to pimp for any particular phone company, and obviously, a lot of the phones today do a lot of the same things. But this is my first NFL season with an iPhone, and I'm finding it to be magical. I can do things from my phone that I wouldn't have thought possible even four or five years ago. It's truly baffling, and I'm not sure it's something that we, as a society, even deserve.

I can do all of the following: get constant live updates on my fantasy team, make last-minute lineup changes if I'm already at the bar and Chris Mortensen has some last-minute news, wager small amounts of candy on the outcomes of games, get any stat at any time, listen to radio broadcasts of games, actually watch games at a very acceptable level of quality with the DirecTV app, play Madden, and read the Twitter updates of dozens and dozens of NFL people I like and respect.

I made that list without even thinking about it. There has to be a dozen other useful NFL-related things you can do, too, many I probably don't even know about. I find it incredibly useful when I'm at a bar and sitting in front of eight televisions. Should I happen to get stranded away from televisions on some Sunday, I can't even imagine how useful I'd find it.

Manning also got away with several other throws which were either bad reads or plays in which his receivers were not in the right place. Bottom line is that Manning struggled and the Colts didn't fall apart against a very game Ravens team. In their 17-15 victory, Indy relied on their defense to keep Baltimore out of the end zone, which they did by holding the Ravens to 0-for-4 in red one efficiency. That included a stand when Baltimore had the ball at the Colts' one-yard line and couldn't punch it in with three tries. When Ed Reed(notes) lost a desperation lateral on a punt return with 28 seconds left in the game, the Colts breathed a sigh of relief.

As for the Saints, they kept the "L" column clean in a more typical way -- a productive but conservative day from Brees (who threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns) and great gains from their newly effective running game. Mike bell(notes) scored twice and Pierre Thomas(notes) gained 92 yards on only 11 carries in the Saints' 38-7 walloping of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the Bucs and first-year quarterback Josh Freeman(notes) impressed with an opening-drive touchdown, New Orleans shut things down and took advantage of Freeman's rookie mistakes. Freeman threw three picks, while Brees didn't have an interception for the first time in five games.

Next, the Saints will welcome the New England Patriots to the Superdome on Monday Night Football, a barn-burner that should leave even Jon Gruden unable to give nicknames to all the primary characters. Meanwhile, the Colts play the Texans in Houston next Sunday. You may remember the Texans as the team that gave the Colts a fairly tough battle with a 20-17 squeaker on November 8. If these two teams are still undefeated after their next games, they'll certainly have earned it.

Today, this test is in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, whose defense is not what it used to be. Edge-rusher Terrell Suggs(notes) could miss up to a month with a knee injury suffered after Browns quarterback Brady Quinn(notes) went into him with a low block last Monday night. Nose tackle Haloti Ngata(notes) will be playing on a sprained ankle if he plays at all. And cornerbacks Fabian Washington(notes) and Domonique Foxworth(notes) have not performed as expected, struggling in man coverage and allowing 7.0 yards per passing attempt, a decidedly mediocre number. The worst thing that can happen to an injured defense is to face a quarterback as conversant with the no-huddle as Manning is -- he will take Baltimore's substitution packages out of the game and limit their ability to switch from base coverage to nickel. This is one of Manning's real gifts: because the Colts go single-back, three-wide so often, and the success of his offense is based more on execution than formation diversity, he's able to bulldoze down the field with his arsenal of calls.

For the Ravens, the best strategy might be the lesser of several evils. When the Colts narrowly beat the Texans on November 8, the Texans bracketed the outside with coverage and let Clark catch stuff over the middle with stud rookie linebacker Brian Cushing(notes) in coverage. It was a mismatch in Clark's favor, but he averaged only 8.5 yards per catch on his fourteen catches and his longest play was for 17 yards. The Ravens have the inside linebackers to stop the dink-and-dunk short, and the offense to keep the game close.

Shutdown Corner presents 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
		If he had been facing, for example, the number eight quarterback on this list, Bill Belichick may have punted on that 4th and 2 Sunday night. He wasn't, though. He was facing the number one quarterback, and he knew that guy was going to score from anywhere on the field.
2. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		This week, Favre became your NFL leader in quarterback rating. In a year where we're blessed with five different quarterbacks with a rating of 100 or better, Favre stands at the top. He's thrown 285 passes, and just three of them have been intercepted. Favre might be asked to do a little bit less than most guys on this list (he's 16th in the league in pass attempts), and he might be in the most quarterback-friendly situation in the league, but he's been close to perfect. Wrangler sales are even up.
3. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady made some tremendous throws in a losing effort on Sunday night. He didn't get the win, but he did play well enough to continue his rise towards the top of these rankings, where he belongs. He's been over 300 yards in his last four games, which isn't something he hadn't done since Week 1.
4. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Saints fans are going to be mad at me, but I'm afraid it had to be done. Through his first five games, Drew Brees threw for 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. Over his last four games, Brees has six touchdowns and seven interceptions. That's not good, and I'm afraid it mandates a slide in the rankings. His yardage totals and completion percentages have still been awesome, but to stay in the top two, I'm afraid we need a better TD-to-INT ratio.
5. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Schaub rises a spot, even on his bye week, because it wasn't a particularly great week for the best quarterbacks in the league. But now, after everyone's had their bye week, let's check and see where Schaub ranks in some key statistical categories. He's third in yards passing (behind Manning and Brady) and tied for fifth in touchdowns (behind Manning, Brady, Brees and Kurt Warner(notes)). Not at all shabby.
6. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A brutal week drops Benjamin a few spots: He was 20-of-40 for 174 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. In a huge game for the Steelers, he came up with a quarterback rating (51.5) fewer than 10 points away from JaMarcus Russell's(notes) (43.6). That's not what you're looking for.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It was a very solid week for Rivers, who faced an Eagles defense that ranks fifth in the league in opposing quarterback rating. He went 20-of-25 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. This will be the fourth straight week where Rivers checks in at number seven.
8. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		A good, but not great effort from Rodgers against the Cowboys: 25-of-36, one touchdown, no picks, and just 189 yards. Not good enough to move him up the list, but not bad enough to move him down. He's been sacked 12 more times than anyone else in the league, and more than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees combined. Dallas got him four times.
9. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
		Welcome, Kurt! I'd still like to see more consistency from you, but two consecutive phenomenal weeks will get you in the mix. Over his last two weeks, Warner's thrown seven touchdowns against zero interceptions. If he has another good game this week, it'll mark the first time all year he's strung three quality games together. He's playing the Rams, too, so it's not exactly a tall order.
10. Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles
		The 450 yards against San Diego were really nice, but would have been nicer if a few more of them had come in the red zone. Again, I'd like to see some more consistency. Really, it was a three-way toss-up here between McNabb, Romo and Palmer, so I thought I'd go with the guy coming off the best week. I'd consider McNabb's grip on the 10th spot very, very tenuous.
Noses pressed against the glass: Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys

Rodney Harrison(notes), who still calls the Patriots "we," verbally put the boots to Belichick from the NBC post-game show. Tony Dungy, maybe the friendliest guy on the planet, lambasted him for it, too. Over on ESPN, Trent Dilfer(notes) absolutely murdered Belichick for the call.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Chase, Harrison, Dungy and Dilfer. I think "The Decision" was the right one.

Before we start, I just want you to know that I loathe the man. I think he's cheated, and I think he'd bite his own mother's left leg off in exchange for a win. Or even a first down. It brings me no joy to defend Bill Belichick.

The fact is, though, that the pros outweigh the cons here. Yes, he ended up giving Peyton Manning(notes) a short field, and yes, he showed "a lack of faith in his defense." I would suggest that Peyton Manning was going to score a touchdown there, whether it was from the Patriots 28, or his own 38. Belichick knows how good Manning is, and he knows how good his defense is. If you had to put your money on one unit, would you take the Colts' passing game, or the Patriots' pass defense?

As for showing "a lack of faith in his defense," you can call it that if you'd like, but I prefer to call it "being realistic about the situation." What, are we worried about hurting the defense's feelings? Awwww. If they don't like it, they can feel free to get better. Maybe there would be more faith in them in they didn't give up, oh, I don't know, just as an example ... 327 yards and four touchdowns to Manning.

Belichick had a chance to put the game on ice and keep the ball out of Peyton Manning's hands. All they had to do was complete a simple little play that they've run successfully about 28 million times. If Kevin Faulk(notes) doesn't bobble the pass right at the sticks, Bill Belichick is a genius this morning. I think Faulk might have gotten the first down anyway. We couldn't find out for sure because the Patriots couldn't challenge after having burned all their timeouts (if you want to criticize Belichick for something, I'd start there). They got burned because they couldn't execute a play that Tom Brady(notes) and Kevin Faulk can normally execute in their sleep. At what point would you ever bet against Tom Brady being able to get a ball to Kevin Faulk for a two-yard gain?

The raw statistical data backs up the decision to go for it, too. The following comes from Advanced NFL Stats, an excellent site that tracks "In-Game Win Probability" based on stats accumulated and in-game situations. Here's what they came up with, and you can get a more detailed explanation here. WP = Win Probability.

With 2:00 left and the Colts with only one timeout, a successful conversion wins the game for all practical purposes. A 4th and 2 conversion would be successful 60% of the time. Historically, in a situation with 2:00 left and needing a TD to either win or tie, teams get the TD 53% of the time from that field position. The total WP for the 4th down conversion attempt would therefore be:

(0.60 * 1) + (0.40 * (1-0.53)) = 0.79 WP

A punt from the 28 typically nets 38 yards, starting the Colts at their own 34. Teams historically get the TD 30% of the time in that situation. So the punt gives the Pats about a 0.70 WP.

Statistically, the better decision would be to go for it, and by a good amount.

At the end of the day, it was an unconventional call that's easy to question, given how things turned out. Belichick, though, has made a hall-of-fame career and built his own legend around making decisions just like that one. That way of thinking is what makes him great. If he wasn't willing to take those risks or do the unconventional thing, he wouldn't be Bill Belichick, future hall of famer and NFL coaching legend. He'd be Bill Belichick, that doofus that the Browns hired once a long time ago.

Even if you think it was a bad call, it was still a very Bill Belichick call, meaning that it went against the grain, defied traditional football logic and went for the jugular. Most of the time in the past, when Belichick's made such a call, it's worked out. Last night's didn't.

It happens. If the Colts and Patriots happen to meet again in the playoffs, and that exact same situation comes up, it will again be the right call to go for it.

Bill Belichick's swagger and arrogance helped the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl titles earlier this decade. Sunday night, those attributes put a big dent in the team's quest for a fourth.

Nursing a six-point lead with 2:08 to go, Belichick decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 28 instead of punting the ball and making Peyton Manning(notes) and the Indianapolis Colts go 80 yards for the score. The fourth-down play failed, the Colts took over possession and scored with ease, winning their ninth straight game to start the season and getting in the driver's seat for home-field advantage in the AFC.

Personally, I appreciated the call when it happened, mainly because I like watching teams take risks. But this wasn't the spot to go all-in. It was too risky.

You go for it on the Colts' 38, not your own 28. That would be daring, but not stupid. Going for it from your own 28 fits both categories. A 70 percent fourth-down success rate (which is about what the Patriots have had in the past five years) is a good bet most of the time, but not if 30 percent of the time puts Peyton Manning eight yards away from the red zone after the two-minute warning.

Punting would have put Peyton about 80 yards away, so there still would have been plenty of time for him to march down the field and get the game-winning touchdown. But there would have been plenty of work left to do. When the Pats failed to get the first down, it felt like the Colts had already scored that TD even though they were 28 yards away. I don't think anyone involved in that game thought any differently. The mental aspect of it was huge. It wasn't just that the Patriots gave Peyton the ball back, it's that they were mentally defeated the instant they did. 

Heck, maybe that was the case before the play too. The Pats have always embraced Belichick's swagger, but when the call came in to go for fourth-and-2 from their own 28, it wouldn't have surprised me if a few thought, "wait ... what?!" to themselves before breaking the huddle. Suddenly, the team isn't as confident as it once would have been. 

After the game former Pats safety Rodney Harrison(notes) said on NBC that going for it was the "worst decision" he's ever seen Belichick make. Tony Dungy, normally one to hedge his criticisms of former colleagues, said the Pats "had to punt in that situation." It was the kind of call that's so bad that if it was made by your friend during a game of Madden, you'd say, "come on, play for real."

The post-game chatter all put the blame squarely on Belichick (and he admitted to it), but NBC cameras captured Brady saying something to Belichick before the play that caused the coach to smirk and give one of those "that's not a bad idea ..." smiles. It was a bad idea ... a really bad idea. It may have worked and it may have won the game, but its failure almost assured a loss.

When his career is done, Bill Belichick will go down as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. You wouldn't know it from watching the fourth quarter last night.

Two late drives – one of six plays and 48 yards, and one of four plays and 29 yards – ended in touchdowns, and the Colts walked out of their home stadium with the 35-34 win that kept them undefeated, put them three games ahead of their archrivals in the fight for home-field advantage in the playoffs, and tied New England's two 18-game winning streaks, the second-longest in NFL history behind the Pats' 21-gamer from 2003-2004.

Neither Brady nor Manning went into this game expecting a balanced attack – the Pats attempted 42 passes and the Colts 44 – and New England opened their first defensive series with two down linemen. Everyone knew what was coming, and neither defense was especially expert in stopping it. The Pats rolled tight end Dallas Clark(notes) in a ball of coverage, leaving Peyton's other targets open enough for Reggie Wayne(notes) to catch 10 balls and two touchdown passes (including the game-winner) and Pierre Garcon(notes) to haul in three catches and a score. New England espoused a little more of a ground attack, getting decent yardage out of do-it-all back Kevin Faulk(notes), but the home runs had to come from Brady and Randy Moss(notes), who exploited Indy's undermanned secondary for nine catches and two touchdowns.

From a star standpoint, it was as even as it gets – both glamour-boy quarterbacks and #1 receivers had their A-game going, and it took one very questionable late coaching decision to allow the Colts to pull away at the end. When Bill Belichick decided to go for it with 2:08 left in the game and fourth-and-2 from his own 28-yard line, he was either exhibiting too much confidence in his offense, or not enough in his defense. The short pass to Kevin Faulk was bobbled by the receiver, and the call was to deny Faulk the forward progress that would have given New England the first down and the game. Having used up all his timeouts, the coach couldn't challenge the call. Chris Chase will take a closer look at this decision, but in an achingly tight game that lived up to every battle of its kind, Belichick walked away knowing that the key to his team's defeat lay in his own hand.

Still, it's wrong not to lay equivalent credit for the win at Peyton Manning's feet. No matter how far the Colts get, at the end of this season, we're going to look back at the way Manning is playing as one of those "we can tell our grandkids about this" extended performances that define all that's great about this game we love. And once again, the Patriots-Colts game was everything it was cracked up to be.

Setting off fireworks indoors is about as good an idea as not trying to pressure Peyton Manning(notes) or giving Randy Moss(notes) a 15-yard cushion off the line of scrimmage. But, that didn't stop Indianapolis Colts employees from celebrating the team's first touchdown in tonight's game versus the New England Patriots by lighting a few pyrotechnics. Some of those remnants then fell to the ground and burned the artificial grass at Lucas Oil Field.

Someone from the sideline put out the blaze with a Gatorade bottle, but the fire burned long enough for NBC cameras to pick it up and for people nationwide to make jokes ranging from the lame to the obvious Billy Madison reference.

Of those four prior games against New England, Clark's only statistical standout came in the 2006 AFC Championship game, which safety Rodney Harrison(notes) missed with a knee injury. Clark caught six passes for 137 yards in the game that finally game the Colts a one-up on their great rivals. Harrison was matched up against Clark in each of the other three games, and Clark totaled eight receptions for 120 yards. Clearly, with Harrison retired, the Pats will have to find a favorable safety coverage scheme to counter Clark.

Fortunately, they have one in the person of Brandon McGowan(notes). The fifth-year player and former Chicago Bear is impressing in his first season with the Pats, especially against marquee tight ends. When he covered Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez(notes), the future Hall-of-Famer caught one pass for 16 yards. When matched up with Tampa Bay's Kellen Winslow(notes), Winslow caught two passes for nine yards. He's the main reason New England is giving up only 5.9 catches, and 35.9 yards per game against tight ends. Whether the Colts release Clark into more of a flex role or keep him inside, this will be McGowan's toughest test to date. When asked about Clark this week, Bill Belichick acknowledged the challenge.

"Tight ends are usually hard to match up against: the (defensive backs) don't have the size and the linebackers can't usually match their speed and quickness. Clark runs well; he runs like he's a receiver. When he gets down the field, he's a vertical guy, but he has good quickness and can win underneath."

If McGowan can keep with Clark and prevent Manning from using his absence up top as an excuse to exploit other defenders with the deep pass, the Patriots will take a big step forward to winning this always-compelling game.

First, there were his May, 2009 comments on 790 the Zone in Atlanta about serial retiree Brett Favre(notes). When asked about Favre's continued dalliances with the NFL, Tarkenton was more than succinct.

"I think it's despicable. What he put the Packers through last year was not good. Here's an organization that was loyal to him for 17, 18 years, provided stability of organization, provided players. It just wasn't about Brett Favre. In this day and time, we have glorified the Brett Favres of the world so much, they think it's about them ... I kind of hope (Favre's unretirement) happens, so he can fail."

Well, bah, humbug! Of course, Favre put us all through a few months of media torture in his current comeback to the Vikings, but he's certainly isn't failing. As he acclimates to Minnesota's offense, he's lighting it up at an age when most quarterbacks only wish they could. Having swung and missed on Favre, Tarkenton has now taken aim at another NFC Norris quarterback -- one Jay Cutler(notes), fresh from his five-pick disaster against the 49ers last Thursday. Back on the radio went Fran, and back went the mouth into overdrive, on Chicago's "Waddle and Silvy Show" (no, really):

"I really question whether he can play. Quarterbacks need to make their team better. If it's a bad team, they can even make a bad team better. Somebody may say well, even Peyton Manning(notes) couldn't help the Bears. Yes, he could. Tom Brady(notes) could, too. They might not win the championship or get to the playoffs, but they would make that team better. Those wide receivers who are struggling would be better because they would make them better."

Tarkenton then went on to say that the best way for Cutler to prove him wrong was to march into offensive coordinator Ron Turner's office and "tell that coach [expletive]." Tarkenton related a story in which he told the young Dan Fouts to tell his offensive coordinator to kiss off. Of course, one of the guys responsible for Fouts' development was Bill Walsh, San Diego's offensive coordinator in 1976, and I sincerely question the professional future of any quarterback dumb enough to pop off to Walsh.

If he can take it as he dishes it out, I think the best advice for Tarkenton could be taken from that noted military philosopher, Sgt. Hulka: "Lighten up, Francis." The pressure on these guys is bad enough, even when it's self-imposed, without former greats copping headlines with their "Grumpy Old Men" routines at the worst possible time. Telling guys like Favre and Cutler to "get off my lawn!" just stings Tarkenton's own legacy, and that's a shame.

Cedric Benson(notes), Running Back, Cincinnati Bengals

Philip Rivers(notes), Quarterback, San Diego Chargers. On the road, against a desperate team, trailing by six points, 2:05 on the clock, one timeout, 80 yards to go. Rivers didn't even need the timeout. To that point, the meaningless yet much-ballyhooed Rivers vs. Eli Manning(notes) matchup was, statistically, going Eli's way, but with the last drive, Rivers left his stamp on the proceedings. With :21 on the clock, Vincent Jackson(notes) got open in the corner of the endzone, and Rivers dropped the ball into his breadbasket for the go-ahead score.

Josh Freeman(notes), Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the week leading up to his first NFL start, Josh Freeman had been a little fountain of confidence. He proclaimed that he was "radiating swagger," and I admired the young fellow's moxie, but assumed that he'd be getting drubbed on Sunday nonetheless. Freeman's 14-of-31 statline wasn't spectacular, but the three touchdowns and one interception were, for a rookie in his first start, kind of amazing. The swagger was there, too. It wasn't just talk. Bucco Bruce inspires normal men to great things.

Dwight Freeney(notes), Defensive End, Indianapolis Colts. With the Colts having lost about half their starting defense to injury this week, and the explosive and desperately hungry Texans coming to town, I thought this week was set up perfectly for the Colts' regular-season winning streak to be snapped. And while Peyton Manning(notes) was his usual excellent self, and Dallas Clark(notes) caught what seemed like 824 passes, it was the patchwork defense that won this game. Indy held the Texans to 17, their lowest scoring output since Week 1. If you'd have told me before the game that the Colts would score 20 in this one, I'd have never thought they'e emerge victorious.

Chris Johnson, Running Back, Tennessee Titans. Well hello, winning streak. It's one thing to beat the Jaguars at home. It's quite another to go on the road and beat a solid 49ers team. Vince "The Ultimate Winner" Young is getting most of the credit for it, and he deserves it, but don't forget to save some spotlight for Chris Johnson, too. He's been a beast in both victories.

It's on the other side of the ball where you might find the surprises. Peyton Manning(notes) doesn't lead the league in passing yards; that would be Texans quarterback Matt Schaub(notes) with 2,342 to Manning's 2,227, though Schaub's played one more game. Schaub won't have tight end Owen Daniels(notes), out for the season with a torn ACL. But he will have Andre Johnson(notes), among the toughest receivers to stop in the game. And with the Colts' injury situation, expect the Texans to spread things out with multi-receiver sets.

In the last week, the Colts have found out the following: Safety Bob Sanders(notes) will be out for the season with a biceps tear, cornerback Marlin Jackson(notes) is out for the year with a torn ACL, and cornerback Kelvin Hayden(notes) will be out for up to a month with his own knee injury. Sanders hasn't played much in the last few years, and the Colts like replacement Melvin Bullitt(notes) enough to have people wondering about Sanders' future with the team. Rookie corners Jerraud Powers(notes) and Jacob Lacey(notes) have stepped up in recent weeks, but the depth situation is pretty woeful. And the challenges for that young secondary only increase as the season progresses -- in the next month, Indy faces Houston twice, as well as New England, and Baltimore. All high-octane passing offenses, and all will be ready to tee off on the kids.

Enter the Texans. At 5-3, this team could make some serious hay even if they split the season series with the Colts, and there's never been a better time to get that done. Look for head coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to force matchups away from pressure, leaving the corners on an island and pass-rushers Dwight Freeney(notes) and Robert Mathis(notes) as the only real threats to Schaub's potential statistical dominance.