This game wasn’t quite the shootout everyone envisioned, but it was a predictable Lions’ loss.  Aaron Rodgers (307 yards, 2 TDs) fell one TD short of his average stat line of 300 and 3 TDs, which is pretty amazing when you think about that that’s actually the least of what everyone expects him to do in a given week.  Matthew Stafford (307 total yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs) imploded early and often, misfiring on three costly INTs and not leading a TD drive until the final minute of the game after the Packers had already beaten the Lions into submission.

This week it was James Jones (3-94, 1 TD) who got the love from Rodgers, while Jordy Nelson (4-26) took a back seat as he seems to do in most road games.  Greg Jennings (5-74, 1 TD) returned to his same dependable self, less than a week after a lot of people were crying out that the sky was falling after a 2 catch outing in Week 11.  Jermichael Finley (2-38) continues to be one of the bigger busts at the tight end position considering all the pre-season hype surrounding him.

Stafford salvaged what would have been a disastrous outing for Calvin Johnson (4-49, 1 TD) by throwing him a touchdown pass in garbage time with seconds remaining.  Nate Burleson (5-39) actually had the most receptions for the Lions’ receivers, but he didn’t do much with those.  Brandon Pettigrew (4-27) was also fairly quiet, as this was a forgettable day for most of the Lions’ passing game.

Also predictably, the Packers running game was almost non-existent, as it has been in a lot of games this year.  You have to wonder if this will eventually hurt the Packers in the playoffs, as they haven’t looked like they can run on any playoff-caliber defenses.

Kevin Smith (7 car., 36 yards; 3 rec., 21 yards) looked good before going out with a high-ankle sprain, bringing back memories of the fact that Smith has never been very durable throughout his career.  Maurice Morris (7 car., 39 yards; 9 rec., 81 yards) took over and did a very nice job, especially with receptions out of the backfield, and could be a nice play if Smith is out for a couple of weeks.
 
The scrappy Dolphins entered JerryWorld and threatened to upend the Cowboys’ hopes of taking the NFC East, but found a way to let the Cowboys squeak by with an important victory.  Matt Moore (291 total yards, 1 TD) was fairly efficient and avoided costly turnovers in the face of an intense Cowboys pass rush.  Tony Romo (224 total yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) made a few mistakes throughout the game, but in the end led the Cowboys down the field on a last minute march to the game winning field goal.

Brandon Marshall (5-103, 1 TD) came up bit for the Dolphins when they needed him most, including catching a beautiful rainbow of a pass from Moore for a 35 yard TD.  Marshall rebounded nicely from only a single catch a week ago, and hopefully will round into consistent form for the fantasy playoffs.  Brian Hartline (4-77) had a nice game for a change, while no other Dolphins receiver was noteworthy.

Miles who?  Laurent Robinson (7-79, 2 TDs) is starting to look more and more like the best receiver the Cowboys have, which was unthinkable a couple of months ago, and has earned at least a timeshare with Austin when he comes back, which is problematic for owners of both players.  Dez Bryant (3-35) was silenced as he was the focus of the Dolphins secondary, and Jason Witten (4-43) also had a fairly quiet game for him.

Reggie Bush (16 car., 61 yards; 3 rec., 35 yards) had a workman-like day as the primary rusher for the Dolphins against a fairly stout rush defense.  Bush’s injuries through the years have robbed him of the breakaway speed he used to have, but he’s developed into an effective runner between the tackles in return, and undoubtedly will be an important piece for fantasy playoff teams that have been hurting at the RB position this year.

Demarco Murray (22 car., 87 yards; 4 rec., 41 yards) was stopped up for most of the day against the Dolphins’ defense, but he still managed to gather in over 120 total yards.  Murray is an every week play, regardless of position and Felix Jones’ (1 rec., 4 yards) health.
As expected, the Harbaugh Bowl was a low scoring defensive affair, and the team that managed to score the lone touchdown in the game was the one that got the win.  Alex Smith (152 total yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) finally looked like the Smith we knew from last year, throwing an inopportune interception and overall not able to move his team anywhere close to scoring position on most drives.  Joe Flacco (163 total yards, 1 TD) had an efficient day, throwing just 23 passes total and avoiding turnovers and sacks against one of the best defenses in the league this year.

Michael Crabtree (6-54) was the top target yet again for Smith, as he looks like he’s almost always the first read in the passing game.  Vernon Davis (4-38) had the second most receptions, but overall had a quiet afternoon.  None of the other 49ers pass catchers caught more than two passes.

Anquan Boldin (4-63) had a decent day considering his QB only completed a total of 15 passes in the game.  Torrey Smith (2-23) didn’t have an opportunity to do much, while Dennis Pitta (2-19, 1 TD) got the lone TD in the game.

Frank Gore (14 car., 39 yards; 1 rec., 9 yards) had a rough afternoon as the Ravens defense came to play this week.  Kendall Hunter (4 car., 14 yards; 1 rec., 13 yards) was equally ineffective, as this was not one of the better days to start any 49ers players.

Ray Rice (21 car., 59 yards; 3 rec., 24 yards) was given one of his highest carry totals for the season, and it was like running into a brick wall most of the game.  Rice still managed to churn out a decent amount of total yardage, but his owners had to be disappointed with less than 10 points on the afternoon.
 
Without the threat of Adrian Peterson, Christian Ponder (195 total yards, 1 TD) had a tough go of it as the Falcons played the pass tight without much of a rush game to worry about.  Matt Ryan (265 total yards, 3 TDs) on the other hand had a big afternoon, throwing three touchdowns against one of the weaker secondaries in the league to get an important win to try to keep pace with the division leading New Orleans Saints.

The entire offense was Percy Harvin (8-95, 1 TD; 5 car., 11 yards) for the Vikings, as he did a good job of answering the bell as the sorely needed playmaker that Ponder needed.  Visanthe Shiancoe (3-24) had a few receptions as Ponder’s outlet receiver, but no other Vikings pass receiver did anything of note.

Roddy White (10-120, 1 TD) finally had the type of game that his owners have been waiting for, as Julio Jones (0-0) is obviously still not 100% back from his hamstring injury.  As long as Jones is ineffective, White stands to benefit.  Tony Gonzalez (9-69) had another solid outing and is pushing his way toward the top 3 in tight end scoring, especially in PPR leagues.  Harry Douglas (2-45, 1 TD) had a couple of big catches, and also will benefit from Jones being in and out of the lineup.

Toby Gerhart (17 car., 44 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 19 yards) got the start for the injured Peterson, and even though he got a touchdown, it was obvious that he was not a very threatening substitute for AP.  Gerhart is worth a play as a flex though if Peterson continues to miss time, as he’ll get the vast majority of carries.
Michael Turner (19 car., 60 yards; 1 rec., 4 yards) ended up with a pretty quiet afternoon overall, as the Vikings are much better defending the run than the pass, which was why the Falcons took to the air more often.  Turner is bound to have better days going forward.
Colt McCoy (189 total yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) looked fairly decent in parts of this game, but still was only able to complete less than 50% of his passes; at this point Browns fans have to be wondering if McCoy is really the long term answer for this team.  The Bengals nearly let the Browns steal this one, but Andy Dalton (293 total yards, 1 TD) made a nice throw on the last drive to get his team into chip-shot field goal range.

Rookie WRs Jordan Norwood (4-69, 1 TD) and Greg Little (5-57, 1 TD) took the lead in the receiving corps this week for the Browns, as both made some timely big plays to keep their team in the game.  Both players have high upside as the Browns will want to get extended looks at all their young players the rest of the season.

After missing last week’s game, AJ Green (3-110) came back in a big way, catching a huge 51 yard reception on the Bengals last drive to get them into easy field goal range to win the game.  Jermaine Gresham (5-68, 1 TD) had the most receptions for the Bengals, including a 22 yard touchdown reception.  Gresham is becoming a bigger part of the passing game, and if you include the TD pass that was taken away from his last week by the refs, he’s looking like the top option when Dalton goes to the endzone.

Surprisingly, Peyton Hillis (19 car., 65 yards; 2 rec., -4 yards) made his return to the Browns’ lineup and he didn’t look too bad considering he’s been out for much of the year with various injuries and illnesses.  If Hillis can round back into form, he could be a sneaky points scorer for the fantasy playoffs.
Cedric Benson (21 car., 106 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 24 yards) loves playing against the Browns, as he has three 100 yard rushing games on the year, and two of them have come against the Browns.  Benson now has two straight good games, and as the weather starts to turn cold the Bengals could lean more and more on Benson and less on the passing game.
Cam Newton (261 total yards, 1 TD) didn’t have a great game throwing the football, but scored another touchdown in the running game to make for an ok afternoon as the Colts are a good cure for road game woes.  Curtis Painter (226 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) kept the Colts in the game most of the way, but ended up with a couple of big interceptions to make sure the Colts stay perfect in the loss column… the Colts are the anti-Packers, a team that no matter what, always finds a way to lose.

With Newton not having a whole lot of passing yards, Steve Smith (3-68, 1 car., 9 yards) ended up with a lower stat line than normal, which was disappointing considering the Panthers got a gimme game against the Colts.  Brandon LaFell (5-46) got the start for the injured Legadu Naanee, and had a decent game for PPR leagues.  Greg Olsen (3-24) and Jeremy Shockey (3-41) continue to vulture off each other, as they would make for one good TE if the looks weren’t split between them.

Where have you been Reggie Wayne (5-122, 1 TD)?  Wayne finally broke out of his whole season doldrums to post the kind of game fantasy owners remember fondly from years past with Peyton Manning at the helm.  Don’t worry though; he’ll probably end up with his normal 2-20 stat line next week.  With Wayne going off, there wasn’t much left over for Pierre Garcon (3-34) or anyone else.

Jonathan Stewart (10 car., 70 yards; 3 rec., 12 yards) ended up with a healthy 7 yard per carry average, but it was Deangelo Williams (15 car., 69 yards, 2 TDs) who scored a surprising two touchdowns, including one from two yards away, which is normally Newton territory.  Stewart’s been the most consistent of the Panthers backs, but Williams did remind everyone why he’s one of the more talented RBs in the league this week.

Joseph Addai (7 car., 23 yards) got some playing time for the first time in month or so, but it was Donald Brown (14 car., 80 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 17 yards) that got the most carries, yards, and the lone rushing TD for the Colts.  Going forward, Brown may be the most valuable of the Colts RBs, but don’t go crazy for him, as this was against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league.
Matt Leinart (57 yards, 1 TD), aka Captain Checkdown, completed 10 passes for 57 yards for a solid checkdown-ish 5.7 yards per completion before getting whacked and breaking his collarbone.  For the second game in a row, the Texans lost their starting QB for the year, and now will turn to TJ Yates (67 total yards) or some free agent scrap heap pick up for the rest of the year.  Blaine Gabbert (137 total yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) had a rough outing and was benched for Luke McCown (71 total yards) who wasn’t a whole lot better.  The Jags passing game is a mess and should be avoided.

With not even 130 passing yards, the Texans receivers had a rough day and it’s bound to get rougher with a bad QB situation facing fantasy owners just in time for the fantasy playoffs.  Owen Daniels (4-31) led the way, and even though Andre Johnson (2-22) finally returned to the lineup after eight weeks, no one really noticed.

For the second straight game, Marcedes Lewis (4-47) was the best receiver for the Jags, but that wasn’t saying much considering the stat line.  Not other Jags receiver was noteworthy.

Arian Foster (22 car., 65 yards, 1 TD; 7 rec., 24 yards) ended up with a decent stat line considering the Jags loaded up the front to stop the run.  Foster will be facing these types of defenses the rest of the way with the sorry shape of the Texans passing game, so Foster owners should adjust expectations appropriately.
Maurice Jones-Drew (18 car., 99 yards; 4 rec., 67 yards) continues on as the only piece of the Jags offense that’s worth owning in fantasy, and might very well end up being the best fantasy back this season even though defenses every week load up to stop him on almost every play.
 
Ryan Fitzpatrick (298 total yards, 3 TDs) had a very nice bounce back game for fantasy owners; too bad it came after several stinkers to he was probably not active in about 90% of leagues.  Unfortunately for Fitz, he doesn’t play defense so his stat line wasn’t good enough for the Bills to break their now four game losing streak.  Mark Sanchez (185 total yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) overcame a tough game early on to throw four TD passes, even though he only threw for 180 yards.

Stevie Johnson (8-75, 1 TD) also had a nice effort after his one catch crap bomb last week at the Cowboys.  Johnson’s day could have been even bigger as he ended up dropping two very catchable passes that most likely would have been touchdowns.  Johnson should concentrate more on catching the ball and less on touchdown dances making fun of Plaxico Burress’s nightclub incident in which he shot himself in the thigh.  Brad Smith (4-77, 1 TD) actually had a very good game against his former team, while Scott Chandler (6-50) has started coming on in the last couple of games to be a valuable play in PPR TE mandatory leagues.  David Nelson (5-47, 1 TD) also had a good game, as the Bills passing game as a whole was able to rebound from several weeks of terrible play.
Dustin Keller (4-61, 2 TDs), Plaxico Burress (4-54, 1 TD), and Santonio Holmes (2-22, 1 TD; 2 car., 28 yards) all caught touchdown passes for the Jets, and all three are decent plays when the matchup dictates.  At this point, the Jets passing game should only be played against defenses that are poor versus the pass, and benched against the better secondaries in the league.

Fred Jackson was placed on IR earlier in the week, so now the Bills turn to CJ Spiller (19 car., 55 yards; 3 rec., 15 yards) for the bulk of the carries.  Spiller did a decent job against a tough defense, and might be worth a look in future matchups against defenses that are easier to run on, as the Bills are obviously going to give him as much a shot as possible.

Shonn Greene (13 car., 78 yards; 3 rec., 12 yards) got the bulk of the carries as usual, while Joe McKnight (4 car., 21 yards; 3 rec., 19 yards) played the complementary role with Ladainian Tomlinson out with an injury.  If you need around 70-80 yards rushing each week, then Greene’s your man.
 
Ugh… what a terrible game for quarterbacking.  John Skelton (132 total yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) somehow still got credited with a win, even though his passing was mostly atrocious the entire game against one of the softer secondaries in the league.  Sam Bradford (203 yards, 1 TD) wasn’t much better, but he avoided big mistakes but once again wasn’t able to make enough big plays to get a win.  The Rams problems do go deeper than Bradford, but he’s clearly regressed some from his promising rookie season.

When the QB (if you can call Skelton that) only throws for an anemic 114 yards, you’re not going to get a lot of production from the receivers.  Only Larry Fitzgerald (3-55) did anything, and even that paltry yardage some was barely noteworthy.

Once again, Brandon Lloyd (5-74, 1 TD) was the most valuable player in the Rams receiving corps; in fact, he’s the only one that can actually catch passes with any regularity.  Austin Pettis (3-45) did a decent job in the slot and seems to be getting better, while Lance Kendricks (3-37) was more noteworthy for his costly fumble than he was for any of his receptions.

Well, I guess Beanie Wells (27 car., 228 yards, 1 TD) just needed a game against the terrible Rams rush defense to cure his troublesome knee issues.  While it looks like Wells is back on track, just keep in mind this was the Rams we’re talking about, who lead the league in 200 yard rushing days allowed for RBs.
For the second week in a row, Steven Jackson (17 car., 64 yards; 3 rec., 14 yards) couldn’t get on track at home, and this matchup was against a soft rush defense.  Jackson has cooled down from his hot last few games, and the gimme matchups are drying up on the Rams schedule from here on in.
Josh Freeman (209 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) came off a pretty good outing against the Packers last week to lay a relative stinker against the Titans.  At this point the Bucs are pretty much out of the playoff race, and much of that is thanks to the struggles of Freeman this year.  The Titans are still hanging in, but this week they won in spite of Matt Hasselbeck (158 total yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs), and not because of him.  Hass has had a rough couple of games, but he was good enough to get the win this week.

Mike Williams (6-84, 1 TD) showed up in a big way and had another solid outing, as it looks like he’s finally getting back on the same page with Freeman.  Too bad it’s coming way too late for a lot his fantasy owners who were expecting big things from him this year.  Kellen Winslow (5-52) followed up last week’s monster game with a quieter one that was much more in line with his normal stats.

Damian Williams (3-33, 1 TD) ended up getting a touchdown on an otherwise quiet receiving day for the Titans, while Lavelle Hawkins (5-51) ended up leading the Titans in receptions out of the slot.  Nate Washington (1-12) had a terrible day after having a big afternoon last week, and probably wishes Jake Locker would get into the lineup, as he seemed to have good chemistry with him.

Legarrette Blount (20 car., 103 yards; 3 rec., 56 yards) had another big day running the football, as he seems to be finding his groove after missing a couple of games with a knee injury.  Blount could make for a good RB2 coming up in the fantasy playoffs, as he gets almost all the carries.

Chris Johnson (23 car., 190 yards; 1 rec., 3 yards) continues his recent trend of tearing up the bad rushing defenses, while laying eggs against the good ones.  Good thing for Johnson owners he was playing the Bucs, because he was absolutely electric against them.  As long as the matchup is good, CJ is a good play.
For better or worse, the Caleb Hanie (304 total yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) era began this week in Oakland, and predictably it was a rough first game.  Hopefully for the Bears faithful Hanie will find his groove and stop making critical errors, as the Bears are playing good enough defense to win games as long as Hanie doesn’t give the game away.  Carson Palmer (301 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) threw for over 300 yards, but otherwise was pretty unspectacular as he wasn’t able to get the Raiders into the endzone through the air.

Where’s Johnny Knox (4-145, 1 TD) been all season long?  Maybe he just needed Hanie throwing him the ball… ok, that’s a stretch.  Kellen Davis (2-25, 1 TD) got the other TD from Hanie, while Earl Bennett (1-5) sorely missed his buddy Jay Cutler.

Palmer probably would have had a better day passing the ball if Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford weren’t out injured.  Instead he was throwing to Chaz Schillens (4-58), Louis Murphy (2-53), and Darrius Heyward-Bey (4-42), who weren’t nearly as good as Moore and Ford have been as a tandem with Palmer.

The Bears fell into a timeshare for some reason, as Marion Barber (10 car., 63 yards) got almost as many carries as Matt Forte (12 car., 59 yards; 6 rec., 25 yards).  The Bears’ rushing attack seemed to be most effective earlier in the year going often to Forte, but now the Hanie era seems to include a lot of Barber in the game plan.

Michael Bush (24 car., 69 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 24 yards) didn’t find a lot of running room against the solid Bears defense, but he did get a second half touchdown to make for a decent fantasy day.  So far Bush has been money since McFadden went down with a foot sprain, and will probably get a good portion of the carries even when McFadden returns to the lineup.
 
While the Seahawks defense held on for most of the game, eventually Rex Grossman (313 total yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) was able to breakthrough and score enough points in the second half to get a big win on the road in a hostile environment.  Tavaris Jackson (144 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was mostly solid, but just couldn’t get much going through the air yardage wise, but was able throw a couple of TDs.

Santana Moss (4-29) returned to the lineup after sitting out the last few weeks with a hand injury, but Jabar Gaffney (5-72) and Fred Davis (4-58, 1 TD) still led the way for the Redskins.  Anthony Armstrong (1-50, 1 TD) only had one catch, but it went for a 50 yard score.

Sidney Rice (0-0) left the game in the first half with an injury, and Jackson just couldn’t get it going with any other receiver.  Doug Baldwin (5-60) had the best receiving day, and stands to benefit with bigger numbers should Rice miss any time.

Look at that!  When Mike Shanahan sticks to one RB, he produces.  Roy Helu (23 car., 108 yards, 1 TD; 7 rec., 54 yards) got the start and almost all the carries, and he produced over 160 total yards, including his first career 100 yard rushing day.  Helu could be a solid contributor down the stretch just in time for the fantasy playoffs.

Make that six weeks in a row that Marshawn Lynch (24 car., 111 yards; 1 rec., 20 yards, 1 TD) has had solid fantasy stats.  If you got Lynch late in the draft, he’s paying off now right when you need him most.  Lynch is a solid play the rest of the way, as he’s been a virtual lock to get 100 yards rushing or a score, or both in a game.
 
The San Diego Chargers were the latest team to be Teb-Owned this year, as the Broncos improve to an astounding 5-1 since Tim Tebow (210 total yards, 1 TD) took over the starting QB duties.  He still doesn’t win pretty, but he wins and that’s all that matters.  Philip Rivers (189 total yards, 1 TD) couldn’t get much going in this game, even though he threw for 36 passes on the day.  The Broncos have been playing good defense lately, but still much more was expected from Rivers.

Eric Decker (3-65, 1 TD) had a very good game considering how little Tebow throws the ball (9 completions).  Decker is always his first read, so if you have to start a Broncos receiver, Decker’s the one to go for.

As expected, Vincent Jackson (2-25) followed up a monster game last week with a disappearing act this week.  At least you have the cadence down, so Jackson should have a big game next week.  Antonio Gates (6-49, 1 TD) led the way for the Chargers, and got the lone TD for his team in the game.  Vincent Brown (3-50) had a couple of big plays, but otherwise was not very noteworthy in Malcom Floyd’s absence.

Willis McGahee (23 car., 117 yards) had a good day running the ball, as in this new Tebow offense he’s likely to end up with over 100 yards rushing as long as he plays and is healthy.  The touchdowns are harder to come by, however.

Ryan Mathews (22 car., 137 yards; 1 rec., 5 yards) returned full time to the lineup after being dinged up for a couple of games and had a big day in a losing effort.  Mike Tolbert (11 car., 44 yards; 3 rec., 19 yards) had a decent day as well, but obviously took a back seat to Mathews in this game.
 
After spotting the Eagles an early touchdown and field goal for a 10-0 lead, Tom Brady (389 total yards, 3 TDs) and the Patriots kicked it into high gear, scoring 21 unanswered points and never looking back in demolishing a desperate Eagles team that never really threatened past the first quarter.  Vince Young (440 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) had a career high 400 yards passing, but he just couldn’t get the Eagles into the endzone enough to matter.  With their playoff aspirations all but over at this point, the Eagles have to get up for a quick turnaround on Thursday night in Seattle… good luck with that.

Wes Welker (6-115, 2 TDs) got back on track a week after going only 2-22 to post one of his better games in a month and put that much more distance between he and the rest of the field in the race for #1 WR in fantasy football this year.  Deion Branch (6-125) also had a nice game as the two wideouts decimated the Eagles secondary.  Rob Gronkowski (4-59, 1 TD) scored yet another touchdown, but it was Aaron Hernandez’s (6-62) turn to get the most targets and catches amongst the tight ends.

Jason Avant (8-110, 1 TD) ended up having a big day, benefiting from the Eagles being down much of the game as well as Desean Jackson (4-73) being benched in the second half for botching a couple of would-be catches and killing drives.  The more Jackson underperformance, the less likely he is to get the payday he wants, making for a messy separation on the horizon between he and the Eagles.  Brent Celek (5-75) also had a nice game receiving, as did Riley Cooper (3-71).

Benjarvis Green-Ellis (14 car., 44 yards, 2 TDs) had a couple of early scores in the second quarter, but played sparingly in the second half with the game mostly put away, as a lot of playing time in the fourth quarter ended up going to the combo of Shane Vareen (7-18) and Shane Ridley, neither of which really did much with the opportunity.

With the Eagles falling behind early in the second quarter, Lesean McCoy (10 car., 31 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 30 yards) didn’t end up with a lot of rushing attempts, but he at least scored a touchdown to get back on his scoring production after going scoreless for the first time all year last week.
 
This was one of the worst Sunday Night games to watch this season, as neither team was able to generate much offense.  Not that we expected much out of the Chiefs mind you; but most fantasy owners expected a lot more out of Ben Roethlisberger (201 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Steelers’ passing game, which has been fairly hot this year.  Big Ben should rebound next week at home against the Bengals, but this game was just ugly and didn’t do any favors for fantasy owners.  Tyler Palko (167 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs) kept his record of not getting the Chiefs in the endzone perfect, as that’s two starts and two games without touchdowns.  Palko will most likely give way to newly acquired Kyle Orton next week, who should at least be able to lead a touchdown drive or two every game.

Antonio Brown (4-81) was the only Steelers receiver to have a decent game, taking advantage of constant double coverage the Chiefs paid to Mike Wallace (2-17).  This was by far the worst game of the year for Wallace, who has now gone eight weeks without a 100 yard receiving game; as long as teams continue to make a big effort to take away the deep play that the Steelers like so much, Wallace could have a rough go of it.

While Palko isn’t able to get the ball that far down the field or put much mustard on it, he at least knew enough to get the ball to Dwayne Bowe (7-69) as much as possible.  Bowe will likely do even better with Orton at the helm, as Orton knew how to get the ball to his best playmaker often while in Denver (see: Brandon Lloyd).  Steve Breaston (4-44) also had an ok game, and he too should benefit from having Orton under center.

Rashard Mendenhall (17 car., 57 yards; 2 rec., 10 yards) continued his trend of not doing much while on the road, and it appears with the poor blocking and only adequate running Mendy is destined to be the Steelers version of Cedric Benson, only a younger version.  Decent, sometimes above average, but hardly ever spectacular.

The Chiefs running game is officially a mess now, as Thomas Jones (13 car., 37 yards; 1 rec., 7 yards) got the most carries, while Dexter McCluster (9 car., 28 yards; 2 rec., 11 yards) and Jackie Battle (9 car., 20 yards) split what was left… which wasn’t much.  None of these guys should be in fantasy lineups.

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