- The Carolina defense did a number on Josh Freeman (321 yards, 5 INTs) and are likely to carry a few fantasy teams to victory this week.

- Matt Moore (161 yards, INT) was not impressive in his first start, but he only turned the ball over once, and that’s all the Panthers needed on Sunday.

- Jay Cutler (143 yards, TD) has a disappointing day given his nice matchup. Bears fans are just happy he got the win.

- The Denver defense seems to have its swagger back. Matt Cassel (84 yards, 2 INT) struggled, as did the entire KC offense.

- Tom Brady (352 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) didn’t seem too bothered by an injured finger, but he did throw the game-ending interception.

- Bruce Gradkowski (308 yards, 3 TD) had a HUGE day against the Steelers.

- Ben Roethlisberger (278 yards, 2 TD, INT) bounced back from a Week 12 absence with a big day against a pretty good Raider secondary.

- It wasn’t exactly pretty, but Drew Brees (419 yards, 2 TD, INT) posted another nice fantasy day.

- Jason Campbell (367 yards, 3 TD, INT) had a big day against New Orleans, but threw a costly interception in overtime that led to the Saints’ game-winning field goal.

- Alex Smith (310 yards, 2 TD) continues to play well down the stretch. With Arizona in Week 14 and Detroit in Week 16, he is definitely startable in the fantasy playoffs.

- Tony Romo (392 yards, 3 TD) had a big day in the Cowboys’ loss against the Giants.

- Jerious Norwood (13 touches, 42 yards) and Jason Snelling (12 touches, 52 yards) basically split the work with Michael Turner out.

- LeSean McCoy (9 touches, 26 yards) was a big disappointment given his good matchup with the Falcons defense.

- Jonathan Stewart (26 carries, 120 yards, TD) was strong filling in for the injured DeAngelo Williams.

- Kevin Smith (18 touches, 104 yards, TD) ended up having a nice day against a good Bengals defense.

- Cedric Benson (36 carries, 110) yards is the clear RB1 in Cincy. Larry Johnson (2 carries, 4 yards) was not involved in the offense.

- Earth to Maurice Jones-Drew (24 carries, 76 yards): Where are you?

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- Roddy White (9-104-1) caught his TD on a deflected pass intended for Tony Gonzalez.

- Steve Smith 1.0 (3-78) was really quiet until he caught a 66-yard bomb in the fourth quarter. Generally speaking, he’s not a great play right now.

- Antonio Bryant (5-116) looks like he’s back. He made a couple of very nice catches this week.

- Earl Bennett (2-74-1) had a nice game and could be a nice pickup if Devin Hester’s (1-48) injury keeps him out.

- Donnie Avery (3-30, 1 rush for 15 yards) should have done more with a nice matchup. He’s back to being a shaky start after a nice run of games.

- Chad Ochocinco (9-137-1) got back on track. The Lions will do that for a guy.

- It was Pierre Garcon (6-136), not Reggie Wayne (4-48), who led the Colts in receiving.

- Mike Sims-Walker (1-12) had a miserable day against the Texans. He only has 5-58 over the last two weeks.

- Chris Chambers (2-11) came into Week 13 very hot (17-319-3 over his last four games), but Champ Bailey and Co. shut him down.

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- One word for Greg Olsen (2-1): Ugh.

- Neither Detroit TE (Will Heller, Casey Fitzsimmons) did much in place of Brandon Pettigrew.

- Dallas Clark (3-25) had a bad, bad day by his standards.

- Bo Scaife (5-56-1) has caught 14 passes over the last three weeks and is starter-quality in PPR leagues.

- Anthony Fasano (5-67) has 10-141 over the last two weeks and should be a much bigger part of the offense down the stretch. He’s worth a look in PPR leagues and is always dangerous around the goal line.

- Zach Miller (4-43) should be back on rosters now that he actually has a QB who can deliver the ball somewhat accurately. He has 14 catches over the last three weeks.

- Fred Davis (5-53-1) has 15 receptions in the last four weeks and seems to be a favorite target of Jason Cambpell.

- Antonio Gates (8-167) has been very hot of late. He now has 30 catches in the last five games.

- Jason Witten (14-156) finally had a huge day. He has been steady this season, but this is the first time that he has caught more than nine passes and only the second time that he broke 100 yards receiving.

Be sure to check back in a bit for the WR, RB and QB positions.

Here are five quick-hit observations from the Giants’ 31-24 huge win over the Cowboys in Week 13.

1. Can’t blame this one on Romo.
Normally when the Cowboys lose, the attention immediately shifts to how well Tony Romo has played. But considering the man completed 41-of-55 passes for 392 yards and three touchdowns, nobody can pin this loss on Romo. The Cowboys’ defense and running game let them down tonight.

2. Somebody found where Brandon Jacobs was hiding.
For much of this season, Brandon Jacobs has been a ghost. But he emerged today by producing a huge 74-yard touchdown reception in which he actually outran the entire Dallas secondary to the end zone. He only finished with 39 rushing yards on 13 carries, but he did score his fourth rushing touchdown of the year and the key was that he contributed period. Along with Domenik Hixon’s wild 79-yard punt return, Jacobs’ touchdown reception keyed the Giants’ victory.

3. What the hell has gotten into Roy Williams?
After hauling in six passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, Roy Williams has now reached pay dirt five times in the last six games. Granted, he has benefited from more teams paying attention to Miles Austin (who had another big day today, catching 10 passes for 104 yards and a TD), but he nonetheless is starting to produce. Given his lack of explosion and playmaking ability, he’ll never be worth the compensation that Dallas gave up to acquire him, but at least he’s not as useless as he was at the start of the season.

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Here are five quick-hit observations from the Dolphins’ 22-21 upset over the Patriots in Week 13.

1. Miami won this game in the second half.
Good teams win games in the second half and while Miami’s record doesn’t necessarily show that they’re a good team, they are. The Dolphins held the Patriots to only seven points in the last two quarters, which came on New England’s first offensive possession of the second half. The Dolphins stone-walled the Pats from that point forward and rookie Vontae Davis’ pick in the end zone off Tom Brady gave Miami a chance to complete the rally.

2. What finger injury?
Before the game, commentators made a big deal out of Brady’s finger injury, but he played exceptionally well in completing 19-of-29 pass attempts for 352 yards and two touchdowns. He threw for more yards than Chad Henne, yet attempted 23 fewer passes. Of course, you can’t talk about Brady’s day without mentioning the interception that he threw to Davis that proved to be the turning point in the game. Davis made a great play, but it was a poorly thrown ball.

3. Henne continues to step up.
Even though Brady threw for more, Henne still passed for 335 yards today. He completed 29-of-52 passes and tossed two touchdowns, including one to Brian Hartline with under four minutes remaining. The 335 passing yards was a career high for Henne, who routinely picked on rookie Darius Butler and the rest of the inexperienced New England secondary. He looks more and more comfortable with each passing week.

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Here are five quick-hit observations for the Colts’ 27-17 victory over AFC South rival Tennessee.

1. The Titans had their opportunities.
Several times throughout the game, the Titans were knocking on the door of a score and they just couldn’t convert. Twice in the second half Tennessee drove inside the red zone and came away zero points, with one of those missed opportunities coming at the goal line. They scored 10 points on those two drives then they would have matched the Colts step for step…

2. The Colts continue to make plays in crunch time.
…that said, the Colts deserve credit for shutting the Titans down in those situations. Offensively, Peyton Manning didn’t have his best game statistically, but he played a near flawless game and continues to make plays when Indianapolis is knocking on the door of points.

3. The Colts defense continues to produce.
Not only did the Colts’ defense come up huge by turning the Titans away twice in the red zone, but they also harassed Young throughout the day even though they only sacked him once. Indianapolis doesn’t have elite playmakers on that side of the ball outside of Dwight Freeney, but they play fast and are tough to beat at home. That’s why it’s important for the Colts to lock up home field advantage. What a game by Clint Session (13 tackles) today.

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Here are five quick-hit observations for the Eagles’ 34-7 win over the depleted Falcons in Week 13.

1. God hates the Falcons and their fans.
The above sentence might read a little harsh, but there’s just no other explanation for when Michael Vick scores his first two touchdowns of the season in Atlanta against his old team. Shame on those Falcon fans for not raining down a heavy layer of boos on that turd after he went to the sidelines with a fat smile on his face following his two touchdowns. The guy single-handily sends the Falcons franchise into the depths of hell and then scores two touchdowns in the house he burned down. The only bigger injustice this season was when Brett Favre went to Lambeau and beat the Packers.

2. Eagles get a much-needed free win.
The only team that was more banged up offensively than the Eagles this week were the Falcons, who were without Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and two starting offensive linemen. Atlanta actually moved the ball decently today, but Chris Redman had zero time to throw the ball and the running game was non-existent. Considering they were without Brian Westbrook and DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia was incredibly fortunate to be in the middle of playoff contention and play a road game against the Falcons’ JV squad.

3. Leonard Weaver, aka “The Ultimate Weapon.”
The Eagles’ best offensive player today wasn’t Donovan McNabb, LeSean McCoy or even rookie Jeremy Maclin (who had a solid outing). It was actually Leonard Weaver, who made countless big plays to keep drives alive and put the Eagles in scoring position. His final stats might not show it, but Weaver came up huge today for Philly and made one of the best grabs of the week on a 59-yard reception in the first half.

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