- Jake Delhomme (195 yards, 2 TD) was surprisingly solid, tossing two TD to Steve Smith in the first half. When the Panthers have their running game going, it takes the pressure off their QB.

- Matthew Stafford (224 yards, TD) should be pretty good down the stretch since the Lions will be playing from behind most weeks.

- Surprisingly, David Garrard (221 yards, TD, rush TD) had a pretty nice day against a good Jets pass defense.

- Vince Young (210 yards, TD, INT) continues to play well. He made several nice throws and also had 29 yards rushing.

- Philip Rivers (231 yards, 2 TD) continues to play well, even against good defenses like the Eagles’.

- Donovan McNabb (450 yards, 2 TD, INT) threw the ball 55 times. The Eagles ran the ball 13 times. Now that’s some balance.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

- Michael Turner (9 carries, 111 yards) had a great first half, but left the game with what was being described as a high ankle sprain. If that’s the case, he’ll be out a while and Jason Snelling (21 touches, 93 yards, TD) will fill in for the time being.

- Ronnie Brown (14 touches, 98 yards, TD) left the game with an ankle injury. Ricky Williams (22 touches, 107 yards) will get the lion’s share of the carries if Brown misses any time.

- Predictably, Adrian Peterson (18 carries, 133 yards, 2 TD) had a great day against Detroit.

- Maurice Jones-Drew (26 touches, 145 yards, TD) would have had another TD, but he took a knee on the two-yard line in order to set up a game-winning field goal for his team. It was a smart play, but frustrating for his fantasy owners.

- Cedric Benson (7 carries, 22 yards) left the game with a hip injury. Bernard Scott (14 touches, 54 yards) took over.

- Rashard Mendenhall (13 carries, 36 yards) struggled against a pretty good Bengals rush defense.

- Reggie Bush (8 touches, 98 yards, 2 TD) had a big game against the Saints. Pierre Thomas (12 touches, 38 yards) had a quiet day.

- Steven Jackson (26 carries, 131 yards, TD) had a good day running the ball, but also went for 9-45 in the passing game.

- Chris Johnson (35 touches, 232 yards, 2 TD) gashed the Bills defense in the running and passing games. The Titans are going to wear him out at this rate.

- Marshawn Lynch (13 touches, 55 yards) continues to struggle. The Bills just can’t get their running game going and Fred Jackson (11 touches, 71 yards, pass TD) is stealing touches.

- After some smokescreens out of Kansas City, it was Jamaal Charles (22 touches, 117 yards, TD) who got the lion’s share of the carries against Oakland. Charles probably locked up the job with a 44-yard TD run in the second quarter.

- Darren McFadden (4 carries, 11 yards) was barely involved against the Chiefs. Michael Bush (14 carries, 119 yards) broke a 60-yard run and Justin Fargas (10 carries, 41 yards, TD) finished off the drive with a 1-yard TD run.

- Tim Hightower (15 touches, 58 yards) continues to start, but Beanie Wells (18 touches, 117 yards, 2 TD) had the far better fantasy line. The Cards have some nice matchups down the stretch and if they’re able to get a lead, they will use Wells more. If they trail, Hightower will be in for pass blocking and receiving out of the backfield.

- With Julius Jones (2 carries, 10 yards) out with a broken rib, Justin Forsett (22 touches, 149 yard, TD) took over. There was some bleeding in Jones’s young, so it is unlikely that he’s going to play in the near future. Forsett is worth a pickup.

- LaDainian Tomlinson (24 carries, 96 yards, 2 TD) looked good on Sunday and his line even opened up a few holes for him to run through.

Check back in a few minutes for the QB position.

- Steve Smith (4-34-2) was injured on his second TD catch and wasn’t targeted at all in the second half.

- Maurice Stovall (4-47-1) has caught seven passes for 93 yards and a TD in the last two weeks.

- Sidney Rice (7-201) absolutely destroyed the Lions.

- Jerricho Cotchery (6-68-1) looked good. It wasn’t clear what the pecking order would be with Braylon Edwards (3-79), but Cotch got 11 targets while Edwards had six.

- Whenever the Steelers struggle to run the ball, as they did Sunday against the Benglas, Santonio Holmes (7-88) seems to have a good game.

- Chad Ochocinco (2-29) should stop all the antics and get back to catching passes.

- Donnie Avery (4-67-2) looks like he’s healthy and has a great schedule down the stretch. Rookie Brandon Gibson (7-93) made his presence felt as well.

- Robert Meachem (1-27-1) only had one catch, but he made it count for a TD. He also had a 41-yard rush. Marques Colston (2-17) had a very quiet game in a great matchup.

- Lee Evans (4-50-2) and Terrell Owens (3-85) both had nice fantasy days against a Titans pass defense that has played better in the last few weeks.

- It was a monster day for T.J. Houshmandzadeh (9-165), but where was Nate Burleson (0-0)? He was targeted five times but didn’t register a single catch. Burleson wasted a great matchup.

- Steve Breaston (4-79-1) proved that the Arizona passing game can support three receivers, especially when it has a great matchup like it did against the Seahawks.

- Role reversal for the Cowboys – Miles Austin (4-20) was held down while Roy Williams (5-105-1) had a big fantasy day.

- Vincent Jackson (1-10) was held to fewer than four catches for the first time all season. Coming into the game, he was one of the hottest wideouts in the league averaging 5.5-87-1.3 in the last four games.

Check back in a few minutes for the RB and QB positions.

- Dusin Keller (6-58) seems to be coming on. He has 14 catches for 134 yards and a TD in the last two games.

- Zach Miller (1-9) continues to have a very up and down fantasy season.

- Brent Celek (6-47-1) was quiet for most of the game but exploded late as the Eagles entered catch up mode.

Check back in a few minutes for the WR, RB and QB positions.

Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from Raj, who is wondering if he should trade Brett Favre away for Brandon Marshall.

“I have been offered a trade for Brett Favre. He is giving me Brandon Marshall for Brett Favre. I already own Tom Brady. If I take this trade, then I will have no back-up QB. Favre is on-fire this year….not sure what to do. It could hurt me in the finals to, especially If I end up playing him.”

My response: Raj — My first instinct is to say hell yes. Brady should be fine for the remainder of the year. Who’s available on the waiver wire at QB? I’m sure we can find someone that has a decent schedule during the fantasy playoffs.

After the bye weeks have passed, it’s usually wise to start looking to unload your depth at one position to shore up another. Raj didn’t break down his roster in his question, but from a value standpoint a Favre-for-Marshall deal favors the owner getting Marshall. This is due to the relative depth at QB compared to the WR position. Since Raj already has Brady, he is set at QB, so he might as well add a playmaker at WR. There are probably a few QBs on his waiver wire that could act as serviceable backups to Brady if he were to go down before the fantasy playoffs.

Besides, this 40-year-old version of Favre is an injury risk. It’s not like he’s guaranteed to be playing at a high level late in the season.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Every week, I will highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

Brett Favre is coming off a bye week and is facing Detroit’s 31st-ranked pass defense at home. This is not a good combination for the Lions, but it’s an excellent situation for his fantasy owners…The Bears are really struggling against the pass, so Alex Smith should be able to post a nice fantasy line on Thursday night. He has averaged 230 pass yards and 2.0 TD per game since taking over in Week 7…Matt Hasselbeck looks like a good start against the Cards’ 29th-ranked pass defense…Mark Sanchez is startable this week against the Jags, who are ranked 26th against the pass. Jacksonville is giving up an average of 242 yards and 1.9 TD through the air this season.

Ray Rice should be in all fantasy lineups given his recent production and the Browns’ inability to stop the run…Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams should have a nice day against the Bucs, who have given up 163 rushing yards per game thus far this season…Pierre Thomas has a great matchup against the Rams, who have yielded an average of 135 yards and 1.5 TD on the ground this year. Thomas’s fine play has earned him extra touches, and he now looks like the best play in the New Orleans backfield…If Brian Westbrook doesn’t play, LeSean McCoy looks like a nice start against the Chargers, who are 26th in the league against the rush. If Westy does play, he’s a good start, though there’s a chance that they really limit his workload to keep him healthy…If you’re desperate, Jamaal Charles has an opportunity to rack up some yardage against the Raiders’ 29th ranked rush defense…

Chad Ochocinco looks to be a nice start against a Steelers pass defense that has struggled of late stopping opposing WRs…Miles Austin should continue to be a good start. The Packers can’t pressure the QB, so Tony Romo should have plenty of time to find his open receivers…Michael Crabtree had a quiet day against the Titans, but he has another nice matchup this week with a struggling Bears pass defense…The Titans have been playing better pass defense the last couple of weeks, but Terrell Owens and Lee Evans have a chance to break out against a secondary that has struggled for most of the season. Don’t bench another good option, but feel free to use these guys if you are looking for someone to start.

He’s still startable in a pinch, but Matt Ryan hasn’t been great the last couple of weeks and he has a tough matchup with a pretty stingy Panthers pass defense…Kyle Orton struggled against the Steelers on Monday night and in Week 10 he faces the Redskins’ top-ranked pass defense…Leave David Garrard on the bench. He faces a Jets defense that has only allowed five pass TD all year…Jason Campbell faces the Broncos, who are 7th-ranked against the pass, allowing just 183 yards and 0.9 pass TD per game. This is not a recipe for success.

Kevin Smith will have a chance to catch some passes, but I wouldn’t expect him to do much on the ground against the vaunted Vikings rush defense…Cedric Benson has had success against good rush defenses this year, and he faces another test this week against the Steelers. I’d still start him, but proceed with caution…Ladell Betts will take over in the Washington backfield, but the Broncos are pretty good against the run and just took a thumping against the Steelers on national television…Stay away from the Tampa Bay running game of Carnell Williams and Derrick Ward. The Dolphins are a tough matchup and the Bucs don’t have a clear #1 back…Don’t expect much out of LaDainian Tomlinson (vs. PHI) and Marion Barber (@ GB). The Eagles and Packers have been good against the rush of late.

Stay away from all of the Tennessee receivers this week. A bad matchup with Buffalo coupled with a more conservative aerial attack with Vince Young under center makes Justin Gage, Nate Washington and Kenny Britt poor plays…Santana Moss has been pretty hit or miss (mostly miss) this year, and a game against an angry and talented Broncos secondary isn’t going to help…Just a warning — Brandon Marshall, Roddy White, DeSean Jackson, Mike Sims-Walker, Dwayne Bowe, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes all have bad matchups this week. They’re still startable, but ratchet down your expectations this week.

Photos from fOTOGLIF

Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…

#1 Seahawks: 20 PA (0) + 2 SK + 5 INT + RET TD = 13 fantasy points
#2 Falcons: 17 PA (2) + 5 SK + 1 INT + RET TD = 14 fp
#3 49ers: 34 PA (0) + 1 SK = 1 fp

Seattle and Atlanta both played well against bad competition (Detroit and Washington, respectively). Clearly, the 49ers were a disappointment. I was a little worried about this matchup because Tennessee looked pretty good the previous week with Vince Young under center, and they really have the running game going now. San Francisco’s defense isn’t as good as we thought it was, but that doesn’t mean we’ll abandon it.

For the season, my #1 pick is averaging 10.7 fantasy points per game, my #2 pick is averaging 9.9 fp and my #3 pick is averaging 6.9 fp. Combined, DTBWW is averaging 9.1 fppg, which equates to about 82 points, or DT4 numbers. Not bad.

Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Pick #1: Miami Dolphins (vs. TB)
Josh Freeman looked pretty good last week against the Packers, but he’s still a rookie and he has to face a capable defense on the road. Miami has been pretty spotty defensively, but they have proven they can post a nice fantasy day when given a good matchup.

Pick #2: Tennessee Titans (vs. BUF)
Boy, I didn’t think that I’d be using the Titans in DTBWW anytime soon, but after a couple of double digit performances the last two weeks and a tasty matchup at home against a struggling Bills team, I’ve changed my tune.

Pick #3: Arizona Cardinals (vs. SEA)
The Cards’ defense has been a little spotty at times, but the Seahawks are a nice matchup. Arizona has a chance to jump out on Seattle, and that will put Matt Hasselbeck in a tough spot.

Bonus pick: Atlanta (@ CAR). I’m a little worried about the Carolina running game, but the Falcons should be able to build a lead. The more Jake Delhomme pass attempts, the better.