Chris Johnson rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries on Sunday, while also adding nine receptions for 100 yards to help the Titans crush the Bills, 41-17.

Johnson turned simple screen and dump off passes into highlight reel plays and also gained 32 yards on an option pitch. Since Vince Young re-entered Tennessee’s starting lineup, Jeff Fisher’s coaching staff has done a nice job of finding creative ways to get Johnson the ball. He’s racked up 1,091 rushing yards on the season, which is tops in the NFL.

While Johnson was doing everything to help his team win, Terrell Owens was being a distraction to his. He did catch an eye-popping three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, but he also got into a screaming match with one of his coaches and apparently was slapping people high-fives to the crowd behind the Bills’ bench near the end of the game. What he was celebrating about and whom he was celebrating with are both unknown, although he did go to college in Tennessee so maybe he saw one of his old roommates.

Trent Edwards misfired on several passes to T.O. throughout the game and therefore Owens must have felt that because of that, he didn’t have to pursue Tennessee defenders on two separate interceptions in the second half. One of the interceptions was T.O.’s fault too, as he let the ball slip through his stone-hands.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported after the game that Owens might be trying to get cut. Hopefully the Bills keep him and make him rot in Buffalo for the rest of the season.

During the Giants’ five-game winning streak at the start of the season, Eli Manning didn’t have a QB rating lower than 93.5. In the Giants’ current three-game losing streak, Manning hasn’t had a QB rating higher than 61.0, which includes his 55.7 mark in New York’s embarrassing 40-17 loss to the Eagles in Week 8.

To say that Manning hasn’t been good lately would be an understatement. In the loss to Philadelphia, he was 20-of-39 for 222 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. And given how inaccurate he was most of the day, he could have been intercepted at least two more times.

In his last three games, Manning has thrown six interceptions to just three touchdowns. The mistakes he’s made aren’t typical of a veteran quarterback that has a Super Bowl ring – they’re more akin to a first year starter with little to no experience. He looks like a player with zero confidence and he doesn’t appear to trust his own decision-making.

While the Giants have more issues than just Eli (the secondary has also played poorly and the team continues to struggle with injuries), they have to be concerned with his play. New York has needed him to put the team on his shoulders and carry them to victories and he hasn’t. And based on the way he’s played the past three weeks, there’s serious doubt he’ll be able to break the Giants out of their funk without a lot of help from his defense and running game.

That said, it’s only been three games and while he has looked horrible in those three outing, he looked great in the first five games of the season. The problem is that the Cowboys were the only team with a winning record that the Giants have beaten this year. Eli’s impressive numbers have come against teams like the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders, while he has struggled against tough opponents in the Saints, Cardinals and Eagles, respectively.

With David Carr listed on the depth chart behind Manning, the Giants won’t consider a QB change. But the entire team better start picking up their play before the season starts to slip away from them, and it all starts with Eli.

In one of the wildest games of the season, the Saints beat the Dolphins 46-34 on Sunday as Drew Brees completed 22-of-38 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for two scores as New Orleans outscored Miami 43-10 starting late in the second quarter.

The final score would suggest otherwise, but both defenses actually played well until the fourth quarter. Miami repeatedly harassed Brees while racking up five sacks and forcing three interceptions and two fumbles. At one point, the Dolphins led 24-3 but Sean Payton never abandoned the run and Brees slowly started to strike for big plays. He repeatedly attacked the middle of the field while finding Jeremy Shockey (four catches, 105 yards) for a couple of big plays in the second half.

For the third time this season, Darren Sharper intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. He now has five interceptions on the year and is making a case for being the best offseason acquisition in the NFL, which is amazing considering how several teams thought he was done at 33 years old.

The Dolphins learned a lot about themselves today. While they blew a 21-point second quarter lead, they are the only team that has put the Saints on their heels this season. They may have given the rest of the league a blueprint on how to slow the Saints down. (Or at least, slow the Saints down for two quarters.)

It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t find a way to pull out the win, but by no means are the Dolphins out of contention at 2-4. Chad Henne made a couple of mistakes today, but the youngster will learn and continue to develop.

Imagine if the Cowboys played with as much confidence, emotion and focus as they did Sunday against the Falcons. Maybe they’d actually cash in on some of their potential and make the playoffs.

Fresh off its bye, Dallas smacked Atlanta 37-21 in Week 7, as Tony Romo completed 21 of 29 pass attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Miles Austin had another huge day, hauling in six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including scores of 59 and 22 yards.

Defensively, the Cowboys looked like they were playing with a chip on their shoulder. Matt Ryan hasn’t been touched all season, yet Dallas consistently crashed the pocket and racked up four sacks. They also intercepted Ryan twice and forced two fumbles, although one was recovered by Atlanta.

The Cowboys need to find a way to play with this kind of fire every week. They made a statement today against a good opponent, but it means nothing if they come out next Sunday and give a lackluster effort. When they play at a high level, they’re tough to beat. But they’ve had issues playing consistently week in and week out, so the jury is still out on whether or not they can do it after this win.

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The 49ers didn’t get a win in Houston on Sunday, but they may have found their new quarterback in a familiar face.

It appears that the stagnant play of Shaun Hill is finally over, as former first overall pick Alex Smith started the second half of the Niners’ 24-21 loss to the Texans in Week 7. Hill was just 6-of-11 passing for 45 yards in the first half and a very Shaun Hill-like 6.1 YPA. Smith came in and immediately sparked San Fran’s offense, marching them down the field and capping the drive off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis. Smith then found Davis twice in the fourth quarter, including on a 23-yard score that cut the Texans’ lead down to 24-21 with less four minutes remaining.

The 49ers want to be a team that dominates opponents on the ground, which is fine. But with Hill, they couldn’t move the ball vertically through the air and teams like the Falcons and Texans took advantage of that the past three weeks. At some point, Mike Singletary and Jimmy Raye had to realize that their offensive approach wasn’t going to work as long as Hill was under center.

Smith might not have won the starting job in preseason, but he took it today. Will he be the key to getting the Niners to the playoffs? Maybe not, but at least he can complete passes further than 6.1 yards. It’s also nice to see that he developed a great connection with Davis, another one of San Fran’s former top 10 picks.

For the Texans, this was a nice win because they haven’t been very consistent this season. They’ve now won back-to-back games for the first time this year and their defense is starting to play better. Matt Schaub (20 for 30, 264 yards, 2 TDs) was excellent once again and tight end Owen Daniels (7 receptions, 123 yards, 1 TD) was damn near unstoppable today.

If Houston can continue to play well defensively, the Texans will make a playoff push in the second half.

- Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson said earlier this week that he would kiss the Dallas star if/when he scores a touchdown against the Cowboys on Sunday. But Dallas held him to only 43 yards on three catches in their 31-22 win over the Bengals, so the only kiss he got to plant was on head coach Marvin Lewis’s face. You know that kid at a birthday party who does a couple of funny things, gets people’s attention, but then eventually becomes annoying? That’s where I’m at right now with Ocho Cinco.

- After getting destroyed by the Jets last Sunday, the Cardinals had one hell of a bounce back this week, beating the previously undefeated Bills 41-17. But ‘Zona has got to do something about its secondary. They gave up 56 points and allowed Brett Favre to throw six touchdown passes last week, and then proceeded to allow J.P. Losman to complete 15 of 21 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown today. That’s brutal. Losman hasn’t played in over a year and even when he did he was downright atrocious in most of his games. When J.P. Losman shreds you through the air, something’s up.

- Seven carries, two yards. That’s what Carolina held Chiefs’ RB Larry Johnson to in its 34-0 win Sunday. This coming just one week after LJ rushed for nearly 200 yards against Denver. Rightfully so, everyone talks about the Vikings’ run defense being so good, but take a look at what the Panthers have done against some of the best running backs the past couple of weeks: LaDainian Tomlinson – 97 yards. Adrian Peterson – 77 yards. Michael Turner – 56 yards. Larry Johnson – 2 yards. Wow.

- Out of their three victories this season, the Broncos can be most proud of their 16-13 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. They beat a quality opponent (unlike their Week 1 win over the Raiders), they didn’t need a controversial call to go in their favor (unlike their Week 2 win over the Chargers) and for the first time all year, they didn’t surrender 30-plus points defensively.

- So…who’s the real J.T. O’Sullivan? The one that threw for over 300 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in a win over Seattle or the one that played Sunday and threw three picks against New England? (Although in O’Sullivan’s defense, he did throw three touchdowns in the Niners’ 30-21 loss to the Pats, too.)

- Did Laurence Maroney kick Bill Belichick’s cat one time at a team barbecue or something one time? For the life of me I can’t figure out why Sammy Morris continues to get more carries than Maroney.

- Gutsy, gutsy performance by Big Ben on Sunday night. The Jags couldn’t get any pressure on him early on, but when they started to get to him in second half, he hung in tough and delivered a huge win the Steelers. Just when you think Pittsburgh is going to crash with so many injuries in the backfield and along the offensive line, they step up and play a complete game like they did in Week 5. The final score wasn’t a good indicator of how much the Steelers actually dominated the Jaguars.

Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun writes that the Ravens were screwed in Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Titans after Terrell Suggs was called for a personal foul penalty late in the game.

It has been my policy for a long, long time — long before I became a blowhard blogger — to avoid any discussion of officiating that might appear partisan unless the situation is so impactful that it cannot be left out of any meaningful conversation about the game.

I think the personal foul call on Terrell Suggs late in today’s game rises well beyond that standard. Suggs was rushing Kerry Collins and was batting at the ball when his right arm came down on Collins shoulder pad. The supposed helmet contact that basically turned the game around was ridiculously incidental and should never have been called.

“I was nowhere near his head,” Suggs said afterward. “We just hit arms. I’m guilty of playing physical football. They said I hit him in the head. I wasn’t anywhere near his head.”

Perhaps the strangest thing about the call was the revelation after the play that the officials had called a false start on the Titans, but it was outweighed by the personal foul because the NFL’s 5-15 rule. I understand the rule and agree with it. In cases where there is a minor penalty and a major personal foul, the personal foul is penalized instead of offset. In this case, however, I’m trying to figure out why the play continued long enough for the second foul to be called.

There was no flag visible at the beginning of the play and no attempt by the officials to stop the play. Frankly, I’m surprised they even mentioned it after the play, since the result would have been the same without it. It simply made them look even more inept.

That’s two weeks in a row that personal foul penalties played a huge role in Raven losses. Good teams overcome those calls and still find ways to win, but momentum swings can have such a damning effect for teams, especially young ones like Baltimore.

Small change of subject – how clutch is Tennessee’s defense? They remind me a little of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense, not necessarily for how dominant they are, but how they always seem to come up with the big play at the end of the game. And just like those ’00 Ravens, the Titans’ D isn’t getting a ton of help from the offense.

It’s amazing when teams don’t do the little things and how it can affect an entire season. Take the Chicago Bears for example, who could easily be 5-0 right now after destroying the Detroit Lions 34-7 at Ford Field on Sunday.

The Bears are 3-2 on the season, but they had double-digit leads in the fourth quarters of each of their two losses. And had Kyle Orton and the offense managed just one first down late in the game against the Panthers and Bucs, we would be discussing how Chicago stacks up to the Giants and Cowboys as the best in the NFC.

One of the problems the Bears have had this year is that they get too conservative in the second half of games. Orton and the offense have come out firing in the first half of every game this year, only to fall back on the run in the second half. In theory, the game plan is solid. Build a lead, control the game on the ground and rely on your defense and special teams to win. But the problem that Chicago has had is that once one thing goes wrong, that game plan is shot to hell. The offense turns the ball over, then all of a sudden they can’t pick up first downs and then the defense tires out. See the Bears’ losses to Carolina and Tampa this year as proof to what I’m referring to.

Chicago did a great job today not letting up in the second half. They were still throwing late into the fourth quarter despite having a comfortable 24-point lead. Orton (24 of 34, 334 yards, 2 TDs) is better than what most make him out to be and he does have a bit of a gunslinger mentality. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner needs to be as aggressive as he was today with his play calling, because the Bears are a much better team when is.

The Dallas Cowboys might be the most talented team in the NFC East, but the New York Giants are clearly still the team to beat. And it’s amazing the way the G-Men continue to fly under the radar in the NFL.

The Giants crushed the Seahawks on Sunday. By crushed, I mean destroyed, hammered and routed. And it wasn’t flashy, either. They ran Brandon Jacobs down the Seahawks’ throat, played outstanding defense and Eli Manning took care of the football. The end result was a 44-6 drubbing of Seattle at the Meadowlands – without WR Plaxico Burress, by the way. (Nice fill-in job Domenik Hixon.)

Entering the season, the Giants were easy targets for a team that could potentially fall apart this year. Michael Strahan retired, Jeremy Shockey was traded, Burress was bitching about his contract and Osi Umenyiora didn’t even take one snap before his season ended due to a knee injury. But after five weeks, there might not be a more sound football team in the league, save for maybe the Tennessee Titans.

Here’s a revelation – Aaron Rodgers isn’t Brett Favre. He’ll never be. And he doesn’t deserve the constant comparisons that now come with being the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback.

When Rodgers hurt his shoulder last week in a loss to the Buccaneers, it was all the media could do to ask him about Favre’s record for consecutive starts and whether or not he felt pressure to play. Rodgers responded by saying he doesn’t need any motivation to play. If he could, he would. And he did.

Rodgers was clearly in pain during Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Falcons, but he gutted it out and finished with over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns. And while his late interception was a killer, he didn’t hurt his team by playing injured. He deserves credit for his toughness (especially when one of the knocks on him is his durability, or lack thereof) and the respect not to be compared to Favre in every situation.