The Steelers did hold their own in this shootout, with Ben Roethlisberger overcoming a sore thumb to throw for 386 yards and three touchdowns. However, unlike the previous meetings of the teams, Pittsburgh relied far too heavily on Big Ben's passing, and the result was three interceptions. The Steelers ended up running 28 times, compared with the 47 times they ran in the October game, which did plenty to keep Palmer on the sidelines. In scoring his first career victory against the Steelers, Palmer deserves plenty of recognition for figuring out the complexities of a defense that went a long way toward causing him to have a horrendous game in October.

N.Y. Giants 17, Dallas 10: As expected, immobile Drew Bledsoe faced a long day of pressure from a Giants defense that had far better pass-rushing ability than the Cowboys' offensive line had pass-protection skills. Bledsoe was sacked four times, hurried on several other occasions, threw two interceptions, and lost two fumbles. Antonio Pierce returned one of them for a touchdown that gave the Giants all of the cushion they needed in this battle for NFC East supremacy. This win came down to a strong performance from the Giants defense, which is a good sign for a team with legitimately strong postseason expectations. On a day when Eli Manning struggled (two interceptions and only 152 passing yards), the Giants should feel a certain sense of relief that they are able to lean on their defense and the strong running of Tiki Barber (115 yards on 30 carries).

Kansas City 31, Denver 27: It has been said, over and over again, that the Broncos are benefiting greatly by the efficiency of Jake Plummer -- a quarterback who has been burdened by a reputation for being less than efficient. Plummer wasn't so efficient in this game, throwing two interceptions. He threw a touchdown pass, and for the most part, he didn't get the kind of strong rushing support he had received for most of the season. Trent Green had two touchdown throws and two interceptions of his own. But he also had Larry Johnson rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos remain a top team. Losing at Arrowhead isn't exactly a source of shame. And, with their third win in a row, the Chiefs are surging into the playoff picture. It is still difficult to tell whether they are complete enough or deep enough on both sides of the ball to make it into the playoffs -- or last beyond one game if they get there. But they are moving in the right direction.

Carolina 24, Atlanta 6: The Panthers have found their running game, and that is bad news for the rest of the NFC South and perhaps for the rest of the NFC. DeShaun Foster ran for 131 yards and a touchdown, which, by itself, allowed Carolina's offense to be effective. But it also did plenty to help Jake Delhomme in throwing for a pair of touchdowns (including one to Steve Smith, who finished with a game-high seven receptions) because it did plenty to soften Atlanta's defense, which is slightly better against the pass. By often building a loose human net around the pocket, the Panthers defense did a nice job of containing Michael Vick and forcing him into two interceptions. It also didn't allow Atlanta's running game to dominate.

Minnesota 21, Detroit 16: Five wins in a row. That, by itself, makes a very loud statement about the Vikings, who continue to put significant distance between themselves and the nightmarish start to their season. In fact, they have every reason to think they will extend that winning streak to six after facing St. Louis in Week 14. Brad Johnson has had plenty to do with making this a different team than the unfocused, undisciplined bunch it was at the beginning of the year. He has brought stability and savvy to the quarterback spot, and the rest of the team has come to believe in him as a leader. He threw for 256 yards and two touchdown passes. The Vikings defense also keeps performing at an impressive level, intercepting Jeff Garcia and keeping Detroit's running game mostly under control. So much for the Lions getting a boost from Dick Jauron taking over as interim coach after the firing of Steve Mariucci.

Chicago 19, Green Bay 7: The Bears have a strong enough defense and a solid enough running game to make their case as a team to beat in the NFC. Against a struggling opponent such as the Packers, they can get away with modest offensive production. However, at some point -- and it will probably come in the postseason -- the Bears will need to figure out how to generate more points. It won't happen as long as Kyle Orton has games like this one (68 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception).

Indianapolis 35, Tennessee 3: The Colts remain in a league of their own. They can dominate the good teams and the not-so-good teams. They make it look so easy on both sides of the ball that there is every reason to believe that they will finish the regular season at 16-0 ... except for one. Tony Dungy will preserve his starters once the Colts wrap up home-field advantage for the postseason. His focus is on doing everything possible to allow his team to win a Super Bowl, not have a perfect regular season.

Jacksonville 20, Cleveland 14: Good teams overcome major adversity, and the Jaguars did exactly that on two counts in this game. First, they won without injured starting quarterback Byron Leftwich. Second, they scored 17 unanswered points behind Leftwich's replacement, David Garrard, who threw two touchdown passes. Not only was it Jacksonville's fifth successive victory, but it also was the second time the Jags have won three road games in a row since 2001 (the only NFL team to do so). The Jaguars, who got a solid performance from their defense and 103 rushing yards from Greg Jones, refuse to allow hardships to stand in the way of their pursuit of a playoff spot. The Browns did find a bright spot: Rookie Charlie Frye, making his first NFL start in place of injured Trent Dilfer, was impressive and gives the team optimism that he could end up being its long-term answer at quarterback. He threw two first-half touchdowns to fellow rookie Braylon Edwards, who left the game with a knee injury of unknown severity.

Tampa Bay 10, New Orleans 3: The Buccaneers defense is flexing its muscles in preparation for a postseason run. The Bucs intercepted Aaron Brooks four times (three by Ronde Barber), kept him from making any scoring throws and held New Orleans' running game in check. Meanwhile, Chris Simms only needed to be efficient and hook up, once again, with Joey Galloway for a touchdown. Cadillac Williams made a nice contribution with 96 rushing yards, while Michael Pittman added 40 more on the ground. Tampa Bay has gotten good at figuring out how to win close games.

Washington 24, St. Louis 9: The Redskins made this win look pretty simple, which probably says as much about their persistence to escape a three-game tailspin as it does about the Rams' inconsistency and turmoil. Clinton Portis set the tone for the Redskins by rushing for a 47-yard touchdown on Washington's second possession. He would finish the day with 136 yards and two scores on the ground. And that made it fairly easy for Mark Brunell to succeed with a solid, 156-yard, one-touchdown passing day. Rookie Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for 163 yards and was intercepted once, had little chance for success in his first quarterback start for the Rams because he received absolutely no help from his running game.

Baltimore 16, Houston 15: It's hard to look at the Ravens' final statistics and see how they were able to win this game. Certainly, Kyle Boller did nothing overly impressive with his throwing arm. And the Ravens got nothing going with their running game, either. In fact, Baltimore had three turnovers to two by Houston, and allowed Texans running back Domanick Davis to run for 155 yards on 29 carries. But the Ravens were just good enough to find a way to dispose of a team that has the real prospect of having the top overall pick of the 2006 draft to look forward to. It counts as a win, but it still leaves Brian Billick and his coaching staff plenty to work on.

Miami 24, Buffalo 23: Turn this game off in the third quarter, and you would have arrived at the following conclusions: J.P. Losman has found his groove as a starting quarterback; Losman and other players weren't merely dispensing hot air with talk that the Bills still were very much in the postseason hunt and intended to perform accordingly the rest of the way; media speculation that Bills president Tom Donahoe's future was in doubt was premature; the Dolphins' passing game is a mess; and Miami is going nowhere with Gus Frerotte as its starting quarterback. But if you stuck around for the fourth quarter, you would have seen the major difference -- Sage Rosenfels taking over after Frerotte was injured while being sacked for a safety in the third quarter -- what a quarterback switch can mean in a very short time. The Dolphins erased a 23-3 deficit with 12 minutes left, as Rosenfels led them on a drive for a touchdown run and then threw two touchdown passes, the second a 4-yard toss on fourth down that Chris Chambers snagged with six seconds left. The Bills saw their defense vanish, along with virtually any hope of winning their once-winnable division.

Arizona 17, San Francisco 10: The Cardinals keep playing hard. It might not be pretty, but it gets the job done, particularly against a struggling opponent such as the 49ers. Kurt Warner threw for 354 yards and a touchdown, while throwing a pair of interceptions. Anquan Boldin proved impossible for the 49ers to cover, catching 11 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Alex Smith? The top overall pick of the draft looked like, well, a rookie, throwing three interceptions on a 185-yard passing day. Of course, neither quarterback was helped by the one-dimensional nature of his offense, because a running game was not to be found from either club.