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CNNSI.com's Jon A. Dolezar reviews the Week 8 games.

Week Eight
	Baltimore 13	at Pittsburgh
	Pittsburgh 10	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	165 -- Yards in which the Steelers (348) outgained the Ravens (183).
Player of the Game	Matt Stover, K, Baltimore: Booted three field goals in the fourth quarter to bail out the Ravens' struggling offense.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	Rumors of the demise of the Super Bowl champs have been greatly exaggerated. Despite playing poorly for much of the season, Baltimore is 5-3 and back in the AFC Central race. Kris Brown's four missed field goals -- including a potential game-tying 35-yarder with 14 seconds left -- cost the Steelers the chance to move to 6-1 and bury the Ravens at .500.
	Green Bay 21	at Green Bay, Wis.
	Tampa Bay 20	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	10-0 -- Brett Favre 's home record against the Buccaneers, with nine of the victories coming at Lambeau Field and one (1992) at Milwaukee County Stadium.
Player of the Game	Allen Rossum, KR/PR, Green Bay: Ran back a Mark Royals punt 55 yards for a touchdown with 3:03 to play to lift the Packers to the one-point victory.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Packers and Bucs closed out their NFC Central rivalry with a game reminiscent of the tone of this heated contest in recent years. Green Bay dominated the game statistically, but three first-half turnovers and great field position helped Tampa Bay to a 17-7 third-quarter lead. Ahman Green carried 24 times for a career-high 169 yards and one touchdown, giving him 681 yards rushing in seven games.
	Tennessee 28	at Nashville, Tenn.
	Jacksonville 24	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	37:48 -- Time of possession for the Titans, who rushed 33 times for 146 yards.
Player of the Game	Steve McNair, QB, Tennessee: Played his best game of the season -- and one of the best of his career -- completing 27-of-34 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns and added 10 carries for 74 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Jaguars and Titans didn't play like two teams fighting to stay out of the AFC Central basement. They combined for only one turnover, 11 penalties and nine sacks in a game that looked like their battles for division supremacy two years ago. Outside of McNair's breakout game, the Titans also finally got a freakish effort from Jevon Kearse, who tallied three sacks to match his output from the first six games.
	Miami 23	at Miami
	Carolina 6	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	45.5 -- Combined completion percentage by Panthers quarterbacks Chris Weinke (9 of 21), Dameyune Craig (4 of 8) and Matt Lytle (2 of 4).
Player of the Game	Jay Fiedler, QB, Miami: Completed 20 of 33 for a season-high 287 yards and one touchdown.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	It hasn't exactly been difficult to stop the Panthers' offense this season, and the Dolphins and the impending threat of Hurricane Michelle did so in Week 8 as well. Weinke hit on only 9-of-21 passes for 158 yards and an interception before getting yanked in favor of Craig. A low point for Miami is that Lamar Smith gained only 37 yards on 18 carries, his third consecutive game with fewer than 2.3 yards per carry
	New York 27	at East Rutherford, N.J.
	Dallas 24 (OT)	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	6 -- Fumbles by the Giants, with the Cowboys recovering three of them.
Player of the Game	Joe Jurevicius, WR, New York: Caught three passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	After falling behind 17-0 early in the second quarter, the Giants looked well on their way to their fourth consecutive loss and seemed eons away from their NFC championship season of a year ago. But Kerry Collins rallied New York with his best performance since the NFC title game against the Vikings. Clint Stoerner was picked off four times before giving way to Ryan Leaf in the fourth quarter.
	New England 24	at Atlanta
	Atlanta 10	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	9 -- Sacks by the Patriots, who were led by defense end Willie McGinest 's two sacks.
Player of the Game	Tom Brady, QB, New England: Bounced back from his four-pick game last week to complete 21 of 31 for 250 yards and three touchdowns.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	Chris Chandler threw for only 95 yards before injuring his ribs and giving way to Michael Vick in the third quarter. The first overall draft pick struggled, completing only 2 of 9 for 56 yards, though he did rush twice for 50 yards. Antowain Smith rushed for a season-high 117 yards on 23 carries to help New England control the ball for 33:38.
	Indianapolis 30	at Orchard Park, N.Y.
	Buffalo 14	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	37:02 -- Time of possession by the Colts, who rushed 37 times for 144 yards.
Player of the Game	Dominic Rhodes, RB, Indianapolis: Filled in well for the injured Edgerrin James with 34 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Triplets may have to become the Quadruplets with Rhodes' second consecutive strong outing. Marvin Harrison caught only five passes for 32 yards and Peyton Manning passed for just 199 yards, but an offensive explosion wasn't needed against a Bills team that couldn't generate any offense. Rob Johnson was sacked five times and fumbled twice as Buffalo dropped its fourth home game of the season.
	San Francisco 21	at San Francisco
	Detroit 13	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	1,526 -- Receiving yards Terrell Owens is on pace for, which would break his career high of 1,451 that he set last season.
Player of the Game	Jeff Garcia, QB, San Francisco: Completed 26 of 35 for 296 yards and three touchdowns.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Lions appeared to be headed toward their first win under Marty Mornhinweg when they jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. But then Detroit reverted to its old tricks, failing to score in the last 39 1/2 minutes. The 49ers outgained the Lions 427-131 and held the ball for 38:33, forcing Detroit to even try rookie Mike McMahon at quarterback for two series in place of the ineffective Charlie Batch.
	Kansas City 25	at San Diego
	San Diego 20	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	142 -- Advantage in rushing yards for the Chiefs (208) over the Chargers (66).
Players of the Game	Priest Holmes, RB, Kansas City: Rushed 30 times for 181 yards and one touchdown, putting him on pace to rush for a career-high 1,422 yards this season.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Chiefs held a 19-0 lead until the middle of the third quarter when the Chargers finally got on the board with a Wade Richey field goal. Drew Brees was impressive in his first NFL action, completing 15 of 27 for 221 yards and one touchdown after replacing Doug Flutie, who left with a concussion. But San Diego couldn't stop Kansas City as Trent Green and Holmes led the Chiefs down the field for the go-ahead score with 1:26 to play.
	Philadelphia 21	at Tempe, Ariz.
	Arizona 7	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	10 -- Difference in penalties committed by the Eagles (11 for 92 yards) and Cardinals (one for 9 yards).
Player of the Game	Hugh Douglas, DE, Philadelphia: Led the Eagles with seven tackles and two sacks, his first multi-sack game of the season.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	Jake Plummer was in position to go for his sixth career comeback victory against the Eagles, but Philly's defense buckled down in the fourth quarter and thwarted three Arizona drives. Plummer finished with 293 yards passing, but the Cards rushed for only 57 yards and were predictable offensively. Donovan McNabb bounced back from his poor game last week to complete 19 of 33 for 238 yards and two touchdowns, as the Eagles remained atop the lackluster NFC East.
	Chicago 27	at Chicago
	Cleveland 21 (OT)	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	29-12 -- Bears' advantage over the Browns in first downs.
Player of the Game	Mike Brown, SS, Chicago: Quiet for most of the game, Brown followed last week's heroics with another interception return for a touchdown off a tipped pass in overtime.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	Cleveland was 28 seconds away from moving to 5-2 and tying the Steelers atop the AFC Central. But the Bears managed a furious rally to force overtime, which led to the near instant replay of heroics from a week ago. Shane Matthews looked awful for most of the game but got it together late in the fourth quarter to rally the Bears and force overtime. Matthews finished 30 of 50 for 357 yards with two toucdhowns and three interceptions, while his counterpart, Tim Couch, threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
	Washington 27	at Landover, Md.
	Seattle 14	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	39:18 -- Time of possession for the Redskins, who rushed for 230 yards on 45 carries.
Player of the Game	Stephen Davis, RB, Washington: Rushed 32 times for a season-high 142 yards and a touchdown, the Redskins' first rushing score of the season.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	Mike Holmgren's experiment with Matt Hasselbeck as Seattle's starting quarterback may have finally come to an end. Hasselbeck completed only 6 of 12 for 127 yards and two interceptions before getting lifted for Trent Dilfer. The Seahawks fell behind 20-7 in the second quarter, nullifying their running game and allowing the Redskins to key on the pass and get four sacks. In addition to Davis' great rushing effort, Ki-Jana Carter ran 10 times for 57 yards, his best yardage total since starting his comeback.
	New York 16	at New Orleans
	New Orleans 9	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	6 -- Sacks by the Jets, with John Abraham leading the way with three.
Player of the Game	John Hall, K, New York: Hit 3 of 4 field goals, making him 8 of 11 for the season on field-goal attempts.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Saints continued their struggles at home under Jim Haslett, falling to 1-2 at the Superdome this season and 5-7 in the past two seasons. Aaron Brooks completed only 12 of 28 (42.9 percent) for 164 yards and two touchdowns. The vaunted matchup of the conference's leading rushers didn't pan out with Ricky Williams getting held to 58 yards on 19 carries and Curtis Martin gaining only 66 yards on 21 carries. The highlight of an otherwise lackluster contest was the late-game incident involving Damien Robinson and Kyle Turley.
	Oakland 38	at Oakland, Calif.
	Denver 28	• Recap • Game Summary
Key Stat	7 -- Raiders' losing streak against the Broncos before Monday night.
Player of the Game	Tim Brown, WR, Oakland: Caught nine passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
CNNSI.com's Breakdown	The Raiders finally are the elite of the AFC West after breaking through against the Broncos. They may also be the elite of the whole conference, and the entire league with a 6-1 mark. Rich Gannon showed his toughness by taking a helmet-to-helmet hit but returning to the game, finishing 25 of 34 for 243 yards and three TDs.

 

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