NFL - Week Ten Review

 The San Francisco 49ers laid claim they are also a team to be reckoned with in the NFC playoff race, along with the Green Bay Packers for the overall top spot come playoff time.
The 49ers knocked off the visiting New York Giants, 27-20 and served notice they are no longer an also ran team as they improved to 8-1 and a solid grip in first place in the NFC West division.
Quarterback Alex Smith passed for a touchdown to tight end Vernon Davis and kicker David Akers drilled four field goals to provide the difference.
New York QB Eli Manning passed for 311 yards in the loss and also had a pair of touchdown throws, but he was intercepted twice as well.

Tony Romo had a huge game in Dallas' rout.

Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week Tony Romo (23 of 26 passing  for 270 yards with three TD passes) was simply brilliant in the Dallas Cowboys' 44-7 blowout win over the visiting Buffalo Bills.
Romo found wideout Laurent Robinson for two TD strikes and also hooked up with Dez Bryant on a scoring pass. The Dallas defense limited the Bills to 136 yards passing, including picking off three passes by Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Chicago Bears steamrolled the Detroit Lions in Chicago, winning 37-13 while intercepting four Matthew Stafford passes and forcing six turnovers in the rout.
Devin Hester took back a punt 82 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to give the Bears a 20-0 cushion. The second half saw Charles Tillman and Major Wright go to the house with picks that added to the onslaught and the Lions became unglued when Stafford (who also suffered a hand fracture in the game)  threw his fourth pick and a brief scrum broke out on the field between the NFC North rivals.
New Orleans took advantage of a gift from Atlanta Head Coach Mike Smith and rode off with a 26-23 OT road win on a John Kasay 26-yard field goal.
The Falcons stormed back in the fourth quarter to force the overtime session, but went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 29-yard line and the Saints defense held to make the difference.
Both teams went for over 300 yards passing the game, but the Saints got the win and have a two-game edge over the Falcons in the NFC South.
 The Pittsburgh Steelers put the Cincinnati Bengals in their place with a 24-17 road win behind clutch fourth quarter defense (two interceptions) and two rushing touchdowns from Rashard Mendenhall. The win put the Steelers (7-3) alone in first place in the AFC North as the Baltimore Ravens lost at Seattle, 22-17.

The Ravens (6-3) fell behind early and never recovered in the great Northwest. Seahawks' running back Marshawn Lynch (pictured left) ran for 109 yards and a touchdown and kicker Steven Hauschka made five field goals to propel the win.
Houston won a game at Tampa Bay, 37-9 but lost quarterback Matt Schaub for the remainder of the season with a severe foot injury.
The Texans (7-3) are in first place in the AFC South and now will have Matt Leinart leading the way at quarterback along with running backs Ben Tate and Arian Foster, who combined for 151 rushing yards and a touchdown each in the easy win.
Miami won at home over the Washington Redskins, 20-9 with running back Reggie Bush scoring twice on the ground to lead the way.
The St. Louis Rams survived a muffed 22-yard field goal attempt in the closing moments at Cleveland for a 13-12 win to improve to 2-7 for the year. The Browns slipped to 3-6.
The Tennessee Titans (5-4) won at Carolina, 30-3 as they dismantled Cam Newton and the Panthers. Titans' running back Chris Johnson finally got it rolling in 2011 with a touchdown and 130 yards rushing.
Jacksonville beat down the hapless and winless Indianapolis Colts, 17-3 behind Maurice Jones-Drew, who ran for 114 yards and scored the clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Arizona beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17 on the road as wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald hauled in two scoring passes from reserve QB John Skelton, who threw for 315 yards against the vaunted (and expensive) Eagles' secondary.
Philadelphia fell to 3-6 and quarterback Michael Vick suffered broken ribs in the loss while throwing for just 128 yards and being intercepted twice.

Tim Tebow

The Denver Broncos, with Tim Tebow at quarterback, continue to confound the odds-makers as they beat the host Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10 to improve to 4-5 in the AFC West.
 Tebow was just 2-for-8 passing in the game, but a 56-yard TD pass to Eric Decker helped make the difference in the final score. The Broncos lost running backs Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno (torn ACL) in the game.
 In addition, Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel was knocked out of the game with a hand injury as the Chiefs slipped to 4-5 as well.
The Oakland Raiders pounded the San Diego Chargers, 24-17 last Thursday night as Carson Palmer passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns and reserve running back Michael Bush had 157 yards and a score as well.
The win put Oakland (5-4) alone in first place in the AFC West. The Chargers dropped their fourth consecutive game and are 4-5 as a result.
 The Sunday Night Football game was all New England in the second half  as Tom Brady (329 yards and three TD passes) took over to lead the visiting Patriots to a 37-16 beat down of the New York Jets and sole possession of first place in the AFC East. New England is 6-3 while the Jets and Buffalo Bills are both 5-4.
 The Green Bay Packers (9-0) kept their machine rolling in high gear on Monday Night Football with a 45-7 thumping of the visiting Minnesota Vikings behind four touchdown passes from quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a 80-yard punt return for touchdown from rookie Randall Cobb to get things rolling.