MVP poll:
56% Ahman Green, Packers
22% Eric Warfield, Chiefs
22% Josh Brown, Seahawks

• 10/13/03 - MNF- St. Louis vs Atlanta: Rams defensive end Grant Wistrom scored a rare safety when he tackled Atlanta RB T.J. Ducket in the end zone for a 1-yard loss.
• 10/12/03 - Philadelphia vs Dallas: The Eagles trio of running backs combined for 117 yards on 26 carries, a 4.5 average. Correll Buckhalter finally showed that he might be completely back from his knee injury with his spectacular 20-yard TD run. Philadelphia (2-3) didn't lead until 4:14 left, when Correll Buckhalter broke off a 20-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys won the game 23-21 on a late field goal. (Redding.com)
• PhiladelphiaEagles.com offensive game ball goes to... Correll Buckhalter made his re-emergence in the Eagles offense with 52 rushing yards on 11 carries. His highlight moment was a spectacular 20-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles a short-lived 21-20 lead late in the fourth quarter. Buckhalter led all players in rushing yards on Sunday.
  Buckhalter on his 'nifty' 20 yd TD run: "[The play] was designed to go outside. I saw that they overplayed outside, and I knew I wasn't going to get around. I just trusted my instincts and saw the cut. I spun off the block, and it was me and [safety Darren] Woodson one-on-one, and I wasn't going to let him tackle me." (PhiladelphiaEagles.com)
• 10/12/03 - Seattle vs San Francisco: For the second straight home contest, the Seahawks rallied late to pull out a victory, this time relying on a Josh Brown field goal, a critical interception and a crucial third-down conversion to earn a 20-19 triumph over San Francisco in front of a sellout Seahawks Stadium crowd.
  "I felt like it was my night to do something," Brown said. "I was hoping for it."
  The night wasn't so great for Brown's special teams couterpart, 49ers punter Bill Lafleur. After QB Jeff Garcia scrambled in from 2 yards out to cut the Seahawks' lead to 17-16, holder LeFleur dropped a perfect snap on the extra point, forcing Pochman to hesitate before pushing his kick wide right of the post -- the one point that would prove to be the difference. This is Lafleur's first year as a holder. (The Olympian)
• 10/12/03 - Houston vs Tennessee: The Titans led the Texans, 21-0 by the second quarter. The Texans weren't able to get on the board until a Kris Brown field goal just before the first half expired. (Corpus Christi Caller Times)
• 10/12/03 - Houston Texans: A side note- if you're within earshot of KTRH in Texas, KTRH's weekly Texans talk rotation at 8:20 a.m. daily (not nightly) is kicker Kris Brown on Monday and Thursday, linebacker Kailee Wong on Tuesday and Friday, and Chronicle beat writer Carlton Thompson on Wednesday. (Houston Chronicle)
• 10/12/03 - NY Giants vs New England: Neil Best of the Stamford Advocate did a question and answer-- Q. Are teams picking on first-year nickel cornerback Ralph Brown?
  A. So it seems. Every opponent other than the Dolphins has favored a three-wide receiver alignment against the Giants, apparently to keep Brown on the field and also because the belief is that the best way to run against the Giants is by spreading them out. The Patriots got a huge third-and-16 conversion by finding David Givens against Brown. (Stamford Advocate)
• 10/12/03 - Green Bay vs Kansas City: Ahman Green once again had a good day running the ball but unfortunately his fumble in OT will leave a dark cloud over his performance. After the Chiefs missed a field goal try in overtime the Packers got their first chance on offense- Green, who ran 26 times for 139 yards, broke through the line on a run up the middle on first down, but fumbled the ball which bounced neatly into the hands of KC linebacker Mike Masloski. The result was a 51-yard pass from Trent Green to Eddie Kennison with 8:42 left in the extra period.
  "It's a tough one to swallow," Brett Favre said, "I'm sure Ahman's going to beat himself up over the fumble." (The Insiders, NFL.com, Calgary Sun)
  Packers head coach Mike Sherman defended Green, and other Packers' missed opportunities- "Bhawoh Jue's was one play. Ahman Green's was one play. The interception was one play. There were plays all spread around that we all could have made or executed better."
  Ahman's teammates also backed him up; said backup Tony Fisher: "It happens to the best of 'em. We're going to ride with Ahman no matter what. He's the best player on the team, probably. Things happen."
  Center Mike Flanagan concurred, saying Green outplayed Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, who gained 81 yards, including 41 in overtime. "I'm not going to fault Ahman because we go as Ahman goes. He's that good," Flanagan said. "He was the better back on the field today, he's the better back every day. "I will line up with Ahman until the day I die. He plays hard, he's a damn good back. He doesn't get nearly enough credit. It's unfortunate that happened, but what are you going to do?" (AP)
• 10/12/03 - Carolina vs Indianapolis: In a battle of unbeatens, Carolina won out with a 47-yard field goal in overtime to knock off the Colts 23-20.
  "It’s huge! It’s huge!" Panthers S Mike Minter said. "It’s a huge obstacle that we had to overcome. Nobody gave us a shot and we came over and did it against a great football team. That’s a great football team, and we are too." Minter continued, "I told you that in training camp the first day that we were going to be a good football team. We believe that. It’s not something that we just talk about."
  The game was so close, perhaps the biggest play was made by DL Mike Rucker, who called tails on the overtime coin toss. That gave Carolina the ball and kept it out of the hands of QB Peyton Manning. (The State.com)
  "We're just a machine that's working all together right now," Rucker said. "We've been on the other side of this coin so many times, it really helped us in this situation. Everybody was calm. Nobody panicked and we just did what we had to do to win."
  But Minter cautioned, "It's only five games, you can't win a Super Bowl after five games. We have to continue to get better as a football team." (Charlotte Observer)
• Keyuo Craver did not play (NFL suspension).
• Scott Shanle did not play (NFL suspension/injury).