1. Matt Cassel – What does two straight weeks of over 400 yards passing get you?  An appointment in the rain with the Steelers defense.  Cassel was an unimpressive 19-39 for 169 yards with no scores and two interceptions, and was sacked five times.

2. Clinton Portis – I’m not sure if it was his knee, the Giants defense, or a combination of the two, but whatever it was, it did a great job of holding Portis in check on Sunday: just a total of 37 yards on 12 carries.

3. Peyton Manning – The Colts started off 1-2, and have since gone 7-2.  They’ve quietly become almost a lock for the playoffs in the AFC, and on Sunday, it was seemingly in spite of Manning’s performance: Manning completed only 15 passes for 125 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

4. Philip Rivers – A preseason Super Bowl favorite, San Diego is now 4-8 after Sunday’s loss to Atlanta.  Rivers didn’t help things, finishing 17-30 with just 149 yards.  It’s going to be ugly this off-season in San Diego.

5. Frank Gore – Would it kill Gore to put together back-to-back 100-yard games?  On Sunday, at Buffalo, Gore managed just 66 yards on 24 carries.