Allowing 210 yards rushing to an opposing back usually is a sure path to defeat in the NFL. And Minnesota's amazing Adrian Peterson hung that number on the Packers on Sunday. Yet Green Bay walked off with a 23-14 victory. The stark contrast of quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (pictured) and Christian Ponder is a big reason. Ponder completed less than half his passes (12 of 25) while connecting more than once with only two receivers. Rodgers, meanwhile, was 27 of 35 passing and had seven receivers with multiple catches. The Viking put too much burden on Peterson and wound up scoreless after halftime. The Packers shared the load and were stronger at the end.

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Jets fans might fancy themselves as a special breed. But the fact is, they're like the rest of us. When the going gets bad, the first thing they do is call for the backup quarterback. For weeks, Mark Sanchez has been persona non grata in New York. Tebowmania never got the chance to take off because of injury. So when Jets coach Rex Ryan finally pulled the trigger late in the third quarter following three Sanchez interceptions, third stringer Greg McElroy got the nod. McElroy (pictured) immediately directed the Jets' only scoring drive, throwing a touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland. That was good enough for a 7-6 victory over Arizona. QB controversy in New York? Nah, just a continuing QB catastrophe.

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It has been six seasons and 646 catches since Wes Welker last wore a Dolphins uniform, but he sure makes them regret letting him get away each and every time they see him. Welker had 12 receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown Sunday in New England's 23-16 victory. The fact he dropped one would-be TD hardly diminished his accomplishment of matching the great Jerry Rice with 17 games of at least 10 catches, an NFL record. Three of those games have come vs. the Dolphins. Yes, Miami, he's still the one who got away.

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Houston improved to 11-1 with a 24-10 victory at Tennessee on Sunday. Nothing unusual there. So let's take a moment to admire the job done by defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in Houston the past two years. He took a bottom-five defense and turned it into a top-five squad in his first year last season. Now, despite a rash of injuries, the Texans remain a top-10 defense. They are without key linebackers Brian Cushing and Brooks Reed, yet still held Tennessee to 89 yards rushing and a 27 percent conversion rate on third downs. The reward? A second straight trip to the playoffs. That's 2 for 2 with Phillips as coordinator.

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San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh eschewed the safe path when he turned to second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick (pictured) in place of veteran Alex Smith, who led the team to the NFC Championship Game last season. Harbaugh saw how Kaepernick put more pressure on defenses with both his running ability and wider variety of throws in his arsenal. The risk: Kaepernick would make "rookie" mistakes in his first extended action. One came Sunday with the 49ers nursing an eight-point lead in the final minutes at St. Louis. Kaepernick botched an option pitch, allowing the Rams to recover the loose ball for a touchdown. After a two-point conversion, the game was tied 10-10. Kaepernick also got tagged for an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a safety to put the Rams on the board as the Niners ultimately fell 16-13 in overtime. At 8-3-1, the 49ers remain ahead of the 7-5 Seahawks in the NFC West. Just enough margin for risky moves.

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Pete Carroll, you can let up on the officials. You're not in Seattle, where your Seahawks thrive with a loud crowd on their side and, every so often, an officiating crew gives you a gift. Nope, the Seahawks were in Chicago on Sunday, and they needed to do it themselves to show they can beat a good team on the road. Seattle entered 1-5 on the road, with the one win at lowly Carolina. After a 23-17 victory in overtime, the Seahawks have an answer to those who call them a product of their environment. Rookie QB Russell Wilson now has two-minute-drill comeback road victory in his pocket, and the master motivator Carroll has a win he can rally the troops around when they face tough road games in the playoffs. (And this win got Seattle a whole lot closer to the playoffs.)

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These two men, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel, witnessed linebacker Jovan Belcher kill himself Saturday with a gunshot to the head after he earlier killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. Barely a day later, they were on the field with their team, preparing for a game against the Panthers. How the players would respond was anyone's guess. Well, the Chiefs improved to 2-10 with a 27-21 victory, their first home win this season. Beset by turnovers all season, they were perfect in that area Sunday. It's pure conjecture how the tragic events of the day before affected the game. It's certain that much grieving remains.

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We could have said "Bills greater than Jags," but it didn't seem to sum up this matchup. The Bills entered this week as the NFL's second-worst rushing defense. So Jacksonville pounded the ball for a whopping 50 yards in a 34-18 loss. F-I-F-T-Y. Pitiful.

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... but it doesn't seem to matter. Lions wide receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson had a career-high 13 receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown Sunday, marking his fourth straight game with a touchdown catch. But the Lions have lost all four games. The Colts had the honor Sunday, pulling off a wild, 35-33 victory at Detroit. Colts rookie QB Andrew Luck connected with Donnie Avery on the game-winner with no time left. Megatron, meanwhile, matched an NFL record with his fifth straight game with at least 125 yards receiving. The Lions made the playoffs last season but have regressed to 4-8 this year. Megatron might be the only place they're showing improvement.

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When the clock reached zero, Charlie Batch and Ben Roethlisberger grabbed one another and hugged — and didn't let go. It was a memorable game for the 37-year-old Batch, the third stringer and afterthought in the shadow of a starting QB who's larger than life in the Steel City. The Steelers trailed the Ravens 20-13 before Batch led the Steelers 61 yards down the field with seconds remaining, setting up Shaun Suisham's winning 42-yard field goal as time expired. The Ravens were denied a playoff berth and saw their 15-game home winning streak come to an end. Batch went 25 of 36 for 276 yards, a touchdown, and created an ending football fans should remember as a reason why football is so great.

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There will probably always be a record or two Peyton Manning has yet to break. Sunday was no exception. Manning threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 29 on the season — moving him past Jake Plummer and John Elway for the most by a Broncos quarterback in a single season. The 9-3 Broncos won their seventh straight and clinched the AFC West with the 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the other side of the ball, linebacker Von Miller returned an INT for his first NFL touchdown, and the defense held new star running back Doug Martin to 56 yards. Three of the Broncos' next four games are against opponents with losing records — the Raiders (3-9), Browns (4-8) and Chiefs (2-10).

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This deep in the season, we usually find the Chargers solidly in the hunt for the AFC West lead and the Bengals — well, it's hard to know. While the Chargers (4-8) have lost four straight and seven of eight, the Bengals (7-5) have won four straight and are tied with Pittsburgh for the AFC's second wild-card berth. The Bengals' D kept the Chargers scoreless in the second half and forced two turnovers in the final 3:54. Andy Dalton was 25 of 39 for 211 yards and a touchdown, while Rivers was 26 of 48 with a costly interception in the end zone with 49 seconds remaining. The road won't be easy for the Bengals, with the Cowboys, Eagles, Steelers and Ravens rounding out their schedule.

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Andrew Luck and RG3 get all the headlines, but Brandon Weeden is further proof of the strength of this year's rookie QB crop. He went 5-for-6 on the deciding drive, converting a fourth-and-1 from the Raiders' 45 in leading the Browns to a 20-17 win over the hapless Raiders. Weeden's career-high 364 yards and a touchdown not only beat the Raiders, but ended a miserable 12-game road losing streak, giving Cleveland its first road win since beating Indianapolis 27-19 in the second game of the 2011 season. Their two-game winning streak is its first since last season.

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Dez Bryant is used to having his name in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But as the season has progressed, his performances are starting to turn heads up-and-down in approval rather than the side-to-side of "not again." He fought off cramps to catch a 6-yard touchdown pass — his second TD of the game — after the game-changing challenge flag thrown by Cowboys coach Brad Garrett to protest the spot of the ball on a 4th-and-1 with the 'Boys down a TD at the end of the third quarter. Bryant caught six passes for 98 yards, coming off back-to-back 145-yard games and a total of four 100-plus yard games; last season, his best game of the season was 90.

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