Player to watch
Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
The Chargers have to rate as one of the early-season disappointments, with a 2-2 record. But Rivers has been pretty solid and a good game by him could mean the difference vs. Denver on Sunday. This will be a good barometer for how much the Broncos’ defense has improved. In two games vs. Denver last season, Rivers completed a combined 36 of 53 passes for 584 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Rivers was pedestrian in his first three games (three touchdowns, three interceptions), but is coming off his best showing — a three-touchdown, no-interception game vs. Pittsburgh before the Chargers’ bye week. — John Keim
Recommended Stories
Story Lines
1. The Broncos are for real » It’s time to take my medicine like a big boy. I’ve been trashing the Broncos all year in The Examiner Power Rankings. I’ve referred to them — among other things — as the state champions of Ohio (after beating the Browns and Bengals to start the season) and a team that we “can’t take seriously.” Well, it’s time to take them seriously. The Broncos have the best scoring defense in the NFL (43 points allowed in five games). They made two talented teams (Patriots and Cowboys) play their style of football. And they have a coach in Josh McDaniels who simply does not care what anyone thinks. Remember when we said McDaniels was over his head this offseason? Turns out, the kid-coach knew exactly what he was doing. — James Irwin
2. Mannings up » The brothers Manning, Peyton and Eli, lead their respective conferences in quarterback efficiency rating and both have their teams at 5-0. In his 12th season, the Colts’ Peyton Manning has a rating of 114.1, the second-best of his career, and is on pace to throw for more than 5,000 yards, a feat he has never accomplished. Meanwhile, Eli Manning has a 111.7 rating, 25 points better than any season of his six-year career. No starting quarterbacks have been sacked fewer times than the Mannings (two each). Peyton (9.1) and Eli (9.0) also rank 1-2 in the NFL in yards per attempt and lead their respective conferences in touchdown passes (12 and 10 respectively). While Eli has a tough test this week at New Orleans, Peyton has a bye. — Kevin Dunleavy
3. Who’s gonna be the pass catcher this week? » What do Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson all have in common? They’re top receivers who have not led the NFL in any individual week in receiving yards this season. Out of the first five weeks of the season, the youngsters have been dominating. The Colts’ Reggie Wayne (Week 1) and Redskins WR Santana Moss (Week 3) are the only vets here. The other three have been Browns’ rookie Mohamed Massaquoi, Giants’ second-year pro Mario Manningham and a fourth-year man in Miles Austin — who last week set the Cowboys’ single game record (250 yards) and already has set his career-high in receiving yards (331). Who will do it this week? Maybe T.J. Houshmandzadeh will take advantage of a healthy Matt Hasselbeck and the Cardinals’ NFL-worst passing defense (303 ypg). — Leon Saffelle
Upset Special
Texans over the Bengals
Cincinnati is a surprise first-place team in the AFC North. But the Bengals aren’t so good they can just overlook a home game against Houston. The Texans have weapons in the passing game for quarterback Matt Schaub. Wide receiver Andre Johnson may be the best player on the field Sunday. He already has 28 receptions and four touchdowns. Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer has an injured thumb on his non-throwing hand — though he showed no ill affects during last week’s win over Baltimore. Houston has wins over Oakland and Tennessee and lost by a touchdown to both Jacksonville and Arizona — a game where it was stopped three times from the 1 in the final seconds. — Brian McNally
Fantasy Watch
Five to Start
1. QB David Garrard » Playing an awful Rams’ defense will help the Jaguars get over an embarrassing 41-0 loss to Seattle last week.
2. RB Cedric Benson » The NFL’s leading rusher — with 487 yards this season — faces a Houston defense that’s allowing 5.2 yards per carry.
3. RB Thomas Jones » The Jets are going more to Leon Washington and Shonn Greene, but Thomas remains the goal line back — scoring twice last week.
4. WR Donald Driver » Greg Jennings is the Packers’ big-play threat, but Driver leads the team in receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns.
5. WR Nate Burleson » The Seahawks wideout has surprisingly been a top-10 fantasy receiver with 358 yards and three touchdowns.
Five to Sit
1. QB Jay Cutler » Facing a tough Falcons’ defense that smothered the Niners last week and has held teams to 15.8 points per game.
2. RB Ahmad Bradshaw » He had two touchdowns and 165 total yards last week, but he won’t see as much action against the Saints.
3. RB Julius Jones » Seattle is playing an Arizona defense that is the best in the NFL against the run, but the worst against the pass.
4. WR Vincent Jackson » Champ Bailey and the Broncos passing defense held Randy Moss to just one catch for 32 yards last week.
5. WR Jerricho Cotchery » Jets receiver will be most affected by the trade for Braylon Edwards — who had an impressive debut.
— Jeffrey Tomik
Game to Watch
Giants at Saints, 1 p.m., FOX
Another undefeated New York team heads to Louisiana for a battle of undefeated teams. But the Giants pose a stronger test than the upstart Jets for New Orleans, coming off a bye. New York has the best combination of offensive and defensive lines in the NFL. The Giants are third in the NFC in points per game allowed and third in points scored per game (the Saints are first in points scored per game). But the big question is how healthy is quarterback Eli Manning? The Saints’ defense, under former Redskins coordinator Gregg Williams, has been aggressive and making plays. While the Saints’ offense has been fantastic, two wins had as much to do, or more, with the defense. — John Keim
Examiner Power Rankings
— James Irwin
| No. | Team (Record) | Comment | Pvs. |
| 1 | Giants (5-0) | Saints are first varsity team G-Men have faced in a month | 1 |
| 2 | Vikings (5-0) | Can’t penalize a team for beating the Rams by 28 | 2 |
| 3 | Saints (4-0) | Showdown with Giants an NFC title game preview? | 3 |
| 4 | Colts (5-0) | Manning making a serious run at MVP No. 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Falcons (3-1) | Kicked the snot out of a solid 49ers team | 8 |
| 6 | Ravens (3-2) | Gave up an uncharacteristic, late, game-winning score | 5 |
| 7 | Eagles (3-1) | Sunday win vs. Bucs was the Jeremy Maclin show | 9 |
| 8 | Patriots (3-2) | Belichick humbled by McDaniels in Teacher-Student Bowl | 6 |
| 9 | Jets (3-2) | Entertaining in MNF loss to Fish, unless you’re Rex Ryan | 7 |
| 10 | Bears (3-1) | All this talk about the Vikings; Bears quietly hanging around | 10 |
| 11 | Steelers (3-2) | Pushed to the limit by the Lions, then turned it on | 11 |
| 12 | Broncos (5-0) | Win over Pats verifies them; Broncos are for real. Our bad | 15 |
| 13 | Chargers (2-2) | Did bye week help? Time for Bolts to wake up | 13 |
| 14 | Packers (2-2) | Vikings, Bears will make this an uphill battle | 14 |
| 15 | Bengals (4-1) | Showed moxie in win over Ravens. Is this a misprint? | 16 |
| 16 | 49ers (3-2) | Sometimes, when you’re moving up, it’s easy to fall down | 12 |
| 17 | Cowboys (3-2) | Miles Austin the only reason Dallas is this high this week | 17 |
| 18 | Dolphins (2-3) | Wildcat firing on all cylinders; can they make a run? | 21 |
| 19 | Cardinals (2-2) | Goal-line stand only reason Arizona is this high this week | 19 |
| 20 | Texans (2-3) | If Chris Brown isn’t good at goal line, why give him the ball? | 18 |
| 21 | Titans (0-5) | They claim to be the best 0-5 team in history of football | 20 |
| 22 | Seahawks (2-3) | Niners lose, Cards shaky; can Seattle do this? … Nah | 25 |
| 23 | Panthers (1-3) | When Jake Delhomme scrambles for win, you are desperate | 23 |
| 24 | Jaguars (2-3) | We said to watch them, then they lost by 41. Stop watching | 22 |
| 25 | Bills (1-4) | It’s time to break up this band |
24 |
| 26 | Redskins (2-3) | Functionally bad. But still functional, as opposed to bottom 5 |
26 |
| 27 | Lions (1-4) | Take champs to the wire, move up one. Just like Monopoly |
28 |
| 28 | Browns (1-4) | We have a feeling we will pay for having them this high |
30 |
| 29 | Buccaneers (0-5) | Entertaining, in a getting-blown-out kind of way |
27 |
| 30 | Chiefs (0-5) | Throwback uniforms, throwback effort. Lost anyway |
31 |
| 31 | Raiders (1-4) | Nothing we write can embarrass Russell as much as his play |
29 |
| 32 | Rams (0-5) | They’re staying here until they crack 20 points in a game |
32 |
