In three of the New Orleans Saints' 10 wins this year, franchise quarterback Drew Brees(notes) threw a total of one touchdown and three interceptions. That's the key to making it through an entire season without losing a game -- when the Saints beat the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins in those games, they proved that they could win games in other ways. And now that Brees is back on track, the Saints have continued to roll despite injuries to their secondary. That's a lesson the Indianapolis Colts learned today, when they went to 10-0 on the season despite a sub-par performance from Peyton Manning(notes). Manning threw two interceptions and was held under 300 yards passing (admittedly, by only one yard) for only the second time this season.

Manning also got away with several other throws which were either bad reads or plays in which his receivers were not in the right place. Bottom line is that Manning struggled and the Colts didn't fall apart against a very game Ravens team. In their 17-15 victory, Indy relied on their defense to keep Baltimore out of the end zone, which they did by holding the Ravens to 0-for-4 in red one efficiency. That included a stand when Baltimore had the ball at the Colts' one-yard line and couldn't punch it in with three tries. When Ed Reed(notes) lost a desperation lateral on a punt return with 28 seconds left in the game, the Colts breathed a sigh of relief.

As for the Saints, they kept the "L" column clean in a more typical way -- a productive but conservative day from Brees (who threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns) and great gains from their newly effective running game. Mike bell(notes) scored twice and Pierre Thomas(notes) gained 92 yards on only 11 carries in the Saints' 38-7 walloping of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the Bucs and first-year quarterback Josh Freeman(notes) impressed with an opening-drive touchdown, New Orleans shut things down and took advantage of Freeman's rookie mistakes. Freeman threw three picks, while Brees didn't have an interception for the first time in five games.

Next, the Saints will welcome the New England Patriots to the Superdome on Monday Night Football, a barn-burner that should leave even Jon Gruden unable to give nicknames to all the primary characters. Meanwhile, the Colts play the Texans in Houston next Sunday. You may remember the Texans as the team that gave the Colts a fairly tough battle with a 20-17 squeaker on November 8. If these two teams are still undefeated after their next games, they'll certainly have earned it.

The New York Giants needed their overtime win far more than the Kansas City Chiefs did theirs, but both teams came away with victories past regulation today. In the Giants' case, their 34-31 win over the Atlanta Falcons ended a four-game losing streak that had them in third place in the NFC East, and at risk of missing the playoffs if they didn't turn it around. It wasn't pretty -- Eli Manning(notes) looked a bit off at times and New York's formerly dominant rushing attack couldn't put anything together with consistency -- but the G-men rode Mario Manningham's(notes) six receptions for 126 yards to the close win.

New York's defense raised considerable question marks by allowing two touchdowns from third-string running back Jason Snelling(notes), and Matt Ryan(notes) didn't throw an interception for the first time since Week 3. The Falcons were allowed to erase a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter to tie the game. But the Giants made it academic in the extra period by driving 49 yards on eight plays, setting up Lawrence Tynes'(notes) 36-yard field goal.

As for the Chiefs, coming into their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 2-7 record meant that any win would be nothing more than a feel-good story. But KC held up tough, exploiting Pittsburgh's weaknesses for a 27-24 win the extra frame. This game was the eighth straight in which Pittsburgh allowed a return touchdown, giving up a 97-yard kickoff run from Jamaal Charles(notes) on the opening play. There was also a 94-yard interception return of a Ben Roethlisberger(notes) pass in the end zone by linebacker Andy Studebaker(notes), but that wasn't a score. The Steelers have now gone more than 100 carries without a touchdown from their running backs, and the constant attacks on Roethlisberger finally caught up when Big Ben was kicked in the head in overtime and came off the field with what coach Mike Tomlin later classified as a "concussion-oriented thing".

Backup Charlie Batch(notes) couldn't seal the deal in OT, and the Steelers gave up some big passing plays in the second half without Troy Polamalu(notes) to cover deep. It was Matt Cassel's(notes) 61-yard play to Chris Chambers(notes) that put Ryan Succop(notes) in position to win the game with a 22-yard field goal. The only good news for the Steelers is that the Ravens also lost, which keeps Pittsburgh a game ahead of Baltimore at 6-4. The Steelers and Ravens go at it for the first time this season next Sunday night.

It's been an impossible question for defenses facing the Colts all season -- what do we do about Peyton Manning(notes)? If you blitz him, he puts up his best numbers (54 of 78 for 719 yards and four touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 109.9). If you back off to cover Reggie Wayne(notes), he'll kill you with bubble screens at the line and short seam routes to Dallas Clark(notes). If you give your linebackers too much help with Clark, he'll mess you up with deep inside routes to guys like Pierre Garcon(notes) and Austin Collie(notes). And if you drop eight to deal with everyone, he'll just hand off to Joseph Addai(notes) and Donald Brown(notes). The Miami Dolphins held the ball for over 45 minutes when they played the Colts in Week 2, and Manning still torched them for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

Today, this test is in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, whose defense is not what it used to be. Edge-rusher Terrell Suggs(notes) could miss up to a month with a knee injury suffered after Browns quarterback Brady Quinn(notes) went into him with a low block last Monday night. Nose tackle Haloti Ngata(notes) will be playing on a sprained ankle if he plays at all. And cornerbacks Fabian Washington(notes) and Domonique Foxworth(notes) have not performed as expected, struggling in man coverage and allowing 7.0 yards per passing attempt, a decidedly mediocre number. The worst thing that can happen to an injured defense is to face a quarterback as conversant with the no-huddle as Manning is -- he will take Baltimore's substitution packages out of the game and limit their ability to switch from base coverage to nickel. This is one of Manning's real gifts: because the Colts go single-back, three-wide so often, and the success of his offense is based more on execution than formation diversity, he's able to bulldoze down the field with his arsenal of calls.

For the Ravens, the best strategy might be the lesser of several evils. When the Colts narrowly beat the Texans on November 8, the Texans bracketed the outside with coverage and let Clark catch stuff over the middle with stud rookie linebacker Brian Cushing(notes) in coverage. It was a mismatch in Clark's favor, but he averaged only 8.5 yards per catch on his fourteen catches and his longest play was for 17 yards. The Ravens have the inside linebackers to stop the dink-and-dunk short, and the offense to keep the game close.

While most of the cornerback/receiver battle talk will focus on Randy Moss and Darrelle Revis today, there's another interesting matchup of top talents in the Bay Area when Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco goes up against Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Ochocinco has been one of the prime instigators in the Bengals' resurgence this year, proving to be nearly impossible to cover on middle-to-long perimeter routes. The stats tell the tale -- Ocho's been targeted 80 times and has caught 46 balls, giving him a 58 percent catch rate consistent with other deep threats like Atlanta's Roddy White and Dallas' Miles Austin.

He's helped Cincy's new power running game as much as he's benefited from it, as his ability to get downfield prevents defenses from committing too much to what's going on in the backfield. Chad caught 10 passes against the Bears a month ago, but he only grabbed seven passes combined against the Ravens and Steelers since, and the Steelers doubled him as much as possible. You'd think he'd go off against the pathetic Raiders, but there's the small matter of one Nnamdi Asomugha on the other side of the ball.

For those in the know, Asomugha's been regarded as perhaps the best at his position in the game -- about the closest we've seen to a (wait for it!) shutdown corner since Deion Sanders turned his side of the Cowboys' defensive backfield into a vacant lot in the mid-90s. For the 2008 season, Football Outsiders charted Asomugha as the primary target 32 times, which ranked 96th -- an incredible number for a cornerback who started 15 games. When Asomugha did allow a catch, opposing receivers gained an average of 0.7 yards after catch, making him the only DB with 15 or more targets to allow less than a yard after catch on average.

These two last faced off on December 10, 2006 in Cincinnati, and it'd probably be fair to say that Nnamdi won a split decision on points. Chad caught five balls for 101 yards (including a 42-yarder), but Nnamdi brought in two interceptions in a 27-10 Bengals win. When asked about his adversary this week, Chad told the media that Nnamdi doesn't trash-talk -- he just locks down.

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For his new book, "The Code", Ross Bernstein talked to dozens of current and former NFL players and coaches about the unwritten rules that have held the game together for decades. I've been reading and enjoying the book since I bought it. One play this season made me wonder if the gentrification of pro football has suppressed or eliminated the "eye-for-an-eye" factor. When Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett(notes) pressed his elbow into Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's(notes) throat after Hasselbeck was down on a sack, the only guy who had Hasselbeck's back was head coach Jim Mora -- and that was a day after the game. Dockett wasn't penalized on the play.

"I don't like when it's our quarterback, but if they're not going to call it then I'd like to see our guys do it to their quarterback," Mora said at his Monday press conference, in revealing that he'd sent 17 plays to the NFL's head office for review. "If they're not going to call it. I don't know what the rule is. I haven't heard back yet, so I don't know what they're seeing there. But if that's not going to be called, then we should be doing it."

People have criticized Mora for going public with his complaints, and perhaps rightly so. But who else was standing up for Hasselbeck? Nobody on the field with him. According to current Ravens and former Vikings center Matt Birk(notes), that's not how it's supposed to be done. From the book:

The code to me is all about not taking unnecessary cheap shots or playing dirty. When a player is in a vulnerable, susceptible position, our code says that you have to back off. Sure, you can hit a guy hard, but you can't intentionally try to hurt or injure him. If you do, that is when you will get retaliated against ... if a guy plays dirty or does something that violates the code, we see it and make a note of it for the next time we play them.

Nobody wants more injuries. But with increased focus on what the league deems as unnecessary roughness, and Roger Goodell's insistence on a family-friendly game, is there room for "the code" anymore? Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson(notes), also interviewed for the book, took the concept a step further by calling it "a moral code". But in the battle of the players' morals and the league's ethics, reality will trump old-school justice in the long run if that's the way the NFL wants it. If that's the way the NFL wants it, Step One has to do with throwing that flag and having officials observant enough to see what's going on. And if the refs don't do their jobs, the league can't blame the players for stepping back in.

It's defined the Miami Dolphins since they unleashed it in Week 3 of their miracle 2008 season. It's started a run of read-option plays and direct snaps around the NFL ranging from extremely effective to completely embarrassing. And it's now an endangered species.

When Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown(notes) was put on injured reserve this week with a foot injury, the Wildcat formation went out the window to a degree. Brown has been the formation's pointman for the most part -- it's generally Brown who takes the direct shotgun snaps from center and either runs over right guard, hands to the sweeping Ricky Williams(notes), heads outside right himself, or runs a counter option that's occasionally good for a touchdown pass. With Brown out for the season and the Dolphins at 4-5 coming into tonight's game against the Carolina Panthers, it's tough to know how the team's offensive identity will change. Second-year quarterback Chad Henne(notes) isn't ready to lead the offense, Williams isn't as familiar with direct snaps or passes, and Miami's receiver corps lacks an elite target.

What may save the Dolphins in the short term is the ability of rookie quarterback/wild card Pat White(notes) to run more read-option plays as he did against the Patriots two weeks ago in a 27-17 loss. In that game, White ran left from a shotgun snap for 33 yards and pitched outside to Williams for a 15-yard touchdown. The Dolphins were having trouble getting White acclimated to the timing of the Wildcat formations, but the simpler read-option was completely in his wheelhouse. White ran six times for 45 yards in that game, compared to Brown's 48 yards on 15 carries. With Williams taking snaps, there isn't a sweep threat. If White takes the ball, there are more options available to the Dolphins as they try to fool the Panthers' defense. With fullback Lousaka Polite(notes) blocking as well as anyone playing his position, Miami may want to go with more two- or three-back sets, as they did with an option handoff from a "full house" (inverted wishbone) formation last Sunday against the Buccaneers.

There's still some mileage to be gained out of odd formations for the Dolphins, even with Ronnie Brown out of the picture. It's just a matter of doing what good coaching staffs have to do all the time -- adjust to current circumstances and make the best of what you've got.

Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr (that's him on the right). is one bona-fide pro football legend. As an original member of the "Foolish Club", Adams can lay claim to ownership of a root American Football League team, the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans. Adams and Buffalo's Ralph Wilson are the only living members of that club with any controlling interest in their teams, and it was Adams' recent insistence that head coach Jeff Fisher start Vince Young that has helped the Titans on their recent winning streak after a disastrous 0-6 start. Bud Adams knows football, and he has for a long time.

Unfortunately, Adams isn't as familiar with the concept of public etiquette, as evidenced by his actions during the Titans' 41-17 home win over the Buffalo Bills. Perhaps emboldened by the AFL throwback uniforms exhibited by both teams, the 86-year-old Adams was seen flipping the Bills the double-handed bird on more than one occasion. Of course, one alert fan was on the case with his camcorder, and we have the visual evidence after the jump.

WARNING: If you're offended by the sight of a really old guy flashing two middle fingers, or you're in an environment in which such things might be frowned upon by your family, friends, co-workers or supervisors, consider yourself forewarned.

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As always, there were several fascinating subplots in the New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts matchup, but the primary topic of conversation is what it has always been – the exploits of Peyton Manning(notes) and Tom Brady(notes). Manning, who has been playing quarterback about as well as it can be played this season, did throw a couple of head-scratchers for interceptions, but was absolutely surgical down the stretch as the Colts erased a 34-21 deficit with less than five minutes left in the game.

Two late drives – one of six plays and 48 yards, and one of four plays and 29 yards – ended in touchdowns, and the Colts walked out of their home stadium with the 35-34 win that kept them undefeated, put them three games ahead of their archrivals in the fight for home-field advantage in the playoffs, and tied New England's two 18-game winning streaks, the second-longest in NFL history behind the Pats' 21-gamer from 2003-2004.

Neither Brady nor Manning went into this game expecting a balanced attack – the Pats attempted 42 passes and the Colts 44 – and New England opened their first defensive series with two down linemen. Everyone knew what was coming, and neither defense was especially expert in stopping it. The Pats rolled tight end Dallas Clark(notes) in a ball of coverage, leaving Peyton's other targets open enough for Reggie Wayne(notes) to catch 10 balls and two touchdown passes (including the game-winner) and Pierre Garcon(notes) to haul in three catches and a score. New England espoused a little more of a ground attack, getting decent yardage out of do-it-all back Kevin Faulk(notes), but the home runs had to come from Brady and Randy Moss(notes), who exploited Indy's undermanned secondary for nine catches and two touchdowns.

From a star standpoint, it was as even as it gets – both glamour-boy quarterbacks and #1 receivers had their A-game going, and it took one very questionable late coaching decision to allow the Colts to pull away at the end. When Bill Belichick decided to go for it with 2:08 left in the game and fourth-and-2 from his own 28-yard line, he was either exhibiting too much confidence in his offense, or not enough in his defense. The short pass to Kevin Faulk was bobbled by the receiver, and the call was to deny Faulk the forward progress that would have given New England the first down and the game. Having used up all his timeouts, the coach couldn't challenge the call. Chris Chase will take a closer look at this decision, but in an achingly tight game that lived up to every battle of its kind, Belichick walked away knowing that the key to his team's defeat lay in his own hand.

Still, it's wrong not to lay equivalent credit for the win at Peyton Manning's feet. No matter how far the Colts get, at the end of this season, we're going to look back at the way Manning is playing as one of those "we can tell our grandkids about this" extended performances that define all that's great about this game we love. And once again, the Patriots-Colts game was everything it was cracked up to be.

They lost their primary pass rusher, end Antwan Odom(notes), in a Week 6 loss to the Texans, but their pass rush remains strong. The offensive line is one of the best run-blocking units in the league despite the fact that their first-round draft pick, tackle Andre Smith(notes), hasn't played a down all season. They lost running back Cedric Benson(notes) in today's game and simply rolled on with rookie Bernard Scott(notes) in the backfield. If there's one thing that's marked the season of the 2009 Cincinnati Bengals, it has to be their ability to overcome any manner of adversity with confidence. This was never more evident than in today's 18-12 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In sweeping the Steelers and Ravens, the AFC North's two longtime bullies, the Bengals haven't just put the NFL on notice -- they've established a repeatable culture of winning that they can use going forward into the nearly inevitable postseason berth this gives them.

Despite their 6-2 record, few gave the Bengals a shot at taking the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The winning tradition was clearly on Pittsburgh's side, and most assumed that Cincy's bubble would have to pop at some point. What the naysayers didn't expect was a Bengals defense that held up all day to the challenge, allowing a mere 80 rushing yards, and 16 of those came on Ben Roethlisberger(notes) scrambles. Big Ben was on the run all day, getting sacked four times, and hit and hurried all day. Roethlisberger is usually able to outrun and outgun those who seek to stop him, but not in this game. The Bengals limited the Steelers to three of 15 third-down conversions, and their defensive backs were able to hang with Pittsburgh's receivers even when blitzes left them on an island. The cornerback duo of Johnathan Joseph(notes) and Leon Hall(notes) deserves more recognition as one of the league's top tandems.

On offense, the Bengals took what they could from a Steelers defense that played very well despite the loss of Troy Polamalu(notes), who left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. Carson Palmer(notes) could only lead his offense into the Pittsburgh red zone on three of 12 drives, but kicker Shayne Graham(notes) booted four of five field goals, and the aforementioned Bernard Scott made the difference with a 96-yard kickoff return. Scott almost outgained his offense on kick returns alone, with 206 return yards and 218 for the offense.

At this point, anyone not taking the 7-2 Bengals seriously is just not paying attention. With games against the Raiders, Browns, and Lions in the next three weeks, this could be a 10-2 team before anybody knows it. Should Cincinnati residents start thinking about home playoff tickets for the first time since 2005?

With the season-ending neck injury to nickel cornerback Ellis Hobbs(notes) and the four-game suspension doled out to nickel-and-dime back Joselio Hanson(notes) for taking a banned diuretic, the Philadelphia Eagles' pass defense suddenly looks a bit vulnerable.

According to Football Outsiders, Philly ranks first overall in opponent-adjusted pass defense, but it's where they're best that tells you something about their sub-packages. They're third in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, FO's primary stat, explained here) against #1 receivers, 10th against #2 receivers, and #1 overall against receivers designated at #3 and below. This indicates that while starting cornerbacks Asante Samuel(notes) and Sheldon Brown(notes) are doing their jobs, the Eagles are also very strong when they expand their pass defense formations. Hobbs and Hanson will be replaced by Jack Ikegwuonu(notes) from their practice squad and Ramzee Robinson(notes), who the Eagles picked up after Hobbs' injury.

It's a bad time to come up short, roster-wise. Not only is Philip Rivers(notes) lighting up the NFL with big, fast receivers Vincent Jackson(notes) and Malcom Floyd(notes) and tight end Antonio Gates(notes) (Legedu Naanee(notes), who sees favorable matchups with all the attention on the stars, could be in for a big day if the replacements can't hold up), the Chargers have also gone away from the balanced attack they had when LaDanian Tomlinson was at his peak to a more aerial-intensive attack. Through Week 9, only the Arizona Cardinals have run the ball fewer times than the Chargers' 182, and no team is worse per carry than their 3.1 -- that's over a yard below the NFL average of 4.2. The Eagles will be challenged by Rivers and his pals when they hit the field in sunny Southern California, but there's one thing head coach Andy Reid and chief playcaller Marty Mornhinweg could do to stem the tide -- run the ball!

The Chargers' primary weakness is their run defense. Without nose tackle Jamal Williams(notes), San Diego has allowed 4.29 yards per carry overall, and 5.11 up the middle. Reid and Mornhinweg generally prefer to throw the ball at a 60/40 clip at the very least, but they should consider putting the triad of Brian Westbrook(notes), LeSean McCoy(notes) and Leonard Weaver(notes) on the front burner and controlling the clock. The best way to stop Rivers and the Chargers from blowing up all over Philly's defense is to keep them off the field altogether.