The Patriots, wearing their slick silver jerseys struck first blood in the first half with a field goal and an Antowain Smith touchdown to go into the half with 9-0 lead after Adam Vinatieri's extra point was blocked. The Patriots just controlled the ballgame the entire half, putting Dallas quarterback Quincy Carter in lots of third and long situations. And ironically, the penalties were called against Dallas more than the Patriots.

Neither of the Bills talked before the game. The two just stood on their own sidelines, and minded their own business.

The slugfest continued into the third quarter until Ty Law stole one away for an interception during an pivotal drive into Patriots territory. But like too many of the drive during this game, it ended up with a fourth and long and had to punt.

One fourth and inches in the fourth quarter, Dallas went for it, called a terrible play and the running back Troy Hambrick ran into Tedy Bruschi a good two yards from the line of scrimmage. Later, Carter tried to force a play and it was picked off by Patriots Safety Tyrone Poole. That led to an Adam Vinatieri 39-yard field goal that got pulled for a Dallas penalty and a New England first down. New England went to work off the clock that was already under four minutes to play in the game. The offense wore down the clock to the two minute warning and then Vinatieri kicked another field goal, this one good.

Carter and the Dallas offense went to work after the two minute warning. It turned into a Ty Law interception in the endzone. Game over.

Game over, Tuna.

Rams (7-3) 23 BEARS (3-7) 21 - FINAL: Close game. Not really. Chicago had the lead at the half, 14-3, but gave up 20 points in the second half. Ooops. Can't do that this time of year.

BENGALS (4-5) 24, Chiefs (9-1) 19 - FINAL: Predictions. Remember Clubber Lang's prediction of "pain?" Well, Chad Johnson predicted a win for Cinci and check it out! KC will not run the table, just will not do it. Big momentum boost for Marvin Lewis' boys. Bravo job, my Bengals! Bravo! And guess what? The Bengals are tied for first place in the division.

TITANS (8-2) 10, Jaguars (2-8) 3 - FINAL: 10-3, this must have been a fun one to watch. Who can argue with the Titans at 8-2? And again, they're doing it quietly.

PANTHERS (8-2) 20, Redskins (4-6) 17 - FINAL: Carolina is getting the wins they need, and go to 8-2. And a little of a slugfest, with most of the points coming in the fourth quarter. Well, at least Steve Spurrier can go out entertaining us.

EAGLES (7-3) 28, Giants (4-6) 10 - FINAL: Poor Jim Fassell. His Jersey Giants cannot get the wins they need to stay in the race. And this one will pretty much put the nail in the coffin for the Giants this year. I might be jumping the gun here, but I doubt it. Philly has just come back in the world after a dismal start way back in September.

Texans (3-6) 12, BILLS (4-5) 10 - FINAL: The Bills suck. They just suck, and so does Drew Bledsoe. Man, I am so disgusted here.

BROWNS (4-6) 44, Cardinals (3-7) 6 - FINAL: Wow! The Browns dump their big receiver and whack Arizona for 44 points. Wait a second, I'm getting excited about Cleveland scoring 44 against the Cardinals? Forget it. This one is no biggy.

SAINTS (4-5) 23, Falcons (2-7) 20 - FINAL/OT: The Saint get it done! They had to drag it out into overtime, but hey, another nail in Dan Reeves' coffin is what this turns out to be!

DOLPHINS (5-4) 9, Ravens (5-4) 6 - FINAL/OT: Yuck. A Field goaler into overtime. The loser's game.

BRONCOS (5-4) 37, Chargers (2-7) 8 - FINAL: I guess Flutie Magic Dust doesn't work a mile above sea level. Jake Plummer is back, with 3 TDs, and man, Denver has to be happy.

COLTS (8-2) 38, Jets (3-7) 31 - FINAL: Ahh, poor New Jersey. Double losses this weekend, and the Jets even tried oh-so hard to get themselves a big win, and ended up with a big ass loss.

SEAHAWKS (7-3) 35, Lions (3-7) 14 - FINAL: Seattle beats Detroit at home. Woohoo!

RAIDERS (3-7) 28, Vikings (6-4) 18 - FINAL: Wow. Oakland gets a huge win over the going-down-fast Minneso-sota.

Packers (5-5) 20, BUCCANEERS (4-6) 13 - FINAL: You can't lose four in a row at home coming off a Super Bowl win and expect to go back to the show this year. Ok, Warren Sapp? Are you listening to me now?

PATRIOTS (8-2) 12, Cowboys (7-3) 0 - FINAL: Big time slugfest, but Dallas could not get down the field at all to make anything happen. Best team won.

The Patriots have activated wide receiver Chas Gessner in replace of David Patten, who is on inured reserve following knee surgery. An unsigned rookie free agent out of Brown, number 18 is the tallest receiver the Patriots now have at 6'4".

Both Rich Gannon of Oakland and Wayne Chrebet of New Jersey are out for the year. Gannon has had surgery on his right shoulder and Chrebet is out on IR with a concussion sustained in the game against the Giants. Also out for Oakland is Marques Tuiasosopo, the backup quarterback. Rick Mirer, the third stringer, is filling in. The Jets signed Kevin Lockett to fill in on wide receiver.

Cleveland release leading receiver Kevin Johnson after benching him the week before. The official word from the Browns says that Johnson was not pulling his weight. He has since been resigned by ailing Jacksonville.

Baltimore's Kyle Boller is out with a torn quadricep and has had surgery and third stringer Anthony Wright will start over Chris Redman. The Ravens also signed Ray Lucas to be the third quarterback. Boller hopes to be back this season.

Giant Tight End Jeremy Shockey is out for at least three weeks with a torn MCL in his right knee. Early reports have him out for the season, however a second opinion came back with an earlier timeframe.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 1 PM. AFC North game. Winner stays out of the cellar.

St. Louis at Arizona, 4:05 PM. NFC West game. Rams looking to gain more ground in the division, the Cards looking to sell off the prime real estate real cheap.

Oakland at Kansas City, 4:15 PM. AFC West. If Oakland wants to redeem any of this season, and show people that last year's Super Bowl team is still kicking, they can start by doing a number on the Chiefs, and getting some prime real estate in the division.

Detroit at Minnesota, 1 PM. NFC West game. Detroit is 0-700 on the road since their last win.

- Drew Bledsoe after a pathetic loss to Houston.

- The Patriots fans to Terry Glenn.

1. The Bill Bowl hype was everything we hoped it to be. Fortunately, it ended in a New England win.

2. The Bengals break the Chiefs' big time start of 9-0. And they've got themselves a tie for the lead in the AFC North.

3. What is wrong with Minnesota? They started off so good and now they're going down so fast.

4. Nice job by Philly. They started off the season tripping, and they've gotten themselves back up and running.

5. Of all the hot and semi-hot teams in the AFC, Miami and Baltimore are the most pathetic. They are supposed to be tough defenses with sizzling offenses, and they have not lived up to their own hype.

6. Denver has to be happy with having Jake Plummer back playing. If nothing else, it got the Broncos back into winning, and probably just in time before they lost the rest of their season.

7. Mick Vick was back practicing, but I would not be surprised if his next game is coached by someone else. Dan Reeves has just botched this season with Atlanta.

8. The Teds are back! Washington and Johnson both saw action Sunday night.

9. How hot is Rodney Harrison? If he doesn't make the Pro Bowl, no one should.

10. The Patriots have to shop for a new punter. Kenny Walter has worn out his welcome here, ranking 32nd in the league for punters.

ejh