SUNDAY RECAP: AFC VARIETY

Leon Washington- After a breakout game against Detroit, the rookie RB followed up that performance with a 15 carry 51 yard day. It was very disappointing against a weak Cleveland team, but big days cannot be expected week in and week out from Washington. He's a fine third RB for your squad.

Chad Johnson- Ocho Cinco finally found the endzone again on Sunday, but it appears likely that he will have to shave his head after suffering defeat on Sunday. Johnson finished with 6 catches for 78 yards and a TD. While this was an improvement over prior performances, we're still waiting for his breakout performance. From what the Bengals have shown so far this season, it just may not be Chad Johnson's year.

Rudi Johnson- After a very solid start to the season, Johnson had his first clunker of the season. He finished with a weak 12 carries for 46 yards, but he did throw in a TD to make his owners happy. The Bengals offensive line is a huge question mark to every one on offense, and until it regains its old form. Rudi has a tough stretch coming up, and he may not be as productive as he was the first half of the season.

Ben Roethlisberger- Are the Steelers really this bad? Faced with a must win game against the putrid Raiders, the Steelers could not pull off a victory. One of the main reasons was Big Ben, who three four interceptions. A change at QB is very unlikely for the Steelers because if you look at the rest of Roethlisberger's stats (25 for 37 and 301 yards) it wasn't that bad of an outing. The Steelers face off against Denver in a game for their season next week, and it appears bleak that they will actually pull of the upset.

Steve McNair- It was one of those old school classic performances for Steve McNair on Sunday. He was 17 for 23 with 159 yards and 3 total TDs. The Ravens tore up the upstart Saints defense, and McNair was the key reason for success. He is no longer a starting fantasy QB at this portion of his career, but he is the right fit for the Ravens offense.

Jamal Lewis- The former 2,000 yard running back had his first 100 yard performance of the year on Sunday. If he continues to have days like this, the cries for Musa Smith will silence. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to us Jamal Lewis has never been able to regain his once MVP form.

Kellen Winslow Jr.- The change of the offensive coordinator was very pleasing to Winslow who had major problems with way the offense was ran. In the following game, he had 7 catches for 76 yards and a TD. Winslow seems to be the go to guy for Charlie Frye this season, and he has become one of the more consistent TEs in football. The only question is if he will be able to play his first full season since college.

Peyton Manning- Facing the toughest defense he will see all season, Manning shredded it up for three touchdowns and 345 yards. There's really nothing so far that has shown that it is possible to stop the Colts offense which has rebounded nicely from the loss of Edgerrin James. With a 7-0 record and another great season, Peyton Manning is likely to once again become the MVP.

Reggie Wayne- In their game against Denver, Peyton Manning could have told the Broncos he was throwing to Wayne, and it wouldn't have mattered. When the game was on the line, Manning hooked up with Wayne several times and then the go ahead score. Wayne finished the day with 138 yards and 3 TDs in one of the best individual WR performances this season. He's off to a tremendous start and is a top 10 WR.

Dominic Rhodes/Joseph Addai- Realizing that this was their biggest game to date, the Colts relied on Addai in the running game. Rhodes finished with 0 yards on 3 three carries while Addai had a very impressive 17 carries for 93 yards. It would be nice if Addai was named the starting RB in Indy, but he should assume most of the carries as they go towards the playoffs.

David Garrard- The Jaguars QB managed the game very well against the tough Philadelphia defense making no mistakes. Despite unimpressive numbers (10 for 17 and 87 yards) Garrard never did anything to cost his team the game. He stopped the bleeding for Jacksonville, but Byron Leftwich will remain the team's starting QB.

Fred Taylor/Maurice Jones-Drew- The reason the Jaguars won on Sunday was their relentless running attack. Taylor finished with 15 carries for 103 yards and a TD, while Jones-Drew had 21 carries for 77 yards. The biggest news was that Taylor suffered his inevitable hamstring injury on Sunday. It'll be interesting to see what Jones-Drew can do in a starting role if Taylor is out.

Wali Lundy- The Texans could have started Lundy all year, but then they could have had a consistent running attack, and they obviously didn't want that because they passed on Reggie Bush. Lundy finished with 18 carries for 116 yards against the thin Tennessee defense. There's no reason Lundy won't start for the rest of the season, and with only two more tough defenses ahead of him, he's a great player to be owned.

David Carr- The Texans QB was atrocious on Sunday as he turned the ball over three times before being benched by Gary Kubiak. Sage Rosenfels took over and threw three TDs, but Carr will remain the team's QB. Carr, who started off the season on fire, has no fallen back into the realm of an average QB in this league.

Vince Young- The Titans franchise player didn't really throw the ball all day (7 for 15), but still managed to have two TDs. At this stage of his career, he's getting by with his athleticism, but once he get this first season under his belt, he should be on his way to a very good NFL career. He should one day have a season like Michael Vick is having now, but signs show that it will come sooner than his sixth season.

Travis Henry- One of the hottest players in the NFL, Travis Henry, cooled down on Sunday in a game against the Texans when he should have busted out again. Henry finished with a weak 15 carries for 29 carries. Henry should have better days than these, but it'll be hard to start him again as Lendale White will slowly be given carries to become their eventual starter.

Larry Johnson- The top performer of week 8 was Chiefs RB Larry Johnson. He finished with over 180 yards of total offense and count 'em four touchdowns. He and Tomlinson have been competing for the top RB spot all season, and more performances like these should come for Johnson who is historically better in the second half of the season. The Chiefs will continue to ride him all year long with their shaky QB situation.

LaDainian Tomlinson- Take that Johnson. Tomlinson countered LJ's performance with three TDs and over 230 total yards. LT has 11 touchdowns through 8 games this season, and is one of the sure bets in fantasy football. His next two games are against Cleveland and Cincinnati, where he should again post up huge numbers. Tomlinson is one of the few players that never faces a bad matchup.

Tatum Bell/Mike Bell- One Bell replaced another and a beat wasn't missed. Tatum Bell left early in the game with a toe injury, and Mike Bell took full advantage of the situation by rushing 15 times for 136 yards and two TDs. It looks like Tatum will miss at least 1 game, and Mike Bell should be owned in all leagues. Toe injuries are hard to recover from, so it wouldn't be a shock if Mike Bell started getting a great deal of work.