Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson



The Kansas City Chiefs finally showed some life.



Yes, it was in a defeat, but it really doesn’t matter. At 1-7, the Chiefs’ 2009 season is over. It’s all about showing signs for the future; yes, even with a half of the season remaining.



Sunday, even more so than its win at Washington three weeks ago, Kansas City played its best football of the season. It came in the fourth quarter.



After playing listless on offense for the first three quarters, Kansas City exploded for 15 points in the fourth quarter. The comeback fell short, but new coach Todd Haley has to bottle his team’s fourth-quarter play.



Perhaps the key is for Haley to just let quarterback Matt Cassel air it out. The Chiefs came back in the fourth quarter on the strength of Cassel’s arm. He found new receiver Chris Chambers for two touchdowns in the quarter.



Dwayne Bowe and Chambers are a nice receiving pair. Cassel needs to throw to them as much a possible down the stretch.



In the end, it was just another loss for Kansas City, but the team has to feel encouraged by the heartbeat it showed in the final 15 minutes of the game.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Tim Graham



FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Miami Dolphins pulled out all the stops. They ran the option for a touchdown, had running back Ronnie Brown throw for a touchdown and went for it on fourth down on the opening drive of the second half.



It wasn’t enough.



One week after Ted Ginn returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and Jason Taylor scored on a fumble recovery to compensate for an anemic offense, the Dolphins weren’t able to find enough points Sunday in Gillette Stadium.



In a game that was closer on the scoreboard than many anticipated, the New England Patriots were obviously the better team in a 27-17 victory.



With the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills off this weekend, Sunday’s lone AFC East game padded the Patriots’ lead and put the Dolphins in a precarious position. The Patriots are 6-2, two games ahead of the Jets and three ahead of the Dolphins and Bills.



Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in command throughout the game. He threw a long interception while trying to go deep to Randy Moss on the Patriots opening possession.



Brady completed 25 of 37 throws for 332 yards, a chunk coming on Moss’ 71-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Brady also connected with Moss for the two-point conversion and for a 36-yard strike to set up a Laurence Maroney touchdown from the 1-yard line a play later.



Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne went 2-0 in his first NFL starts but had his third straight ordinary Sunday. He was 19-of-34 for 219 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions.



The Patriots mostly held the Wildcat in check, but rookie quarterback Pat White optioned them into the end zone — two keepers for 37 yards and a pitch to Ricky Williams for a 15-yard score — and Brown did throw to tight end Joey Haynos for a 2-yard touchdown.



Brown finished with 15 carries for 48 yards.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas



So, does it make any sense now?



I know about half of Tampa Bay’s fans thought the Bucs were out of their mind when they hired Raheem Morris and totally gutted their team. The other half jumped on when Morris turned around and drafted quarterback Josh Freeman.



The reaction among many was so bad that some fans declared Freeman a bust before he even threw his first pass in minicamp.



Well, guess what? Freeman’s not a bust. He got his first start Sunday and the Bucs got their first win. I’m not saying it’s going to be all clear sailing and Freeman’s going to the Hall of Fame. But he showed some really good things in his first start.



Mark Sunday as a turning point for the Morris regime. As the Bucs were losing their first seven games, all their fans wanted to talk about was the past.



Now, they can start focusing on the future — because Freeman has shown there really is a future.

Posted by ESPN.com’s James Walker



CINCINNATI — The Bengals took one step closer Sunday to claiming the AFC North title.



One of the NFL’s biggest surprises, the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens for the second time this season with a 17-7 victory at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati improved to 6-2 and 4-0 in the AFC North, while the Ravens fell to 4-4 and 1-2 in the division.



The Bengals were dominant early by taking a 17-point lead into intermission. Baltimore’s secondary struggled mightily against the pass and was either giving up big catches or big penalties to keep Cincinnati’s scoring drives alive.



Bengals tailback Cedric Benson (117 yards) also reached triple digits rushing against Baltimore for the second time this season. Cincinnati’s defense was aggressive throughout and held the lead despite the Bengals going scoreless in the second half.



Cincinnati, which beat every team in the division at least once, can take command of the AFC North with a win next week over the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2).



Meanwhile, the veteran Ravens are in deep trouble. They’ve lost four of their last five and desperately need to string together wins in the final eight games to compete for a wild-card berth in a crowded field in the AFC.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky



INDIANAPOLIS — It’s hard to be surprised when the Colts make things go right at the end because it’s so common.



The Texans had two chances to get at least to overtime at Lucas Oil Stadium.



A blitzing Gary Brackett forcing a bad throw by Matt Schaub that was picked by Clint Session to end the first. A near perfect drive got Kris Brown in range of a 42-yard field goal on the game’s final play, and he missed it, just left, to give the Colts a 20-17 win instead of an overtime period.



A great win for the home team and a big disappointment for the visitors.



It wasn’t a death blow for Houston’s playoff chances by any means. And the Texans won’t have to wait long to test themselves against Indy again. After a bye and Monday nighter at home against the Titans, the Texans host the Colts Nov. 29 at Reliant Stadium.



But with the Colts at 8-0 and Houston at 5-4, it’s certainly safe to say the division belongs to Indianapolis, no matter how challenging Indy’s schedule gets with games against New England and at Baltimore between now and then.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Mike Sando



CHICAGO — The Cardinals took the Bears’ best shot — a first-quarter sucker punch from defensive tackle Tommie Harris to guard Deuce Lutui’s head — and did not blink.



They again distinguished themselves from the NFC West pack by beating a decent team on the road.



Arizona improbably improved its road record to 4-0. The focus will now shift to the Cardinals’ inability to win home games. Arizona, always up for a challenge, will probably refocus its fury upon visiting Seattle in Week 10.



The Cardinals then visit the Rams in Week 11, followed by a trip to Tennessee.



Beating the Bears put Arizona in strong position to match its record through 10 games last season (7-3) and possibly get to 8-3. If the Cardinals can get to that mark, the rest of the division will have a very difficult time catching them. Nothing is automatic with Arizona, of course, so the team should proceed into this three-game soft stretch with caution. Facing a division opponent in Week 10 should help the Cardinals keep their focus.



Establishing a strong ground game against the Bears gives the Cardinals a needed confidence boost in that phase of the game. The Cardinals will become dynamic offensively if they can build on their most impressive rushing performance since the playoffs last season. Kurt Warner matched a career high with five touchdown passes Sunday largely because the team established credibility on the ground early in the game.



That must continue for Arizona to realize its potential.

Posted by ESPN.com’s James Walker



CINCINNATI — The Bengals lead the Ravens, 17-0, at halftime of this AFC North showdown.



Here are some notes and observations:

• The Bengals drew up a great offensive game plan entering this game. They are testing Baltimore cornerbacks Fabian Washington and Domonique Foxworth nearly every chance they find the corners in man coverage. Oftentimes Baltimore is in soft coverage in fear of not getting beat deep, and Cincinnati is piling up the yards.
• On top of that, I don’t see the same energy from Baltimore’s defense that I saw last week against the Denver Broncos. The Ravens aren’t winning many one-on-one matchups against the Bengals and their receivers are beating Baltimore’s secondary pretty effortlessly. Cincinnati tailback Cedric Benson also has 80 rushing yards in the first half and is on pace to get triple digits against Baltimore for the second time this season.
• Including the game against the Chicago Bears, the Bengals have scored 62 points in the past six quarters. This is easily as well and efficient as Cincinnati’s offense has played all season. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has thrown for 137 yards and a touchdown.
• Interesting note: When Washington was injured and left the game in the second quarter, rookie Lardarius Webb was the replacement. Baltimore has gone to veterans Chris Carr and Frank Walker earlier this season but seems to be increasingly losing confidence in the pair of veterans. Walker is inactive Sunday. Washington eventually returned to the game.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert



CHICAGO — Stop reading now if you want to see something — anything — nice about the Bears. They played a terrible half in all three phases of the game and have been jeered loudly in their home stadium. Arizona leads 31-7 — yes, that’s right — and here are my halftime thoughts:

• The Bears have been a step behind the Cardinals’ offense, both physically and from a scheme perspective, all game. Their front four has gotten almost no push, and their blitzes have been wholly ineffective. The Cardinals are running out of passing formations and passing out of run formations, clearly confusing the Bears and again calling into question their ability to make in-game adjustments.
• I don’t consider the loss of defensive tackle Tommie Harris to be significant given his production this season. But if nothing else, his ejection has left some of the Bears’ other defensive tackles winded while rushing Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner.
• The Cardinals have compiled a full game’s worth of statistics in one half: 296 total offensive yards and 20 first downs. Warner has four touchdown passes and has completed 17 of 22 passes.
• The Bears opened the game throwing and I don’t think we’ll see much of Matt Forte in the second half with this deficit. Quarterback Jay Cutler threw on 11 of the Bears’ first 13 plays. His 42-yard pass to Devin Hester set up a 33-yard scoring strike to tight end Greg Olsen, but since then, Cutler has had trouble moving the Bears down the field.
• Even the Bears’ usually-strong special teams have failed them. Robbie Gould’s 48-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter was partially blocked, and Antrel Rolle’s 59-yard return set up the Cardinals’ final score before halftime.
• The Bears finished the half without two of their four starting defensive backs: Cornerback Charles Tillman and safety Al Afalava, both of whom had shoulder injuries.
• The boo birds have been out early and often in this game. I’ll be very curious to see how fans react if the Bears roll over in the second half.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Mike Sando



CHICAGO — The Cardinals’ offensive machine has dominated to dream-like levels while building a 31-7 first-half lead over the Bears at Soldier Field.



The chart illustrates just how complete Arizona’s mastery has been to this point in the game. Check out those rushing numbers across personnel groups.



No other team in the NFC West and very few in the NFL can produce to that level against a decent team on the road or anywhere. Enjoy this, Cardinals fans. It doesn’t get much better during the regular season.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Tim Graham



FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — During my weekly visit with ESPN Radio’s Jon Stashower on Sunday morning, we discussed whether the Miami Dolphins‘ fascinating Wildcat offense could surprise the New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium a second straight year.

White

I told Stashower that was unlikely given the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets had stifled the Wildcat in consecutive weeks, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick had an extra week to prepare for it. The Patriots are 7-2 after a bye under Belichick.



But I said there would be one way for the Dolphins to give the Patriots trouble: Unveil some new uses for rookie quarterback Pat White, who was drafted to complement the Wildcat package.



The Dolphins have done just that. Since it’s technically not the Wildcat — those plays are direct snaps to a running back — let’s call it the “Wildpat.”



Down 10-3 in the second quarter, the Dolphins sent White into the game. White, known for running the option at West Virginia, reprised his collegiate role. On his first snap, he kept the ball and ran for 33 yards into Patriots territory. On the next play, he ran for 4.



From the 15-yard line, the Dolphins called another option play. This time, White flipped it to Ricky Williams, who ran it in for a game-tying touchdown.



The Dolphins went 80 yards on the drive and didn’t complete a pass.



This gives the Patriots something to worry about.