• PHI LB Carlos Emmons breaks leg, done for year
• BAL LB Terrell Suggs makes push for Defensive Rookie of Year
• MIN LB Chris Claiborne inactive for third time in four weeks
• Several Panthers rest with playoff spot achieved
• JAX DE Tony Brackens comeback season may end on sour note
• TB DE Greg Spires goes down
• CIN LB Adrian Ross tears ACL
• CHI SS Mike Green put on IR
• TEN CB Samari rolls over Houston in second half
• WAS SS Ifeanyi Ohalete posts big game, suffers season-ending injuries
• NE LB Willie McGinest AFC Defensive Player of the Week
• SF SS Tony Parrish NFC Defensive Player of the Week
• IDP Depth Charts
• Week Seventeen NFL Injury Report

LB Keith Brooking led the team with 12 tackles (11 solo).

Baltimore
1st round pick Terrell Suggs took advantage last week of his additional playing time with Adalius Thomas done for the season. Suggs had 2 sacks, forcing a fumble on each, and recovering one of them himself. He had assists on 3 other tackles. His team-leading 12 sacks are a Ravens' rookie record and 2.5 shy of the NFL record for a rookie, held by Jevon Kearse. LB Peter Boulware also had a sack before spraining his knee and seeing limited action in the second half. He is Questionable this week.

Buffalo
LB London Fletcher led the team with 14 tackles (11 solo). DE Aaron Schobel added another sack to his increase his team-lead to 11.5 for the season. He also had 6 tackles (3 solo).

Pierson Prioleau started at FS with Izell Reese done for the year, but Coy Wire was slightly more productive.

Carolina
With the playoffs locked up, DE Mike Rucker (knee), DT Brenston Buckner (knee), and CB Terry Cousins (calf) sat to rest various injuries. Al Wallace, Shane Burton, and Ricky Manning, respectively, got the starts for them. All three may rest again this week.

SS Mike Minter led the team with 7 tackles (5 solo) and had an interception.

Chicago
Mike Green was added to the IR due to his lingering groin problems. Bobby Gray, who had all but taken the job away, will finish the season with another start at SS.

LB Brian Urlacher led the team with 8 tackles (7 solo).

Cincinnati
LB Adrian Ross tore his ACL at the end of the game and was put on the IR.

DE Justin Smith led the team with 8 tackles (7 solo) and had a sack.

Cleveland
The defense got a good push up the middle from the interior linement, but it still wasn't enough to slow down Jamal Lewis and stop Baltimore. DT Orpheus Roye led the team with 7 tackles (6 solo). DT Michael Myers, cut earlier this year from Dallas, got a start when Gerrard Warren was benched for the start of the game, for missing a meeting. Myers went on to register 2 sacks and 7 tackles (4 solo). Warren also had a sack.

Dallas
Ebenezer Ebukan returned to starter at DE, but was one of the few up front who didn't take advantage of Jesse Palmer's second career start and a Giant team who mostly gave up before kick-off. DE Greg Ellis had 2 sacks, and DTs Willie Blade and La'Roi Glover each had 1, as well as Eric Ogbogu, who had started over Ebukan the past 2 weeks.

Denver
With the offense absolutely dominating the time of possession (45 minutes to 15), the D had few chances to post stats. DEs Bert Berry and Trevor Pryce had a sack each.

The defense overcame some mental lapses, including 2 key penalties on the Browns last possession of the first half and 1 on the last possession of regulation that helped keep both drives alive and resulted in TDs. It was Berry's 4.5th sack in 3 games.

Detroit
Rookie LB Boss Bailey had a day, leading the team with 12 tackles (11 solo), he also returned a fumble 62-yards for his first career touchdown.

Green Bay
With Brett Favre giving them a huge lead, the D pinned their ears back and got after Rick Mirer. KGB, facing his brother, a Raiders rookie DE, for the first time, led the way with 3 sacks, tying a career-high. With CB Mike McKenzie inactive with turf toe, Michael Hawthorne took advantage of the start, grabbing 2 interceptions and posting 4 solo tackles.

Houston
The defense couldn't take advantage of a gimpy Steve McNair, failing to put much pressure on him all day. LB Jaime Sharper led the team with 10 tackles (4 solo).

FS Marlon McCree returned an interception 95-yards for a touchdown, the longest play of any kind in team history.

Indianapolis
The defense started good, when undrafted rookie free agent LB Gary Brackett returned a pick for a score on the first drive, but wore down have to spend nearly 45 minutes on the field. LB David Thornton led the team with 11 tackles (10 solo).

Jacksonville
DT Marcus Stroud got a Pro Bowl nod, but fellow DT John Henderson has been as much a force in returning respectability to their defense. Henderson took the snub out on the Saints, posting 5 solo tackles and sack, outperforming Stroud.

The story of DE Tony Brackens challenging off-season struggle to return football, muchless start 15 games and lead the team in sacks, may not have a happy ending. He tore some cartilage in his knee in the second half of last week's game, and is Doubtful for the season finale.

Kansas City
SS Greg Wesley was one of a few bright spots for a Chiefs D emasculated by the Vikings. He led the team with 11 solo tackles, had a sack, picked off a pass, and forced a fumble.

Rookie Kawika Mitchell continues to start at MLB in place of Mike Maslowski, who remains inactive.

Miami
The D ended Miami's annual December Swoon, teeing off on the Bills, but it proved too little, too late, as a Denver win eliminated the Dolphins playoff chances. DE Jason Taylor was in the backfield so frequently, the Bills might as well have let him lineup there. Taylor had 2 solo sacks and shared another with fellow DE Adewale Ogunleye, who also had a solo sack.

Minnesota
After getting one in 6 straight games and leading the NFL for much of the season, FS Brian Russell hadn't had an interception yet in December and only 1 since October 19th. He jumped back in the race, grabbing 2 in a key win over the Chiefs, keeping the Vikings playoff hopes alive. Russell also had 3 solo tackles and a fumble recovery.

LB Chris Claiborne was inactive again.

New England
LB Willie McGinest, who's future seemed questioable when Rosevelt Colvin was added, continues to be a strong contributer. He led the team with 11 tackles (7 solo), returned an interception for a go-head score in the 2nd quarter, and had a sack on which he forced a fumble. His effort earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The defense totaled 5 interceptions, with LB Tedy Bruschi, CB Ty Law, SS Rodney Harrison, and rookie FS Eugene Wilson, sealing the victory, joining McGinest with picks.

New Orleans
DEs Charles Grant had the Saints only sack, as well as 6 tackles (5 solo). SS Jay Bellamy led the team with 12 tackles (9 solo).

New York Giants
While the rest of the team remained deflated under a lame duck coach, a few players were, at a minimum, motivated by individual goals. DE Michael Strahan had 3 sacks to regain the NFL lead with 17 for the season. LB Dhani Jones, heading into unrestricted free agency, had 11 solo tackles to lead the team.

New York Jets
The team again failed to pressure the QB, registering no sacks, including DE Shaun Ellis failing to get to the QB for his fourth straight game. FS Tyrone Carter continues to take advantage of his starting role, grabbing an interception for the only Jet turnover.

LB Sam Cowart returned and tied DT Jason Ferguson for the team-lead in tackles with 6 (4 solo for each).

Oakland
CB Charles Woodson makes no pretense of his pending free agency not being about showing him the money. He said he wants to be the top-paid corner in the league, and will presumably go to whoever will make him that, which is unlikely to be the Raiders.

Rookie reserve DE Akbar Gbaja-Biamila faced his brother for the first time, but his 2 assisted tackles didn't match up well to KGB's 3 sacks.

Philadelphia
LB Carlos Emmons broke his leg against San Francisco and was put on the IR after season-ending surgery. Ike Reese replaced him after the injury and finished with 4 solo tackles. S Norman LeJeune was signed from the practice squad to fill his roster spot.

SS Michael Lewis led the team with 9 solo tackles.

Pittsburgh
CB DeShea Townsend continues to prosper since being elevated to a starter. He had 2 interceptions, returning one for a TD, as well as 9 tackles (8 solo), another pass defensed, and a fumble recovery, which featured a rare Troy Polamalu sighting. Big things were expected from Polamalu as a rookie, but he has been limited to a back-up role most of the season. He had his second sack of the season, forcing the fumble that Townsend recovered.

LB Jame Farrior led the team with 13 tackles (11 solo).

St. Louis
SS Adam Archuleta had another big day, leading the team with 8 solo tackles, he also had an interception. However, DE Grant Wistrom was the star. He shared his first sack with fellow DE Leonard Little, then went on to get 2 more in the second half. In addition, he posted 7 tackles (5 solo).

San Diego
As usual, Donnie Edwards led the team in tackles (13, 6 solo) and there's nothing else fantasy-worthy to report.

San Francisco
SS Tony Parrish intercepted the Eagles first and last pass of the game, helping the 49ers to an upset win in overtime. Along the way he totaled 5 tackles (4 solo) and forced a fumble on a key play originally ruled as a touchdown. Parrish knocked the ball out of Todd Pinkston's hands before crossing the goalline and after review of the San Francisco challenge, it was ruled a touchback, preventing a score and giving the 49ers possession. His work got him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Parrish has 9 interceptions for the season, tied for the NFL-lead.

Seattle
A little NFL Week 16 Jeopardy. The answer: DE Chike Okeafor (twice), DE Lamar King (twice), DE Brandon Mitchell, DT John Randle, DT Rocky Bernard, and LB Anthony Simmon. The question: Which Seahawks were special guests at the Josh McCown Sack Party last week, taking him down a total of 8 times?

LB Chad Brown was a late scratch due to the flu, and is expected to return this week. D.D. Lewis, who has gotten a few starts for Anthony Simmons lately, started in Brown's place. Anthony Simmons returned to the starting lineup and led the team with 8 solo tackles, also picking up the aforementioned sack.

Reggie Tongue was inactive again due to his hamstring, keeping Damien Robinson a starter at FS and Ken Hamlin as the starter at SS.

Tampa Bay
After posting three sacks in his last two games, DE Greg Spires was playing well again. He had 4 tackles (3 solo) and a fumble recovery before tearing his left rotator cuff. The injury shelves Spires for the year. Combined with the end of the Bucs playoff hopes, rookie DE Dewayne White should see extensive playing time this week.

LB Shelton Quarles led the team with 14 tackles (8 solo).

Tennessee
CB Samari Rolle had one solo tackle in the first half, but was the closer for the team in the second. With Tennessee up only a touchdown, he picked off Houston on the first series of the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately for the Titans, the following drive resulted in an interception return for a touchdown by Houston, knotting the game at 10. After the Titans responding with a 3-and-out, Rolle came through once again, picking up a fumble forced by Keith Bulluck and returning it 61-yards for a TD. Then, he picked off his second pass with only seconds left to seal a 3-point victory.

Washington
SS Ifeanyi Ohalete led the team with 11 tackles (8 solo), but suffered knee and ankle injuries in the game forcing him to the IR.