Oct. 21
More from Chris Mortensen: Vick should return this year

Editor's Note: Chris Mortensen offers his usual array of NFL Top-Five Lists to summarize Week 7.
Week 7 brought lots of lists to mind. And this week -- for the first time this season -- I'm getting off the Bucs as my NFC Super Bowl pick (for now). My new Super Bowl pick: the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Minnesota Vikings.

Here are my Week 7 Top-Five Lists:

Best Games
1. Chiefs 17, Raiders 10 -- Another MNF nail-biter in which football proved it's also a game of inches (Raiders WR Tim Brown was tackled inside the 1-yard line as time expired).
2. Patriots 19, Dolphins 13 (OT) -- In a big AFC East game, one team played it safe, the other went for the jugular.
3. Vikings 28, Broncos 20 -- While Randy Moss awed and entertained us, the Broncos scrapped only to find that the Metrodome is not very friendly confines.
4. Rams 34, Packers 24 -- The Packers made a go of it, but the Rams pulled away.
5. 5a. Chargers 26, Browns 20 -- Kelly Holcomb made us think something crazy was about to happen in the end.
6. 5b. Jets 19, Texans 14 -- Vinny Testaverde and Santana Moss led a comeback victory that shows the Jets have some heart.

Most Impressive in Victory
1. Titans 37, Panthers 17 -- If the Colts hadn't crushed the Titans earlier, you'd almost give Steve McNair and company a pass to the Super Bowl.
2. Rams 34, Packers 24 -- The Packers admittedly discovered what nobody seems to have noticed: The Rams have become a nasty team.
3. Cowboys 35, Lions 7 -- This was ultimate proof that Bill Parcells has his team's undivided attention.
4. 49ers 24, Bucs 7 -- Backed against the Pacific Ocean, Dennis Erickson's 49ers played with a desperation that KO'd the Bucs.
5. Saints 45, Falcons 17 -- Or were the Falcons that bad? Regardless, if the Saints build on this one, they can salvage the season.

Best Performance: Quarterback
1. Quincy Carter, Cowboys -- It was his game in the first half when the Cowboys sealed the win with three touchdown passes.
2. Aaron Brooks, Saints -- Yes, the Falcons' secondary is making a lot of quarterbacks healthy, but Brooks didn't miss his chance with 352 yards and three touchdowns.
3. Tom Brady, Patriots -- He battled bravely again and hit on a game-ending overtime bomb that lifted the Pats into the AFC East lead.
4. Daunte Culpepper, Vikings -- So where are all those strange skeptics who wondered whether Gus Frerotte should keep the job?
5. Jon Kitna, Bengals -- You can make all the fun you want of this guy, but he is a battler and proved it again with 274 yards, three touchdowns as the Bengals bounced Baltimore.

Best Performance: Receiver
1. Terrell Owens, 49ers -- Oh, that's what the fuss is all about. He showed up with big plays in big win over Bucs.
2. Randy Moss, Vikings -- On a day like Sunday against the Broncos, he really looked like Michael Jordan.
3. Terry Glenn, Cowboys -- His three touchdowns is further proof there is reincarnation in the NFL.
4. Josh Reed, Bills -- On another day when Eric Moulds was sidelined, Reed stepped up with eight catches, 109 yards, one touchdown.
5. Joe Horn, Saints -- You can't sneeze at 133 yards and a touchdown.

Best Performance: Running Back
1. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers -- He almost singlehandedly delivered the Chargers from despair with a 200-yard day.
2. Travis Henry, Bills -- He ran tough and smart on 31 carries for 167 yards and two touchdowns as the Bills dominated the Redskins.
3. Garrison Hearst, 49ers -- One fumble aside, he ran with a purpose (20-for-117, 1 touchdown) vs. Tampa Bay that all young backs should study.
4. Deuce McAlister, Saints -- His performance (21-for-116, 2 touchdowns) should be a weekly event.
5. Shaun Alexander, Seahawks -- His 25 yard scoring run -- his second of the game -- lifted the first-place Seahawks over an upset-driven Bears team.

Best Plays
1. Randy Moss to Moe Williams -- a 59-yard touchdown in which Moss executed a reverse over-the-shoulder lateral on an improbable hook-and-ladder pass from Daunte Culpepper on the Vikings' last play of the first half.
2. Terrell Owens' flash -- Finally, T.O. delivered by turning a six-yard completion into a brilliant 75-yard touchdown that gave the 49ers a 21-7 third-quarter lead and broke the Bucs' backs.
3. Tom Brady to Troy Brown -- an 82-yard pass on first down in overtime that clearly surprised the Dolphins.
4. Titans' trick punt formation -- Backup quarterback Billy Volek threw a 50-yard score to Eddie Berlin that accomplished Jeff Fisher's goal -- a 14-0 lead against the Panthers in the first quarter.
5. Terry Glenn's first touchdown catch -- Outstretched, he caught a bullet from Quincy Carter and managed to drag his toes at the back of the end zone.

Coaching Honor Roll
1. Bill Parcells, Cowboys -- In a road game with a huge trap door against a Lions team coming off a bye, the Tuna's Cowboys demolished Detroit.
2. Bill Belichick, Patriots -- As Ty Law, Willie McGinest and Antowain Smith joined that long list of street-clothes players, Belichick brilliantly found a way to break a six-game losing streak in Miami.
3. Mike Tice, Vikings -- Coming off a bye, Tice ran training camp-style practices all week for the Broncos, then loosened his team up Friday by taking the field in uniform. Yes, the head coach in uniform.
4. Mike Martz, Rams -- So if you ripped Martz for losing the opener, do you applaud him for reinventing the Rams into a physical, efficient contender as Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk stand on the sidelines?
5. Jeff Fisher, Titans -- He knew exactly how he wanted to beat the Panthers -- by exploding for a 14-0 lead -- and got his players to execute it.

Stock's Up
1. Dallas Cowboys -- Win at Detroit even more impressive than nod over Eagles.
2. New England Patriots -- Injury-decimated Pats are in first place.
3. Tennessee Titans -- Domination on road over unbeaten Panthers.
4. St. Louis Rams -- The Packers expressed surprise at Rams' intensity.
5a. Minnesota Vikings -- A decision over Broncos makes it official: They're good.
5b. New York Jets -- Two wins and Chad Pennington's coming back.
5c. Cincinnati Bengals -- Better pay attention to what Marvin Lewis has done.

Stock's Down
1. Washington Redskins -- Ball coach better draw up some heart.
2. New York Giants -- They have proven they know how to lose.
3. Atlanta Falcons -- It's so ugly, you can't look.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Two out of three losses can break confidence.
5. Denver Broncos -- Quarterback problems puts 'em in crisis mode.

Top Games: Week 8
1. Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Parcells vs. Gruden in a game of urgency for the defending Super Bowl champs.
2. Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs -- A Sunday nighter as the Chiefs shoot for an undefeated season at the halfway mark.
3. St. Louis Rams at Pittsburgh Steelers -- The dangerous Rams stare a danger game in the face because Steelers (2-4) are coming off their bye and must win at home.
4. Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints -- The Saints made it close a couple of weeks ago in Carolina and can climb back into race with a victory.
5. New York Jets at Philadelphia Eagles -- There's curiosity about McNabb, Pennington and two teams scrapping for midseason survival.