Colts receiver Marvin Harrison had not caught more than four passes in a game since the opener, and many assumed he had lost a step. But Harrison, 36, led the Colts' 33-27 win over the Texans with nine catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in what clearly was his most productive game of the season.

Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has taken some hits for not making big plays. Too old, too beat up, too rich, they said. So the 30-year-old made a presnap check to Cover-2, dropped into a zone and picked off Aaron Rodgers for his first interception since last season.

And on the subject of graying middle linebackers, how about Baltimore's Ray Lewis? Though the Ravens lost 30-10 to the Giants, he had his third interception in two weeks, and general manager Ozzie Newsome told me Lewis, 33, has been playing as well as any inside linebacker he has seen on tape this year.

After a lousy game against the Packers a week ago, Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte played a lot better in a 19-13 loss to the Bucs. Despite being sacked five times, Frerotte, 37, had a 105.8 passer rating.

The Bucs were propelled by a group of players who might already be on the mailing list for AARP. Among the heroes: 38-year-old quarterback Jeff Garcia (101.4 passer rating, 255 passing yards), 35-year-old defensive end Kevin Carter (one of his team's five sacks), 33-year-old running back Warrick Dunn (118 total yards) and 33-year-old cornerback Ronde Barber (a sack and a fumble recovery).

With his 56-yard touchdown pass and 112.3 passer rating in beating the Jaguars 24-14, Titans quarterback Kerry Collins, 36, looked every bit as young as he did a week ago against the Bears.

And Arizona's 37-year-old Kurt Warner, given up on by the Rams and Giants, continued his bid for most valuable player with 395 passing yards in a 26-20 victory in Seattle.

Let's go to the tape: Several teams used the time-tested 1-2 punch at running back to KO their opponents.

The Giants softened up the tough Ravens with big, bruising Brandon Jacobs, who had 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the first half. "That's what I do," Jacobs said. "I set the tone for our team."

After Jacobs injured his knee, Ahmad Bradshaw took over with 92 second-half yards.

The Panthers tried to split the load between Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams as evenly as possible -- and the Lions couldn't tell one from the other. Stewart had 15 carries to 14 for Williams. Stewart had 130 yards to 120 for Williams. And Williams had two touchdowns to one for Stewart as the Panthers won 31-22.

It was the first time in team history two backs had run for 100 yards in the same game, and the Panthers broke their team record with 264 rushing yards.

In Miami , the Dolphins kept Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams fresh by splitting up the carries. Result: Brown had 101 yards and Williams added 49 in a 17-15 win over the Raiders.

*It's a big deal whenever a sixth-round draft pick gets a start, but one such rookie got several starts Sunday.

Spencer Larsen was a surprise starter for the Broncos at middle linebacker, the position he played in college. He also started at fullback, the position he has been playing all season. What's more, he was on the field for the coverage team on the opening kickoff. He also played on the punt-coverage team.

"I was real excited about it, but I was able to keep my cool," Larsen said. "It was fun and challenging. At fullback, you really know what to do, but at linebacker, it's a different world. Still, I'm happy with the outcome."

He became the fourth player to start the same game on offense and defense since 1990, joining Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey and Orlando Brown. Larsen made seven tackles in the Broncos' 24-20 victory over the Falcons. Guy I want on my team: Peyton Manning started slowly this season. He wasn't himself after missing all of training camp and the exhibition season after knee surgery.

But he's coming on now, when it matters most. Really, what else would you expect of Manning?

He had his best game of the season, throwing for 320 yards and a touchdown as the Colts beat the Texans. Knowing Manning, there will be quite a few more outstanding performances between now and the end of the season.

Grab some bench: The courage and effort of Kyle Orton were much appreciated, but he shouldn't be on the field if he isn't healthy. The best thing for the Bears' present and future probably would have been for Orton to allow his sprained ankle to heal. The Bears are better with a healthy Rex Grossman than a compromised Orton.

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GAME BALLS

Offense

Former Bear Justin Gage never played like this in Chicago. He had four catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns, the second giving the Titans a 10-point lead with 3:57 remaining in a win over the Jaguars.

Defense

Someone finally made Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco look like a rookie. Giants cornerback Aaron Ross intercepted Flacco twice and returned one 50 yards for a touchdown. He also had two passes defended and six tackles.

Special teams

Johnnie Lee Higgins did his part to help the Raiders, returning a punt 93 yards with 4:30 left in the game to give the Raiders their first lead of the day. But Higgins unfortunately could not do anything about a Dolphins field goal with 38 seconds left.

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2-minute drill

The failure to get Adrian Peterson a run in the fourth quarter of the Vikings' 19-13 loss to the Bucs could come back to haunt coach Brad Childress, one way or another.

*Mike Singletary apparently isn't a bumbling idiot after all. But we already knew that.

*Before the game, CBS' Charlie Casserly reported the Panthers would franchise defensive end Julius Peppers at a cost of $17 million if they couldn't sign him to a new deal. And then Peppers showed why: He had a forced fumble and two sacks to bring his season total to nine sacks.

*Brady Quinn's second start Monday night gives us a good reason to tune in to the Bills-Browns game. The Browns lost his debut, but Quinn played well within the confines of a conservative game plan. If he keeps playing like that, Quinn will give the Browns hope.

Huddle Up with our team: For the latest news and views on the Bears, rely on the Tribune's experts at chicagotribune.com/huddleup

dpompei@tribune.com