PITTSBURGH -- Thoughts on the Pittsburgh Steelers' 16-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles: What it means: The Steelers avoided their first 1-3 start under Mike Tomlin with a sloppy yet dramatic win over the Eagles. Shaun Suisham's 34-yard field goal as game expired helped Pittsburgh improve to 2-2 and keep pace with the Ravens. Ben Roethlisberger led a 14-play, 64-yard winning drive in the fourth quarter, which came after Philadelphia took its first lead of the game. The Steelers are 5-1 under Tomlin following a bye and have won five straight home games. Roethlisberger comes up big: Roethlisberger carried the Steelers once again and led them on a game-winning, fourth quarter drive. He completed 4 of 5 passes for 50 yards. His biggest play was converting a third-and-12 with a 20-yard pass to Antonio Brown. Mendenhall makes his mark: Running back Rashard Mendenhall made an impact in his first game since ACL surgery in January. He jumpstarted one of the worst defenses in the NFL with 81 yards on 14 carries. He scored the Steelers' only touchdown on a 13-yard run (off a Roethlisberger lateral). Not making the stop: The Eagles took their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter because the Pittsburgh defense couldn't make the critical stop. The Steelers allowed Philadelphia to convert twice on fourth-and-short and gave up the two-yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek on third-and-goal. Receivers don't step up: The Steelers had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown on their final drive of the first half. Brown dropped a pass in the end zone, and Jerricho Cotchery stumbled after making a catch and fell two yards short of the goal line. A drop by Mike Wallace on third down ended a drive in the third quarter. Penalties haunt defense: With the Steelers ahead 10-0 in the third quarter, the defense helped the Eagles to their first touchdown. Two 15-yard penalties were critical in the 80-yard drive. Ryan Clark was flagged for unnecessary roughness, and Ryan Mundy was penalized for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Not cashing in: The Steelers defense got turnovers early, but the offense failed to capitalize. Pittsburgh scored no points off two Michael Vick fumbles, although one in the red zone stopped the Eagles from scoring. The Steelers only had three takeaways before this game. Injuries continue to hurt Steelers: Safety Troy Polamalu left in the first quarter after re-injuring his calf, and linebacker LaMarr Woodley later went out with an injured hamstring. Both never returned. Polamalu missed the past two games with a calf injury, and Woodley was sidelined six games last year with a hamstring injury. What's next: After having a bye, the Steelers play their second game in five days when they play at the Tennessee Titans.

Here are some thoughts on the Miami Dolphins' 17-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals: What it means: The Dolphins were finally rewarded for their hard work and effort. Miami had been very close to victory the past two weeks but suffered back-to-back overtime losses. The Dolphins finally got over the hump by beating a solid Cincinnati (3-2) team on the road. The Dolphins snapped Cincinnati's three-game winning streak. Miami improves to 2-3 and has one more game before the bye week. What I liked: The Dolphins stayed poised late in the game, which is something we haven't seen this season. Miami couldn't make plays in the fourth quarter of close games up until Sunday. But Miami's defense got big stops and turnovers and the offense did just enough to preserve the win. The Dolphins' defense continues to play well. Cincinnati's offense, particularly its passing game, is not easy to defend. But Miami did a good job of mixing blitzes with zone and man coverage to keep the Bengals guessing. Good defense helped Miami jump out to a 17-6 lead in the second half. That was enough to hold on. What I didn't like: The Dolphins got away with some sloppiness in the first half. Miami turned the ball over once on special teams and fullback Jorvorskie Lane fumbled near the goal line in the opening period. But Miami's defense did a good job of holding Cincinnati to six points off Miami's two early turnovers. Miami's running game wasn't as stout as usual. The Dolphins as a team averaged just 1.9 yards per carry. What's next: The Dolphins will return home for the first time in three games next week when they host the St. Louis Rams (3-2). St. Louis will have 10 days to prepare for the Dolphins. But this is a good opportunity for Miami get back to .500 before the bye week.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –- The New York Giants hadn’t even broken a sweat yet and found themselves down 14-0 to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. But once the defending champs got warmed up, they routed the winless Browns, 41-27. What it means: The Giants took care of business and won a game they had to have with a brutal schedule ahead of them. The Giants are 3-2 through their first five games but their final 11 games are against either division foes or playoff teams from last year. Bottom line, Giants had to win this one and they got the job done with several key starters or contributors out for the game. Quick turnaround: There’s something about these 1 p.m. home starts for the Giants against an inferior opponent. Last season, the Giants struggled at home against Seattle, Washington and then-winless Miami. On Sunday, the Giants fell behind 14-0 less than five minutes into the game. Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled on the first offensive play of the game to set up Cleveland’s first touchdown. And then Brandon Weeden hit Josh Gordon on a 62-yard touchdown bomb on middle linebacker Chase Blackburn. But the Giants outscored Cleveland 27-3, including the last 20 points of the first half, to go into halftime up 27-17. Salsa time: With Hakeem Nicks out, Victor Cruz picked up the slack, scoring three touchdowns. In fact, the Giants receivers all stepped up. With Ramses Barden also out with a concussion, Domenik Hixon and Rueben Randle saw plenty of action. Randle had five receptions for 78 yards and Hixon had four catches for 48 in the first half, respectively. Stevie Wonder: Starting in place of the injured Kenny Phillips (knee), Stevie Brown had quite a first half. He intercepted an overthrown pass by Weeden and returned it 46 yards to give the Giants the ball at the Browns’ 40. Two plays later, the Giants scored to tie the game at 17-17 in the second quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Will Hill forced a Josh Cribbs' fumble and Brown recovered and took it to the Browns’ 29-yard-line. Eli Manning hit Cruz for the second time in the end zone to put the Giants up 24-17 with 1:10 remaining in the half. Brown has done very well filling in. He had a pick against Carolina coming in for Rolle and should continue to start for Phillips, who could miss next week’s game with an MCL injury. The Giants do have to make a roster move on Monday to make room for Tyler Sash, who's served his four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Angry Ahmad: Bradshaw may have fumbled his first carry of the game but he ran angry and hard for not only his first 100-yard game of the season but a career-high 200 yards. Andre Brown was knocked out of the game early with a head injury but Bradshaw had 80 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. Bradshaw's neck looks just fine. And David Wilson scored his first touchdown in explosive fashion -- a 40-yard run spelling Bradshaw. What’s next: It’s an NFC Championship game rematch as the Giants travel to San Francisco for a highly-anticipated reunion with the Niners.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Thoughts on the Atlanta Falcons’ 24-17 victory against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on Sunday. What it means: The Falcons are 5-0 for the first time in franchise history. They’re also high atop the NFC South standings. This was not a particularly pretty game, but there’s a nice trend developing. The Falcons, who many view as a “dome team," have won three outdoor games already this season. This one came on a day that was cool and rainy. Play of the day: With the Redskins driving, cornerback Dunta Robinson saved the game for the Falcons with an interception with 1:53 remaining. Hit of the day: Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon knocked Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III out of the game with a big hit in the third quarter. The Redskins said Griffin was “shaken up’’ and he did not return to the game. He was replaced by Kirk Cousins, who threw two fourth-quarter interceptions. One thing I never want to see again: Joe Hawley attempting to catch a pass. With fullback Lousaka Polite out with an injury, the Falcons sometimes used Hawley as a blocking back. But with 5:50 left in the third quarter, the Falcons tried to throw a pass to Hawley. He was wide open, but the ball went right off his hands. When you have the talent at the skill positions that the Falcons have, Hawley should never be thrown the ball. He never gets old: Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez has said he’s 95-percent sure he’ll retire after this season. He might want to re-think that. Gonzalez had a huge day, catching 13 passes for 123 yards.

PITTSBURGH -- A few thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles' last-second loss to the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday afternoon. What it means: A taste of their own medicine, as the Eagles lost the close game this time after the Steelers one-upped them on fourth-quarter drives. It was a sloppy game all around, and a tough loss in a tough place to play. But if you were waiting for the day all of the Eagles' mistakes were going to cost them one of these one-point or two-point games, Sunday was the day. Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was impressive late, but he was awful enough in the first half to dig the Eagles a hole from which they could not escape. Tale of two QBs: Vick was 7-for-12 for 70 yards in the first half, and he also rushed four times for 11 yards and lost two fumbles. Philadelphia trailed 10-0 at the half, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had just put on a clinic in responsible, efficient quarterbacking with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:21 off the clock. It was a study in critical contrast. But out of nowhere in the fourth quarter, Vick and the Eagles topped it with a 17-play, 79-yard drive that bled 8:18 off the clock and gave them their first lead of the game with 6:33 left to play. On the drive, Vick was 7-for-10 for 57 yards and the 2-yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek. The Eagles converted two fourth downs and two third downs on the drive, including the third-and-goal from the 2. Had they played offense this way all game, they may have actually won somewhat easily. For the defense: Roethlisberger was able to find some things in the Eagles' secondary, showcasing what an important part pressure plays in the Eagles' defensive schemes. Nnamdi Asomugha is not winning consistently enough in man coverage, and Antonio Brown had some fun against the Eagles' defensive backs. Philadelphia also struggled to contain Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall in his first game of the season, and they were unable to make the stops they needed to make on the drive that moved the Steelers into field goal range at the end of the game. For the second game in a row, the Eagles did not record a sack. What's next: The Eagles host the Detroit Lions at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Lions are 1-3, have lost three games in a row and are coming off their bye week. It will be the second consecutive week in which the Eagles' opponent was off the week before.

Even as he has dazzled with his play throughout the first month of his first NFL season, Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III has engendered one common concern in those who have watched him -- a fear that, based on the manner and frequency with which he runs the ball, he's exposing himself to too many hits, or one very big one. In the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons -- a game in which the Redskins' defense has played extremely well and kept them in it against one of the league's two remaining undefeated teams -- Griffin took a shot from Atlanta's Sean Weatherspoon and was knocked out of the game. Fellow rookie Kirk Cousins took over at quarterback on the Redskins' next offensive series while Griffin was taken to the locker room for treatment. Cousins went to work right away and completed a 77-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss to give the Redskins a 17-14 lead with 12:24 left in the game. Officially, the Redskins announced that Griffin was "shaken up" and questionable to return in the fourth quarter. That could mean a concussion, which could put his status for next week's game in jeopardy. We will, obviously, keep you posted.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Chris Kuper will make his season debut Sunday. Kuper is active and is expected to start at guard for Denver at New England. Kuper is one of the better interior offensive lineman in the NFL. He broke his left forearm during training camp in August. Kuper practiced fully this week and he was listed as probable to play. Manny Ramirez took Kuper’s place in the first quarter of the season. Ramirez often struggled, so Peyton Manning will surely appreciate the return of Kuper. Also, Denver running back Knowshon Moreno is inactive for the third straight game. Rookie Ronnie Hillman will continue to take his place. As expected, New England tight end Aaron Hernandez (ankle) is not active. There has been light rain here Sunday, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to impact the playing field at this point.