Man, was last Monday great, or what? Washington scores two touchdowns in the last few minutes to finally fire up their offense, and not only against Dallas, but IN Dallas? If I have Tivo, I’d have taped that game and watched it whenever I was in a down mood – it’s as big a picker-upper as &uot;Miracle&uot; or the last 20 minutes of &uot;Teen Wolf&uot;! And not only that, but the Redskins have off today, so they, and I, get to do a bit of savoring!

Atlanta 23, Buffalo 20. Whoever gets the gauntlet gets the game. The Falcons pray for Michael Vick’s return from a hamstring injury, while the Bills hope fate smiles back at them after going away in last week’s embarrassment at Tampa Bay. But Atlanta gets the Pick because Vick’s backup Matt Schaub did OK last week against Seattle.

Tennessee 14, St. Louis 10. Here’s another gauntlet on the gridiron. Tennessee tore it up against Baltimore last week, but got a high-class beating from Pittsburgh the week before. The Rams defense is looking good, but it took a last-second sack of Kurt Warner to preserve last week’s win over Arizona.

Tampa Bay 30, Green Bay 13. Cadillac Williams has exploded onto the scene for Tampa, charging through Minnesota and Buffalo, and he’ll be drooling at the thought of ripping a Packer defense that’s allowed 43 points already. If Brett Favre is on the field for less than 40 minutes, Green Bay’s not getting the duke.

New Orleans 27, Minnesota 7. The Saints got a wakeup call in last week’s embarrassment at New York, with six turnovers and 13 penalties. Fortunately, they’re playing a Viking squad that’s going down faster than President Bush’s approval rating.

Indianapolis 20, Cleve-land 6. As New England’s defensive coordinator, Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel helped the Patriots go 6-0 against Indianapolis. Today, we find out if that was due to them or him. But even if the Colt offense has an off-day, their defense has been a brick wall, allowing 10 points this season.

Carolina 23, Miami 9. The Panther defense was feeling it last week against New England, and it won’t take half that effort to stifle a Dolphin offense that couldn’t find a way through the N.Y. Jets last week. Stephen Davis should have his first 100-yard game of the season today.

Philadelphia 42, Minne-sota 10. While Terrell Owens has shown the ability to back up his mouth -whether that’ll continue is anyone’s guess – and Randy Moss hasn’t. End of Pick.

Jacksonville 13, N.Y. Jets 10. Both teams have disappointed on the offensive side of the ball – combining for five touchdowns all year – but the Jaguars get the Pick because their defense is a bit better; losing to Indianapolis is never a cause for shame. On the other hand, the Jets allowed Kansas City and had to scramble to defeat Miami.

Dallas 35, San Francisco 7. Both teams are ticked after losing last week, but Dallas has the ability to do something about it – like move the ball on offense. Drew Bledsoe has done very well in both games this season, and the 49er offense doesn’t have anyone reliable.

Seattle 28, Arizona 13. The Cardinal offense is OK, but their defense is horrid. Not that Seattle’s a powerhouse or anything, but Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselback should have their way around.

Pittsburgh 20, New England 13. Game of the Week, by far. Last week, Carolina avenged a Super Bowl loss to New England. Can the Steelers get vengeance for their AFC title game loss last year? It remains to be seen, but there’s way too many factors to be sure of anything. Pittsburgh has looked simply awesome, and toppling this giant could speed their roll up like a locomotive. The Patriots, on the other hand, had an off day last week (hey, nobody’s perfect!) and want to prove themselves just as badly.

San Diego 50, N.Y. Giants 3. This is strictly personal – I just want to see Eli Manning fall to the team for which he wouldn’t play before being drafted two years ago.

Kansas City 17, Denver 7. The Chiefs have a tough defense that can take some pressure off their offense, and that’s bad news for the AFC. On the other hand, fate’s against them – they’ve played poorly in every game in a four-game losing streak in Denver. Still, I’m going with facts instead of fortunes.

Last week: 8-8

Overall: 13-18