Eli, Eli, woah!

They might play in the perennially-weak NFC West, but there’s nothing weak about the 2011 version of the San Francisco 49ers. Mocked at the beginning of the year for sticking with quarterback Alex Smith, rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh is having the last laugh as the 7-1 49ers have all but locked up the NFC West title and a home playoff game.

Once again, Patrick Willis and the 49ers defence shone in Sunday’s win over the Redskins.

The Jets defence was even more impressive as they did a number on Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Darrelle Revis and the Jets are on a three-game winning streak and have the look of a team bound for the playoffs.

Time now to look back at what happened in Week 9:

Star of the week:

Joe Flacco deserves consideration after he led the Ravens on a 92-yard drive that culminated in Torrey Smith’s game-winning touchdown catch. This all took place on the road, against the Steelers and with only eight seconds left to play in the fourth quarter. Aaron Rodgers had another one of his typical games in the Packers win over the Chargers; 247 yards and four touchdowns. However Eli Manning is the winner of the award this week for his impressive performance Sunday in New England. Manning put together scoring drives of 85 and 80 yards at the end of the fourth quarter as the Giants won their biggest game of the season. Bringing back memories of Super Bowl XLII; a cool, calm and collected Manning hit Jake Ballard for the game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds left to play in regulation time. After the game Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck came up with the classic quote: “you can’t spell elite without Eli.”

Stiff of the week:

Watching Carson Palmer throw three interceptions for the second game in a row did little to impress the Raiders nation. That was bad, but the winner of the Stiff of the Week Award goes out to the New England Patriots secondary. For anyone who wondered why the once-stout Patriots defense is ranked dead last in the NFL against the pass, all they had to do was watch how Eli Manning torched them on Sunday.

Line of the week:

This award goes out to Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs who introduced himself as “Sizzle” from “Ball So Hard University” on the NBC Sunday night game. You have to admit, “Ball So Hard University” is pretty darn cool.

Tebowmania

All those haters out there better sit down and take a deep breath because Tim Tebow is 2-1 as the Broncos starting quarterback. Tebow threw two touchdowns passes and also ran for 118 yards as he led the Broncos to a 38-24 win over the Raiders in the Black Hole. More impressive was the fact that Tebow didn’t turn the ball over once. Winners of two of their last three games, Tebow and the Broncos will invade Arrowhead Stadium Sunday when they take on the Chiefs.

Team on the rise

Watch out for the Chicago Bears. With Monday night’s road win against the Eagles, the Bears have now won three straight games and four of their last five. After a season-low nine carries in a Week 3 loss to the Packers, offensive coordinator Mike Martz came to his senses and has been feeding the ball to Matt Forte. In the last five weeks, Forte has been averaging 23 carries a game. Even with his two fumbles Monday night, Forte still ran for 133 yards. The Bears have also solved some of their issues along the offensive line. During the Bears three-game winning streak, Jay Cutler has only been sacked three times.

The “Dream Team” watch

The Eagles dream season took another hit Monday night as they lost to the Bears. Eagles’ fans must be pulling their hair out in frustration watching a team with so much talent play such inconsistent football. In the Eagles five losses, Michael Vick has thrown eight interceptions and six touchdowns. In their three wins, Vick has five touchdowns and only one interception. All in all, Andy Reid has quite a mess on his hands.

The Ronnie Lott award

A prime candidate took the stage Sunday at Ralph Wilson stadium when Jets tight end Dustin Keller tried to hurdle Terrence McGee and Marcell Dareus. The ultimate winner of the award this week goes out to the Ravens ancient warrior, Ray Lewis. Early in the Ravens win over the Steelers, Lewis destroyed Hines Ward with a hit that put the Steelers receivers into another planet. Now in his 16th season, Lewis is still one of the most-feared players in the NFL.

The catch of the week

This award goes out to Giants tight end Jake Ballard. An undrafted free agent, Ballard caught the game-winning touchdown in the Giants last-second win over the Patriots. However Ballard’s best catch took place in the same drive in a critical third-and-10 situation when he reached back and snagged this pass from Eli Manning for a 28-yard gain.

The unsung hero award

The winner of this award is Texans fullback Lawrence Vickers. In the Texans win over the Browns, Arian Foster and Ben Tate each ran for 100 yards. Unselfishly leading the way was the 250-pound Vickers. Prior to the Texans, Vickers spent the previous five seasons paving the way for Browns running backs like Peyton Hillis. Sorry about that Browns fans.

Best Spanish play-by-play call of the week

In what has been a fairly dismal season for the Cardinals, rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson has been a bright light. In Sunday’s win over the Rams, Peterson returned a punt 99 yards for the game-winning touchdown in over time, snapping the Cards six-game losing streak. Here is the call of the play on the Cardinals’ Spanish radio network.

The big injuries of the week

The Bucs lost more than just a game to the Saints, they lost defensive lineman Gerald McCoy for the rest of the season with a torn right biceps.

What to watch in week 10

Things kicks off Thursday night when the Chargers host the Raiders. The best in the East, the Giants, face off with the best in the West, the 49ers in a huge NFC game. The Bills kick off their three-game road trip in Dallas when they take on the Cowboys. There's a lot on the line when the Saints meet the Falcons. The Bears host the Lions in a game that will determine which team from the NFC North is a wild card contender. Sunday wraps up with a beauty as the Jets host the Patriots.

Jim Lang is co-host of Brady and Lang in the morning on SPORTSNET 590 The FAN and a columnist for sportsnet.ca.