The New York Giants beat Tampa Bay and San Diego topped Tennessee to complete the first round of the National Football League playoffs. Eli Manning earned his first postseason win since entering the NFL four years ago as the top overall pick, throwing a pair of touchdown passes yesterday as the Giants beat the Buccaneers 24-14 for their eighth straight road win.

Philip Rivers led the Chargers to their first postseason win since the 1994 season, throwing for 292 yards and a touchdown as San Diego beat the Titans 17-6 after being held scoreless in the first half.

The Giants improved to 11-6 with their first playoff victory since 2001 and advance to meet the Dallas Cowboys (13-3) on Jan. 13 in Dallas. The Cowboys won both meetings between the National Football Conference East Division rivals during the regular season.

From a NFL football perspective, factoring marque games can play a roll in making the winning NFL pick for NFL Week 8. Also from a NFL team financial standpoint, every NFL team jumps quickly at the chance to play in a marquee game. Come Sunday night, whether the audience is glued to the set or just Velcroed to the back of the sofa from already watching seven-plus hours of straight football, these games put the ‘prime’ in both -time and -target for sponsorship dollars.

There is also Monday Night , gathering an even larger audience since it doesn’t compete with Family Guy on Fox, and then let’s not forget the Turkey Day extravaganza or the late-season Saturday games. Either way, no matter what night of the week these games fall on the payoff to the franchises involved is always greater than the usual booty raked from a locally televised game.

Players love the attention from these games, too. More cameras means a better chance to be seen doing what they do best and when it’s the only show in town, they know that even their football buddies from other teams are checking them out.

With even more pressure to perform in these contests than the already high expectations placed on pro athletes every week, marquee games standout on a team’s locker room calendar for months in advance. It creates what would normally be grounds for a look-ahead situation and as a bettor, it certainly needs to be addressed when analyzing the game in search of a potential play . There is something different about these games, though, in comparison to other look-ahead spots such as a game vs. a division rival. It could be an ego thing, or maybe it has more to do with building momentum, but NFL teams this season playing one week before a marquee matchup are consistently hitting against the spread (ATS).

- on the teams that have a Sunday or Monday night game on-deck the following week turned out a nice profit in the first four weeks of the season, going 10-4-1 ATS.

- In Week 5, the four teams looking ahead to a marquee matchup in Week 6 were New Orleans, Seattle, the Giants and the Falcons, and although they slipped up a bit straight-up, they still managed a split against the spread (2-2 ATS).

- Three of the teams looking ahead to a marquee matchup in Week 7 had a bye in Week 6 but the one remaining squad, the Jacksonville Jaguars, made short work of their opponent, the visiting Houston Texans. Houston swept the Jags in 2006 and they kind of had it coming.

- In Week 8 there are technically six marquee teams because along with the Sunday Night game (Washington at New England) and Monday game (Green Bay at Denver), there is the Giants and Dolphins game which will be played at nighttime in London, England . Green Bay was off with a bye in Week 7 and the Pats and Dolphins played each other, washing those two teams out of this profile, but the three remaining teams went 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. The only loser, Washington, was in a position to cover until the final minute and then Arizona recovered an onside kick and almost beat them straight-up but was unable to make a 55 yard field goal.

To this point, the updated record for teams that are “looking ahead to stardom” is 15-7-1 ATS, which definitely makes it worth factoring before a play on any of these teams.

Week 8 produces two “live” teams in this profile, Pittsburgh and Philly. Both are coming off a loss and playing on the road, which has caused these teams a bit of grief the past few years. It has also provided line value, though, and the two host teams, Cinci and Minnesota, have shown huge deficiencies this season mixed with occasional flashes of greatness.

In a “What have you done for me lately?” world where you are only as good as your latest win…but you can expect the two Pennsylvania teams to be getting plenty of attention from the public.

Tom Brady threw a career-high six touchdown passes a week after he had five against Dallas, and the New England Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 49-28 yesterday to remain unbeaten. Brady completed 21 of 25 passes for 354 yards, throwing a pair of touchdown passes each to Wes Welker and Randy Moss, and one to both Donte Stallworth and Kyle Brady at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Brady equaled his output from last week in the first half, and threw his sixth scoring pass in the fourth quarter to raise his league-leading total to 27.

“The receivers did a great job,” Brady said at a news conference. “It makes my job awfully easy, I’ll tell you that.’

The Patriots, now 7-0, have scored at least 34 points in each game this season. New England and the Indianapolis Colts, who visit Jacksonville tonight, are the only National Football League teams without a loss this season.

Welker finished with nine catches for 138 yards and had touchdowns of 14 and 16 yards, while Moss finished with four catches for 122 yards, including scores of 35 and 50 yards to give him a league-best 10. The Dolphins dropped to 0-7.

The New York Giants beat San Francisco 33-15 yesterday for their fifth straight win, Tennessee edged Houston 38-36 as Rob Bironas kicked his NFL-record eighth field goal as time expired, and Denver beat Pittsburgh 31-28 on a game-ending field goal.

In other games during Week 7, it was Detroit 23, Tampa Bay 16; New Orleans 22, Atlanta 16; Washington 21, Arizona 19; Buffalo 19, Baltimore 14; Kansas City 12, Oakland 10; Cincinnati 38, the New York Jets 31; Chicago 19, Philadelphia 16; Dallas 24, Minnesota 14; and Seattle 33, St. Louis 6.

Elsewhere yesterday:

New York Giants 33, San Francisco 15: Eli Manning threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Brandon Jacobs rushed for 107 yards and a score to lead the Giants (5-2) to their fifth win in a row. The Giants’ defense sacked quarterback Trent Dilfer of the 49ers (2-4) six times.

Tennessee 38, Houston 36: Bironas hit a 38-yard field goal, his record eighth of the game, as time expired to lift the Titans (4-2). The Texans (3-4) had scored two touchdowns in the final 1:37 to take a one-point lead.

Denver 31, Pittsburgh 28: Jason Elam kicked a 49-yard field goal on the game’s final play as the Broncos (3-3) ended a three- game losing streak. Ben Roethlisberger threw four touchdown passes for the Steelers (4-2), but was intercepted twice and also lost a fumble.

New Orleans 22, Atlanta 16: Drew Brees threw touchdown passes to Devery Henderson and Reggie Bush for the Saints (2-4). Atlanta is 1-6.

Buffalo 19, Baltimore 14: Marshawn Lynch had a one-yard scoring run and Rian Lindell kicked four field goals for the Bills (2-4). Willis McGahee rushed for 119 yards and a score for the Ravens (4-3).

Washington 21, Arizona 19: Clinton Portis had two rushing touchdowns for the Redskins (4-2). The Cardinals (3-4) failed on a game-tying two-point conversion with 26 seconds left.

Detroit 23, Tampa Bay 16: Kevin Jones and Calvin Johnson had rushing touchdowns for the Lions (4-2). Jeff Garcia threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Buccaneers (4-3).

Cincinnati 38, New York Jets 31: Kenny Watson ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, two coming in the fourth quarter, as the Bengals (2-4) rallied to beat the Jets (1-6).

Kansas City 12, Oakland 10: Larry Johnson ran for 112 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs (4-3). Oakland is 2-4.

Dallas 24, Minnesota 14: Tony Romo threw for 277 yards and a touchdown, and Marion Barber ran for 96 yards and a score for the Cowboys (6-1). The Vikings are 2-4.

Chicago 19, Philadelphia 16: Brian Griese found Mushin Muhammad on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left to lead the Bears (3-4) over the Eagles (2-4).

Seattle 33, St. Louis 6: Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes and Josh Brown kicked four field goals for the Seahawks (4- 3). The Rams are 0-7.

There are some big games in week 7 of the NFL. Here’s the line up:

Sunday, October 21     Time (EST)
Tennessee Titans @ Houstan Texans     1:00 PM
Minnesota Vikings @ Dallas Cowboys     1:00 PM
Baltimore Ravens @ Buffalo Bills     1:00 PM
San Francisco 49ers @ New York Giants     1:00 PM
New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins     1:00 PM
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions     1:00 PM
Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins     1:00 PM
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints     1:00 PM
Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders     4:05 PM
New York Jets @ Cincinnati Bengals     4:05 PM
St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks     4:15 PM
Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles     4:15 PM
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos     8:15 PM

Monday, October 22     Time (EST)
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars     8:30 PM
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Oct 14: New England Patriots vs Dallas Cowboys in a possible Super Bowl match-up of America’s most loved/hated teams.

The Cowboys rank first in the NFL in scoring, second in offense and fifth in both passing and rushing. But the most impressive offensive statistic to me is the time of possession. With Tony Romo, the Cowboys will always be considered a passing team – yet Dallas leads the NFC in time of possession at 32 minutes, 47 seconds per game. That’s almost 1:45 longer than the Cowboys held onto the ball in games last season. If you have the ball, the other team doesn’t – and you can’t score without the ball. Four AFC teams have held onto the ball longer than the Cowboys, though: New England (34:25), Baltimore (33:54), Pittsburgh (33:49) and Tennessee (33:25).

The last remaining unbeatens in the NFC are the Packers and Cowboys, both at 4-0. Any chance they could both still be unbeaten two months from now? The Packers have three toughies on the road before then at Denver, Kansas City and Detroit. The Cowboys play the Patriots at home before then plus Philadelphia and the New York Giants on the road.

The NFL started incorporating byes into the schedule last weekend, so there were only 14 games on the card for Week 4. Underdogs won eight of them outright. Kansas City became the first double-digit underdog this season to win outright – and also the first double-digit underdog to win on the road. The Chiefs were 11½-point underdogs at San Diego but smoked the Chargers, 30-16. Oakland was the only other underdog to win on the road last weekend, toppling winless Miami.

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Favre tops win list

Brett Favre threw three touchdown passes to rally the Green Bay Packers past the New York Giants yesterday. With the victory – the 149th of his career – Favre become the quarterback with the most wins in NFL history, moving past Hall of Famer John Elway.

Steelers steamroll Bills

Willie Parker ran for a touchdown and 126 yards and Ben Roethlisberger threw for a score as the Pittsburgh Steelers controlled the clock and the tempo while pulling away from the Buffalo Bills.

Seahawks fumble one away

Arizona Cardinals defender Darnell Dockett recovered a fumble by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, setting up Neil Rackers’s 41-yard field goal with one second to go.

Ravens hold on

Kyle Boller threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns and the Baltimore Ravens overcame a late charge by the New York Jets.

Hanson gets final word

Jason Hanson’s 37-yard field goal in overtime lifted the Detroit Lions over the Minnesota Vikings. The teams combined for nine turnovers in regulation time and two missed field goals in the final 35 seconds.

Hester breaks it open

Devin Hester scored on a 73-yard punt return in the second quarter and set up a field goal with another long return as the Chicago Bears beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Not Green’s day

The Dallas Cowboys intercepted Trent Green four times and recovered a fumbled snap to beat the Miami Dolphins.

timeout turns the tide

Jason Elam’s 23-yard field goal in overtime gave the Denver Broncos a win just minutes after the Oakland Raiders had been celebrating. Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 52-yard field goal at 11:13 of overtime, but the officials ruled Denver called a timeout before the snap. On the retry, Janikowski hit the left upright, giving the Broncos the ball at their 42.

Texans on a roll

Matt Schaub threw for 227 yards and two scores as the Houston Texans recovered from a sluggish start against the Carolina Panthers to go 2-0 for the first time.

Colts clip titans

Peyton Manning threw for 312 yards and a touchdown and the Indianapolis Colts held off the Tennessee Titans on a final-drive come-from-behind attempt.

Late mistake trips Rams

St. Louis Rams kick returner Dante Hall fumbled and Marcus Hudson recovered for the San Francisco 49ers, setting up the winning field goal by Joe Nedney.

Bucs surprise Saints

Joey Galloway caught four passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Falcons fall again

The Jacksonville Jaguars sacked Joey Harrington seven times and held the Atlanta Falcons to less than 100 yards rushing.

The scores

Yesterday

Pittsburgh 26, Buffalo 3

Indianapolis 22, Tennessee 20

Green Bay 35, N.Y. Giants 13

Houston 34, Carolina 21

San Francisco 17, St. Louis 16

Cleveland 51, Cincinnati 45

Tampa Bay 31, New Orleans 14

Jacksonville 13, Atlanta 7

Dallas 37, Miami 20

Detroit 20, Minnesota 17 (OT)

Arizona 23, Seattle 20

Chicago 20, Kansas City 10

Baltimore 20, N.Y. Jets 13

Denver 23, Oakland 20 (OT)

New England 38, San Diego 14

Tonight

Washington at Philadelphia