Week 9 Donruss Highlight Reel
November 04, 2008

Each week, Donruss.com will highlight the breakout performances of the NFL weekend, recapping who's hot to help you decide whose cardboard to collect.

Donruss.com IS your one-stop shop for collecting tips and rookie statistics. Check out the Playoff Contenders Rookie Leaderboard - the only place to find statistics of this year's NFL Draft class. This year, the Leaderboard is powered by

Playoff Contenders
"The Home of the Autographed Rookie Card!"

KURT WARNER, QB - Arizona Cardinals (342 Passing Yards, 2 Touchdowns, 120.0 Passer Rating)
Card to Grab - 1999 Playoff Contenders #146 AU/1825

For the second week this season, Kurt Warner has earned the top spot on the Playoff Contenders Leaderboard. Playing like he's 20, Warner has passed for more than 2,400 yards and 16 touchdowns while leading the Cardinals to a surprising 5-3 start - good for first place in the NFC West. With two of the most talented receivers in football (Boldin and Fitzgerald) by his side, the former league MVP blew-up the Rams for 342 yards and two touchdowns in the 34-13 win.

ADRIAN PETERSON, RB - Minnesota Vikings (139 Rushing Yards, 1 Touchdown)
Card to Grab - 2007 Playoff Contenders #104 AU/355

The Donruss product spokesman had one of his best performances of the season, rushing for more than 100 yards against a stacked Houston defense. The Texans lined up to stop the former Sooner and Peterson finished the day by averaging 5.6 yards a carry, helping lead the Vikings to a 28-21 victory.

ROOKIE ROLL CALL

- The Baltimore offense is finally starting to click behind quarterback Joe Flacco. The Ravens improved their record to 5-3, scoring 37 points against the Browns - Flacco passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns (109.6 quarterback rating).

- The Falcons also moved to 5-3 behind the work of quarterback Matt Ryan. In a 24-0 blow-out over the Raiders (with the majority of the offence and all 24 points coming in the first half), Ryan passed for 220 yards and two touchdowns (138.4 quarterback rating).

- Tennessee remains the NFL's only unbeaten team, pulling out a 19-16 overtime win over the Packers. The Titans finished with 347 yards of offense, with rookie Chris Johnson accounting for almost half of that (89 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards and one rushing touchdown).

- Four rookies rushed for 100 yards this week: Baltimore Ravens Ray Rice (154 yards), Chicago Bears Matt Forte (125 yards), Arizona Cardinals Tim Hightower (109 yards, one touchdown) and Kansas City Chiefs Jamaal Charles (106 yards).

ONES TO WATCH

BYRON LEFTWICH, QB - Pittsburgh Steelers (129 Passing Yards, 1 Touchdown, 93.1 Passer Rating)
Card to Grab - 2003 Playoff Contenders #127 AU/169

In the NFL, if you don't have a quality back-up, you could be in trouble (See Dallas Cowboys). The Steelers took a flier on former No.1 draft pick Leftwhich, and it paid off in a big way Monday night against the Washington Redskins. Leftwich entered the game for an injured Ben Roethlisberger and completed 7-of-10 for 129 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. The game was won by the Steelers defense, but if Big Ben is out for any length of time, look for Leftwich to heat up if he doesn't turn the ball over.

Click here to view other weekly leaders...

Week 1 - Donovan McNabb, Michael Turner, Matt Forte, Eddie Royal, Matt Cassel
Week 2 - Kurt Warner, Brandon Marshall, Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Tim Hightower
Week 3 - Ronnie Brown, Drew Brees, Steve Slaton, Matt Forte, Veteran QBs (Gus Frerotte, Kerry Collins, Brian Griese)
Week 4 - Brett Favre, Larry Johnson, Eddie Royal, Donnie Avery, Robert Meachem
Week 5 - DeAngelo Williams, Clinton Portis, Steve Slaton, Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton
Week 6 - Andre Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Ryan, Harry Douglas, Correll Buckhalter
Week 7 - Steven Jackson, LenDale White, Chris Johnson, Joe Flacco, Dan Orlovsky
Week 8 - Brian Westbrook, Ted Ginn, Joe Flacco, Donnie Avery, Tyler Thigpen

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