Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton's weekly "First And 10" column takes you around the league with a look at the best game of the week followed by primers for 10 other games. Here's his look at Week 14.

First ... Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers: Marty Schottenheimer knows how to win games in the AFC West. He did it for years in Kansas City, and he's starting again in San Diego.

In the division standings, the Chargers are 3-1. He has a simple formula. His teams are physical. His defense hits hard. He relies on a ground game. His goal is to have his team hang around until the fourth quarter, when he believes a playmaker or two on offense or defense will make the play to win.

	LaDainian Tomlinson is the main horse power of the Chargers.

Sunday's showdown in San Diego should determine the direction of the wild AFC West. The Chargers and Raiders are tied at 8-4, the Broncos are 7-5 and the Chiefs are 6-6. The Chargers are hanging around, and the Raiders must extinguish them early in the game or the division might just eventually end up in the hands of Schottenheimer.

In the first meeting, Oct. 20 at Oakland, the Chargers hung around until overtime, when LaDainian Tomlinson broke a 19-yard run to win the game 27-21. Tomlinson torched the Raiders for 153 yards on 39 carries and the TD. He caught five passes for 28 yards and a TD.

The only way to neutralize Tomlinson in any game is to put the Chargers into a 10-point or deeper hole so they have to abandon their run-oriented offense. Last week, the Broncos jumped out 10-0 in the first quarter, but a 76-yard run by Tomlinson set up a 3-yard Tomlinson touchdown run. The Chargers hung around after that and won the game in overtime.

The amazing part of that game was that the Chargers won with defensive end Marcellus Wiley and linebacker Junior Seau on the sidelines and with strong safety Rodney Harrison playing at about 80 percent because of a leg injury.

The question facing the Raiders is whether or not they can stop Tomlinson. Coming into the season, first-year coach Bill Callahan made run-stopping a priority. His defense has tried some 3-4 during games. The results have been respectable in overall numbers. The Raiders are giving up only 95.2 yards a game, but when it counts, teams have been able to run on them. The 49ers beat them in Oakland with a ball-control offense.

This is the most important game of the final four for the Raiders, because if they can't stop Tomlinson on Sunday, they're in serious trouble. They finish the season with games against Ricky Williams of the Dolphins, Clinton Portis of the Broncos and Priest Holmes of the Chiefs. A big Tomlinson game will raise that average and convince future foes to keep running the ball until the Raiders make adjustments.

That might mean more man coverage and an extra safety near the line of scrimmage, which could open the Raiders' secondary for big plays. The key for the Raiders is to get the lead, but the offense can't settle into a bad habit of driving into Chargers territory and settling for field goals. That's what killed them in the first meeting against the Chargers, as Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals.

Schottenheimer knows how to beat the Raiders, but he has to beat them with his style of game. The Raiders can't allow that to happen, or they might have to make the playoffs as a wild card.

And 10. Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Not much was made of the Bucs' 20-6 victory over the Falcons on Oct. 6. At the time, the Falcons were 1-3 and Michael Vick was just an exciting prospect, not a leading MVP candidate. Bucs defenders stayed in their run-stopping lanes, and Vick was held to one yard on one carry while generating only 159 net yards through the air. Since that game, the Falcons haven't lost and Vick has emerged as a superstar. If the Bucs can't repeat their early-season defensive performance, they might hand the new NFC South to the Falcons. This is the last big division game left. After that, the three division contenders, including the Saints, have easy non-divisional schedules. If the Falcons lose, this new division will look completely incompatible. The Falcons can't beat the Bucs. The Bucs can't beat the Saints. The Saints can't beat the Falcons. A Bucs victory would mean that all three series have turned into sweeps. The Bucs enter with the league's top defense, surrendering only 252 yards a game. Since the Bucs loss, the Falcons defense has gotten better. It has been a Cinderella ride for Vick and the Falcons. Warren Sapp will try to prevent the Bucs from being a speed bump on that ride.

9. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans: Like the three NFC South teams feeling each other out, the Colts and Titans are trying to establish which team is the best in a newly created division. The Titans drew first blood by beating the Colts 23-15 in Indianapolis on Nov. 3. Until the past four weeks, the Colts had a bad habit. Most of the starters tended be more spectators than players early in games. They waited for Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James or Marvin Harrison to make the big plays. Like so many of the Colts' early losses, they fell behind 20-0 to the Titans in the first half and tried to claw their way back. Since beating the Eagles in Philadelphia, the Colts have jumped to leads and given their defense a chance to apply a pass rush and get sacks. The Colts bounced back from that Titans loss and won four in a row to take a one-game lead in the division. The Titans, meanwhile, have been riding a rollercoaster. Their secondary has been porous. Injuries have nagged them. They beat the Steelers but lost to the Ravens on the road. They needed an amazing Steve McNair comeback to beat the Giants on the road. But the Titans are tough to beat at home.

	Drew Bledsoe dives in for a touchdown during Sunday's victory.

8. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots: Drew Bledsoe couldn't defeat his demons from the past when coach Bill Belichick did his usually great job of scheming on Nov. 3. The Patriots stuffed the Bills 38-7 that day, and the Bills haven't been the same since. They went on a three-game losing streak before beating the Dolphins in the snow last Sunday. Now, a second loss to the Patriots will end any hopes of a playoff run. Plenty of emotion will fill the stadium Sunday because this is Bledsoe's return. Plus, Patriots fans know that the road to the AFC East title goes through Foxboro. All three division teams check in during the next month. The Patriots will either win the division or lose it here. During the three-game losing streak, opposing defenses must have taken some clues as to how to contain Bledsoe. The Bills had only one touchdown drive in each of those three games, and they came either in the final minute of the second quarter or in the third quarter. Most people don't give the Bills much hope in this one. They were 6-3 when they first met the Patriots and they lost at home by 31.

7. Denver Broncos at New York Jets: The Broncos can't figure it out. How can they lose three games on game-ending field goals? Their defense is loaded with talent, but it can't seem to make the key stop at the right time. To make matters worse, teams recently have been able to exploit the Broncos' defense. For example, the Broncos will have to worry about Chad Pennington's short passing game, since they're surrendering an average of two completions every three passes. Last week, LaDainian Tomlinson burned them for 220 rushing yards. After two losing starts with Steve Beuerlein, the Broncos are going back to Brian Griese. Shannon Sharpe returns at tight end after three missed starts. Coach Mike Shanahan is rallying the troops because this season is rapidly slipping away. The Jets, meanwhile, have to feel weird about their Monday night loss to the Raiders. They moved the ball well in the second half and ran out of time to pull off a comeback victory. Now they return to the Meadowlands on the verge of elimination. They are a desperate team, but that also makes them a dangerous team.

6. St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs: What a week for the Rams. Brenda Warner takes a poke at Rams management for not having Kurt Warner's hand X-rayed. Warner apparently broke it in the second quarter of the Redskins game two weeks ago and nobody knew anything about it. Meanwhile, the Rams have to do something they haven't done in years -- play a meaningless game. Warner is out for two weeks, and the team isn't completely sure whether Marc Bulger, who has a finger injury, or Jamie Martin will be the quarterback. Regardless, the Chiefs want to have some fun. They are coming off a 49-0 victory over the Cardinals. Now they can try to get the banged up, demoralized Rams into a scoring shootout. The Rams are patching their offensive line because left tackle Orlando Pace's season might be over. The Chiefs know that they have to win their final four games to make the playoffs, so this is their launching pad.

5. New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens: It's interesting that Brian Billick picked this week to name Jeff Blake the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. A little motivation, Brian? Blake had a friendship with Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks, and that cost him the chance to stay in New Orleans. A week ago, Blake beat his former team, the Bengals. Can he pull a second revenge victory? The Saints are worried because they have to play a rare game in cold weather and they are banged up. Brooks and cornerback Dale Carter are questionable with sprained shoulders. Halfback Deuce McAllister is playing despite a severe high ankle sprain. The Saints have had recent trouble winning the winnable games, and this is the toughest of their final four. The Ravens still are within a game or two of making the playoffs. The Saints' final three games are against teams with combined records of 8-28. No wonder coach Jim Haslett is worried. He needs this victory to stay close to whoever comes out of the Falcons-Bucs game in the race for the division title in the NFC South.

4. Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks: Let's see. Middle linebacker Levon Kirkland came to the Eagles, and being used to 30 to 40 plays a game on first and second down, their run defense improves. Two years ago, Kirkland helped to shave 45 yards off the Seahawks' run defense. After they cut him in July for weighing more than 300 pounds, the Seahawks' defense is the league's worse at 171.7 against the run. Kirkland proved his point that no matter what he weighs, he can stop the run. The Seahawks are playing out the string but have a few good things going. Matt Hasselbeck is in a passing groove. Koren Robinson is getting close to 1,000 receiving yards. But the Eagles can officially wrap up the NFC East title with a victory, and they want to keep adding wins until they get Donovan McNabb back. Seahawks Stadium is the one place that people recognize fill-in starting quarterback A.J. Feeley. He was the starting quarterback at Oregon in 1999. Of course, college fans of the Washington Huskies in Seattle aren't big fans of Oregon players.

3. Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars: Butch Davis still can't figure out how he lost last week's game to the Panthers 13-6. Combine that loss with the defeat because linebacker Dwayne Rudd removed his helmet, and the Browns, who are 6-6, are kicking themselves for having lost the chance to be 8-4. Tim Couch needs to bounce back from one of his worst outings. The Jaguars aren't sure that Mark Brunell can play because of a finger injury, but, hey, the Browns lost to Rodney Peete last week when he had a torn tendon in his middle finger. The Browns wasted a good running effort from halfback William Green, who seems to have hit a late-season groove. Figure this one to be a low-scoring game.

2. San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys: There is a weird vibe to the 49ers these days. They will clinch the NFC West this weekend, finally exorcising the feeling that they would always lose the division to the Rams. At 8-4, the 49ers have a chance to host a playoff game and maybe even get a bye week. But nobody appears to be happy here. The pass defense continues to struggle. Injuries have forced them to sign safeties off the street and put them into games. Meanwhile, the offense is being criticized for not having a killer instinct and not being physical enough. The Cowboys are showing a little passing life with Chad Hutchinson, who is on a two-game winning streak. This is almost a no-win game for quarterback Jeff Garcia. The Cowboys defense is pretty good, and Garcia can't completely kick-start this offense. Trying to do it against the Cowboys might be difficult.

1. New York Giants at Washington Redskins: Because of all of their key injuries on defense, the Giants have trouble stopping the run. They did a decent job last week against the Titans but lost the game in overtime. Still, the game plan should be simple -- run the ball. Ah, not Steve Spurrier. He spoke of his regrets for running the ball too much during this disappointing 5-7 season. He wants to pass, yet he continues to use Danny Wuerffel at quarterback. Meanwhile, Redskins halfback Stephen Davis is counting the days until they let him go after the season. He seems to be resigned that he's on the way out. Spurrier didn't make his departure any easier by saying that he wants to squeeze in a few more carries down the stretch for the younger backs. Davis still starts, but there aren't enough carries for him.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.