As far as most fans were concerned, quarterbacks Steve McNair, Michael Vick, and Damon Huard couldn’t have been more different entering this season. McNair was the past-his-prime veteran getting one more chance in a new city; Vick was the young star who needed to develop a passing game worthy of his hype, and Huard was a career backup who didn’t deserve a moment’s thought.

On Sunday, those three quarterbacks combined for 54 completions on 76 attempts for 762 yards, with six touchdowns and no interceptions. More important, their teams all won and established themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But one quarterback who has already led his team to a championship, Ben Roethlisberger, turned in a horrible game as the Oakland Raiders stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Roethlisberger threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, as the Raiders beat the Steelers 20-13. In just six games Roethlisberger now has 11 interceptions, two more than he had all of last season. A week after being knocked unconscious on the field in Atlanta, Roethlisberger never looked comfortable, repeatedly throwing into coverage and failing to get out of the way of Oakland’s pass rush.

This would have been inconceivable at any previous time in Roethlisberger’s career, but there will now be calls for coach Bill Cowher to bench him in favor of backup Charlie Batch. The Raiders have widely been considered the worst team in the league, but now they and the Steelers have identical 2–5 records.

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McNair’s Baltimore Ravens played their first game since coach Brian Billick fired his offensive coordinator, former Giants coach Jim Fassel, and took control of the play-calling himself. It didn’t take long for Baltimore’s offense to click, as it jumped out to an early 21-0 lead over the New Orleans Saints and never looked back, winning 35–22. Billick’s main priority was taking advantage of McNair’s mobility. McNair ran for a five-yard touchdown for Baltimore’s first score, and he regularly moved in the pocket to avoid the Saints’ pass rush.

After the Saints spent the 2005 season displaced by Hurricane Katrina, emotion had carried them Saints to a 3–0 record in the Superdome this season. The Ravens used cool efficiency to overcome that emotional edge and win in New Orleans yesterday. In addition to McNair’s big day, Baltimore’s defense forced five turnovers and limited New Orleans running backs Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister to a combined 27 yards on 10 carries. Bush limped off the field late in the game with an ankle injury, but he said afterward that it wasn’t serious.

The Saints, who remain in a firstplace tie in the NFC South with a 5–2 record, are a good team. But yesterday the Ravens, also 5–2 and in first place in the AFC North, showed that they’re a better team. Baltimore’s defense will always be its greatest asset, but if Billick’s play calling can keep the offense from being a liability, the Ravens will be tough to beat.

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Vick has always insisted that he has the skills necessary to be a pocket passer. Most observers have scoffed. Yesterday he had the best passing game of his career, completing 20 of 28 throws for 291 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions, leading his Atlanta Falcons to a 29–27 upset of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Running is still part of Vick’s game, of course, and he ran nine times for 55 yards. But the most impressive part of his day was the way he distributed the ball. Tight end Alge Crumpler is Vick’s favorite receiver, and he led all Falcons with four catches for 72 yards. Vick also completed a combined nine passes for 150 yards to wide receiversAshley Lelie, Michael Jenkins, and Roddy White, and a combined seven passes for 69 yards to running backs Warrick Dunn, Justin Griffith, and Jerious Norwood.

Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer also played well, finishing 24 of 36 for 266 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Unlike Vick, Palmer doesn’t supply a running threat, and the Falcons’ defense held Cincinnati running back Rudi Johnson to just 46 yards on 12 carries. That Atlanta defense has been more responsible than Vick for the Falcons’ 5–2 start. But Vick deserves more credit than anyone else for yesterday’s win.

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When Trent Green suffered a serious concussion in the season’s first game and Huard replaced him as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback, the Chiefs just hoped Huard would be competent enough to keep opposing defenses from loading up to stop running back Larry Johnson.

Huard has been much more than competent. He has played so well that he’s a legitimate league MVP candidate, and while it’s not clear when Green will be healthy enough to play again, it’s hard to envision Huard giving up the starting job. Huard had 312 passing yards yesterday in leading Kansas City to a 35–28 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, and he has eight touchdown passes and just one interception so far this season.

Of course, Huard owes a lot of his success to having the best back in football for a teammate. Johnson carried 39 times for 155 yards and three touchdowns yesterday, and he added two catches for 26 yards and another touchdown. Johnson has now played 16 games — the equivalent of one full season — since he replaced Priest Holmes as Kansas City’s starting running back last year. In those 16 games he has gained 1,995 yards.

Seattle’s loss further illustrated just how far it has fallen since reaching the Super Bowl last season. The Seahawks’ once-formidable offense is a mess. Running back Shaun Alexander, the winner of the 2005 MVP award, has missed the last four games with a broken foot, and his replacement, Maurice Morris, had just 25 yards on 12 carries. Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was out yesterday with a knee injury, and the Seahawks’ offensive line hasn’t looked the same this season after losing allpro guard Steve Hutchinson to free agency.

Still, the Seahawks’ 4–3 record keeps them in first place in the NFC West, as the St. Louis Rams lost yesterday to the San Diego Chargers. (In that game Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, playing while he appealed a suspension for a positive steroid test, had three sacks.) The Chargers-Rams result keeps the Chiefs in third place, behind both San Diego and Denver in the AFC West. But with Huard at the helm, the Chiefs looked as if they had a Super Bowl-quality quarterback. It’s the most surprising development of the 2006 season that neither Seattle nor Pittsburgh can say that, but Baltimore and Atlanta can.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.