Here are the players who should shine in this weekend’s games, and those who will fall short of expectations.

The best

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees: The New Orleans offense was struggling before this past weekend, but everything started to click against Seattle. This weekend Brees and the Saints face a Falcons defense that just gave 303 passing yards to Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning. Brees should have a lot of opportunities to throw the ball in the Saints’ explosive offense on Sunday, which could lead to a lot of points.

New York Jets running back Thomas Jones: The Jets running back woke up last Sunday, running for 130 yards. Cincinnati’s defense is nonexistent. The Jets’ lack of a proven passing game will put most of the offensive load on Jones, who should run all over the Cincinnati defense.

Tampa Bay wide receiver Joey Galloway: Tampa Bay has been depleted at running back, leading to the trade with the Chiefs for Michael Bennett. Jeff Garcia has proven to be a valuable pick up for the Buccaneers, and he has Galloway, who is one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL. The Buccaneers face the Lions, who have the 30th-ranked passing defense in the NFL, this Sunday. Name one of the Lions cornerbacks. Exactly, Galloway will have a big game on Sunday.

Seattle Defense: The Seahawks stumbled against New Orleans last Sunday but had a lot of chances to win. They will play a Rams team this weekend that hasn’t been able to generate any offense this season. Injuries to Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger have been key factors to the Rams’ lack of offense. With Gus Frerotte at the helm at quarterback for the Rams, the Seahawks should be able to stop the Rams’ offense dead in its tracks and cause a lot of turnovers.

The worst

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger: Pittsburgh is not a pass-oriented offense. The Steelers rely on the running game for most of their offensive production. That is a good thing because Pittsburgh will face the number one passing defense on Sunday in the Denver Broncos. Champ Bailey is arguably the best cornerback in the league and the addition of Dre’ Bly to the Denver secondary made it that much more formidable. Roethlisberger will struggle on Sunday, but it will be up to the running game to carry the Steelers.

Chiacgo running back Cedric Benson: The Bears thought Benson was ready to step up and replace Thomas Jones as the starting running back in Chicago. It looks like they were wrong. Benson has only 370 yards rushing through the first six games, and he is only averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Chicago will play Philadelphia on Sunday, and the Eagles have the ninth best rushing defense in the league. The Bears and Benson will have a tough time getting any momentum going in the running game on Sunday.

Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald: The Arizona Cardinals are tied for the lead in the NFC West, but they have had their share of struggles this season. Both Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner have gone down with injuries, leaving the Cardinals to start Tim Rattay at quarterback this weekend. Rattay was just signed before last weekend’s game and does not completely know the offense yet. This and the fact that the Redskins, Arizona’s opponent on Sunday, have the fifth best passing defense in the NFL will create problems for Fitzgerald.

Miami defense: The Dolphins are pretty much guaranteed to fall to 0-7 this weekend. They returned the defensive player-of-the-year in Jason Taylor, but they just haven’t played as well as last season. The Dolphins play the team with the first overall offense in the NFL on Sunday. The Patriots barely ran the ball last weekend against the Cowboys and still put 48 points on the scoreboard. The Dolphins are sure to have problems stopping the Patriots this weekend.

— Edited by Amelia Freidline