USA TODAY's Sean Leahy looks at the superlatives for Week 12 of the NFL season:  Biggest validation: The Bears' 31-26 win against the Eagles may have answered critics suggesting they are not serious playoff contenders. At 8-3, the Bears pulled one game ahead of the Packers in the NFC North after taming an Eagles' offense led by QB Michael Vick.Best receiver: Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe caught 13 passes for 170 yards and three TDs in a 42-24 win at Seattle. Bowe has 32 catches in the past three games and has scored TDs in seven consecutive games (13 overall TDs in that span).  Worst drop: Buffalo's Steve Johnson dropped what would have been a game-winning 40-yard TD in overtime of a 19-16 loss to Pittsburgh. "I had the game in my hands and I dropped it," Johnson said. "I'm humbled."  Worst miss: Panthers K John Kasay missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt as time expired to seal the Panthers' 24-23 loss in Cleveland. Carolina fell to 1-10, its worst mark since a 1-15 campaign in 2001.  Worst division: The Seahawks' loss to the Chiefs and the Rams' win against the Broncos left the teams tied for first place in the NFC West with a sub-.500 record of 5-6. The Rams' win was the first by an NFC West team since Week 10. The winner of the game between the 3-7 49ers and 3-7 Cardinals on Monday will be just a game out of first place.  Best bad team: Buffalo (2-9) ended its two-game win streak and blew a chance to upset the Steelers in a 19-16 loss in OT. The Bills' last four losses have come by three points, and three of those losses came in OT.  Ugliest fight: Texans WR Andre Johnson and Titans CB Cortland Finnegan were ejected after they traded punches in a skirmish that set off a brawl in the fourth quarter of the Texans' 20-0 win. Both players landed blows to the other's head in a fight that could bring heavy discipline from the NFL.  Best debut: Interim coach Leslie Frazier led the Vikings to a 17-13 win at Washington in his first game since relieving former coach Brad Childress.  Best defense: The Texans, with the NFL's worst pass defense, shut out the Titans -- who started third-string QB Rusty Smith -- 20-0. Houston's Glover Quin had three INTs, which is half the picks the Texans had as a team all season entering the game.  Best consistency: The Falcons, who never had consecutive winning seasons before posting at least nine victories in 2008 and 2009, clinched their third straight winning campaign by improving to 9-2 in beating the Packers.  Longest passing streak interrupted: Eagles QB Michael Vick threw his first INT of the season in a loss to the Bears. Vick, who had not been picked in his first 212 attempts this year, hadn't thrown an INT since 2006, before the dogfighting conviction that led to a two-year absence from the NFL.Worst sign for a head coach: Fans in Denver brought signs calling for the firing of Broncos coach Josh McDaniels one day after he was fined $50,000 by the NFL after the team self-reported the illegal recording of a San Francisco 49ers practice by now-fired video director Steve Scarnecchia.  Worst fumble: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers fumbled at the 1-yard line after he lunged in attempt for a TD at Atlanta. The fumble, on Rodgers' second consecutive QB sneak, ruined drive that had marched 84 years, and gave the victorious Falcons a touchback that started an 80-yard TD drive.  Best running back: Cleveland's Peyton Hillis rushed for 131 yards and three TDs -- with all of the scores in the first half -- during a 24-23 win against Carolina.  Best QB: Chicago's Jay Cutler threw four TDs, zero INTs and had a passer rating of 146.2 in a 31-26 win against the Eagles.  Worst team on big stage: The Bucs fell to 7-4 and remained winless against teams with winning records after a 17-10 loss at Baltimore. In losses to the Ravens, Steelers, Falcons and Saints, the Bucs have been outscored 113-50.  Best drive: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers led his team on a game-tying, 90-yard TD drive that included two fourth-down conversions -- including the a TD pass with 56 seconds left -- in the fourth quarter at Atlanta. The drive was for naught, however, as the Falcons came back to notch a game-winning field goal with 9 seconds left.Best road win: The Rams won for the first time away from home this season in a 36-33 decision at Denver. St. Louis had lost its first four road games.  Worst penalty: A 77-yard punt-return TD by Washington's Brandon Banks was nullified by an illegal block on Perry Riley in the fourth quarter of a 17-13 loss to Minnesota. The TD would have given the Redskins a 20-17 lead with 6:54 to play.  Best finish: The Giants crushed the Jaguars' comeback hopes with sacks on three consecutive plays after the two-minute warning of a 24-20 win. The final sack, on third down, forced a fumble that Giants S Antrel Rolle recovered to seal the victory.  Best bounce-back: Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 151 yards -- his first time cracking three digits since Week 3 -- against the Bills' worst-ranked rushing defense in a 19-16 win.  Worst slide: The Titans, considered a prime playoff contender when they reached 5-2 in Week 7 after beating the Eagles, fell to the edge of playoff consideration when they lost for the fourth consecutive time in a 20-0 shutout at Houston.  Best scramble: Vikings QB Brett Favre ambled 10 yards for a first down with 2:00 left that clinched a 17-13 win at Washington. Favre, still playing on a left foot with two broken bones, broke loose on a third-and-8 for a first down that allowed the Vikings to grind out the clock.  Best QB going unnoticed: With four TD passes in a win at Seattle, Kansas City's Matt Cassel improved his TD-to-INT ratio to 18-to-1 over the past seven games.  Worst hit on a QB: Steelers LB James Harrison -- already fined $100,000 this season for illegal hits -- was flagged for roughing when he hit Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick with his head down during the third quarter of a win in Buffalo. Harrison said there was "nothing wrong about the play."  Best recovery: Two weeks after suffering a knee injury, Dolphins QB Chad Henne returned to the lineup and led his team to a 33-17 win in Oakland. Henne, who threw two TD passes, helped the Dolphins bounce back from a 16-0 loss in their last game when third-string QB Tyler Thigpen started.Best use of home-field advantage: Falcons QB Matt Ryan improved to 19-1 at home as the team's starter.  Best dual threat: Houston's Arian Foster -- who already led the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,382 entering the week -- collected 218 yards from scrimmage with 143 rushing yards and nine catches for 75 yards in a 20-0 win against Tennessee.  Worst pass: Browns QB Jake Delhomme threw INTs on two straight passes during the third quarter of a 24-23 win against Carolina. Captain Munnerlyn returned the pass he picked off 37 yards for a TD that kept the 1-10 Panthers alive in the second half.
Week 12 best & worst: Chiefs' Dwayne Bowe quietly assembling monster season - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com