Aftermath: Anderson carried the ball an NFL-record 410 times during the regular season a year ago for 1,846 yards in the Falcons’ march to the Super Bowl. No other Atlanta running back had more than 50 yards rushing. The Falcons lost his leadership, toughness and swagger, and without a consistent threat in the running game, Atlanta has failed to keep opposing teams from blitzing regularly.

Aftermath: The Panthers are surprisingly still ranked quite high in the NFL in offense, but opposing teams were able to focus more on defending the Panthers’ passing game because of the lack of a big-play threat out of the backfield. Biakabutuka returned last week and played well in a 31-17 win over Cleveland.

Aftermath: The late-game collapse started a pattern of losing fourth-quarter leads (five in all). The Saints’ confidence dipped, and they went on to lose six in a row until a Week 10 victory over San Francisco.

Aftermath: Green is aiming at returning to the team’s minicamp in May. Kurt Warner took over the starting role and has looked frighteningly adept in the system and is the early favorite for league MVP as the Rams continue to lead the NFC.

Aftermath: Young is still not healthy, and team officials and medical personnel have made their feelings known that it would be in his best interest not to step on the field again. The 49ers have been reeling ever since and are on the verge of slipping out of playoff contention.