American Football: Lions find their bite: Matt Tench reports on the rest of the NFL games

FOR half a season the NFC Central has witnessed a revolution. Dominated last year by the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears, the other three teams began the 1992 campaign under new leaders - and all did rather well. As the Lions and Bears struggled to hold on to power (not to mention their power games), the Vikings, Buccaneers and Packers confounded the pundits by winning unexpected battles. This week, though, the establishment fought back.

It did so most dramatically in Tampa Bay where the Detroit Lions were the visitors. After just one victory from six outings the Lions at last played like a team that made it to the NFC Championship game last year, thrashing the arrivistes 38-7.

Barry Sanders, who has struggled to justify his billing as the league's deadliest runner, found rushing room at last and dashed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. For the Bucs there were uncomfortable echoes with the benching of their quarterback Vinny Testaverde.

Chicago were equally graceless guests in Green Bay, returning home with a 31-10 victory, the Bears' first consecutive win of the season.

Minnesota remain top of the division despite a bruising defeat by Washington. The Super Bowl champions failed to score a touchdown, but won 15-13 thanks to five field goals from Chip Lohmiller. The walking wounded who pass for the Redskins offensive line lost another foot soldier when Joe Jacoby staggered off in the first quarter. The subsequent buffeting of quarterback Mark Rypien took its toll. 'I think he was a little goofy at the end. He must have been - he ran,' Joe Gibbs, the Washington head coach, said.

The atmosphere at the Meadowlands in New Jersey resembled a lynching party as the New York Giants entertained Seattle. Ray Handley, the Giants head coach, has fallen out with the local media, with a number of his players, and with some of his own fans. Banners proclaiming his incompetence were on show before the game, and there were soon shouts of 'Ray must go'. The Giants' 23-10 victory is unlikely to help Handley much (everybody beats Seattle), and he was hardly helped by the presence of his predecessor, the ever popular Bill Parcells.

Parcells, who cajoled the Giants to two Super Bowl triumphs, was back on his old stamping ground for the first time since his retirement. This time his role was as a colour commentator for NBC television. He was generally supportive towards Handley, but admitted to missing coaching. 'You don't feel the same thrill. Once you experience it, it's a little bit like a narcotic,' he said.

Asked about his future Parcells replied with a vagueness to rival any politician. 'I'm not counting anything out. I'm not saying I will and I'm not saying I won't. If that's a hedge, that's a hedge,' he said.

The Philadelphia Eagles will be less than elated about their 7-3 defeat of lowly Phoenix, though it did break a two-game losing run. At least their defense is as formidable as ever: six successive times the Cardinals tried to get in the end zone from inside the one-yard line; six times they were repelled. Next week the Eagles travel to Dallas, who they crushed at the beginning of the month but who have had a much more impressive October. Dallas's victims this week were the LA Raiders.

NFL: Chicago 30 Green Bay 10; Houston 26 Cincinnati 10; Detroit 38 Tampa Bay 7; Philadelphia 7 Phoenix 3; NY Giants 23 Seattle 10; Washington 15 Minnesota 13; San Diego 24 Denver 21; Cleveland 19 New England 17; Dallas 28 LA Raiders 13; Indianapolis 31 Miami 20; Pittsburgh 27 Kansas City 3. Did not play: Atlanta, LA Rams, New Orleans, San Francisco.