NFL Highway, Week 10

Back on the NFL highway for another week...

There are two kings of the hill in the NFC. One of them is the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys went to New York and earned a surprisingly easy win over the Giants, 31-20. Tony Romo threw four touchdown passes for the Cowboys. Dallas is now 8-1 for the first time since the Barry Switzer era. The Cowboys now have a two-game lead in the NFC East.

The other king of the NFC hill is the Green Bay Packers. The Packers knocked Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson out of the game in the third quarter with a knee injury, and rode Brett Favre's three touchdown passes to an easy 34-0 win. Favre is doing things on the field that shold be illegal at his age. He is truly greatness. The Pack is looking ahead to a showdown with the Cowboys on Thursday night, November 29.

Elsewhere in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles went into Washington and stole a 33-25 win from the Redskins. Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook combined for a 20-point fourth quarter for the Eagles. The Eagles needed this one in the worst way after getting throttled last week by Dallas. The Redskins go to Texas Stadium next week to take their licks from the Cowboys.

The Detroit Lions proved themselves not ready for prime time on Sunday, as they went out to the desert and lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 31-21. The game wasn't really that close. The Lions are still the 3rd best team in the NFC, as if that matters a whole lot.

The New Orleans Saints had a good run going. However, all good things must end. The St. Louis Rams got off the schneid in the Big Easy, pasting the Saints, 37-29. Marc Bulger is now healthy for the Rams, and celebrated with two touchdown passes.

The NFC South is a pretty pathetic division. The Atlanta Falcons proved it by going to Carolina and getting a win over the quarterback-starved Panthers, 20-13. Joey Harrington threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler with 20 seconds left in the game for Atlanta. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers now have sole possession of first place after their bye week, at 5-4.

Never give an NFL team up for dead. That's what I did with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos went into Kansas City and delivered a 27-11 whipping to the Chiefs. Selvin Young rushed for 109 yards for the Broncos. The plug and play running back system finally worked again for the Broncos.

There is still a winless team in the NFL, and it resides in Miami. The Dolphins played tough against the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills broke Miami's heart with a game-winning field goal with 46 seconds left. The Dolphins are now a woeful 0-9. The Dolphins have a chance to be the first franchise to have both a perfect season (1972) and a winless season. The Bills, meanwhile, are 5-4.

Sunday's game in Pittsburgh did not disappoint. Lots of points were expected, and lots were scored, as the Steelers pulled out a 31-28 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers came back from a 15 point deficit to win the game. Derek Anderson threw three touchdown passes in a losing cause for the 5-4 Browns. Ben Roethlisberger accounted for three touchdowns for the Steelers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars broke out of their slump with a 28-13 win in Nashville over the Tennessee Titans. Both teams find themselves tied for second in the AFC South at 6-3. Both teams stand a good chance at making the playoffs as wild cards, if not as a division champion.

For at least one week, the Cincinnati Bengals found a defense. They held the inept Baltimore Ravens offense to a touchdown, and used seven Shayne Graham field goals to gain an unexpected road win, 21-7. The Bengals now have three wins, and two of them are over the Ravens. The Ravens are looking very mediocre.

The Oakland Raiders are officially horrible. The Silver and Black were leading an ugly game against the Chicago Bears, 6-3 with less than four minutes left. Bears QB Brian Griese had left the game with a concussion, and was replaced by ex-starter Rex Grossman. The Bears promptly scored two touchdowns to win the game 17-6. The Raiders allowed Sexy Rexy to beat them with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian with 3:11 left in the game. The Bears are now 4-5. The Raiders are now 2-7 and headed further down the toilet.

The San Diego Chargers escaped with their lives in the Sunday Night extravaganza. The Chargers rolled to a 23-0 lead thanks to Darren Sproles' kickoff return and punt return for touchdowns. They then let the Colts back into the game, as Indy cut the lead to 23-21. The Colts had a chance to win the game, when Adam Vinatieri pushed a chip-shot field goal wide right, allowing the Chargers to hold on for the win. It would have been a disastrous loss for the Chargers. Instead, they move into sole possession of first place in the AFC West. All is not right in San Diego, but the Chargers are very relieved to get out with a win.