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Cowboys make a case to be considered NFL's second-best team
By Vic Carucci | NFL.com
Finally, we have some clarity in the NFC.
The Dallas Cowboys own the conference. They might even be the league's new "second-best" team, after the unbeaten New England Patriots, but let's talk NFC first.
Some pundits had argued that, after rebounding from a 0-2 start with six consecutive victories, the New York Giants actually were the class of the NFC. Forget about it.
The Cowboys' 31-20 win over the Giants in Week 10 settled the issue because it gave them an 8-1 record and it was their second convincing triumph this year against their closest NFC East rival.
In scoring their third consecutive victory, the Cowboys made a few other things clear: 1) Their quarterback, Tony Romo, is one of the NFL's best and easily a better playmaker than his Giants counterpart, Eli Manning. In their head-to-head matchup, Romo threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns, two to Terrell Owens, and was intercepted once. Manning threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and had two interceptions. 2) Their defense continues to play at a championship level. Besides forcing two turnovers, it didn't allow the Giants a touchdown in the second half and sacked Manning five times. 3) Wade Phillips has been masterful both in getting the Cowboys to adopt his attack-oriented, playmaking style, and in getting Owens to consistently perform at a high level.
The Cowboys also made a case to be regarded as the No. 2 team in the NFL. Or, maybe the Indianapolis Colts helped make the case for them by losing to the San Diego Chargers, 23-21, for their second defeat in as many weeks. The injury-ravaged Colts don't look anything like the team that once was 7-0 and challenging the Pats for league-wide supremacy. Peyton Manning, who threw six interceptions against the Chargers, certainly doesn't look like the same quarterback.
Meanwhile, the Giants raised familiar concerns that a strong first half to the season could be followed by a second-half collapse.
No, we haven't forgotten about the 8-1 Green Bay Packers, who extended their winning streak to four after a 34-0 humiliation of the Minnesota Vikings.
The victory was impressive, but perhaps not quite as impressive as what the Cowboys did against the Giants. The Vikings have no passing game. With a run-oriented offense, they figured to be in trouble if, as expected, one of the best passing attacks in the NFL allowed the Packers to jump to a big lead. Sure enough, the unstoppable Brett Favre threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Minnesota's problems were compounded after Adrian Peterson, the best running back in the league, left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
The Detroit Lions? They had worked their way into the discussion with a 6-2 start ... and worked their way right out of it after losing to the Arizona Cardinals, 31-21. These are the kinds of games the Lions need to win in order to maintain credibility as a team on the rise. Here's a stat Detroit will have a hard time living down: Minus-18 rushing yards. The Lions' defense also allowed Kurt Warner, who has a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing shoulder), to throw for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
COMPLETE STORY LINK
Finally, we have some clarity in the NFC.
The Dallas Cowboys own the conference. They might even be the league's new "second-best" team, after the unbeaten New England Patriots, but let's talk NFC first.
Some pundits had argued that, after rebounding from a 0-2 start with six consecutive victories, the New York Giants actually were the class of the NFC. Forget about it.
The Cowboys' 31-20 win over the Giants in Week 10 settled the issue because it gave them an 8-1 record and it was their second convincing triumph this year against their closest NFC East rival.
In scoring their third consecutive victory, the Cowboys made a few other things clear: 1) Their quarterback, Tony Romo, is one of the NFL's best and easily a better playmaker than his Giants counterpart, Eli Manning. In their head-to-head matchup, Romo threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns, two to Terrell Owens, and was intercepted once. Manning threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and had two interceptions. 2) Their defense continues to play at a championship level. Besides forcing two turnovers, it didn't allow the Giants a touchdown in the second half and sacked Manning five times. 3) Wade Phillips has been masterful both in getting the Cowboys to adopt his attack-oriented, playmaking style, and in getting Owens to consistently perform at a high level.
The Cowboys also made a case to be regarded as the No. 2 team in the NFL. Or, maybe the Indianapolis Colts helped make the case for them by losing to the San Diego Chargers, 23-21, for their second defeat in as many weeks. The injury-ravaged Colts don't look anything like the team that once was 7-0 and challenging the Pats for league-wide supremacy. Peyton Manning, who threw six interceptions against the Chargers, certainly doesn't look like the same quarterback.
Meanwhile, the Giants raised familiar concerns that a strong first half to the season could be followed by a second-half collapse.
No, we haven't forgotten about the 8-1 Green Bay Packers, who extended their winning streak to four after a 34-0 humiliation of the Minnesota Vikings.
The victory was impressive, but perhaps not quite as impressive as what the Cowboys did against the Giants. The Vikings have no passing game. With a run-oriented offense, they figured to be in trouble if, as expected, one of the best passing attacks in the NFL allowed the Packers to jump to a big lead. Sure enough, the unstoppable Brett Favre threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Minnesota's problems were compounded after Adrian Peterson, the best running back in the league, left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
The Detroit Lions? They had worked their way into the discussion with a 6-2 start ... and worked their way right out of it after losing to the Arizona Cardinals, 31-21. These are the kinds of games the Lions need to win in order to maintain credibility as a team on the rise. Here's a stat Detroit will have a hard time living down: Minus-18 rushing yards. The Lions' defense also allowed Kurt Warner, who has a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing shoulder), to throw for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
COMPLETE STORY LINK
