It’s usually not wise to pronounce a team’s playoff chances dead after only seven weeks. But an exception can be made for the 2010 Cowboys.

Tony Romo broke his left clavicle in an embarrassing 41-35 loss to the Giants at home on Monday night. As of this writing there hasn’t been a timetable given for his return, but it’s estimated that he’ll miss anywhere from six to 10 weeks, which means the 1-5 Cowboys can essentially put a bullet in their season.

Jon Kitna did throw for 187 yards and two touchdowns while subbing for Romo, but after the Giants took a 38-20 lead midway through the third quarter it was evident that the game was well in hand. The ‘Boys scored on a 15-yard Dez Bryant touchdown with 40 seconds remaining to cut the Giants’ lead down to six, but New York dominated the game once Romo left early in the second quarter.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Wade Phillips keeps his job. He’s come under fire for many things over the past few years but the one caveat is that his defensive game plans are usually sound. But the Cowboys’ defensive effort on Monday was atrocious.

They were left on the field for long periods of time, but as a defense you still have to tackle. You still have to find ways to generate a pass rush and you can’t allow 497 total yards – 200 of which coming on the ground. The Cowboys did pick Eli Manning off three times, but he completed 25-of-35 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns and at one point he completed 18 of his 21 pass attempts. With how easy it was to find space in Dallas’ secondary, receivers Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham must have thought that they were lining up against their scout team.

The Cowboys faced an uphill climb when Romo was healthy but now that he’s going to miss a big chunk of the season, it’s safe to say that the Cowboys aren’t realistic playoff contenders. The Giants are light years better right now and we’re talking about a team that turned the ball over five times on Monday. I can’t imagine what the score would have been had the Giants not given the Cowboys’ scoring chances throughout the game.

The Cowboys suffered a tough break when Romo went out, but there’s no excuse for how the defense played tonight. Phillips and company are in for a long rest of the season.

When you throw three interceptions that aid in the demise of your team, your head coach isn’t going to be very happy with you.

Brad Childress somewhat called out Brett Favre following the Vikings’ 28-24 loss on Sunday night to the Packers, a loss in which Lord Favre threw three interceptions and Minnesota had three touchdowns overturned by replay. Childress even admitted that he had considered removing Favre at one point.

From the Minnesota Star-Tribune:

“It still goes back to taking care of the football,” he said. “You can’t throw it to them. You’ve got to play within the confines of our system. Sometimes it’s OK to punt the football and you can’t give seven points going the other way. Not in a game like this. Not with a high-powered team.”

Childress said he considered removing Favre but he did not say if he had told Favre. “[I] was going to give him that next series and he took us and moved us down the field,” Childress said.

Childress has every right to complain about the play of his quarterback when his quarterback throws three interceptions that lead to a loss for his team. But this is vintage Brett Favre – he was throwing interceptions 10 years ago and he’s throwing interceptions now. When he’s under duress, he will force the issue, which leads to mistakes. Childress knows (or should know, anyway) exactly what he’s getting with Favre every time the QB takes the field.

My question is, if the guy is too hurt to play then why leave him in there? Favre has been battling an elbow injury for the past few weeks and now his surgically repaired ankle is bothering him again. Childress needs to make a decision: does he want Favre at 75% (or whatever) or Taravaris Jackson at 100%? There’s no question that Favre gives the Vikings their best chance to win when he’s healthy, but he’s not healthy. He’s never healthy actually, but he appears to be even more banged up than ever right now.

The point is to win. If Favre isn’t going to help the Vikings do that because he’s too hurt, then Childress needs to put the big boy pants on and get the 40-year-old out of there.

Oh come on, you knew Bill Belichick would go for it.

Up 23-20 in San Diego on Sunday, the Patriots faced a 4th-and-1 at their own 49-yard-line with two minutes remaining. They didn’t have any time outs, so if they went for it and didn’t convert they would be handing the ball back to the Chargers (who had all of their timeouts) in prime scoring position.

The situation was obviously eerily similar to when Belichick decided to go for it deep in their own field position against the Colts a few years ago and the Pats failed to convert. They went on to lose that game, but history didn’t repeat itself this time (ah, sort of).

BenJarvus Green-Ellis was stuffed on fourth down but after the Chargers moved the ball to New England’s 32-yard line, Kris Brown missed a 50-yard field goal that would have tied the game. It didn’t help that the field goal was five yards longer than it should have been following a false start by one of the Bolts’ offensive lineman, but it was a heartbreaking loss after San Diego battled back from a 23-6 fourth quarter deficit.

What also hurt was the fact that the Chargers were missing regular kicker Nate Kaeding, who was out with an injury. The field goal certainly wasn’t a gimmie, but the miss hurts nonetheless, especially for a San Diego team that is now 2-5 on the year.

As for Belichick, I assume that if he’s faced with a similar decision in the future that he’ll go for it again. He’s not going to change his style of coaching and he clearly buys into the notion that teams shouldn’t always punt when faced with a fourth down – no matter where they are on the field.

That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t fortunate today though. If the Pats would have went on to lose like they did to the Colts, that would have made them 0-2 when Belichick decided to go the less-conventional rout.

Even after the 49ers’ 23-20 loss to the previously winless Panthers on Sunday, Mike Singletary said he still felt that that his team could reach the playoffs this year.

But he’s clearly delusional.

At 1-6, the 49ers don’t have a realistic shot at making the playoffs – I don’t care what division they play in. It’s the same story every week: They’re undisciplined, mistake-prone and the coaching staff is unable or unwilling to make adjustments. It’s almost like Singletary and his crew put together a game plan throughout the week and if it works, great, if it doesn’t, so be it. But come hell or high water, they’re not going to make any in-game adjustments (at least ones that work, anyway). It’s ridiculous.

I don’t see how Singletary hangs onto his job. The Niners would have to win out and make the playoffs and that’s not going to happen. Alex Smith suffered an injury on Sunday and was replaced by David Carr, who went 5-for-13 for 67 yards and an interception. Smith isn’t good, but Carr isn’t the answer either. This team is hapless.

After their victory last Sunday over the Raiders, the Niners had a shot to turn their season around if they could beat the brutal Panthers. But once again, Singletary’s squad showed its true colors again. With a trip to London coming up, the front office won’t make a move this week. But either way, Singletary’s time in San Francisco is running out.

After turning in their worst performance of the year, the Falcons needed a rebound game. And after nearly giving the game away in the second half after building a 24-3 halftime lead, the Falcons hung on to beat the Bengals 39-32 on Sunday.

Roddy White had a massive day, recording 11 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a two-point conversation, although it was his fumble that gave the Bengals life in the second half. Pacman Jones stripped White, then scooped it up for a 59-yard touchdown return to give Cincinnati a brief 25-24 lead.

But White’s 11-yard touchdown reception and two-point conversation early in the fourth quarter gave Atlanta the lead back at 32-25. Michael Turner added a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:33 left on the clock and even though the Bengals got to within one score after a Chad Ochocinco 8-yard touchdown pass with under two minutes remaining, a last-second desperation drive by Cincinnati failed.

This is the type of performance that people expect out of the Falcons’ offense every week and really, there’s no reason why they can’t duplicate this effort most Sundays. Matt Ryan averaged 9.1 yards per pass, Turner rushed for 121 yards and seven different receivers caught passes. The deep pass made several appearances today, which is something that has been missing from the Falcons’ offense much of this year.

The bye couldn’t have come at a better time for Atlanta, which is banged up defensively and could use the rest. In the second half, the Falcons have dates with the Bucs (twice), Ravens, Packers, Seahawks and Saints, so they better get healthy.

If Kenny Britt plays as well every week as he did on Sunday against the Eagles, then maybe Jeff Fisher won’t mind if the young lad got into more bar fights.

Just two days after he was accused of striking a man in a brawl, Britt hauled in seven catches for 225 yards and three touchdowns in the Titans’ 37-19 win over the Eagles. He abused Ellis Hobbs and the rest of Philly’s secondary, which had looked so good last week against the Falcons.

Britt clearly has the talent to be a star in this league, but he needs to stay out of Fisher’s doghouse so that he can stay on the field and receive opportunities. He wasn’t charged or arrested in the fight on Friday morning, but that doesn’t mean he’ll face further punishment (he was benched at the start of the game on Sunday). Maybe his effort today will motivate him to stay out of trouble and focus his attention to football and football only.

As for the rest of the Titans, this was an impressive win coming off a dominating effort over the Jaguars on Monday night. If they can pick up a win next Sunday at San Diego, then they can head into their bye week with a 6-2 record. That wouldn’t be a bad start.

One would have thought that after Jay Cutler threw his second interception to DeAngelo Hall that he would stop looking the corner’s way. But apparently that’s not how Cutler rolls.

Hall tied a NFL single-game record with four interceptions in the Redskins’ ugly 17-14 win over the Bears on Sunday. Cutler completed 26-of-40 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown, but his four picks and fumble at the goal line in the third quarter killed Chicago’s hopes for victory. One of Hall’s interceptions went for a 92-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

This game was like a bad highlight reel of all the Bears’ problems stuck on repeat. They continue to struggle in the red zone, Cutler continues to be careless with the ball and this team can’t score on the goal line. It’s amazing. It’s almost like they have some sort of complex when they get on the one-yard line. They tense up, freak out and find a way to blow it.

And how about this little nugget of information: the Bears still haven’t scored in the third quarter this year. Not once. Not one point. How is that even possible? How can a team head into the locker room at halftime, make adjustments and not manage a measly field goal at least? That’s a shocking stat.

The Bears’ defense can only do so much. They started to get gashed on the ground late in the game, but they had been on the field all day and still held Washington to just 17 points. Cutler can’t continue to put his team in bad position every week and there’s no excuse for throwing four interceptions to the same defender.

Chicago has now lost to the Seahawks and Redskins at home in back-to-back weeks. The NFC North can be had, but these are games they have to win if they want to challenge for a playoff spot.

Here’s a fun fact for your Sunday afternoon: With their win over the Saints on Sunday, the Browns have now beaten the defending Super Bowl champion the last three years (Giants, Steelers, Saints). It’s a small consolation prize for Cleveland fans that have to put up with this team every year, but it’s a consolation prize nonetheless.

In their 30-17 victory, the Browns never trailed despite only racking up 85 passing yards. The Saints shot themselves in the foot early and often while turning the ball over four times and committing seven penalties. Drew Brees threw four interceptions and was sacked three times as the Saints were just 2-of-4 inside the red zone.

It’s hard to pinpoint what’s wrong with this team. A week ago they avoided mistakes and destroyed the Bucs in Tampa and one would have thought that maybe they’d start to roll. But on Sunday, their play was eerily similar to their effort a few weeks ago when the Cardinals shocked them in Arizona. The Browns are better than people think, but they’re not 30-17 better than the defending Super Bowl champions on the road. I know they’re dealing with a ton of injuries, but there’s no excuse for the Saints to get blown out by Cleveland on their home turf.

Call it a Super Bowl hangover, an issue with injuries or a lack of discipline. It’s clear that this isn’t the same Saints team that won it all last year. I’d even venture to say that they’re pretty average and unless they get healthy fast, the losses might keep coming.

The end of the Steelers-Dolphins game on Sunday is a perfect example of why referees need to allow plays to come to their completion before they move on to the next play, a challenge, or what have you.

With the Steelers down 22-20 with less than two minutes remaining, Ben Roethlisberger fumbled the ball while diving head first into the end zone. The refs ruled the play a touchdown, then they reviewed it, determined that it was a fumble, but because none of them bothered to figure out which team recovered the ball in the end zone (it appeared that two Miami players hopped on it but the refs never made a ruling either way), they put the ball back on the 1-yard line. On fourth down, Jeff Reed converted a chip shot field goal and the Steelers went on to win, 23-22.

Football games don’t come down to one play. The Dolphins had their opportunities throughout the day, but they continuously settled for field goals and gave the Steelers a chance to win in the end. But there’s no doubt that the refs hosed Miami. Had they bothered to do their jobs, they would have determined that the Dolphins recovered the ball in the end zone and then after they reviewed the play, they would have correctly made a ruling of a touchback. And the worse part is that all they had to do was determine which team recovered the ball. Their ruling of a touchdown was fine (wrong, but fine), but they didn’t allow the play to run through its completion and there’s no excuse for that.

Instead, they screwed the pooch and they handed the Steelers a gift win. Granted, we don’t know what would have happened in that final minute and change. Maybe the Dolphins would have turned the ball over and the Steelers would have won anyway. Who’s to say?

But the fact that they weren’t given that opportunity is on the refs and I wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL reviewed the situation and offered Tony Sparano an apology.

Not that an apology replaces a loss in the standings.

Update: Big Ben says he was holding onto the ball at the bottom of the pile. Even if that’s the case, the refs should have determined who had the ball and made the correct ruling.

Despite Brett Favre’s best efforts to give the game away, the Vikings earned their first victory of the 2010 season by beating the Lions 24-10 on Sunday.

Adrian Peterson saved another lackluster effort by the passing game by rushing for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries (7.0 YPC). His longest run came on an 80-yard touchdown scamper with three minutes remaining in the third quarter to give the Vikes a 24-10 lead. Thanks to Minnesota’s inability to score, the Lions still had a couple of chances to tie the game in the fourth but Shaun Hill couldn’t make enough plays.

Favre completed 23-of-34 pass attempts for 201 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Fortunately for him, Lions’ rookie Ndamukong Suh negated the play by going up high to Favre’s head when bringing him down. Still, he has now thrown six interceptions in three games and could have thrown another if the pick wasn’t overturned on a penalty. Outside of a decent throw to Percy Harvin for a touchdown in the first half (one in which nobody was within three feet of Harvin, yet he still had to dive to make the catch), he continues to be out of sync with his receivers.

Make no mistake – the Vikings aren’t a very good football team. They may have won, but they committed 12 penalties for 100 yards and turned the ball over three times. Their sloppiness was nullified because they were playing the Lions, but either way this wasn’t a very impressive performance.

As of right now, the Vikes are a very distant third behind the Packers and Bears in the NFC North. Their defense continues to play well, but if opponents find ways to stop AP then Minnesota is screwed because Lord Favre isn’t going to beat them like he did last year. He looks every bit of his age right now.