Imagine if the Cowboys played with as much confidence, emotion and focus as they did Sunday against the Falcons. Maybe they’d actually cash in on some of their potential and make the playoffs.

Fresh off its bye, Dallas smacked Atlanta 37-21 in Week 7, as Tony Romo completed 21 of 29 pass attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Miles Austin had another huge day, hauling in six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including scores of 59 and 22 yards.

Defensively, the Cowboys looked like they were playing with a chip on their shoulder. Matt Ryan hasn’t been touched all season, yet Dallas consistently crashed the pocket and racked up four sacks. They also intercepted Ryan twice and forced two fumbles, although one was recovered by Atlanta.

The Cowboys need to find a way to play with this kind of fire every week. They made a statement today against a good opponent, but it means nothing if they come out next Sunday and give a lackluster effort. When they play at a high level, they’re tough to beat. But they’ve had issues playing consistently week in and week out, so the jury is still out on whether or not they can do it after this win.

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With their 27-17 win on Sunday, pundits are going to talk about how the Steelers made a statement against a good team. But there’s a strong argument that the good team the Steelers beat actually beat themselves.

The Vikings turned the ball over twice with less than seven minutes remaining, both of which resulted in defensive touchdowns for Pittsburgh. Brett Favre had a hand in both of the turnovers, as he was stripped once (which was returned by LaMarr Woodley for a 77-yard touchdown) and intercepted once (which was returned by Keyaron Fox for an 82-yard touchdown). In fairness to Favre, the interception ricocheted off Chester Taylor’s hands, but he was also a tad quick throwing the ball while setting up the screen.

Some may view Minnesota’s two turnovers as Pittsburgh’s defense making things happen. But the reality is that the fumble and interception were gifts by Favre and the Vikings, who were in scoring range both times. Minnesota had a chance to come away with a victory and wound up serving up a win for the Steelers.

That’s not to say that the Steelers didn’t earn the win, because they did. They held Adrian Peterson to only 69 yards on 18 carries and deserve credit for not only forcing two key turnovers, but also turning them into immediate points. But this was hardly a statement win. Not only did the Vikings turn the ball over twice late in the game, but they also committed 11 penalties (the Steelers only had three) and found ways to shoot themselves in the foot multiple times.

The 49ers didn’t get a win in Houston on Sunday, but they may have found their new quarterback in a familiar face.

It appears that the stagnant play of Shaun Hill is finally over, as former first overall pick Alex Smith started the second half of the Niners’ 24-21 loss to the Texans in Week 7. Hill was just 6-of-11 passing for 45 yards in the first half and a very Shaun Hill-like 6.1 YPA. Smith came in and immediately sparked San Fran’s offense, marching them down the field and capping the drive off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis. Smith then found Davis twice in the fourth quarter, including on a 23-yard score that cut the Texans’ lead down to 24-21 with less four minutes remaining.

The 49ers want to be a team that dominates opponents on the ground, which is fine. But with Hill, they couldn’t move the ball vertically through the air and teams like the Falcons and Texans took advantage of that the past three weeks. At some point, Mike Singletary and Jimmy Raye had to realize that their offensive approach wasn’t going to work as long as Hill was under center.

Smith might not have won the starting job in preseason, but he took it today. Will he be the key to getting the Niners to the playoffs? Maybe not, but at least he can complete passes further than 6.1 yards. It’s also nice to see that he developed a great connection with Davis, another one of San Fran’s former top 10 picks.

For the Texans, this was a nice win because they haven’t been very consistent this season. They’ve now won back-to-back games for the first time this year and their defense is starting to play better. Matt Schaub (20 for 30, 264 yards, 2 TDs) was excellent once again and tight end Owen Daniels (7 receptions, 123 yards, 1 TD) was damn near unstoppable today.

If Houston can continue to play well defensively, the Texans will make a playoff push in the second half.

For those of you who sat through the Patriots’ 41-7 massacre of the Broncos on Monday night, you may have witnessed a man on a mission.

This man is out to prove a point. This man wants doubters to eat their words. This man wants to destroy everything and everyone in his path, including those he refers to as friends.

That man is none other than Bill Belichick.

No doubt pissed off at not only his team’s effort in a nationally televised beat down in San Diego on Sunday Night Football two weeks ago, but also everyone who has said anything even remotely negative about him or the Patriots, Belichick decided to personally destroy Mike Shanahan (a so-called friend) and the Broncos on Monday night.

At one point during the game, New England had a comfortable 34-7 fourth quarter lead, but apparently that wasn’t enough for Belichick. So he instructed Matt Cassel to run the no-huddle just to stick it to anyone that has deemed the Pats dead without Tom Brady. New England eventually capped the rout with a go-F-yourself-world-touchdown with less than five minutes remaining to go up 41-7.

Now, I have no problem with Belichick running the no-huddle. And if Shanahan or the Broncos players had an issue with it, than maybe they should learn to freaking tackle somebody instead of trying to play touch football with their opponents.

But it’s laughable that the ESPN announcers suggested that Belichick just wanted to get Cassel more experience running the no-huddle. That might have been true on the surface, but deep down the real reason Belichick did it is because he wants everyone to know that the Patriots are still here. They’re not going anywhere and they’re still one of the elite teams in the AFC – even without Brady.

Bill Belichick is on a mission again folks, and the Denver Broncos were just the first victim. Hide the women and children.

The Cowboys brought them back to earth in Week 3, the Buccaneers physically abused them in Week 4 and the Falcons shocked them in Week 5. Yet after putting together back-to-back wins the last two weeks, the Packers look far from dead in the NFC.

In their latest win on Sunday, Green Bay absolutely crushed Peyton Manning and the Colts 34-14 at Lambeau. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to play well (and continues to out play Brett Favre for those compelled to keep debating that topic) as he completed 21 of 28 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. He finally got some help from Ryan Grant (105 yards, 1 TD), who had really struggled over the past couple weeks.

Speaking of struggling, after shredding Baltimore’s defense last Sunday, Manning was brutal. He eventually wound up with 229 yards, but he threw two interceptions, both of which Green Bay returned for touchdowns. He also did his best Jake Delhomme impersonation, bitching to the refs after most of his incompletions. Worse yet for the Colts, Rodgers and the Packers did whatever they wanted to the Indy defense.

Nobody is counting the Colts out in the AFC, but with Manning at less than 100%, the defense is going to have to step up and the entire team has to play more consistently.

Remember when Mike Shanahan’s call-a-timeout-the-millisecond-before-the-kicker-attempts-a-field-goal strategy swept the nation last year? Yeah, well it doesn’t work anymore and coaches might want to think about scraping the idea after Raiders’ head coach almost cost his team a win Sunday against the Jets.

After Brett Favre somehow marched the Jets into field goal range with under 30 seconds to play in Oakland, Jay Feely set up to attempt a game-tying 52-yard field goal. He wound up booting the ball off one of the uprights, which should have given the Raiders a 13-10 win, but that trickster Cable fooled everyone and called a timeout. Of course Feely kicked his next attempt straight through the uprights to force overtime.

Granted, Cable still earned his first victory as a NFL head coach when the Raiders eventually won 16-13 on a remarkable record-setting 57-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski in overtime, but it should have never come to that. It seems that freezing the kicker backfires more than it benefits and in worst-case scenarios, it could wind up costing teams wins.

Kickers even admit that it helps them settle down and relax. So why continue to do it if you’re an NFL head coach?

In the midst of their four game winning streak this season, many football enthusiasts (myself included) were ready to put the Redskins at the top of the NFC as one of the conference’s best teams.

But after losing to the Rams last week and almost choking away a win against the Browns on Sunday, it’s hard to tell how good Washington really is at this point. Clinton Portis (175 yards, 1 TD in the 14-11 win over Cleveland) is off to a great start and QB Jason Campbell has done a remarkable job in his first year in the WCO. (He’s still yet to throw an interception.)

Still, the Redskins weren’t overly impressive today, in fact, they looked ultra-conservative and had Derek Anderson been able to do anything in the first half, Washington might lose the game against Cleveland despite an outstanding day by Portis and the defense. For a team that is starting to receive accolades as one of the best in the NFC, you’d think they would put more points on the board than 14. (Granted, the score was a lot closer than maybe it should have been because the Browns scored off a Portis fumble late in the fourth.)

The bottom line is that good teams find ways to win, especially considering victories are so hard to come by in the NFL. But part of me wonders if the Redskins are setting up for a second half collapse just based on two blasé performances the past two weeks.

Side note on Clev/Wash game: Portis/Cleveland’s defense saved Romeo Crennel’s ass late in the fourth. The Browns were down 14-3 late in the fourth and Washington stopped them cold on the goal line on three straight plays. Instead of kicking the field goal and making it a one-possession game, Crennel foolishly went for it on fourth and goal and Anderson had a pass battled down. Had Portis not fumbled and Washington goes down and scores (or runs out the clock), Crennel’s decision would have looked even more boneheaded. Instead, Portis coughs it up and the Browns scored and added a 2-point conversion to slim the lead to 14-11 and thus, Crennel comes out looking okay. But he’s clueless.

For the second straight week, the Rams produced the upset of the day (or at least the upset of the early games) as they smoked the Cowboys 34-14 in St. Louis.

While the Rams have been a nice story the past two weeks under interim head coach Jim Haslett, the story of this game has to be how out of sync Dallas looked offensively without Tony Romo (broken pinkie finger). Despite having a plethora of options in the passing game, Brad Johnson was absolutely brutal until late in the third quarter when the Rams’ defense was playing off the ball and allowed easy completions.

What happened to “American’s Team?” They thumped the Packers in Green Bay and everyone said they were easily the best team in the NFC, if not in the NFL. But in hindsight, something that many overlooked was how bad the defense looked against the Eagles on Monday night in Week 2. Dallas was absolutely shredded and is a fumbled exchange between Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook away from being a .500 team. The warning signs were there, but people were so enamored with all of the individual talent Dallas had on offense that they overlooked the underlying issues on defense.

The Cowboys obviously need a healthy Romo to get the offense back in sync. But more importantly, Wade Phillips needs to start making some wholesale changes on defense or else the ‘Boys won’t make the playoffs playing in a stacked NFC East.

Fox’s Curt Menafee reported that Saints’ RB Reggie Bush will undergo surgery on Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and will miss the next 3-4 weeks. He suffered the injury in New Orleans’ 30-7 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.

This is a crushing blow for a team that has struggled this season despite being considered a Super Bowl contender in preseason. It’s been well noted that Bush isn’t an every down player and that he can’t run between the tackles, but he brings another dimension to the Saints’ offense in the passing game and can be explosive returning punts (which is how he got hurt Sunday).

New Orleans goes to London next week to play the Chargers, then have their bye before traveling to Atlanta to take on the surprising Falcons. And outside of the Chiefs and Lions, there isn’t a “gimmie” on their schedule the rest of the way.

The Saints ran into a brick wall in Carolina on Sunday. This was a nice bounce back with for the Panthers after they were steamrolled by Tampa last weekend. Steve Smith was absolutely phenomenal, hauling in six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, which he caught falling down and between two defenders. Rookie Jonathan Stewart continues to impress, too, rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Who would have thought after seven weeks, the Saints would be the worst team (at least in terms of win/loss record) in the NFC South?

Mike Martz may be known as the “Mad Scientist” but he also should have another nickname: “The coach who can turn crap quarterbacks into 3,200-yard quarterbacks.”

Okay, so “crap” might be a harsh word. Marc Bulger wasn’t crap, he was more of a relative unknown, and Jon Kitna did have some productive seasons before his back to back 3,400-plus yard season. But Martz’s latest project, J.T. O’Sullivan, might fill the aforementioned use of the word crap.

O’Sullivan’s final numbers (16 of 28 for 256 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs) in the Niners’ 29-17 loss to the Giants on Sunday weren’t bad, but don’t be fooled. He has zero pocket presence, bad footwork and his accuracy is below average. (And that’s putting it kindly.)

If O’Sullivan’s first half effort is any indication of his potential, than there’s no way San Fran should give up on former first overall pick Alex Smith. Not that Smith has quelled doubts that he’s a first round bust, but O’Sullivan isn’t the answer either. And Mike Nolan has to be the next head coach on the chopping block. (Enough with the suit, will ya?)

On a related topic but different note, this was a nice bounce back game for the Giants after their debacle on Monday night against the Browns. Eli Manning didn’t have an earth shattering performance, but he was solid and the G-Men got back to running the ball effectively again. I don’t know how much you can take from beating the 49ers at home, but again, they needed this after their loss to Cleveland.