Mike Tomlin channeled his inner Bill Belichick on Sunday but taking a huge, and incredibly unnecessary gamble which could have cost his team a win.

I’ll set the scene:

Pittsburgh took a two-point lead on Green Bay with just under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but instead of kicking the ball deep and forcing the Packers to drive the length of the field to score, Tomlin decided to attempt an onside kick. The play failed because one of the Steelers players touched the ball before it went 10 yards and the Packers took over in prime field position. They wound up scoring on a 24-yard James Jones run and after a successful two-point conversation they took a 36-30 lead with just over two minutes to play.

Why did Tomlin attempt the onside kick? Maybe because his team is out of playoff contention and he figured it was a good risk to take. Maybe the Steelers had practiced the play throughout the week and he thought that was the best time to break it out. Or maybe the answer is simple: He didn’t trust his defense.

There’s a very good possibility that Tomlin didn’t want the Packers to get the ball back because he knew his defense couldn’t stop them. After all, Green Bay racked up 436 total yards, including 376 through the air. They were 10-for-16 on third downs and quarterback Aaron Rodgers was absolutely shredding them in the passing game. Conversely, Ben Roethlisberger was putting on his own show and Pittsburgh’s offense was moving the ball with ease, so why give the ball back to the Packers? If the onside kick worked, then the Steelers could go down the field and maybe make it a two-score game.

But it didn’t work and Green Bay scored anyway. If it weren’t for Big Ben, a remarkable catch by Mike Wallace and a crap load of fortunate breaks (Packers’ miscues, flags, etc.) on the final drive, Tomlin would have been the goat of another Pittsburgh loss. The onside kick was a strange decision and probably the wrong one, but with how bad Pittsburgh’s secondary has looked without Troy Polamalu, I don’t blame Tomlin for taking a shot. I don’t agree with the decision and he’s lucky his team pulled out the 37-36 win, but I don’t blame him for taking a shot.

While this is a heartbreaking loss for the Packers, they’re still in great shape to clinch a playoff berth in the NFC. They might have to settle for the sixth seed, but this is a good team and Rodgers is going to be a force in the postseason. His offensive line needs to hold up (he was getting abused early in the game today) and the Packers’ defense needs to limit the big plays, but Green Bay is going to be a tough out in a month.

This is how I know nobody has a clue about what will happen in the NFL:

Green Bay Packers 17, Dallas Cowboys 7.

Unless you’re a Packer slappy, you couldn’t possibly have expected that outcome today; there’s just no way. Dallas had won four in a row, was coming off an impressive road win at Philadelphia and was playing with a ton of confidence. Green Bay, on the other hand, had not beaten a team with a winning record all season and had lost to the previously winless Buccaneers last week in one of the ugliest losses for any team this season.

Granted, some could say that this was a letdown game for the Cowboys after beating the Eagles last week, but it’s not like the Packers are the Browns or Rams; Dallas shouldn’t have had any problem getting up for this game today.

Nevertheless, the Packers’ defense played one hell of a game by completely shutting down a Dallas offense that had been firing on all cylinders entering the game. Green Bay forced three turnovers, held the Cowboys to only 61 rushing yards and sacked Tony Romo five times. It was a dominating effort by Dom Capers’ defense tonight that was embarrassed last week in Tampa. The Packers’ O-line still tried their best to get Aaron Rodgers killed, but Green Bay will certainly take a win, especially after the team held a players-only meeting earlier this week in an effort to try and clear the air.

Since the Eagles also lost today, this won’t set the Cowboys back in the standings but it is alarming that Green Bay was able to shut down Dallas’ offense so easily. I mean, this was the same Packers defense that gave up 38 points last week to the Buccaneers, who were starting a rookie quarterback in Josh Freeman.

Maybe this was just an off day for Wade Phillips’ team. They better hope so anyway.

I’m setting the over/under on the number of sacks Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen will have on Aaron Rodgers tonight at 2.5.

Any takers?

Allen is due for a monster night as Green Bay left tackle Chad Clifton is expected to miss his second game tonight following an ankle injury he suffered in a Week 2 loss to the Bengals.

The Packers’ offensive line has resembled a revolving door this season, allowing 12 sacks in the first three games. In their loss to Cincinnati, Green Bay made defensive end Antwan Odom look like a cross between Reggie White and Kevin Greene as he brought down Rodgers five times.

Rodgers is a fine quarterback, but his offensive line is going to get him killed if they don’t start protecting him. Considering Ryan Grant won’t find much running room against the Williams Wall tonight, it would be in Green Bay’s best interest to max-protect Rodgers the entire night. The Giants use a similar method on a weekly basis with Eli Manning and he seems to do just fine.

The Packers need to help Daryn Colledge out, because he’ll see the brunt of the work against Allen. Lining up a tight end to Allen’s side would make sense, although Green Bay might also need to set up a military-based obstacle course in between him and Rodgers just to be safe.

I’m taking the over tonight. I think Allen will eventually take this game over, especially if the Packers can’t get Grant going early. It could be a very long night for Rodgers.

The moment Brett Favre has been waiting for since Ted Thompson crapped in his cereal over 12 months ago is vastly approaching.

The Vikings host the Packers tonight at the Metrodome and Brett will no doubt be fired up to try to stick it to Thompson, as he so amply put it when the GM traded him to the Jets last year. (The fact that Favre put Thompson in a bad position with his fickle changing of the mind is still lost on Brett, but that’s a story for another time.)

The question becomes, will Brett beat Thompson’s Packers tonight?

Like most weeks, the Vikings will try to establish the run with Adrian Peterson in hopes of opening things up in the passing game. The Packers have a solid secondary, so Brad Childress would be foolish to take the ball out of Peterson’s hands early in the game and start forcing the action with Favre in the passing game. It would behoove Childress not to get wrapped up in the Favre-vs-Green Bay death match and just keep things simple with AP.

What would be interesting to see unfold is if the Packers dare Favre to beat them by loading the box with eight defenders to stop Peterson. As previously noted, Green Bay’s secondary is solid and Dom Capers could leave his corners on an island with Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin if he wanted to sell out to stop the run.

It would be in the Packers best interest if they get into a shootout tonight. If he gets protection (which has been a major problem for Green Bay so far), Aaron Rodgers can go toe to toe with any opposing quarterback if both teams start throwing the ball vertically. A Favre-Rodgers shootout would make for great television.

But alas, shutting down Peterson is easier said then done. He’s faced eight men in the box multiple times before and has still pounded out 100-plus yards on the ground. Still, a man could hope for a Monday night shootout, right?

Comment starter: Will Favre get his revenge tonight or does Rodgers outplay his predecessor?

- The New York Yankees, fresh off of getting swept in Anaheim this past weekend, head to Minnesota to face the Twins. The Twins are just a half game back of the White Sox in the AL Central, and the Yankees need to get their act together before it’s too late and they miss out on the playoffs. This is definitely an important series for both teams.

- The Olympics can be seen throughout the week on NBC, USA, CNBC, MSNBC, and The Oxygen Channel. There’s enough activity going on to the point where something’s always on.

- Team USA’s basketball team looks to build off their dominating performance yesterday when they take on Angola Tuesday at 8:00 AM Eastern. The game will be aired on the USA network. That’s damn early for those of us on the West coast!