With over eight games remaining on the schedule, it might be a little early to suggest that a division winner could be theoretically crowned tonight in the NFC South, but a closer look reveals otherwise.

At 6-0, the Saints currently have a two game lead over the 4-2 Falcons in the division. A win tonight and New Orleans will open up a three game lead over Atlanta with nine games remaining for each team. Granted, a lot could happen in nine games but barring injury to Drew Brees the Saints don’t look like a team that will implode in the second half.

A quick peak at the rest of the Saints’ schedule reveals very winnable games against the Panthers (twice), Rams, Bucs (twice) and the Redskins. The only games that present a challenge are home dates with the Patriots (Week 12) and Cowboys (Week 15), as well as a trip to Atlanta in Week 14. The Falcons have a longer roe to hoe, with road games against the Giants and Jets, as well as home games against the Eagles, Saints and pesky Bills. So with all things considered, a loss tonight and a three-game hole would be incredibly tough to climb out of if you’re Atlanta.

Even at 4-2, the Falcons have a lot to prove. Michael Turner is averaging a full YPC less than he did last season, Matt Ryan started off hot but is now fading and the defense has major issues in the secondary. After they were spanked last week in Dallas, the Falcons need a good showing tonight in New Orleans not just to keep pace in the NFC South, but also to prove to themselves that they’re a legitimate playoff contender.

Atlanta will certainly be tested tonight. The Saints have the most balanced offensive attack in the league and if the Falcons can’t generate any pressure on Brees, he’ll light up a secondary that is athletic, but is often overmatched in coverage do to lack of size (Brent Grimes) or technique (Chris Houston). The Falcons’ corners don’t play well in man-to-man coverage, so blitzing extra linebackers isn’t always a possibility. That means the front four of John Abraham, Jonathan Babineaux, Jamaal Anderson and Chauncey Davis must step up and provide a consistent pass rush or else Atlanta will get torched.

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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.

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Kickoff: 8:30 PM ET
Records: Eagles (1-0); Cowboys (1-0)
Spread: Cowboys –7

Game Outlook:
The Cowboys face a different challenge this week than they did in the opener in Cleveland. The Browns had some success getting to QB Tony Romo, but Dallas took the lead and was able to pad it by keeping the ball on the ground. Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jim Johnson loves to blitz and will do plenty of it Monday night in effort to make Romo uncomfortable in the pocket. Philly has to be careful though, because Romo is usually at his best while rolling out of the pocket and allowing his receivers to break off their routes. And it’s always dangerous to leave Terrell Owens and Jason Witten in one-on-one coverage. Philly also has to contain Marion Barber and Felix Jones and not allow the Cowboys to establish any kind of rhythm offensively.

Donovan McNabb presents a different challenge to the Dallas defense than Browns’ QB Derek Anderson did last week. Anderson wasn’t good in the face of the Cowboys’ pressure, but McNabb has the ability to get the ball out of his hands quicker and use his legs to buy himself more time if he needs it. McNabb also has had great success spreading the ball around, so the fact that he doesn’t have any standout wide receivers isn’t a concern. The Cowboys’ linebackers will have to be on full alert, as Philly likes to sneak RB Brian Westbrook out of the backfield and into the flats. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Eagles use explosive rookie DeSean Jackson more in the passing game, too.

Prediction:
Dallas has the better overall talent and home field advantage, but you can usually throw both of those things out the window when breaking down this intense division rivalry. The Eagles are going to be relentless in blitzing Romo, but the key will be whether or not their front seven can stop the run. If the defense can do its job, McNabb should be able to find success in the passing game. I’m expecting a shootout…and an upset. Eagles 33, Cowboys 30.