We’re exactly one quarter through the 2014 NFL season, and the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys hold a share of the NFC East lead. Who would’ve thought?
Coming off their third straight 8-8 season and losing most of the key pieces of what was already one of the league’s historically bad defences, many had the Cowboys trending downward rather than the other way around.
Instead, “America’s team” has won three straight after an ugly opening weekend loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Since that game, Dallas leads the NFL in rushing behind a monster offensive line and a rejuvenated DeMarco Murray; the effects of that dominant run game have rippled through the entire offence. For example, Dallas has a plus-5 turnover ratio since dropping that Week 1 game. That’s right, Tony Romo’s Cowboys have a positive turnover ratio.
Maybe even more impressive is that defence everyone crucified before the season got underway just shut down Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints’ feared offence and have allowed fewer points than 22 other teams.
Studying @dallascowboys defense… They are playing with phenomenal effort. Every player rallying to the ball pic.twitter.com/Xy9g7qaYaZ
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 1, 2014
How ‘bout them Cowboys?
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After what could be a season-defining win over the Broncos before their bye week, the Seahawks now head into what should be a lighter part of their year, but play three of their next four on the road. |
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One of only two undefeated teams remaining in the NFL, the Bengals take their perfect record into Foxborough to face the struggling Patriots after a week off. With receiver Marvin Jones and linebacker Vontaze Burfict likely back, this team is only getting better. |
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From one tough NFC West opponent to another, Denver goes from a trip to Seattle against the defending champs to a home game with the division-leading Cardinals, who boast one of the league’s stingiest defences. |
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Is this team for real? We’ll find out in Week 5 when Arizona returns from its bye week and faces what could be the team’s toughest non-divisional challenge of the season. |
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Rivers for MVP; the man is basically unstoppable right now. With their running game in shambles (just 42 yards on the ground), Rivers went off for his second three-touchdown game of the season. |
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Nothing screams sweet, sweet revenge like 140 yards and two touchdowns. Steve Smith owned his former team and looks like the dynamic receiver of old. He’s transformed that offence. |
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For the first time this season, the Eagles had a better first half than second and it cost them a win. Maybe they should’ve spotted the 49ers 14 points. The Eagles really could’ve used an effective LeSean McCoy Sunday, but injuries along the o-line sidelined the run game. |
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So that’s why Detroit brought in Golden Tate. With Calvin Johnson banged up, the former Seahawk had one of his better games as a pro. The biggest improvement this season, though, has been the play of Matt Stafford; he’s finally taken a big step forward. |
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It didn’t look good early for the 49ers, but San Fran bounced back using a tactic they had abandoned in the first three games: scoring in the second half. Sunday showed exactly why Frank Gore, not Colin Kaepernick, should be the focus of the 49ers’ offence. |
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The Colts must praise the football gods for the AFC South. After starting 0-2, Andrew Luck has brought Indy back to .500 with two crushing defeats of division rivals. It’s nice to play against Jacksonville and Tennessee, isn’t it? |
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Many expected the Cowboys to finish well below their usual 8-8 in 2014, but could they actually improve on that record? The offensive line and DeMarco Murray have taken the pressure off of Tony Romo. |
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Now there’s the Aaron Rodgers offence we all know and love. After a wretched performance against the Lions, the Packers answered back by putting on a passing clinic against the Bears’ depleted secondary. More importantly, Rodgers was sacked just once. |
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Four games into the season the Texans already have more wins than they totalled in all of 2013, and without a doubt, J.J. Watt has been the reason why. He’s the leading candidate for defensive player of the year by a large margin. |
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A healthy Jamaal Charles transforms this team and on Monday night the proof was in the pudding. When Arrowhead is at its loudest, it rivals Century Link Field and Seattle’s 12th Man as the toughest venue to visit in the NFL. |
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While an overreaction like “Are Tom Brady and the Patriots finally done?” isn’t entirely necessary here, you have to question the direction of this team. As Jeff Simmons pointed out Tuesday, New England might want to bring in a personnel guy to help relieve Bill Belichick of some of those decisions. |
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Jay Cutler’s Bears just can’t beat the Packers. Cutler is 1-10 against Chicago’s biggest rival, including five straight losses to the Pack at Solider Field. Cutler was going shot-for-shot with Aaron Rodgers Sunday until two second half picks sealed his team’s fate. |
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That decimation of the Bucs may have boosted the Falcons just a tad too much, and it showed Sunday. It doesn’t matter how good that offence is if the defence can’t make a tackle. Four games into the season, the Falcons rank in the bottom three in both points and yards allowed. |
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Undisciplined play doomed the Steelers Sunday. Already one of the league’s most penalized teams, Pittsburgh was flagged 13 times against the Bucs for 125 yards. The defence is also in tatters after getting shredded by a Tampa team coming off one of its worst losses ever. |
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After starting the season 2-0, the Panthers are doing what many expected them to before the season started — crashing back to earth. Sure, the offence is struggling, but the real worry has to be the defence, which has given up more than 950 yards in the last two games. |
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Eli Manning and the Giants offence have caught fire. After struggling to adapt to the new scheme under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, Manning and company have racked up more than 850 yards – including 347 on the ground – over the last two weeks. |
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The Browns may be 1-2 but each game they’ve played has been decided by three points or less. Coming off a Week 4 bye, Cleveland is starring down the easiest part of their schedule and could come out the other side a game or two around .500. |
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The Saints just aren’t good, that simple. The defence ranks amongst the NFL’s worst a quarter through the season, while Drew Brees and the offence were completely shut down by the Cowboys’ struggling defensive unit. |
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Can Kyle Orton really make a difference? We’ll find out now that the Bills have benched EJ Manuel for Orton following a second consecutive disappointing performance from the sophomore quarterback. |
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With questions surrounding Ryan Tannehill’s future as the starter in Miami, the quarterback answered the bell in the Dolphins’ drubbing of the lowly Raiders at Wembley Stadium. But can they build off the big win and compete against quality opponents? |
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Adrian who? Just kidding, but who saw that explosion in the Vikings’ running game coming? A 241-yard ground game helped ease Teddy Bridgewater into his first start and the rookie helped deliver a shocking win over Atlanta. |
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In a Thursday night mugging at the hands of their division rivals, the football world came to see why Kirk Cousins is a backup quarterback. To be fair, every young pivot has bad games; it’ll be how he responds that will define Cousins. |
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Rex Ryan’s got an important decision to make, and it could dictate his future. Off to a 1-3 start for the first time in his tenure, Ryan now must choose between continuing to wait for Geno Smith to mature, or hand the reigns to Mike Vick. |
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Key injuries have hurt the Rams early in this 2014 season and it’s not going to get any easier in the coming weeks following their bye. St. Louis faces the Eagles, 49ers (twice), Seahawks, Chiefs, Cardinals, Broncos and Chargers between Oct. 5 and Nov. 23. Good luck. |
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It doesn’t matter if Josh McCown is Lovie Smith’s man, the Bucs have to stick with Mike Glennon even when their former starter gets healthy. Tampa went from being decimated by Atlanta to shocking Pittsburgh, and having Glennon under centre was the difference. |
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With Jake Locker on the sideline (surprise, surprise), Charlie Whitehurst fared no better with the now 1-3 Titans. Since an impressive Week 1 victory, Tennessee is averaging just over 11 points a game while giving up more than 33. |
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Despite being dominated, this was the most positive loss of the Jaguars woeful 0-4 start. The reason? Blake Bortles. The rookie QB completed more than 78 percent of his passes despite playing behind the league’s worst offensive line. |
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This team was already mess, and it just got a whole lot messier with the firing of coach Dennis Allen. Oakland has now gone through seven coaches since 2002. If you were Jon Gruden would you take this job? Not bloody likely. |
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