The 1972 Miami Dolphins breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday, as the Dallas Cowboys shattered the Indianapolis Colts' dreams of a perfect season.
Quarterback Tony Romo shocked Peyton Manning's Colts 21-14, handing the Colts their first loss of the season. Romo finished the game 19-of-23 for 226 yards and one interception, while Manning went 20-for-39 for 254 yards, two touchdowns and an uncharacteristic pair of interceptions.
While Romo clinched the victory with his passing, it was running back Marion Barber who got the Cowboys on the board, coming through with a pair of touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. Barber finished the day with nine carries for 35 yards. After making the switch from Drew Bledsoe to Romo, the Cowboys have won two in a row and three of four with Romo, who earned the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week honor after last week's performance.
With the Philadelphia Eagles floundering after the loss of quarterback Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins becoming a virtual non-threat, the NFC East will be a two-team race between Dallas and the New York Giants, with one game remaining between the two clubs on Dec. 3.
In contrast to Romo, who has awarded the Cowboys with just the youthful spark they needed, Brett Farve once again showed Packers fans that, while he will always be remembered as a great, the time may have come for him to hang up the cleats. The New England Patriots pounded both Favre and his Green Bay Packers 35-0 on Sunday, sending Favre off the field before the end of the first half with an elbow injury following a Tedy Bruschi sack.
Tom Brady performed brilliantly, throwing 20-of-31 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns, getting the Pats back on track after last week's second consecutive loss. The Patriots owned the day, controlling the clock for almost 20 minutes more than the Packers, and outperforming their offense, 357 yards to 120. Favre left the game 5-for-15 with only 73 yards, while backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for only 32 yards on 4-of-12 passing.
Elsewhere in the league, the San Diego Chargers continue to find ways to win, staging an impressive 35-27 comeback over the Denver Broncos after digging themselves into a 24-7 whole. The comeback marked the first time an NFL team has won back-to-back games after trailing by 17 or more points, and the Chargers became the first club to win four straight games although allowing 24 points in each.
That wasn't the only record the Chargers broke on the day, as running back LaDainian Tomlinson became the fastest NFL player to reach 100 touchdowns. Tomlinson scored four times on Sunday - three on rushing and one on receiving - tallying 105 rushing yards and 74 receiving yards. After five years of failure in Denver for Tomlinson, the sixth finally proved to be the charm.
Chargers QB Philip Rivers gave a strong performance, completing 19 of 26 passes for 222 yards with a pair of both touchdowns and interceptions.
As the Colts are no longer infallible, and the Patriots are struggling to find some consistency, this could be the year for Rivers and his Chargers to make a run to the Super Bowl. But while a weak remaining schedule spells almost certain entry into the playoffs, the team has been relatively untested against the major teams in the league, and an inexperienced Rivers will have a hard time against veterans like Brady and Manning when January rolls around.
