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Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers are still strong wild-card candidates.

1. Don't worry about the Steelers despite their 18-12 loss to the Bengals. The defending champions have an easy second-half schedule and will likely make the playoffs. Once the postseason arrives, the slate is clean and close losses like this won't matter. Coach Mike Tomlin didn't seem worried at all after the game, and noted how hard it is to win when you give up special teams touchdowns. After all, this is basically the same team that won the Super Bowl last season.

2. Larry Johnson might have had the best week of anyone. Atlanta's Michael Turner, Cincinnati's Cedric Benson, Miami's Ronnie Brown, Seattle's Julius Jones and Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook were all knocked out with injuries. Some of those teams have to at least be looking at film of Johnson at this moment. Even though Johnson was particularly unimpressive so far this season, he has to be motivated in the short term. He's been playing like a running back who got paid big money of late, but maybe this season has humbled him. His off-field problems are substantial, but he can probably come off as a professional in the short term. If you listen to his interview on the Dan Patrick Show last week, you'd think Johnson was one of the most down-to-earth guys in the league.

2a. In their 31-23 loss at San Diego, the Eagles blew several short-yardage opportunities. Larry Johnson doesn't fit the mold of an Andy Reid running back, but the Eagles are 5-4 and have to be desperate right now. An inspired Johnson has to be more effective than LeSean McCoy on 3rd-and-1. Besides, they handled Michael Vick's PR concerns masterfully, so Johnson's off-field problems shouldn't pose a challenge.

3. Why is everyone acting like the sky is falling in New England because of the loss to Indy? The Patriots were without defensive linemen Ty Warren and Jarvis Green. Of course, the defense wore down. Yes, Bill Belichick made a mistake going for it on fourth down late in the fourth quarter, but that's one play in one game! It's not the main reason they lost. New England basically outplayed an undefeated team in its own building. And the Jets' loss to the Jags means every other AFC East team has a losing record. The Pats may not have homefield advantage, but they will have the rest of the season to lick their wounds and prepare for the postseason. If you're the Colts, do you want to play them again?

5. Don't even start with the 'Chris Johnson is better than Adrian Peterson' argument. What percentage of Johnson's yards this season have been meaningful? The Titans running back is on a team that can't pass at all and will still get him involved -- even when the score gets out of hand. Johnson even ran for 148 yards in Tennessee's 59-0 loss to New England.

Drew Brees and the Saints have not been that impressive.
AP

A weekly column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis.

1. Have there ever been less scary 8-0 teams than New Orleans or Indianapolis? What is New Orleans' signature win? The Saints beat the Eagles without Donovan McNabb, reeling Giants and Jets teams, and a Falcons squad that can't play on the road. And they had to come from behind against slightly below-average Miami and Carolina. Meanwhile, the Colts are cutting it close against middle-of-the road competition and head into the difficult part of their schedule with some question marks -- namely, their lack of running game and inexperienced defensive backfield.

2. Please, please don't start the Vince Young national media love fest. He's 2-0 as a starter, and the Titans host the Bills next week. He'll like improve to 3-0 and one of the biggest storylines in the league will be Young's ability to win and Jeff Fisher making a mistake by not going to him earlier. But Young couldn't have done much to help the Titans when their defense completely disappeared the first part of the season. Young has beaten two inconsistent teams -- Jacksonville and San Francisco -- and hasn't had to throw much. Let's see what he does when opponents gets some film on him and try to take him out of his comfort zone. If he keeps this up for six weeks, then start heaping on the praise.

3. The Giants' 21-20 loss to the Chargers appeared to put them in a serious hole in the NFC East, but the New York papers are writing their obituaries too early. The two teams ahead of them in the division, Philly and Dallas, built up their records against bottom-feeders and face their own challenges in the second half. The Eagles' offensive line is one more injury away from total chaos, and the Cowboys are due for their annual late-season collapse. Meanwhile, the Giants have a bye this week to get healthier and could go on a late-season run like they did in 2007.

Donovan McNabb threw 3 TDs in Sunday's rout.

AP

A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis.

PHILADELPHIA - Thoughts from a baseball and football-crazy Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday...

1. Resist the temptation to label the Philadelphia Eagles the front-runner in the NFC East because of their 40-17 win over the Giants on Sunday. The final score does not indicate where these two teams stand in comparison to one another.

Philadelphia's big plays early immediately put New York in a tough situation, since it couldn't turn to a running game the Giants know can pound the Eagles into submission. While the Eagles deserve credit for executing on offense, their early scores felt fluky - a 41-yard TD scamper by fullback Leonard Weaver and a score set up by a bad Eli Manning interception.

We know the Eagles can't count on getting those big plays every week - just look at their loss to the Raiders. When Philly visits the Meadowlands in the cold weather in Week 14, expect a much different game.

With a team like this, Brett Favre is likey to return in 2010.
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis.

1. Pencil it in right now: Brett Favre will play in 2010. Even in a losing effort, Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice made plays in a losing effort against a tough Pittsburgh defense and will create too attractive a situation for Favre to turn away next offseason.

2.  Passing is too easy in the NFL right now. The accumulation of rule changes, most recently protecting quarterbacks and receivers from hard hits, has created numbers that look ridiculous in the scope of NFL history. Good-to-average quarterbacks are putting up numbers that are hard to believe, and future Hall of Famers are having their way with defenses:

Consider:

--The Texans’ Matt Schaub is on track to throw for more than 4,500 and 36 touchdowns.

--The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers completed 16 of 20 passes with three touchdowns against the Browns on Sunday, and has 11 TDs and just two picks on the season. If you look at the numbers, Rodgers, with a 110.8 passer rating, is better than Favre ever was.

--The Chargers’  Philip Rivers hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 2.

--The Broncos’ Kyle Orton has nine touchdowns and one interception on the season.

--The Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger had his worst statistical day of the season on Sunday (14-of-26 for 175 yards) and is still completing over 70 percent of his passes this season. His career best is 65.5 percent in 2003.

--Favre completed 34 of 51 passes in a losing effort against Pittsburgh. He’s completed 69 percent of his passes this season. His career best is 66.5 percent in 2007. Does anyone else find it weird he’s having one of his best seasons at this age? That’s because it’s so easy to pass right now.

--Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are so good, the numbers aren’t necessary. And don’t forget Tom Brady, who may be having an off year, but has thrown nine TDs in his last two games.

The Vikes nearly lost Adrian Peterson to injury Sunday.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis.

1. Notice how all the air was sucked out of the Metrodome when Adrian Peterson went down with what looked like a potentially serious ankle injury? Peterson was fine and came back in the game later, but the scare had to remind Vikings fans that their star's physical style puts him in some risk. Peterson doesn't run like Emmitt Smith or LaDainian Tomlinson, who piled up yards (or, in L.T.'s case, still sort of pile up) without taking too many direct hits. Even though backs like Tomlinson and Smith go down a lot easier than Peterson and don't come up with the same kind of long runs, their overall stats speak for themselves.

The Ravens' near-comeback shows why the Vikings can only go so far trying to rest Peterson in games that aren't yet over. His backup, 30-year-old Chester Taylor, had just 22 yards on eight carries on Sunday. Peterson has been reasonably healthy so far in his career. Will it last if he doesn't change his running style?

2. As long as I'm trying to throw a wet blanked on unbeaten teams, the Saints may actually face a stiffer challenge in Miami next week than they did this week against the Giants. New York played into New Orleans' hands and allowed the game to become a shootout. The Dolphins will try to grind out the clock, like they did in their loss to the Colts and win over the Jets. Miami's only problem is the inability to stop the big play. If Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was able to address that over their bye, the 'Fins have a chance to knock New Orleans out of the ranks of the unbeaten.