Indianapolis Colts 7, New Orleans Saints 62

What I Liked: The Saints' big question going into the night was how the play-calling would work. The answer was simple. Spectacularly. Pete Carmichael, the Saints little known offensive coordinator, handled the offensive play-calling duties, and the Saints' offense didn't miss a beat. To be honest, it's hard to come up with any criticisms of the Saints after they hand out a 62-7 butt kicking. My only suggestion to general audiences is that this game shouldn't be used as a benchmark for anything. The Colts simply aren't good. Great job by the Saints.

What I Didn't Like: The Colts just suffered the worst loss of the season, and they're the joke of the league. The loss was compounded by the fact that it was a nationally televised game. I guess if I had to pick something I hated more than anything else, I'd say I hated the way the Colts played defensively. I know that their offense never gave them a chance to win, but their defense looked defeated very quickly. There was multiple times that the camera would show defensive players standing, with their hands on their hips looking up and shaking their heads. Really a poor effort all around.

Where Do They Go From Here: The Colts are still firmly in the "suck for Luck" talk, and that's as it should be. They showed nothing tonight to make me think that they aren't the worst team in the NFL. I'll even give you a sneak peek of my power rankings. The Colts will be #32.

The Saints move to 5-2, and they're now in sole possession of first place in the NFC South. They play the Rams next week in another game that could turn into a blowout very quickly. They'll finally get challenged again two weeks from now when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Today, we've done things a little differently, and we're continuing that with the late games. Many of our great writers have submitted their reactions as they've watched the game, and this is what they had to say:

Pittsburgh Steelers 32, Arizona Cardinals 20

The Steelers were expected to walk all over a struggling Cardinals team, but it was actually relatively close. The Cardinals had the Steelers' lead down to just 3 points at one point in the 3rd quarter, but then the Steelers put their foot back on the gas. Altogether, it was another poor performance from the Cardinals defense, and their offense kept them in it for a while. In the end, the Steelers got their fifth win of the season to push their record to 5-2.

Kansas City Chiefs 28, Oakland Raiders 0

Probably the worst game to watch of the afternoon, this game was a blowout from the onset. Still it did have some solid story lines when you consider the Raiders' quarterback situation. Here's what Tom Gower had to say about the game:

I'm watching the Chiefs-Raiders game, and Kyle Boller simply is not an NFL quarterback. He has stretches where he looks like he might not be a disaster, then throws a bad interception like one of the three he threw in the first half. McFadden being out compounds the Raiders' problems on offense, as he's a more quicker, faster, more effective runner than Bush.

St. Louis Rams 7, Dallas Cowboys 34

Derek Pease as the Rams, Cowboys game unfolded:

Watching Rams Cowboys, already a bad start for Rams run Defense as Murray breaks off a 91 yard touchdown run on 2nd and long.

1st half of Rams and Dallas so far the product of big plays. Dallas running for a 91 yard score for their first touchdown. Their second score was set up by a 34 yard pass from Romo to Bryant then immediately by a 17 yard strike from Romo to Robinson. For St. Louis ,Steven Jackson put them is position for their 1st Red Zone score since week four and their first rushing touchdown since week 1 with a strong 40 yard jaunt to the Dallas 6 yard line.

Also of note Brandon Llyod's first game as a Ram is off to a slow start. Apparent miscommunication between Lloyd and new QB Feeley lead to the Rams second turnover on the day as Lloyd appeared to break off his deep route over the middle leading to a Dallas interception.

Jason Garrett taking the game away from Romo (and St. Louis) and handing to DeMarco Murray. Dallas perhaps learning from previous Romo mistakes and game tape on St. Louis' inability to stop the run. Dallas has controlled the game and the clock most of the second half with a steady dose of Murray on 22 carries for 235 yards on the day. Only Murray himself appeared able to stop Murray. Going down on his own after a 40 yard run before a St. Louis defender could bring him down.

Green Bay Packers 33, Minnesota Vikings 27

The Vikings came out firing, and they led the game at halftime. Christian Ponder was the story of the game, and he was able to throw a pair of touchdown passes, but ultimately it was his interceptions that ruined the game for the Vikings. They had a chance late to drive down the field for a go-ahead touchdown, but they couldn't do it.

The Packers were surprisingly flat. They're a much better team than the Vikings, but they allowed Minnesota to hang around for most of the game. Rodgers was on fire for most of the game, as usual, and they survive yet another week as the NFL's only undefeated team.

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Changing up the format of our reactor articles, here's a live blog of my channel surfing between the early games in Week 7. Thoughts and observations on a game by game basis, as they happen.

TAMPA BAY vs CHICAGO

• Josh Freeman looks jet-lagged, or something. Most of his throws have way too much air, not enough zip. First two passes: interrupted by Urlacher, dropped.
• Matt Forte got a pair of fantastic downfield blocks from his receiver and TE on his 1st quarter touchdown run.
• Ernest Graham limps off the field badly, no weight on the leg. Looks done for the day.
• NFL fans in London continue to get really lousy games. This one is a sloppy one. Bucs only points on a safety after a Mike Williams drop/interception on the 1 yard line.  
• Wow. Jay Cutler with an absolutely brilliant throw to Roy Williams for a touchdown ... throws a floater halfway through his seven step drop, off his back foot, but defender in press coverage and has no chance.

[Edit]: Matt Yoder offers this observation:

In London, it's amazing how effective Chicago's running game has been. After Tampa Bay made the Saints one dimensional last week, Matt Forte and even (gasp!) Marion Barber have been running wild.  Interestingly, almost all of Chicago's big runs have come on sweeps or off-tackle plays. This offensive line may slowly be turning into a professional unit!

I had given up on watching this game, with Chicago up 21-5 and Tampa looking completely flat. Figures they would pick that exact moment to mount a furious comeback. 21-18 now, Bucs have the ball, but can't close the deal.

DENVER vs MIAMI

@PhinsDaniel: I don't care if you're a fan of the #Dolphins #Broncos #SuckForLuck or #Tebow this game has been hard to watch !

• The good news for Londoners is that they aren't stuck with this one. Horrid game. Matt Prater missed two field goals already, stifling two decent drives by the Broncos.
• Tim Tebow with a fantastic slide left out of the pocket and completion downfield after somehow feeling backside pressure directly on his six. Makes you wonder who was whispering in his ear. #ThankYouJesus!

@injuryexpert: Six passing yards. How's Tim Tebow working out for you?

@smaclemons: If Jags would have drafted Tebow, woulda helped tickets until the Jaguars kept losing, then town turns on Tebow, and we're set back years

With the 6-0 score still unchanged, midway through the third quarter. 

@AlexMarvez: No joke: MIA-DEN may be the worst NFL game I've ever covered. Combined 0-13 on 3rd downs & 89 passing yds, mistakes galore. Just dreadful.

Tim Tebow tosses a touchdown pass to bring Denver within a score. 15-7. Then he leads the Broncos down the field on a miraculous drive, depending on a replay decision on a big play setting up a 1st and goal with under a minute to play...

• Feels like a home crowd for Denver as referees confirm play. 1st and goal.
• Tebow with a fantastic screen play to the tight end, sucking the entire Miami defense to him and giving his TE a wide open lane to the end zone.
• Then Tebow ties the game on a keeper. Mayhem ensues, and my feed gets Heidi'd by the Raiders-Chiefs broadcast ... NOOOOO!
• Of course, Tebow somehow leads the Broncos to victory before the "home" crowd. Justin Bieber believes in Tim Tebow. 

NEW YORK JETS vs SAN DIEGO

• Sanchez to Keller in the game's opening minutes -- miscue, returned for a TD. My Jets pick over the Chargers already looks like it's blown.
• Sanchez finds Keller again for one of the game's better plays, as the entire offense sweeps left. Keller slips out for a little screen to the right and has all day to rumble. 
• San Diego is getting back to its Week 1 gameplan in the red zone -- Ryan Mathews exits and Mike Tolbert and Antonio Gates are the primary weapons. Gates with a big TD catch on third down.
• For all the talk about the "terrible chemistry" between Sanchez and Plaxico Burress, the QB has been trying to feed his big WR all day. Has two nice catches, one for a TD.
• Jets home crowd is vocally unhappy at the end of the first half, down 21-10. Surprised?

A break ensues, in which Sanchez finds Burress two more times for touchdowns, capping a comeback win.

• Chargers finding ways to lose. Stench of death in this team. Needs serious fumigation.

TENNESSEE vs HOUSTON

Tweets with Houston already up 17-0 on a lackluster Tennessee team: 

@ChrisWesseling Don't hold your breath waiting on long Chris Johnson run. He's terrible. Still hesitant to make a cut, slow motion

@SigmundBloom Matt Schaub is far and away the #1 fantasy QB so far today and he hasn't completed a pass longer than 8 yards to a WR

[Edit] Tom Gower added more observations:

Texans lead 20-0 at the half, which properly reflects the differential in quality of play thus far. The Titans are being hurt offensively by the poor play of Chris Johnson and the non-Nate Washington wideouts. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the Texans offense has flowed through Arian Foster, both on the ground and through the air, and Matt Schaub is playing a very good Matt Schaub game after some shaky passes early.

After Houston goes up 27-0:

@PFF_Akshay Arian Foster has almost 3 times as many yards as the entire #Titans offense. #Texans

CLEVELAND vs SEATTLE

Tweets with Cleveland up 3-0:

@NinnyJams: Something tells me the Seahawks will be unable to overcome that huge deficit.

@WillHubert: I'm stuck with the Browns / Seahawks game here in Canton, Ohio. Really a test of how much of a fan I am b/c these teams r awful.

@BrianMcIntyre: This Seahawks-Browns wasn't officially going to be ugly until there was a shanked punt. Thank you, Brad Maynard. 9 yards. Yeesh

CAROLINA vs WASHINGTON

• Aside from Cam Newton-to-Steve Smith, I defy you to name one good thing about the Carolina Panthers. This is an awful team on so many levels. Even mange to get penalized on their own field goal tries.
• John Beck is getting time to throw, but is still completing only 50% of his passes. Rex Grossman could probably be doing better, but he's stuck in "bad Rex" mode.
• Cam Newton with a rushing touchdown after the entire Redskins defense bites on a play-fake.

• Cam Newton goes ham after the break, sparking a 24-point second half. My fantasy team rejoices.

ATLANTA vs DETROIT

• Detroit doing a good job of underwhelming, and making my pick of Atlanta to cover the 4 points look pretty good. One key: Calvin Johnson has one catch. Brent Grimes in the Falcons secondary getting primary coverage, and battling.

@FalconsJAdams: Wow! Optimus Grimes 2, Megatron 0.

• A little moment of history as Tony Gonzalez officially becomes the second all-time receiver in NFL history. Not second among tight ends ... second period. Behind oln Jerry Rice. Amazing.
• Also amazing -- Roddy White's fingertip grab of a Matt Ryan throw in the back of the end zone. Spectacular.  
• Big surprise in this game is only 33 yards passing in the first half from Stafford. Barely more than Tim Tebow. Play-calling a factor? Or are the Falcons showing that you can take the top off the Lions' offense by locking down on Megatron?
• Bad news: Matt Ryan gets his ankle crushed by one of his offensive linemen on a third-down dropback. Goes down in a heap. The good news: he is able to walk off on his own power, nothing appears to be wrong with his knee. The bad news: he's is walking into the tunnel.

Matt Ryan returns, as the Falcons stumble to another unremarkable second half, but they are able to do enough to keep the Lions from closing with another miracle comeback. And the bad news for quarterbacks carousels around to the other sideline...

@realfreemancbs: Matt Stafford getting his leg looked at.

Sundays in fall are a constant battle for married men, as falling leaves and long-neglected items on the "honey do" list steal you away from the comfortable sofa and the TV remote. With a little creativity, though, we can do both at the same time -- identifying and fixing the biggest problems with the NFL's most problematic properties.

And there are some seriously distressed properties on display this week, requiring a real handyman's touch.

As we make our picks this week, we offer tips on how to fix the team we picked against.

Houston at TENNESSEE (-3): Titans

Both teams are a little shaky, and are looking to rebound from losses, making this a difficult choice. But the Houston team has been a real money pit, trying everything from total gut rehab to just applying new coats of paint. I think the biggest problem here is in the exhaust -- the fumes of past losses tend to linger and poison the house. Lining the chimney stack with stainless steel, after clearing out any vermin and reside, could go a long way here.

Chicago (-1.5) at TAMPA BAY: Buccaneers (Played in London)

This Chicago edifice is just plain ugly, suffering badly from a miscommunication between the builders and designers. No one who was really committed to a Martz plan would try to build a team around salvaged parts and scrap metal at the wide receiver position, or on the offensive line, but that's exactly what they've done. The results are garish and structurally unsound. Some serious reinvestment will be required.

Atlanta at DETROIT (-4): Falcons

The plan is sound, and the foundation is in place, for this Detroit rehab to succeed. All that's needed is to fill in a few cracks, and right now, there are gaps in the run defense opening up in between the aggressive rush patterns of the defensive line. Some quality wood filler and spackle is all that's needed to weatherproof this defense for a long hardy winter. That will go a long way toward leavening the loss of Best from the offense.

Seattle at CLEVELAND (-3): Seahawks (Upset)

There are structural problems in Cleveland already, but the inhabitants are making things way worse by wasting the few quality materials they have. When you have a slab of granite like Peyton Hillis (inactive again this week), you don't leave it out behind the garage while you fiddle around with other things. And if you've got a new but relatively cheap central unit (like Colt McCoy), you have to operate it within reasonable limits. You can't expect to run it on overload (averaging 45 passes per game) without breaking down repeatedly.

Washington at CAROLINA (-3): Redskins

The Carolina property has fantastic curb appeal, but make sure you bring a quality building inspector along. This team is still not wired up properly, especially on defense, where shorts and all-out electrical fires are common. There is little help from the high-priced running game either. You can easily see the potential for a prime property here, but behind the exterior veneer this is still a gut rehab in process.

Denver at MIAMI (PK): Broncos (Lock)

It would be easier to list the things that are all right with this dilapidated and heavily storm-damaged Miami team, than to run through an exhaustive list of everything wrong with it. We don't trust the owner, and the current team of architects and planners has to be junked before anything resembling progress can be made.

San Diego at NEW YORK JETS (-1): Jets

People love to pick on the Jets, whose house looks like those ridiculous neighbors down the street who grafted roman columns to the front of their house and keep it lit up all night long, without really fixing anything. But that outlandishness is still preferable to the deep-seated incompetence of the San Diego franchise in competitions that matter. There's a dead smell coming from inside the walls of this Chargers team. People have been trying to ignore it for years, repainting and recovering without ever addressing the problem. Old Norv has to be ejected before he goes full-blown senile and the mail starts piling up inside.

Kansas City at OAKLAND (-4): Raiders

You have to admire the Raiders' daring, even if it might lead to disaster. After their central load-bearing column cracked and broke, they immediately overpaid to have it propped up and replaced. Now you can question the quality of these replacement materials, but at least they did the job quickly and decisively, rather than let the whole house crumble around them. By comparison, Kansas City has been suffering all kinds of structural breaks all year, and the owner has been waiting in vain for the insurance settlement to come in before he lifts a hammer.

Pittsburgh (-3.5) at ARIZONA: Steelers

If you're not favored at home, you're doing something really really wrong. Arizona has about 1/3 of a house built, and everyone obsesses over the central fixture of that part of the house (Kevin Kolb), while ignoring the fact that the whole backside of the roof is gone and the back yard is a sinkhole. The entire defense, outside of Patrick Peterson and Calais Campbell, is a disaster area. If the other inhabitants of the NFC West weren't so preoccupied with their own properties, they'd be calling in the city inspectors to have Arizona cited.

St Louis at DALLAS (-14): Cowboys

It's a classic realtor's trick: if you want to make an average property look great, show it in direct contrast to the worst listing from the worst neighborhood in your book. The St. Louis team, the scourge of the NFC West, is that... even more so without Sam Bradford (high ankle sprain) in the lineup. We were fooled by this Rams team, but even as we speak, truckfuls of materials (Brandon Lloyd, Mark Clayton) are still being unloaded in desperate attempt to make something stand up. Serious cracks in the foundation (Jason Smith) may doom this effort, though.

Green Bay (-9.5) at MINNESOTA: Packers

This really isn't a fair comparison, as the frame of the Vikings' house is about to be split in two and loaded onto the back of a semi truck bound for Los Angeles. The only thing to do between now and then is clean house, and it looks like that job is already well underway with the benching of Donovan McNabb. There's a lot of junk to be sorted through before that job is done, though.

Indianapolis at NEW ORLEANS (-13.5): Colts

The Saints property is a quality piece of work, inside and out, but it's way overpriced in this market. They've covered only three of six spreads so far this season, none of them over seven points. Wait for the price to fall before you consider investing in this one to get the best value.

Baltimore (-9) at JACKSONVILLE: Ravens

Like Minnesota, the owners of this Jacksonville team are eyeing a trip west. There may be a race to get out there, and both teams might win. With the coach's job publicly on the line this year -- needing a miraculous run to the playoffs -- and a rookie quarterback at the reins, the Jaguars are a step ahead of the Vikings in the race to strip down and become move-ready. Until they establish roots, there's little that can be done.

With NFL football just another day away, I think it's important to take stock of some of the story lines as we move into week 7. First off, I want to point out that the AFC North has three teams sitting with four wins. The Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals are all vying for the top spot in the North. While the first two teams on that list aren't surprising, the Bengals have shocked us all. In fact, This Given Sunday unanimously voted them as the worst team in the NFL going into the season.

The Bengals, in fact, should be considered the most pleasant surprise of the season thus far. There's still a lot of football to play; so, I don't want to hand them a playoff spot just yet. That being said, they've been playing very good football. No small part of that has been Andy Dalton. He's completing 62.4% of his passes, and he's throwing less interceptions, 5, than he is touchdowns, 7. For comparison's sake, Mark Sanchez is completing just 54.7% of his passes, and he has thrown 5 interceptions and 7 touchdowns this season. And oh-by-the-way, the Jets are perceived to have a better team; although, that statement is beginning to look like it just might not be as true as we originally thought it was.

The Bengals haven't only been helped out by their rookie quarterback, however. Their defense has risen to the top tier of the NFL. Currently, they're ranked number two in yards allowed per game, behind the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Bengals have struggled at times this season offensively, their defense has been able to keep them in football games, and in some cases, slam the door on their opponents. That's something they couldn't do very often during the Carson Palmer era, and it's something that separates great teams from good teams.

As I said earlier, the Bengals haven't won anything yet. They are 4-2, and they get they're getting their bye this weekend. They'll square off against the Seattle Seahawks in week 8, and there's no reason they shouldn't push their record to 5-2. Following that game, however, they hit a rough stretch of their schedule playing the Titans, Steelers, and Ravens in consecutive weeks. That's when we'll find out if this team has been a contender or a pretender all along. We'll almost certainly revisit this topic at that date, but if you're a Bengals fan, you can't be anything but ecstatic about how this season has gone so far.

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The Arizona Cardinals have been nothing short of disastrous this season. After trading for Kevin Kolb in the offseason and hoping that he would bring the consistency back to the offense that has been missing since Kurt Warner retired, the Cards have struggled mightily.

Kolb has done little to earn the $64 million contract that he signed after arriving in Glendale, racking up a painful 77.2 QB rating, with just 5 touchdowns and 6 picks. He has not been able to find Larry Fitzgerald down the field consistently, and the the Cards anemic ground attack has not helped him out.

So then why are the 1-4 Cards just a 3.5 point underdog to the fearsome Steelers? Sure Pittsburgh has not quite been their usual self this year, while despite their 4-2 record on the season, they are just 2-4 against the spread. But this is simply one of those games that Big Ben will not lose.

The Steelers have the advantage on both sides of the ball, with their always intimidating defense preparing to ballhawk Kolb and pressure him in the pocket. Their veteran defense is simply too good, from Polamalu and Ike Taylor in the secondary, to James Farrior and Lamar Woodley stuffing the run, all the way down to Casey Hampton attracting double teams on the inside of the line. Polamalu, the key to the Steelers' defense, has been cleared to play this week after suffering a concussion in last week's game against Jacksonville.

Big Ben has yet to have that trademark game this season, with many people saying that the Steelers could be falling behind the lowly Bengals in the AFC North. But this is that game where the Steelers will be able to run, pass and shut down the opposing attack with ease, and should be able to escape with a double digit victory.

But for the sake of argument, let's have a look at what the Cards bring to the table, and if there is any chance they can keep this to a field goal game.

Kolb is what he is. He does not have the arm strength to hit Larry Fitz deep down the field, but he can at least hit a few slants here and there. As long as no one with hair flowing out from under his helmet doesn't get in the way. Early Doucet has had reasonable success early in the year, taking over the number two receiver spot from a departed Steve Breaston.

Then there is that running attack of the Cards. Ryan Williams was drafted out of Virginia Tech in second round this year, and he was supposed to step in and be the muscle to the constantly banged up Beanie Wells. But after tearing his patella tendon in training camp, Williams was forced to sit the year out. So back to Beanie.

This may be the season that Beanie proves why he was the top overall recruit heading to Ohio State, and why the Cards made him a first round pick in 2009. He is running for a career best 4.8 yards per carry, and exploded for 138 yards on 25 carries in week four. He relies on the big play, as he will lull the defense to sleep with two-yard scampers, then break away for a twenty-yarder down the sideline.

But Beanie'e biggest drawback has always been his health, and as a result he is often reluctant to work for difficult yards. Nothing will come easy against the Steelers defense, so he could be in for a tough day at the office.

Rashard Mendenhall burst back onto the scene last week with 148 yards on the Jaguars, and he seems poised to repeat the success this week.

Take this one to the bank. Pittsburgh will cover.  

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NFL players are known to do all sorts of things to get the number they’ve worn their whole career after signing with new teams.

Most of the time it’s money, but in the case of Jeff Feagles, sometimes you’ll get a little something extra. In Feagles’ case, he got a a vacation for his family from Eli Manning for relinquishing No. 10 and was supposed to get a renovated kitchen from Plaxico Burress for relinquishing No. 17, a debt that Burress has reportedly not repaid just yet.

One of the more unusual deals in recent memory was bartered by eccentric Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who had Donovan McNabb’s No. 5 when McNabb signed with the team over the summer. In order to get No. 5, McNabb had to do the following...

-Buy Kluwe an ice cream cone
-Donate $5,000 to the charity of Kluwe’s choosing
And my personal favorite:
-Mention Kluwe’s band Tripping Icarus in five non-consecutive press conferences

Now I’ve heard Donovan McNabb speak a lot over the course of this season but I can’t seem to recall him having mentioned Tripping Icarus at all. And a deal’s a deal, McNabb and Kluwe actually signed one acknowledging that McNabb would do all of the aforementioned things to get his beloved No. 5. This was a mystery that needed unraveling -- after all, Donovan McNabb doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who wouldn’t hold up his end of a bet. Also for whatever reason, none of the Vikings beat writers had reported on the number of Tripping Icarus mentions McNabb had racked up over the course of the season.

So I reached out to Kluwe himself via Twitter. I wasn’t expecting a response from him but much to my delight, I got one. The answer to that burning question came in the form of a Direct Message from his personal account:

“He still has three more mentions to go :)”

That leaves more questions than it does answers. Now that McNabb is no longer the starting quarterback, having been unceremoniously replaced by Christian Ponder earlier this week, he’s not going to be facing the media nearly as often unless it’s to answer the question, “So how does it feel getting benched for a rookie?” And with fewer media wanting to interview him, he’s going to have fewer chances to hold up on his end of the bet.

So what happens if McNabb doesn’t fulfill the obligations of his contract to Kluwe? Does his Hall of Fame plaque have an asterisk on it that says “Forever indebted to Chris Kluwe for giving up his number”? Does McNabb even know that he hasn’t fulfilled his end of the contract? Does Kluwe ever remind McNabb about the promise he made before training camp? Will McNabb be permanently banned from wearing the No. 5 for the rest of his NFL career until he utters the words “Tripping Icarus” three more non-consecutive times? Will the Vikings side with their punter, who has become one of the more popular members of the team, or their would-be franchise QB turned star clipboard holder? The world wants to know.

Kluwe didn’t say what the potential consequences were if McNabb didn’t own up. I’m guessing perhaps he’ll get a good ribbing from Kluwe largely because Kluwe seems like the kind of guy who enjoys playing pranks on his teammates. Either way future number swappers, let Kluwe’s harrowing tale serve as a cautionary tale to you before you cede your beloved digits to a teammate who might not keep his end of the bargain.

Matt Lindner writes for ESPN's Page 2 and is an editor at fellow Bloguin.com site The Outside Corner.

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The Texans finally emerged as a complete team this season, displaying three levels of stifling defense and a powerful combination of big-play running and passing offense. They jumped out to a fantastic 3-1 start that could have been 4-0, but for the pyrotechnic 4th quarter brilliance of the New Orleans Saints in a 40-33 loss.

While they survived the early season loss of Arian Foster to a lingering hammy, key injuries to Mario Williams (out for the season) and Andre Johnson (hamstring injury will take 4-6 weeks to recover from) have exposed a lack of depth. Losses to two potential playoff teams (Raiders and Ravens) in consecutive weeks have set this franchise back on a path of mediocrity.

Now they face a critical matchup with the Tennessee Titans, with the winner seizing control of the AFC South. Can the Texans recover their early momentum? Or is the gravitational pull of the franchise's mediocrity -- they are the only team in the league to not have a 10-win season -- pulling them back down?

Concerns at Quarterback

Despite still ranking behind David Carr on the franchise's leaderboard in passes thrown, Matt Schaub eclipsed his yardage and TD passing mark a long time ago. Having Andre Johnson to throw to for the last eight years certainly helps in that regard. Finding Schaub has been the key to the Texans' maturation into a solid team, one on the cusp of challenging for the division.

The Texans, desperate for a passer, gave up a decent amount to the Atlanta Falcons for their longtime backup -- a swap of first round picks, and two second-rounders. (Schaub had shined in limited work filling in for Michael Vick, playing understudy to Kevin Kolb in that regard.) And after missing ten games in his first two seasons, Schaub has become much better protected and more durable, starting his last 42 in a row.

That streak could be in danger, though, if Houston doesn't sort out its protection issues and stop their QB from getting pummeled. For all the talk about the hits Michael Vick is taking (33 combined hits and sacks), Schaub (32) is right there with him. This isn't Sam Bradford punishment, but it's not good either.

Schaub missed practice time last week with a sore throwing shoulder, and is giving up most of his practice reps this week to Matt Leinert. That's one way to keep him fresh, but not the best. 

The Green Bay Packers were able to get hot at the right time, last year, as they ran through the playoffs to their first Super Bowl since Brett Favre's pair of trips to the promise land in the late 90s. Last year, the Bears won the division, but they were upset by the Packers in the conference championship game. This year, there doesn't seem to be much doubt that the Packers will host that very game. Are we watching the birth of the next dynasty?

When you start talking about dynasties, there's a lot to consider. The first question that comes to my mind is, "Does this team have an elite quarterback?" Well, the Packers may have the best quarterback in the league this season. Aaron Rodgers currently sits third in passing yards, and he has thrown more touchdown passes than anyone in the league at 17. To top it off, he's thrown just 3 interceptions all season. The result is that Aaron Rodgers also has the highest passer rating in the NFL at 122.4. I usually don't like the "all inclusive" nature of the passer rating stat, but in this case I love it because it's not even close. The next closest rated passer is Tom Brady at 104.8. Simply put, yes, the Packers have an elite quarterback.

The next question I ask when I'm considering a team as a viable dynasty candidate is, "Do they have a championship defense?" The Packers' defense is currently giving up 383.7 yards per game, making them the 23rd ranked defense in the league. That's not sounding to promising now is it? That's before we look at the only stat that really matters.

Points.

The Green Bay Packers' defense is only giving up 19 points per game, putting them in a tie with the Detroit Lions for the seventh best in the league. The Packers are giving up far too many yards, but they are also playing opportunistic defense. I've always preferred to watch a defense that just shuts a team down and forces punts. I've always enjoyed seeing the Steelers' and Ravens' defenses, but the Packers' defense is working for them. Their defense has created 14 turnovers, and when your offense virtually never turns it over, you're setting yourself up in great positions to score on a frequent basis.

The final question I ask about potential dynasties is, "Are they young enough to sustain it for years to come?" The Packers simple answer is yes. The average age of a player on their current active roster is 25.8 years of age. When I saw that, my mouth hit the floor. This is a team that is dominating everyone, and they're a very young team. Are they young enough? Well, I think that number speaks for itself. The Packers are likely to be a major power in the NFC for another decade even if they didn't draft well.

I'm not ready to anoint anyone as the next New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70s, but the Packers have put themselves into a position that we can legitimately start asking that question. They have to be the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl this season. Normally, I would worry about a team crumbling under the pressure of expectations, but not in this case. The Packers are an amazing team. I can't wait to see where there season takes them.

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It was an unusually active trade deadline, with a number of high profile swaps. And the league's worst owner might have won the day.

Recapping: The Oakland Raiders got Carson Palmer. The Cincinnati Bengals got two high draft picks. The Detroit Lions got an emergency running back in Ronnie Brown... at least until James Harrison failed his physical and blew the deal. The St Louis Rams got Brandon Lloyd for a criminally low pick. And the Jacksonville Jaguars got Mike Sims-Walker for nothing.

Who was the biggest winner of the deadline? And who failed to come through with the deal they needed most? The writers of This Given Sunday weigh in.