Don't discount how hard it is to beat Jeff Fisher's Rams in St. Louis, even if Aaron Rodgers made it look easy.
That's what makes Rodgers' 30-of-37, 342-yard, three-score effort Sunday just as impressive as his six-touchdown explosion in Houston in Week 6. Despite no Greg Jennings or running game, Rodgers hit the Rams with an array of quick passes and vertical strikes. It's like the first five weeks of the season never happened.
With Jacksonville and Arizona coming to Lambeau the next two weeks, Green Bay is ready to put together a run.
Trouble in victory
- Sunday's escape against the New York Jets was another strange moment in an increasingly strange New England Patriots season. Tom Brady and the boys finally earned some coffee, but only after they coughed up a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead. Again.
The Patriots have been somewhat unlucky to be 3-3 before Sunday, but they got the breaks in this one. It was their first "clutch" win -- a necessary one -- yet it felt like New England's worst performance of the season. The secondary can't make plays on the ball and is starting to look like it did a year ago. The Jets' offense was more explosive.
It was a win, but in many ways the most troubling game of their season.
- The Dallas Cowboys squeaked out a win against a lackluster opponent and were lucky to escape with a victory. They aren't an inconsistent team. They consistently look like an 8-8 squad. And they have a chance to prove me wrong next week against the New York Giants.
- You can look at the Minnesota Vikings' offense Sunday a few ways. Adrian Peterson gets better every week and put the team on his back. Or you could notice that the Vikings somehow beat the Cardinals despite getting 43 passing yards. Christian Ponder had 7 yards in the second half.
Familiar and depressing
Cam Newton wore a crazy sweater and unburdened his soul after the game. He's right: The Carolina Panthers' offense needs to make changes.
One of those changes could be giving running back DeAngelo Williams more carries. He had two Sunday, then retweeted a bunch of messages from his fans complaining about his lack of use.
Newton's rough press conference. Williams' Twitter adventures. Another backbreaking fourth quarter for the Panthers. It's all so familiar.
The Panthers are a great example of the NFL's parity. They have lost four games at the very end.
"The past couple of games have been the same script, by the same director," Newton said. "It's kind of getting boring."
So you're saying there's a chance?
- Is the New Orleans Saints' season still over? Their offense is humming once again. They could get within one game of .500 with a win in Denver next week. That might be the most intriguing game between a 2-4 team and a 3-3 team in NFL history.
- Almost no team is dead in a lousy AFC. That includes the Tennessee Titans, who are 3-4 despite being outscored by 89 points this season. Eighty-nine! The Buffalo Bills lost to Tennessee and have been outscored by 56 points. These are your AFC contenders!
- The Indianapolis Colts also are hanging around at 3-3 despite being outscored by 41 points. RG3 deservedly will get the headlines, but Andrew Luck is propping up a bad team with a lot of holes. We give them a lot of credit for being a tough out at home.
Mixed emotions
It had to be a strange day to be a Redskins fan. They lost their leading receiver (tight end Fred Davis) for the season, but fan favorite Chris Cooley is supposed to return. They lost a heartbreaking finish to the Giants, but Robert Griffin III still added to his growing legend.
Sure, Griffin turned over the ball twice. But he was nearly flawless before that and put together a touchdown drive for the ages to give the Redskins the lead with under 90 seconds left. RG3 eluded Jason Pierre-Paul in the open field to convert on fourth-and-10. He used his legs to set up a gorgeous 30-yard touchdown toss to Santana Moss.Â
Eli topped Griffin in the end, but Griffin is going to be a pain for the Giants to handle for a long time.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
