Looking for some top-notch analysis of Sunday's NFL action? Look no further. This week: Dallas makes a run for the top, the Packers' poor play continues, and two undefeated teams squeak by again.

Be sure to share your own opinions in the comments section!

THE BOYS ARE BACK

Going into their Week 6 bye, the Dallas Cowboys looked like an 8-8 team. Tony Romo had thrown a game away against the Giants, they couldn't make a play when they needed it in Denver, and they needed overtime and an unbelievable performance from first-time start Miles Austin to beat the lowly Chiefs.

But over the past three weeks, you could argue that there hasn't been a better team in football. They manhandled the Falcons and Seahawks at home, but their most impressive performance so far came last night in Philly.

Last night, Dallas's once-shaky defense held the Donovan McNabb and the high-powered Eagles in check. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff was a beast, proving once again that he's one of the NFL's most underrated players. Romo spread the ball to different receivers and played an all-around efficient game. Since the Week 2 disaster when he threw three interceptions against the Giants, he has thrown just two over six games.

Romo's reputation will depend on what he does in the playoffs (and the Cowboys are in the driver's seat in the NFC East). But if he plays anything like this in January, this Cowboys team is as good as bet as anyone in the NFC to make the Super Bowl.

PACKER NIGHTMARE CONTINUES

In today's NFL, the two most important aspects of the game are pressuring the opposing quarterback, and keeping your quarterback safe. Despite a playoff-caliber roster, the Packers are doing neither of those things right now.

So far this season, the Pack have allowed quarterback Aaron Rodgers to be sacked a whopping 37 times. Rodgers was only sacked 34 times all of last season!

Green Bay is on pace to allow 74 sacks this year. Since the NFL started tracking the stat in 1969, only six teams have allowed 70-plus sacks in a single season. And Rodgers has taken plenty of hits that haven't gone for sacks.

The 25-year-old Rodgers is arguably the best young QB in the NFL. He has the ability to develop into one of the NFL's elite QBs. But he's not going to get there taking this many hits. Left tackle Chad Clifton has been dealing with an ankle injury, and right tackle Mark Tauscher returned from a knee injury to face Tampa. Both veterans looked terrible on Sunday.

2009 is looking like a lost season for the Packers. Their plan should be to max protect as often as possible to keep Rodgers from suffering a major injury. And offensive tackle has to be their Number 1 priority in the offseason.

UNBEATEN, BUT NOT PERFECT

For the Colts and the Saints, it was another week, another win. But neither of these teams are exactly steamrolling the competition.

The Colts would have been headed to overtime if Texans kicker Kris Brown hadn't missed a very makeable 42-yard field goal as time expired. And the Saints fell behind at home to the lowly Panthers before rebounding for the win.

As far as I'm concerned, the Colts are still the best team in the NFL. But in the AFC, the Patriots, Steelers, and even Bengals are rising fast. The Saints will have to deal with the currently red-hot Cowboys later this season. They might be unbeaten, but I still see the NFC as a pretty wide-open race.

QUICK THOUGHTS ON WEEK 9

1. Sheesh. The Giants have been in desperate need of an offensive coordinator ever since they hired Kevin Gilbride. But now it's just ridiculous. To come up with just 20 points at home against this banged up Chargers D is just embarrassing.

2. Good luck trying to figure out the Cardinals. They've had a couple of duds at home, but went on the road once again and came up with a huge performance. After a six-turnover day against the Panthers in Week 8, Kurt Warner bounced back with five TDs in Chicago. Despite the uneven play, Arizona has a two-game lead in the NFC West.

3. A nice day from Bucs rookie quarterback Josh Freeman in his first career start. He didn't exactly dominate, but Freeman didn't look lost either, going 14-for-31 for 205 yards, three TDs and one interception. Freeman, Tampa's first-round pick in April, was thought to be a year or two away from being ready to play in the NFL. This was definitely encouraging for Tampa to see from their quarterback of the future.

4. Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman isn't all the way back to 100 percent, but he's getting close. After going without a sack in the season's first six games, Merriman has four in the past two games.

5. I think it's safe to say the Bengals are for real. I can't say enough good things about the job defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has done with this once-sorry defense. Some team needs to hire this dude as a head coach for next season.

6. Jay Cutler's first season in Chicago looks like a lost one, but it's not really his fault. The Bears need to revamp this defense for 2010.

7. Titans running back Chris Johnson is becoming must-see TV. He and Jags RB Maurice Jones-Drew are the most electrifying playermakers in the NFL.

8. What the heck happened to the 49ers defense? They looked like world beaters early in the season. Now it looks like that now-struggling defense is the reason San Fran is going to miss the playoffs.

9. Worst free agent signing of the off-season: safety Gibril Wilson of the Dolphins (five years, $27.5 million for a free safety who can't cover anyone). Second-worst: Seahawks signing of T.J. Houshmandzadeh (five years and $40 million for a Number 2 receiver).

10. Nice job Ken Whisenhunt! In case you missed it, the Cardinals head coach had some fun after Arizona's win over the Bears on Sunday. The Whis did his impression of former Cards coach Dennis Green's famous post-game tirade after Arizona lost to the Bears back in 2006 (you remember: "They are who we thought they were!" and "We let 'em off the hook!"). Whisenhunt finished his post-game press conference by saying "We didn't let 'em off the hook" and slapping the microphone. Hey, if your a Cards fan, all you can do is look back at the Dennis Green era and laugh.

THE MVP RACE

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts: Eight games in 2009, seven of them with 300-plus passing yards. Manning had 318 against the Texans to keep Indy undefeated. Once again, there's just not a better player in the NFL.

2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints: Brees rallied the Saints once again, going to the air for 330 yards and keeping the Saints perfect. You have to love his fiery brand of leadership.

3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots: He seems to be getting better with every start, but he wasn't quite perfect against two of the NFL's weaker pass defenses (Tampa and Miami) in his last two starts.

4. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals: He's getting a lot of help from Cedric Benson and the amazingly improved defense. But Palmer's knack for making the big plays at the biggest times is the reason Cincy is sitting atop the AFC North.

5. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings: Favre got to rest up during the Vikes' Week 9 bye. The biggest question of the season will be whether the 40-year-old can avoid injury over the rest of the season.

MONDAY NIGHT PREDICTION

If you like defensive struggles, then this is a game for you. This one is shaping up to be a low-scoring affair, and I think in the end the difference is that Ben Roethlisberger will make more plays than Kyle Orton. The Steelers win on a late Jeff Reed field goal. Steelers 19, Broncos 16

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