The Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the NFC
I can hear the Packers fans grumbling already, but save it. The issue was decided when the Cowboys convincingly beat your team on Nov. 29. Dallas merely reinforced its stature as the class of the conference by staging an impressive rally in the final seconds Sunday for a 28-27 triumph over the Detroit Lions to capture the NFC East crown. When pushed to the brink, top teams respond that way (see New England's wins over Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Baltimore).
Never mind that the Lions have lost five in a row. They managed to give a strong performance, something reminiscent of the way they were playing earlier in the year. They were stoked to play their best against an elite opponent, but it wasn't good enough, because the Cowboys were good enough to overcome the challenge.
Tony Romo's ascension to the upper-tier among NFL quarterbacks is amazing. Not only does he have big-play ability, in throwing for two touchdowns (including the decisive 16-yarder to Jason Witten with 18 seconds left), but he has the precision and poise to lead a winning, 83-yard scoring march. And Marion Barber gave a big-time performance of his own by sprinting 20 yards for one touchdown, walking in from a yard for another and caching a third.
Yes, yes, the Packers deserve plenty of credit for rebounding from their crushing loss at Dallas to pound the Oakland Raiders 38-7. But the road to the Super Bowl is likely to travel through Texas, and that isn't likely to be any easier for Green Bay to negotiate in January than it was in November.
