The Vikings and Panthers both are 2-6. They both are starting rookie QBs. In days gone past, it would have been a good assumption to think the rookies were the reasons for the poor records. But Christian Ponder (left) and Cam Newton (right) are bright spots for their teams. They were a combined 40 for 63 for 526 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday as Minnesota won a squeaker, 24-21. Watch and learn? Why bother?

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OK, it would be wise to wait until December to say that. But it sure looks that way. The Houston Texans are playing multidimensional football, and they're showing toughness as a team, having overcome key injuries already. Sunday's 24-14 victory over Jacksonville was efficient, routine and boring, in a playoff sort of way. They outgained the Jaguars 156-84 on the ground and 202-90 through the air. Joel Dreessen's TD celebration (pictured) will be followed by many more Texans exaltations this season.

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No matter how accomplished he is, an NFL quarterback prefers to have a comfortable pocket to work from. When you’re Drew Brees and you rely on spreading the defense and making the right reads, it’s all the more essential. Didn’t matter that Brees has a Super Bowl ring and had just led his Saints to a 62-7 victory. Didn’t matter that Sunday’s opponent, the Rams, were winless. St. Louis’ priority was to pressure the QB, and it came away with six sacks. No coincidence, Brees threw two interceptions and the Rams are winless no longer, taking a 31-21 stunner.

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For all intents and purposes, the Dolphins fired Tony Sparano when they publicly courted Jim Harbaugh last winter. Never mind any PR moves that followed. He was and is a ghost in Miami, and his players knew it. The Dolphins' 0-7 record is no surprise to anyone who understands locker room dynamics. The Dolphins have abandoned their captain, even if he dutifully remains aboard the drifting ship, screaming, "Iceberg!" That's why come-from-ahead losses are becoming commonplace. The New York Giants, who rallied for a 20-17 win Sunday, might want to send a thank you card to Dolphins management.

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Colts running back Donald Brown isn't posing; he's showing the frustration of his team’s 0-8 start. So much for those nine straight playoff appearances. Those have gone the way of Johnny U and the Baltimore marching band. If that 62-7 loss last week was rock bottom, the Colts didn’t get much of a bounce-back in Sunday's 27-10 loss at Tennessee. The Colts committed eight penalties in the first half while falling behind 20-0, and they failed to capitalize on another mediocre outing by Titans running back Chris Johnson (34 yards). The only useful thing about these Colts is they’re providing plenty of material for hometown fan David Letterman.

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In Arizona, receiver Anquan Boldin was known for complaining. Usually about his contract. Sometimes about his second-fiddle status behind Larry Fitzgerald. All those complaints got him what he wanted: He was traded in 2010 to the Ravens, who gave him a three-year, $25 million extension. Boldin faced his old squad for the first time Sunday and helped the Ravens rally from a 21-point deficit to a 30-27 win. He had seven catches for 145 yards and drew a key pass-interference penalty against heralded rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson. No complaints now.

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This has not been a good season if you’re a Colt — either of the Indianapolis kind or of the McCoy kind. Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy (pictured) followed up last week’s thrilling 6-3 victory over the Seahawks with another offensive flatliner in a 20-10 loss to the 49ers in San Francisco. Yes, the Browns were without their top two running backs (Peyton Hillis sat a second straight game with a hamstring injury and Montario Hardesty went down with a strained right calf in the first half) but McCoy didn’t help matters by fumbling four times during a 22-of-34, 241-yard, one-TD, one-interception stinker. McCoy & Co. managed only Phil Dawson's 52-yard field goal on the final play of the first half before Josh Cribbs caught a 45-yard touchdown pass with with 6:17 to play — the Browns’ first TD in seven-plus quarters. One of McCoy’s fumbles led to a Niners touchdown. And McCoy also was sacked four more times after five last week. The Cleveland defense has given up 23 points in the last two games as is 1-1 . . . barely. The Browns fell to 3-4 overall.

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Take a look at Bills defensive end Spencer Johnson (left) and linebacker Alex Carrington looming large — that’s pretty much what Redskins quarterback John Beck saw all afternoon as the Buffalo defense recorded nine sacks and two interceptions in a 23-0 victory in Toronto, where the Bills were the “home” team. Coming off a loss to the Giants and then a bye week, the Buffalo defense started out hungry and stayed that way, limiting Beck & Co. to 61 yards and three first downs in the first half, and 178 total yards on the day. Yes, the Redskins were without running back Tim Hightower (knee), receiver Santana Moss (hand) and tight end Chris Cooley (knee) — but not even they could have negated the Bills’ assault on Beck. The Skins’ average gain was 3.3 yards, compared to the Bills’ 6.3. Combined with Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (playing his first game since signing a new six-year, $59 million contract on Friday) hitting Scott Chandler with two touchdown passes and running back Fred Jackson gaining 120 yards rushing and 74 receiving, it all sent the Bills to a 5-2 record, their best start since 2008 — and oh yeah, their first win in four trips to their adopted second “home.” The battered Redskins fell to 3-4 with their third straight loss.

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This time last year, you could have gotten good odds that Marvin Lewis (pictured) would be doing something other than coaching the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011. In 2010, Lewis’ contract was ticking down, he had a locker room full of discontent (arguably malcontent) players, and the Bengals had lost 10 in a row at one point. But in an offseason of intrigue and drama, Lewis signed a contract extension, gained some power in a wrestling match with owner Mike Brown and rid the Cincy clubhouse of bad influences such as Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and, most prominently, QB Carson Palmer, whom Lewis publicly accused of quitting on the team before pulling back on that accusation. The new-look Bengals continued their resurgence Sunday with a 34-12 win over the Seahawks in Seattle, Cincy’s fourth straight win with new QB Andy Dalton running the show — and Lewis’ team-record 65th win in eight-plus years on the job. The 5-2 Bengals are tied with the Ravens for second place in the AFC North, a half-game behind Pittsburgh (6-2). 

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They called Tim Tebow’s debut victory over the Dolphins last week The Miami Miracle — but c’mon, the Fish were winless, and still are. Tebow’s first real test came Sunday in Denver against Matthew Stafford (pictured) and the Lions — and Tebow flunked badly, coming up very small. He was sacked seven times and turned over the ball twice as the Lions, after a two-game skid, once again looked like the team that started the season 5-0. After the game, Denver coach John Fox even talked of the possibility of switching QBs yet again. Detroit’s 45-10 road romp was all about the differences in these two QBs. Stafford, shaking off an ankle sprain suffered in last week’s loss to the Falcons, went 21-of-30 for 267 yards, three TDs and no interceptions before taking a seat in the fourth quarter; Tebow was 18-of-39 for 172 yards, one TD and one pick. The Lions now get a bye week before they play at the Bears on Nov. 13 with a chance to resume the turn-around that made them THE story of the early part of the season. The Lions a Super Bowl contender? Now THAT’S a miracle.

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No matter how high-powered your offense, it’s useless if it spends most of the afternoon on the sidelines — and that’s where Tom Brady (pictured) and the Patriots’ top-rated O-unit spent much of the afternoon in this Sunday marquee matchup of Super Bowl QBs. Brady & Co. had the ball for a mere 20:38 of game time, compared to Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense, which controlled the ball for 39:22, thanks in large part to Roethlisberger gobbling up large chunks of time with methodical drives. Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns, while Brady also had a pair of TDs — but he was kept to a season-low 198 yards while never getting his offense in a rhythm. The Steel Curtain defense ensured Pittsburgh’s 25-17 victory with a last-second safety that snuffed out the possibility of another vintage Brady late comeback. Brady lost to the Steelers for just the second time in his career.

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They have a saying in Texas about guys who talk big and don’t deliver — “all hat and no cattle.’’ So far this season, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has been just that. Back in training camp, the Big D’s large-framed loudmouth chided the Eagles as the “all-hype team” – adding, “We're going to beat their ass when we play them." It was just the first of several bulletin-board quotes from Ryan to fuel foes in 2011. Well, Sunday night, Dallas did play at Philadelphia — and it was Ryan’s formidable backside that got kicked by the revenge-minded Eagles in a 34-7 Philly romp. Ryan’s defense surrendered 495 yards, including 185 on the ground by LeSean McCoy and another 50 rushing from QB Michael Vick (pictured). The Eagles’ running game enabled Philly to dominate the play clock 42:15 to 17:45, and run 70 plays to the Cowboys’ 49. Dallas QB Tony Romo was just 4-of-8 at one point midway through the game before finishing 18-of-35 for 203 yards, one TD and one pick in desperation catch-up mode. Whaddya say now, Rob?

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