by John Lynch, FOX Sports

NFL on FOX Video Central

See the latest from the NFL on FOX team — recaps, reactions and analysis. NFL on FOX Video Central

Peyton Manning threw it 50 times, but they were able to keep them out of the end zone for the most part. But games like those, if you want to become a championship team, are the games that you have got to win.

I realize it is tough against the Colts. They still haven't beaten them in Indianapolis. But the Colts are in their division, so until they take them down, I think the Texans will struggle to be a championship team.

At some point, to get over the hump, the Texans have to be able to beat them. They face them again at home at the end of the month.

For us, when I played in Tampa, our nemesis was the Eagles. And it wasn't the regular season, it was the playoffs. But once we beat Philadelphia in the championship game, we were able to win a Super Bowl. Each team, and for the entire AFC South, the Colts have been the team you have to beat.

The Colts are still unbeaten, but they are starting to lose some really good defensive players like Bob Sanders, Marlin Jackson and Tyjuan Hagler. I think this is the time to take advantage of that. But the Texans have also lost tight end Owen Daniels. I don't think you can underestimate how much he meant to Houston's offense. That's going to hurt them, too.

Bengals playing tough

You bet I give the Bengals a chance next weekend against the Steelers. Today's win against the Ravens was kind of a return to old-school football. The Bengals kept running the football.

My old coach Tony Dungy used to say that in November and December you win by running the football. Typically, that goes with the bad weather. But it's also true whether it's nice outside or you're playing inside. For the most part, the teams that ran the football better today won. And that's what Cedric Benson has brought to the Bengals. He has brought toughness to the team, and he seems to be the piece that was missing. I always thought the Bengals had a talented team the past couple of years but simply couldn't put it together.

Now, Benson is there and he's running very well and everything else starts clicking for the Bengals. There is no doubt Benson is running like he's hungry for something, that's for sure.

Bucs wait too long on Freeman

The best thing for the Bucs is rookie quarterback Josh Freeman. I did their games in the preseason, and I was very vocal that he should have been starting from Game 1. I didn't think with Byron Leftwich, Josh Johnson and Luke McCown they really had someone better than him.

I knew this was going to be a rebuilding season for the Bucs, so why not start your first-round pick right away? Why not let him learn on the run? I know they were thinking the first part of their schedule was so brutal, so let's wait until that bye week. But I thought he was ready. He has an opportunity to really be special. He's a big, big, strong guy who can move on his feet. I think that's what surprises you most when you see him. And, obviously, he can throw the football. He can put it in some windows that very few guys in this league can do.

What I didn't like about how the Bucs handled this situation is they didn't assess it once Freeman got there. They had their minds made up before camp started that he was going to sit and learn. I think coaches should make their decisions after they see how a player handles camp and the preseason games. I thought his play in preseason was enough to warrant his being the starter.

I talked to Troy Aikman in the summer and asked him if you learn more on the field or holding a clipboard. He said clearly on the field. Hey, everyone knows he's going to make some mistakes; all young players do, whatever position they play.

I think after watching Freeman today against the Packers that the Bucs wasted seven games with him.

Now, I know they have a young head coach and a young general manager in Tampa, but instead of trusting their instincts, they went by the book. I think at least Raheem Morris thought Freeman was going to be the guy, but when you don't trust those instincts, it burns you.

I realize there was the positive example of letting Eli Manning sit for a while behind Kurt Warner, but there is also the current examples of Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. But the Bucs' thought was that those last two had played as college seniors and were more experienced, but I still thought they should have let the kid play even though he came into the draft as an underclassman.

One of the pluses, too, is that Tampa Bay has a pretty decent offensive line.

Big hurt for Packers

Now, this loss by the Packers to Freeman and the Bucs could be a playoff killer.

This NFC wild-card spot is going to get tight. I think Minnesota is running away with the NFC North, and now you are looking at the NFC East with Dallas, Philadelphia and New York and then probably Atlanta as where the wild-card teams will come from.

That's a lot of competition for Green Bay.

If you are going to be a playoff team, you have to bury people. The Packers had a nice 21-17 lead at halftime. They had dominated that first half, but the score didn't indicate that. When you let a team hang around, they are going to bite you.

The Bucs put a lot more pressure on Aaron Rodgers in the second half and sacked him six times. Then, he also threw three picks.

Falcons let Turner run

I like what Atlanta was able to do against Washington. I know the Redskins are beaten down right now, but Matt Ryan had been in the first significant slump of his career and I think it was smart for the Falcons to take the pressure off him and run Michael Turner.

You think back to last year when the Falcons were so successful — it all centered around running the football, and then making some plays off that. But when the season began, they weren't following that script. I don't know why that was, because Turner looks like he's hard to stop. I think they just fell in love with the big-play ability of Roddy White and getting Tony Gonzalez, and then you think you have to be a throwing team. But you also have to be who you are. Particularly with a tight end like Gonzalez, I think running the football only makes him all that more effective as a receiver.

I tell you, Turner has a rare skill set. He's special. He used to come in as the backup to L.T. in San Diego, and I used to say, look how big he is. He can't be as fast as L.T. But when I ran next to him, I realized this guy is really fast.