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My goodness. The NFL playoffs begin in two days. Our division's representative plays in three. Where does the time go? Links.

New York Giants

People can officially stop asking me whether the Giants will bring in Steve Spagnuolo to be their defensive coordinator. It turns out, the Giants signed current defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to a contract extension that runs through 2012. Turns out they did this last year, when Fewell was interviewing for head-coaching positions. Nothing like a little leverage, huh? The Giants like Fewell, their issues on defense were personnel-related and not scheme- or coaching-related, and there's no reason to think he's going anywhere. Unless someone hires him to be their head coach.

Also, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for December, which isn't real surprising considering he was NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice in the month and had a 16-tackle game in one of the weeks in which he wasn't. Pierre-Paul just had his 23rd birthday on Sunday. Given his talent, his rapid learning curve and the team for which he plays, it's terrifying to imagine how good he can become.

Philadelphia Eagles

Les Bowen reports that Spagnuolo, the former Eagles defensive assistant and Giants defensive coordinator who was fired earlier this week as head coach of the Rams, is interested in coaching next year and would be interested in the defensive coordinator job with the Eagles, should that come open. The Eagles still have to decide what to do with current defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and whether they're willing to overhaul the defensive scheme under new leadership for the second year in a row.

Linebacker remains an offseason need for an Eagles team that struggled to find production out of those positions for much of the year. But Geoff Mosher writes that, at the very least, the group of linebackers the Eagles have played much better toward the end of the season. Just don't tell Jeffrey Lurie that. Remember, the way he sees it, it doesn't matter because they didn't play anybody good!

Dallas Cowboys

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that young, talented Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant is embarking on his most dangerous time of the year -- the offseason. Jacques says Bryant needs structure in his life, and the proof lies in the off-field issues he's had involving behavior and his finances. All eyes are always on Bryant, whom the Cowboys believe can be a building-block player for them if he keeps his head on straight.

ESPNDallas.com invites you to play "Take him or trash him" with the Cowboys' roster. Go through and click on each player and decide whether you want him on next year's team or not. Something to do instead of work, which I know you're looking for.

Washington Redskins

John Keim lists five players who could help improve the Redskins' defense in 2012. Two of them -- defensive linemen Jarvis Jenkins and Barry Cofield -- are already on the roster. But a healthy return from Jenkins and continued improvement from Cofield at nose tackle would, in fact, help. The others John lists are Oakland Raiders safety Tyvon Branch, who can be a free agent, and two players who will be in this year's draft -- LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne and Oklahoma State safety Markelle Martin.

The Redskins will be working on the offensive line as well, and only the first year of right tackle Jammal Brown's five-year deal was guaranteed. In order to return in 2012, Brown is going to have to prove to the Redskins that his troublesome hip is finally really healthy. The guess here is that they look elsewhere for a tackle.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It's too bad we can't get those 60 minutes of our lives back. The Cowboys' first-team offense once again failed in the red zone, and the backups didn't do any better in a 17-9 loss to the Raiders. With the Cowboys having played Sunday, it was obvious they didn't belong on the field Thursday night.

The defense certainly had its moments, but the story of the game (from my vantage point) is that Tony Romo was sacked three times and the running game was non-existent. Other than that, it was a wonderful night of football. The Cowboys have nine days before playing a preseason game in San Diego. Maybe we'll get a better feel for where this team is at that point. But in the interest of producing a blog entry before most of you arrive at work, here are a few observations from Thursday's contest:

• The Cowboys were 0-for-4 in red zone efficiency, including a quick trip inside the 20 before Romo was sacked for a 9-yard loss. Dallas gave up six sacks in the game, three on Romo. The most disturbing to me was seeing Raiders defensive end Matt Shaughnessy beat Doug Free on a speed rush and then drag down Romo with one arm. Free was with Shaughnessy the whole time on the play, but he never delivered a solid punch. Shaughnessy's a nice second-year player out of Wisconsin, but he's not Trent Cole, Justin Tuck and Brian Orakpo. Free needs to clean things up before he meets any of those players. At least two of the three sacks on Romo were coverage sacks. He needs to do a better job of unloading the ball in those situations.
• Linebackers Bradie James and Keith Brooking were both excellent in coverage in the first quarter. James was throwing his body all over the place and Brooking was superb in not letting anyone get separation from him. Brooking still moves really well. I hope Sean Lee is watching Brooking's every move right now. The rookie needs to get past this quadriceps injury and return to the practice field. Otherwise, he's not going to have a chance to earn time in sub packages. Bobby Carpenter was replacing Brooking in the nickel last season, but right now I wouldn't replace him with anyone.
• Raiders safety Tyvon Branch was a mismatch for Jason Witten. The Pro Bowl tight end got plenty of separation and Romo hit him in stride for a big play on the first drive.
• Miles Austin made a beautiful adjustment to a ball thrown slightly behind him in the first quarter for a 24-yard catch. Austin brought a lot of energy to the field Thursday and ran some excellent routes. On the twisting grab, he beat cornerback Chris Johnson. The Raiders are vulnerable on that side of the field.
• Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston had one of the sacks on Romo. He was able to sneak in the backside and crunch the quarterback. Romo didn't feel the pressure coming on the play. He just seemed content to stay in the pocket, and that wasn't helping matters. Of course, everyone in the stadium gasped when he took off running up the middle of the field on one play.
• It was a good night for kicker David Buehler. He nailed a 42-yard field goal and then connected on two short ones. He also recorded three touchbacks. The 42-yarder was a good sign because that's a distance that plagued the team during a miserable stretch in '09. Buehler has all the confidence in the world. If he'll trust his leg, the distance will be there.
• Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick might be the best tackler of all the defensive backs. He does a really nice job of wrapping up and you don't see guys bounce off him. Scandrick decked wide receiver Louis Murphy early in the game. Then he absorbed a blow from James. The Cowboys were flying to the ball early.
• The running game was awful, but I did see Marion Barber put a nice little move on cornerback Stanford Routt in the first quarter. He froze Routt with a little stutter-step. Barber stumbled after that and only gained 2 yards.
• Romo and Austin have tremendous chemistry on the slant. On a third-down play, Austin got Johnson on his hip and then made a nice grab across the middle. Even when cornerbacks see it coming, they have an awful time getting inside position.
• All the goodwill that Kevin Ogletree earned in the offseason is being wasted early in the preseason. He's not making contested catches and it just seems like there's a lack of concentration. I still think he'll make the roster as the fifth receiver, but he hasn't seized some of these extra repetitions that were created by Dez Bryant's absence.
• Linebacker Victor Butler picked up a personal foul on a punt return. The officials will not have any tolerance this season for those blindside hits on defenseless players. There's just too much of a risk for head and neck injuries. Butler must have better awareness on that play.
• In the first quarter, cornerback Terence Newman closed quickly to break up a Jason Campbell throw in the flat. Newman was in position to make the interception, but he opted for knocking down the ball with one arm. It was a very instinctive play and it caught Campbell by surprise.
• Free-agent rookie Bryan McCann out of SMU had one really nice punt return (28 yards) late in the second quarter when he allowed Ogletree to set him up with a good block. McCann's also getting a lot of opportunities with the second-team defense. He was late on a Campbell throw to Murphy, but you can tell that he's not far away from making those plays. I get the sense that Wade Phillips is really pulling for McCann.
• I was eager to see how former third-round draft pick Robert Brewster performed at left tackle against the Raiders. And once again, he turned in a dud. Not even the optimistic Phillips will be able to praise Brewster after Thursday's showing. His feet are stuck in neutral and there's absolutely no anchor. When you watch him, he's getting pushed directly toward the quarterback. He's most susceptible to an outside speed rush right now, and that's not a good sign. Brewster will keep getting chances, but I thought that was a poor showing. Brewster was also penalized for grabbing a defensive end as he raced past.
• Butler does an excellent job getting pressure on the quarterback. He's so much more consistent this season in causing problems for the offensive line. And the other linebacker who caught my eye Thursday was Leon Williams. He's just a really tough player who brings some attitude to the field. Inside linebacker Jason Williams is still a work in progress, but he did race through and make a nice play against running back Michael Bush.
• Safety Mike Hamlin suffered a neck strain and a concussion in the third quarter, according to ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon. Some folks in the organization thought Hamlin might challenge Alan Ball for the starting role, but that hasn't happened so far in camp. The good news for the Cowboys is that Hamlin was the only player injured. That's a lot different situation than what took place against the Bengals.
• Roy Williams and Romo weren't on the same page in the first quarter. On one play, Romo rolled right and wanted Williams to come back to him. Williams sort of posted up the cornerback along the sideline and hoped for the best. There wasn't any rhythm to his routes against the Raiders. By the way, Bryant gave Williams and the rest of the receivers some new shoes.
• In one of the Cowboys' four trips inside the red zone, Jon Kitna rolled right and threw to Deon Anderson in the flat. It was a poorly conceived play on fourth-and-1. Linebacker Thomas Howard applied the pressure to Kitna.
• I thought safety Danny McCray did a really nice job hustling over to break up a deep ball to Johnnie Lee Higgins. McCray's been a camp phenom, and I'm eager to see if he can keep it up in Oxnard, Calif., next week. The Beast will be on the ground in Oxnard beginning Sunday evening.
• The Cowboys were 3-for-16 on third down. The lack of a running game put the Cowboys in third-and-long situations far too often. Losing in the preseason isn't a big issue, but this red zone issue is something that goes back to last season. The Cowboys need a touchdown from the first-team offense against the Chargers next Saturday.
• Guard Pat McQuistan simply doesn't play with any power. Every time I watch him, he's getting thrown toward the quarterback. It's about time to move on without him. The Cowboys have invested a lot of time in him, but I don't think he'll ever be a starter. And he doesn't seem like a reliable backup. On the other hand, I like the backup center, Phil Costa. The guy will stand his ground and he seems to have a little attitude. Give me that guy over McQuistan any day. I also liked the way rookie Sam Young played.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- I know Miles Austin had 250 receiving yards against the Chiefs earlier this season, but I feel like his effort Thursday might be even more impressive. The Chiefs were seriously outmanned in the secondary that day. The Raiders showed up with the great Nnamdi Asomugha, Chris Johnson and Tyvon Branch. Austin has burned them on a variety of crossing patterns.

They can't cover him on the slant because he's using his size and speed to get a step on Johnson. And Asomugha's wasting his time covering Roy Williams because that's who keeps lining up on his side. If I'm coaching the Raiders, I'd find a way to have Asomugha follow Austin around. But the Raiders are staying with their scheme.

OK, it's 17-7, Cowboys on top early in the fourth quarter. And Jason Witten just made a huge play.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cowboys have had a couple of big plays against the Raiders, but they only have three points to show for it. The holding penalty on fullback Deon Anderson on that last drive was huge. Tashard Choice had a long run to give the Cowboys the ball inside the Raiders' 10 yard line but the subsequent holding penalty forced the Cowboys to settle for a field goal.

One of the reasons it's difficult to score on the Raiders is that punter Shane Lechler is an unbelievable weapon. He can flip the field on you in a hurry. Early in this game, the Raiders have had some success in the running game. It looks like they're doing a nice job of moving defensive end Marcus Spears out of the running lanes.

The Raiders should have the ball deep inside Cowboys territory, but safety Tyvon Branch and defensive end Trevor Scott collided while both trying to intercept a Tony Romo pass that was telegraphed to Roy Williams.