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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Cowboys in 2012.

Dream scenario (12-4): The issue in Dallas is the extent to which the defense improves. If the improvement remains incremental, they'll lose some games they should win and have to scrap to stay in the division race. But if the defense takes a dramatic step forward in its second year under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and with Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne having been brought in to upgrade the secondary, the Cowboys become a Super Bowl contender quite quickly. In the Cowboys' dream scenario, Tony Romo has another big year at quarterback, Miles Austin and DeMarco Murray stay healthy and Dez Bryant takes a big developmental step forward of his own, using his considerable physical ability to dominate matchups in other teams' secondaries and the end zone. The new guys on the offensive line tighten things up in the interior, the move back to right tackle makes Doug Free more comfortable and Tyron Smith transitions seamlessly to left tackle. And in the dream scenario, the improvements in the secondary help the defensive front seven get more pressure on the quarterback, with outside linebacker Anthony Spencer playing the way he did in December of 2009 and DeMarcus Ware playing like... well, like he always does.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): The Cowboys' nightmare scenario, as is the case with anyone's, includes injuries. In this scenario, Austin and Bryant struggle to stay healthy, and the team actually does find itself missing the surprisingly effective replacement Laurent Robinson provided in 2011. Murray also gets banged up, forcing them to rely once again on Felix Jones and little else at running back. Claiborne struggles, as young corners often do, to adjust to the speed and intensity of the NFL game, and Spencer muddles along once again, content to be a pretty good but not great player opposite Ware. In the nightmare scenario, Romo has a bad year, riddled with turnovers and the kind of inconsistency that gives his critics actual evidence for their criticism, and raises legitimate questions about how much longer the Cowboys will remain committed to him. The nightmare scenario includes a slow start against a very tough-looking early portion of the schedule, and sees the Cowboys succumb to the tension and negativity that's always so quick to cling to them in times of trouble. And no, because you're asking, I don't think that even the nightmare scenario puts Jason Garrett on the hot seat. Jerry Jones loves that guy.

We are in the eighth week of NFL free agency, and the position to which it has been most unkind is running back. Due to the ever-increasing emphasis on passing offense and the punishing nature of the running back position, teams see less and less value in investing big money in the position. So as the calender flipped to May, a number of veteran running backs with pretty good résumés remained on the open market.

All four teams in our division could conceivably still be in the market for a veteran running back. The Washington Redskins continue to negotiate with Tim Hightower, who was last year's starter before he tore his ACL, and would like him to come back to front an otherwise young running back corps that leaned on 2011 draft picks Roy Helu and Evan Royster over the final weeks of the season. The New York Giants, having lost Brandon Jacobs to free agency, picked David Wilson in this year's first round, but given the youth of their backup plans behind starter Ahmad Bradshaw, it wouldn't be ridiculous for them to bring a veteran back into camp.

The Philadelphia Eagles whiffed on Ronnie Brown as LeSean McCoy's backup last year and have plenty of intriguing youngsters at the position now, but they don't know what to expect from Dion Lewis or Bryce Brown or Chris Polk. And even the Dallas Cowboys, with DeMarco Murray as the starter and veteran Felix Jones as the backup, could stand to add some depth.

So here's a look at the top 10 remaining free-agent running backs and what they might bring if one of our division's teams were to sign them.

Ryan Grant. Rushed for a total of 2,456 yards in 2008 and 2009 as the Packers' starting running back, but an injury in the 2010 season opener cost him that whole season. Showed flashes of his old form in 2011, averaging 4.2 yards on his 134 carries, and he's 29 years old. Might be looking to start somewhere. He was talking to the Lions this week.

Thomas Jones. The graybeard of this group, Jones will turn 34 in August, and his days as a full-time starter are behind him. Might still be able to help in the passing game, but as a runner he'd be well down the depth chart. Well-regarded veteran locker room presence who might help the development of the younger guys who are getting the carries in a place like Washington.

Joseph Addai. Another 29-year-old who's struggled with injuries and probably needs a part-time role to better his chances of staying healthy. Even in his prime as an Indianapolis Colt, Addai was never a 20-carry-per-game guy. His value there was mainly as a receiver and as a blocker in the passing game. But there are some teams in this division that might be looking for a part-time guy who's good at that stuff.

Cedric Benson. He topped 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons as the workhorse back in Cincinnati. Some say he chafed at the part-time role that developed for him as the 2011 season wore on, but at this point in the market he must see that a part-time role is his only option. Has had off-field issues that could scare teams away, but aside from that he might be a nice fit with Bradshaw in New York.

Tim Hightower. The Redskins loved him as a runner, receiver and pass-blocker, and would have him back in a second as their starter if they were sure about his knee. But he hasn't signed yet, and a recent visit to New England indicates he's looking for more than the Redskins are willing to offer.

LaDainian Tomlinson. One of the best ever at the position and a possible Hall of Famer, Tomlinson could be looking at retirement as he comes up on his 33rd birthday next month. But if he wants to play and can approach the level he showcased in 2010 with the Jets, he's the kind of guy who'd get a young running back's attention.

Cadillac Williams. Another 30-year-old for whom injuries have been the dominant story in recent years. He can be a more than productive backup with starter potential if he can stay on the field, but he generally can't.

Ronnie Brown. Only twice in the past five years has the 30-year-old Brown had 200 carries in a season. He was never able to assert himself as the starter in Miami, and as the Eagles' backup last year he was pretty much a complete disaster. It's going to be tough for Brown to sell himself as a reliable backup with what he showed in 2011.

Justin Forsett. He's small and quick and doesn't have a lot of miles on him. He won't turn 27 until October. The question is how much you can get out of him, and in what role. He's not a power runner, but he's good at finding holes. He accelerates well but doesn't have great top-end speed. He catches the ball well but isn't much help as a blocker in the passing game. Someone will sign him, and if they find the right role he could be a good change-up back for someone. It just feels as though each NFC East team already has someone like him.

Maurice Morris. Morris is 32 but has never been a regular feature back. He's been under 100 carries in each of the past three years, and of all of the backs on this list he has the most experience in the kind of part-time role we're talking about. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and doesn't mind playing special teams. He will find a home.

The hit San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner put on New Orleans' Pierre Thomas set a physical tone for one of the NFL's best defenses Saturday.

It also knocked Thomas from the game with a concussion.

Tough break? Yes, but not entirely unexpected. Thomas became the seventh starting running back to leave a game against the 49ers after suffering an injury. One of them, Philadlephia's LeSean McCoy, returned a short time later. He was slow to get up after blocking the 49ers' Ray McDonald in pass protection.

The chart shows how starting runners have fared against the 49ers this season. The two highest rushing totals came when Patrick Willis was either sidelined by injury (Week 16) or rusty following a month-long layoff (Week 17). Overall, opposing starters averaged about 12 carries for 41 yards against the 49ers this season.

The New York Giants will have starter Ahmad Bradshaw when they visit San Francisco in the NFC title game Sunday. Bradshaw missed the teams' game at Candlestick Park during the regular season. He missed four games overall.

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I guess I'm the only one who still doesn't get it. All week, a whole bunch of people kept insisting that, if the New York Giants beat the New York Jets in the early game Saturday, the Dallas Cowboys' late game against the Philadelphia Eagles wouldn't matter. I don't know why it was so important to everyone that this be true. I only know that it wasn't. If the Cowboys had won, and if the Atlanta Falcons had lost their final two games, the Cowboys could still have been a wild-card team even if they'd lost to the Giants next week.

But added to the list of those who were determined to label this game as meaningless were apparently the Cowboys themselves, who lost starting quarterback Tony Romo in the first quarter and spent the rest of the day insisting that it didn't matter. The fact is, it did matter, and by not trying to win the game the Cowboys willingly closed off one potential avenue to the playoffs. They still have the best one -- if they beat the Giants next Sunday, they're division champs and will host a playoff game on Jan. 6 or 7. But I don't understand why everybody around the Cowboys was as nonchalant Saturday night as they were about a game that they mistakenly claimed had meant nothing.

That's their choice, I guess. But if the Falcons lose to the Saints on Monday and get upset by the Buccaneers (yeah, yeah, I know) next week, this is going to come up again. And the Cowboys, if they lose to the Giants, will have to answer for it.

As it stands, the matter is still in their hands. If they beat the Giants, they're in. And they certainly could do that. The game a couple of weeks ago was close until the end, with the Giants winning in a game in which neither defense could stop the opposing offense. The same thing could happen next Sunday. You don't know which Giants team is going to show up from one week to the next. They played defense on Saturday better than they'd played it in two months. I don't know where it came from or if it'll show up again next week. If it doesn't, the Cowboys have a fine chance to win the road game and get into the playoffs. But if it does, it's going to be tough.

The Cowboys' offensive line was completely overmatched by the Eagles' front Saturday. The Giants do a lot of things up front that are similar to what the Eagles do -- hold back on blitzes and work on getting pressure with the defensive line. They had success against the Jets and could have success against the Cowboys. Rookie right tackle Tyron Smith, who's played like a star all year, handled sack artist Jason Babin, but the rest of the Dallas line was manhandled.

Romo, assuming he plays, is better at improvising on the run when the play breaks down than is Stephen McGee. But the Cowboys now find themselves hoping that Romo, who was one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league coming into this game, is healthy for Sunday and, if he is, can turn it right back on after shutting it down for a week.

Yeah, the Cowboys have matters in their own hands. But if they decided they could shut down Romo and Felix Jones and anybody else today just because the Giants had won that game, I think they may have made a mistake they could end up regretting.

He has surely had more spectacular games in his career, but if you're a fan of the Dallas Cowboys the game Tony Romo played Saturday night was an absolute thing of beauty. Romo was 23-for-30 for 249 yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a nearly uncontested 31-15 victory over a dead Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. He was efficient. He was in control. He was ruthless and reliable and made sure that the Cowboys put one of their easiest wins of the season in their pocket when they needed a win in the worst way.

The Cowboys move to 8-6, temporarily a half-game in front of New York pending the Giants' game Sunday afternoon. If the Giants win, Dallas will have done little Saturday night but hold serve. The victory doesn't dramatically help their playoff chances, but a loss would have damaged them severely. Romo deserves credit for making sure it was never a reasonable possibility.

He wasn't perfect, of course. No one is. The fumble on the first possession of the second half was careless. And I didn't think he made the wisest choice on his first touchdown throw to Miles Austin in traffic at the goal line. But Austin caught the ball for a touchdown, which made the throw look great. And Romo responded to the fumble by engineering a 12-play, seven-minute field-goal drive that denied the Bucs any shot at momentum.

Sure, Felix Jones had 108 rushing yards. But the Cowboys played ball-control all game, even when they were throwing it. Romo took no irresponsible shots downfield. He played completely under control. He took sacks when he should have, and he did a great job of extending plays with his feet until receivers got open. He completed passes to seven different targets, with no one making more than five catches and no receiver gaining more than Jason Witten's 77 yards. It was a clinic in levelheaded quarterback play, and while a Tampa Bay team that has now lost eight in a row might not have been much of a challenge, Romo's been playing like this against everyone lately. He has thrown 18 touchdown passes and two interceptions in his past seven games, and the Cowboys are 5-2 in those games.

Talk that coach Jason Garrett and the Cowboys don't trust Romo is ridiculous. Watching Romo on Saturday night, you saw a guy who was in complete control of his offense. A guy who was picking among fantastic targets and had the confidence and competence to find the right one. Heck, all three of his touchdown passes came from inside the 10-yard line. You don't keep throwing the ball from the 8 and 9 if you don't trust your quarterback.

Romo's reputation is a tough one to shake, but he's done nothing wrong in the second half of this season. He is not the reason Dallas lost to Arizona and New York in the two games before this one. And as the Cowboys look ahead to their final two games of the season, knowing they win the division if they can win them both, they do so with a great deal of well-deserved confidence in their starting quarterback.

Some more observations from the Cowboys' Saturday night victory:

• Jones looks great running the ball, and maybe more importantly Sammy Morris looks like a guy who can reasonably spell Jones and keep the Cowboys from having to overwork him during the next couple of weeks. We'll see how they perform against a defense that doesn't allow 5 yards per carry, but the signs from the run game were encouraging for the Cowboys.
• I thought the defense was encouraging too, at least while DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff were in there. The unit pressured Josh Freeman and were able to run a lot of those moving, confusing fronts to rattle the Bucs' offense into mistakes. And I had no problem with Garrett holding Ware and Ratliff out in the second half to rest them and decrease the risk of further injury. That game was over at halftime, no matter how scared Cowboys' fans were about their team's second-half issues. And if it had become legitimately close, they could always have put Ware and Ratliff back in, right? I think the Cowboys managed that situation intelligently.
• The difference between this game and the Detroit game (other than the vast differences between Detroit's offense and Tampa Bay's) was that, when Romo made the costly turnover right after halftime to give the other team points, he didn't make another. Sounds simple, but it's important. The way you recover from your mistakes says much more about you than whether or not you make one.
• The sight of right tackle Tyron Smith on the ground at the end of the game had to be upsetting for Cowboys fans. He walked off on his own power and seemed fine, but Smith would be a devastating loss for an already-shaky line on which he's been far and away the best player. Smith has played tackle at an elite level this year, and would be irreplaceable.
• Next up for Dallas is a crucial home game next Saturday against the Eagles, who beat them 34-7 in Philadelphia in Week 8.

As you get ready for Saturday night's game against the Buccaneers in Tampa, here's one reason for Dallas Cowboys fans to feel good and one reason for concern:

Feeling good: If ever there was a good game in which to re-establish the ground game with Felix Jones as the lead back in place of the injured DeMarco Murray, this is the one for Dallas. The Bucs allow 4.6 yards per rush attempt and 139.7 rush yards per game, making them one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. Dallas would do well to commit to the run early and get Jones into a rhythm. They won't be able to use him the same heavy way they used Murray, and they will have to throw more the rest of the way. But they should be able to make themselves multidimensional on offense against a Tampa Bay team that's lost seven games in a row.

Cause for concern: Tampa Bay is pretty good at protecting the passer, having only allowed 24 sacks this year. The Cowboys were unable to get a sack last week against Eli Manning and the Giants, and they're surely planning to run some creative blitzes against the Buccaneers to try to rattle quarterback Josh Freeman. If they can't get to Freeman -- especially on the blitz -- they're going to leave themselves exposed in the secondary, where they've had some real problems over the past month.

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FALLING

1. Rob Ryan. The Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator was a hot name on the head-coaching rumor mill a couple of weeks ago. But lately, Ryan's defense hasn't been able to stop anyone. He seems to blitz when he shouldn't blitz, to not blitz when he should ... the kinds of things that happen when your coverage in the secondary is failing you. And it's failing Ryan big-time right now. Terence Newman has regressed throughout the season. Mike Jenkins looks like an injury waiting to happen. And the guys behind the starting corners aren't playing well at all. Of all the Cowboys' collapses this year, the one that might haunt them the most if they don't end up in the playoffs is blowing a 12-point lead in the final six minutes against the Giants on Sunday night.

2. New York Giants secondary: The Giants as a whole are rising, as they're back on top of the division by virtue of a tiebreaker and in spite of the four-game losing streak they just ended. But if you watched Sunday's game, you noticed the Cowboys weren't the only team in it that couldn't get a stop on the back end. Giants coach Tom Coughlin called his team's coverage issues a "grave concern," and the Giants need to get some things fixed in the secondary these next two weeks against Rex Grossman and Mark Sanchez before they see Tony Romo & Co. again in what could be a critical Week 17 rematch.

3. Santana Moss, Redskins receiver. Normally one of the Washington Redskins' most solid and reliable offensive performers, Moss cost his team a chance to send Sunday's game against the Patriots into overtime. An offensive pass interference penalty moved the Redskins back as they were driving for the tying touchdown, and Grossman's final throw of the game went off Moss' hands and into the arms of Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo for an interception that ended all hope. It hasn't been the greatest year for Moss, who missed games earlier in the season with a broken hand, but Sunday was a low point.

RISING

1. Eli Manning, Giants quarterback. He's been here before, but Manning just keeps on rising and rising and rising. His 400 passing yards in his latest comeback victory established a new single-season career high. He's over 4,000 yards for the third year in a row and one of four quarterbacks who are threatening to surpass Dan Marino's single-season NFL record of 5,084 yards. If Aaron Rodgers hadn't already locked up the award, Manning would be in the MVP race. He's led five game-winning touchdown drives this year for a team that has only seven wins. If the Giants' run game can look as good as it looked Sunday behind a resurgent Brandon Jacobs, the way Manning's playing could make them one of the best offenses in the league in the final month.

2. Felix Jones, Cowboys running back. Sadly for Cowboys rookie running back DeMarco Murray, his season is over because of a severe ankle injury he suffered in the first quarter of Sunday's loss. That means a lot more carries for Jones, who was the starter earlier this season before he got hurt and Murray took over. Jones looked fresh and spry and more than capable Sunday. The problem now is that they have practically nothing behind him, so the priority has to be keeping Jones from getting hurt. I imagine the Cowboys will throw the ball more over their final three games, but when they run, they'll ask Jones to do the running.

3. Philadelphia Eagles defense. They totally cooled off a red-hot Miami team Sunday, knocking quarterback Matt Moore out of the game and shutting down the Dolphins after an early Brandon Marshall touchdown. First-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo is working new guys into new roles and expanding what the defense is capable of doing. It was the best the defense has looked all year and the way the Eagles had hoped they'd be able to play consistently this year. The talent is there, and if the scheme and focus issues are settled, it may be enough to carry the Eagles to a strong finish, even if it is too little too late.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Some thoughts on the wild, back-and-forth tussle between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys for control of the NFC East race:

What it means: A three-game season in the NFC East with two teams controlling their own destinies. The two teams are tied for first place at 7-6. The Giants currently hold the tiebreaker due to Sunday night's head-to-head victory, but they meet again Jan. 1 in New Jersey. If either the Cowboys or the Giants win their final three games, they will be division champs. Of course, it could also be decided before then, but the Giants' victory Sunday makes that less likely. New York's win also is good news, for what it's worth, for the Eagles, who are 5-8 and just two games out of the first-place tie.

The hero: Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, the team's first-round pick in the 2010 draft, was the Giants' defense in this game. He was the only one who could get pressure on Tony Romo, and he was there in the end to block Dan Bailey's attempt at a game-tying 47-yard field goal. Pierre-Paul has emerged as a superstar player for the Giants this season, and as great as Eli Manning has been and was again in the fourth quarter, it was Pierre-Paul's playmaking that made the difference.

Giants don't quit: The Giants were down by 12 points with less than six minutes left in the game but mounted touchdown drives of 80 and 58 yards to take back the lead with 46 seconds left. It was Manning's fifth fourth-quarter comeback drive of the season and undoubtedly his most important since it ended a four-game losing streak and put them back on top in the division with three games to go.

The one-armed man did it: Before Pierre-Paul, it looked as though Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee had made the momentum-swinger. The Giants had already converted a fourth down to keep their drive alive, but on third-and-nine from the Dallas 21, trailing by five points with seven minutes left in the game, Lee came up with a funky interception. Manning's pass whacked into the arm of Victor Butler, then hit Lee on the arm as he was tangled up with David Diehl. Somehow, Lee was able to turn around and catch the ball (in spite of the heavy wrap he wears on his left arm, where the wrist was dislocated earlier this season) and ran for 30 yards before Hakeem Nicks tackled him. Two plays later, Tony Romo hit a wide-open Dez Bryant for a 50-yard touchdown pass that put the Cowboys up 34-22.

No D for G-men: With safety Kenny Phillips out, an already challenged Giants defense just couldn't get a stop. With the exception of the brilliant Pierre-Paul, they were unable to generate a pass rush from their front four. Once again, they refused to blitz because they don't trust their coverage. And once again, the coverage showed why it can't be trusted. Tony Romo and the Cowboys picked on rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara, and Romo beat him for a 74-yard gainer to Laurent Robinson early in the fourth quarter to set up a Miles Austin touchdown that put Dallas on top 27-22. Later in the quarter, Bryant got behind the defense for the easiest touchdown of his life.

Down to one back: The Cowboys lost their great rookie running back, DeMarco Murray, to an ankle injury in the first quarter. And while Felix Jones filled in admirably, rushing for more than 100 yards, Jones is now the only healthy tailback the Cowboys have. And they were unable to run the ball and put the game away in the fourth quarter, allowing Manning and the Giants time to mount a final attempt at a game-winning drive.

Mr. 4,000: This was Manning's third game in a row and seventh this season with at least 300 passing yards, and as a result this is his third straight season with at least 4,000 yards passing.

What's next: The Cowboys play Saturday night in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers, who are 4-9 and have lost seven games in a row. The Giants have a home game Sunday against the 4-9 Redskins, who started their season by beating them 28-14 in Washington.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- DeMarco Murray, the dazzling rookie running back whose emergence brought the Dallas Cowboys' running game back to life this season, could be done for the year with a severe ankle injury. Murray got hurt on an eight-yard run in the first quarter of Sunday night's game against the New York Giants and left the game with help from the training staff. During the third quarter, the team announced that Murray had a right ankle fracture and a high ankle sprain.

The Cowboys made no announcement on Murray's long-term status, only that he would not return to Sunday night's game. But an ankle fracture in Week 14 doesn't sound like the sort of injury that would allow Murray to return before the end of this season -- even if Dallas got into the playoffs and made a deep run.

In the short term, the Cowboys would seem to be fine. Former starter Felix Jones stepped right in and rushed for 81 first-half yards on eight carries after Murray left the game. But Jones is not the same kind of back as Murray, which is why he lost the starter's job to him in the first place. Jones is injury-prone, and not likely to hold up under a 20-carry-per-game workload the rest of the way. He also had a sloppy fumble toward the end of the first half that reminded everybody that he's not the most reliable guy in that area either. Even if they manage to grind out a win tonight against the Giants, the Cowboys likely will need to adjust their offense for the final three games of the regular season and probably ask Tony Romo to throw more. With Philip Tanner on injured reserve and Tashard Choice having been released weeks ago, Jones is now the only healthy tailback on the active roster.

The running game did seem to get the expected boost from the return of fullback Tony Fiammetta, a blocking machine who'd missed the previous three games with an illness. Fiammetta even got a couple of carries and a catch after the Murray injury. But the Cowboys are now dangerously thin at running back and will have to find a way to overcome it the rest of the way.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Well, we thought there would be a lot of points in tonight's divisional showdown between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, and the first half did not disappoint. Even though it was the Giants' defense that scored the first points when Jason Pierre-Paul sacked Tony Romo in the end zone for a safety, the offenses didn't take long to get in gear, and the Cowboys hold a slim 17-15 lead with the Giants set to get the ball back to start the second half.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is only 9-for-19, but he's made some very nice throws under pressure and has already hooked up with Hakeem Nicks fro 105 of his 146 passing yards. A couple of drops by Victor Cruz have hurt the overall numbers and cost the Giants yards. Romo is a more efficient 10-for-14, but for only 104 yards as he has so far been unable to work wideouts Miles Austin and Dez Bryant into the mix. Romo loves him some Laurent Robinson, though, especially when it's time to score a touchdown, and the Dallas run game doesn't look like it's lost much with Felix Jones subbing in for an injured DeMarco Murray at tailback. Guess all of that hype about the impact of fullback Tony Fiammetta's return was on the mark.

If one of these defenses is able to make some halftime adjustments and some second-half plays in coverage, that team could well run away with the game. But right now it seems more likely that the offenses will continue to rule the night and that many more points await before this one's over.

Some more thoughts on the first half:

• Real curious to see whether Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw plays in the second half. Word is he was benched for blowing curfew, but he's dressed and eligible to play. In his absence, Brandon Jacobs looks like a complete animal, running over people and inflicting pain on would-be tacklers the way he did early in his career.
• With the exception of the Gerald Sensabaugh pass interference penalty that led to Jacobs' touchdown, the Cowboys have to be happy about the way their red zone defense has played. They've held the Giants to field goals twice, including in the final two minutes of the half after Jones' ill-timed fumble gave them the ball at the Dallas 14-yard line. Earlier in the game, they held on after a 64-yard Manning pass to Nicks set the Giants up with first-and-goal on the four. Some credit for that stand, however, goes to questionable playcalling by the Giants, who called end zone corner fade routes on first and second downs and a weak draw play with D.J. Ware on third.
• Injuries are mounting for Dallas. Center Phil Costa is out with a concussion. Murray left with an ankle injury, and it doesn't sound as though they expect him back, which is why Jones is getting the carries. Hey, at least Jones should be fresh after sitting behind Murray all of these weeks.
• And from the irony department: Dan Bailey's 49-yard field goal with 15 second left in the half was 49 yards long -- same distance as the one he made and then missed at the end of regulation last week in Arizona.

On the surface, it looks like there’s a great argument brewing out there about who should be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The names Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and DeMarco Murray are getting tossed around. It makes for great conversation, but let’s face reality.

Newton won the award a long time ago. This race was over two weeks into the season. Despite some really nice deeds by Dalton and Murray, nothing really has changed and it’s not going to.

As the first overall pick in the draft, Newton came with all sorts of flash and glitter. He was a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback on a national championship team at Auburn and that made him a strong favorite to win Rookie of the Year before the season ever started.

Newton settled it in two weeks. He threw for more than 400 yards in each of his first two games. No rookie quarterback had ever done that, and that’s the kind of thing that’s going to stick in the mind of voters.

Speaking of voters, let’s be very clear. We’re talking about the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. There are other rookie honors out there and they matter. Just not as much as the one by the Associated Press.

If you don’t believe me, consider this: If a player gets an incentive clause in his contract for winning a Rookie of the Year award, it almost always is stipulated that he only gets paid if it’s the one from the Associated Press.

The way it works is the voters are writers from every NFL city. Majority rules and, unless Newton suffers a season-ending injury very soon, he’s going to win.

Yeah, I can hear the arguments coming from Dallas and Cincinnati and I respect them. But those folks can save themselves some pain later by realizing now that Murray and Dalton aren’t going to win the award.

I know everything is bigger in Texas and that’s why Dallas fans are going crazy about Murray. He has been incredible since Felix Jones went down with an injury in mid-October. Murray has 674 rushing yards this season with 618 of them coming in the past four games.

And I understand that the Cowboys are “America’s Team,’’ and Dallas is a much bigger media market than Charlotte or Cincinnati. But that actually could end up working against Murray. For a long time, there have been grumbles that it’s harder for Cowboys to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame because voters feel saturated by anything to do with Dallas.

A lot of those voters are the same ones who select the Rookie of the Year. The Cowboys haven’t had one of those since Emmitt Smith in 1990.

Murray is good, but he’s not Emmitt Smith. You could make the case that we saw Murray last year. Tampa Bay’s LeGarrette Blount rushed for 1,000 yards in basically half a season (and for his next trick he’s trying to learn how to pass block) and he didn’t even come close to winning the award.

Sam Bradford did.

That’s because Bradford is a quarterback. Let’s face it, quarterbacks generally are going to win popularity contests simply because they’re quarterbacks. Four of the past seven winners have been quarterbacks. Heck, even Vince Young won it in 2006.

Once in awhile, as happened in 2007, an Adrian Peterson comes along. And in the years when no rookie quarterback does much, the award goes to a Percy Harvin or a Cadillac Williams. This isn’t one of those years.

That brings it down to Dalton and Newton.

Dalton is doing what Bradford did last year and what Matt Ryan did in 2008. He’s come in, played very well and his team is winning. The Bengals are 6-3 and Dalton has thrown for 1,866 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s smart, doesn’t make big mistakes and there’s no doubt Dalton is a big reason Cincinnati is one of the league’s most surprising teams.

But he’s not the only reason. Cincinnati’s defense has been shockingly good. Dalton really hasn’t been shocking. He has only had one 300-yard game, and only one game in which he’s thrown more than two touchdown passes.

Is anybody really ready to call Dalton a franchise quarterback? Yeah, I know it might be a little tempting because it’s been tough to even call the Bengals a franchise for most of the time they’ve been in the league. But Dalton is not Newton. He’s not even close.

By about halftime of the opener, the world knew Newton was a franchise quarterback. He threw for 422 yards that day in Arizona. Then, he came back the next week and threw for 432 against Green Bay, and, suddenly, the Panthers had hope for the first time in a long time. They've still got it.

Yeah, both those games were losses, and, despite Newton’s play, the Panthers have continued to do a lot of losing. They’re 2-7 and we are talking about a game that’s supposed to be the ultimate team sport.

But Rookie of the Year isn’t a team award, which is significant because if you factored in the play of Carolina’s defense, Newton would be wearing heavy anchors on both his legs.

Rookie of the Year is an individual honor, and even if it wasn’t, Newton still would have the edge. He’s thrown for about 800 yards more than Dalton. Oh, and since we mentioned Newton’s legs, let’s take a look at rushing stats. Newton has rushed for 374 yards and seven touchdowns.

Dalton has run for 26 yards. If you really want to pad his stats, you could say he’s run for 78 feet, which is nice. But we’ve seen Dalton before. He compares nicely to guys like Ryan, Bradford, Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez as rookies.

We’ve never seen anything like Newton before. You could say he runs like Tim Tebow or Michael Vick. Or you could say he throws like Dan Marino or Peyton Manning. You’ve never been able to say both things about any single quarterback. Until now.

Yeah, Newton’s not perfect. He has thrown 10 interceptions (but Dalton has thrown nine on 40 less attempts). It also would be nice to see Newton get some wins. But those will come next season when the Panthers have had time to rebuild a defense that got shredded by injuries.

This is about this year. There’s no question Newton and Dalton have turned heads. But Newton is the only rookie who has had heads spinning.

Our good friends over at ESPNDallas.com have a nice little package put together on rookie running back DeMarco Murray and the team-wide effect his emergence has had on the Dallas Cowboys. Todd Archer, for instance, writes that Murray's made Tony Romo's life easier, since the threat of a legitimate and dangerous rushing attack has opened some things up in the passing game. Todd also says Murray has made Jason Garrett a better coach and the Cowboys' defense a better defense, but that his main impact has been on the performance of the offensive line:

He has shown he does not need a lot of space to make a positive play. A lineman does not need to have perfect hand placement, perfect footwork or perfect timing for Murray to break free. Murray is a living, breathing John Wooden-ism as he runs. He is quick, but he doesn't hurry.

DeMarco Murray

#29 RB
Dallas Cowboys

2011 STATS

• Rush100
• Yds674
• TD2
• Rec15
• Yds104
• TD0

"I think he makes our jobs a little easier," said reserve guard Derrick Dockery, who helped pave the way for 1,000-yard rushers Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts in Washington and Marshawn Lynch in Buffalo. "Sometimes as an offensive lineman you might get that hole for a split second and he's the type of back that sees it, hits it and he's gone. He turns three yards into 15, 20, 50, touchdown. He's very explosive. That's the type of back you want to have. Not only that, he's a physical runner. He's not trying to fall down. He's trying to get those extra yards. As an offensive lineman, you appreciate that."

The Dallas offensive line has been a patchwork unit this season, but the return of Montrae Holland at left guard has seemed to solidify some things, and the emergence of Tony Fiammetta at fullback has helped with the run blocking as well. It's a bit of a perfect storm that has coincided with Felix Jones' ankle injury and the insertion of Murray as the starting running back, and Jean-Jacques Taylor even thinks it'll help Jones once he comes back:

Jones is poised to have the same role with the Cowboys that he had at Arkansas. You know, when he used to carry the ball nine or 10 times a game after Darren McFadden had softened the defense.

Most times, defenses couldn't handle his combination of speed, acceleration and quickness, leading to big play after big play.

There's little doubt that the Cowboys' offense works better with Murray in this feature role than it did when he was on the bench. He's got 601 rushing yards in the four games since Jones got hurt, and he's muscling his way into an Offensive Rookie of the Year discussion that at one time began and ended with Carolina's Cam Newton. If you want to debate his place in that discussion, well, ESPNDallas has you covered there, too. Their Hot Button topic this week is on which player is the NFL's top offensive rookie -- Murray, Newton or Cincinnati's Andy Dalton. Have at it.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Some thoughts from the Dallas Cowboys' very impressive victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday:

What it means: The Cowboys now have a chance to get on a roll. Their next three matchups -- at Washington, home to Miami and at Arizona -- all look winnable. Getting this victory over a strong AFC contender -- and getting it as convincingly as they did -- sets up the Cowboys to rattle off a winning streak. If they can take advantage of this soft portion of their schedule, they have a chance to take an 8-4 record into their first meeting with the first-place Giants on Dec. 11.

Miles who? With wide receiver Miles Austin out with a hamstring injury, the Cowboys' passing game didn't miss a step. Quarterback Tony Romo was a dazzling 18-of-19 for 237 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as Dallas built a 28-7 lead. Two of the touchdown passes went to Laurent Robinson, who was already making a contribution before the Austin injury and looks to be a more-than-adequate replacement while Austin sits out. The other was to Dez Bryant, who muscled the ball away from a Buffalo defender in the end zone. Romo was sharp, accurate and did whatever he wanted to do in the pass game, and then in the second half ...

They ran it! Dallas blew a 27-3 lead earlier this season to the Detroit Lions when Romo had two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the second half. But the emergence of rookie running back DeMarco Murray has given the offense a different dimension, and in this second half the Cowboys were able to grind out the clock by running the ball and methodically picking up first downs. Murray had 71 rush yards in the first half, 64 in the second and has 601 over his last four games since Felix Jones was injured. He makes the Dallas offense multidimensional.

Game ball for Rob Ryan: The Cowboys' defense coordinator designed an excellent game plan that kept Buffalo running back Fred Jackson in check in the run game and the screen game, which few teams this year have been able to do. By the second half, the Bills had to take chances throwing the ball, and Terence Newman was right there to take advantage with a pair of interceptions that turned the fourth quarter into a victory lap.

What's next: The Cowboys travel to Washington on Sunday for a game against the division-rival Redskins. Dallas won the first meeting in Week 3 by the score of 18-16 when they failed to score a touchdown, but Dan Bailey kicked six field goals. Washington has fallen on hard times since that game and lost five straight since its 3-1 start.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 10:

DeMarco tough to bring down: One of the things that's made Dallas Cowboys rookie running back DeMarco Murray a success in his past three NFL games is his ability to break tackles. According to the ESPN Stats & Information Group, Murray is averaging 3.1 yards per rush after contact, which is the best figure in the league among players with at least 40 rush attempts. The Saints' Darren Sproles and the Texans' Ben Tate are tied for second on that list at 2.8 yards per carry after contact. It doesn't appear as though Felix Jones will play this week, so Murray has the Cowboys' backfield duties all to himself for another game and should retain the lion's share of the carries even once Jones returns.

Redskins' O is a no-go: The Washington Redskins have scored a total of 11 points over their past two games. They've also punted 11 times. That's not a good ratio of points to punts, 1-to-1. You want that ratio to come up a little bit if you're going to do something like win. The Redskins have five turnovers, four failed fourth-down conversions, a missed field goal, a made field goal and a touchdown over those two games. And of course you know that John Beck is 0-7 in his career as an NFL starting quarterback. The first 0-4 of that came with Miami in 2007. He's hoping his first career win can come in his return to South Beach.

Taking the fourth: If NFL games had just three 15-minute periods, the Philadelphia Eagles would be among the best teams in the league. They have outscored their opponents by 57 points in the first three quarters of games this year, which is the fourth-best figure in the NFL. But in fourth quarters, they've been outscored by a total of 36 points. They've held fourth-quarter leads in four of their five losses, making them the third team in league history to blow fourth-quarter leads and lose in at least four of their first eight games. The others were the 1954 Packers and the 1999 Saints. So if the Eagles go into the fourth quarter with a lead Sunday against the Cardinals... you know... don't change the channel.

Comeback kids: Speaking of fourth quarters, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning leads the NFL with five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter this year. 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, the Giants' opponent this week, is second in the league with three of them. So whichever team takes a lead into the fourth quarter Sunday in San Francisco... you know... don't change the channel.

Second half start: The Giants are in first place with a 6-2 record at the midpoint of their season. But as every Giants' fan can tell you, the second half of the season is where things get interesting. Since Tom Coughlin took over as their head coach in 2004, the Giants' second-half record is 24-32, which ranks 24th in the league. The Giants would love to get the second half kicked off the right way with a big win over a potential playoff opponent in San Francisco.

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

1. Eagles' playoff hopes. Not only are the Eagles 3-5, but three of their five losses are to the Giants, Bears and Falcons. The Giants are one of the teams they have to catch if they want to win their division, and the Bears and Falcons are the two teams currently tied for the last NFC wild-card spot. That means the Eagles lose on all of the tiebreakers as of now and will have to jump over teams, not just catch them, if they want to get in. The Giants could come back to the pack, of course, and those other teams could falter as well. But they aren't the only teams they have to jump over, and the Eagles have put themselves in a position where they really can't lose more than one more game, if that. With eight games left on the schedule, that's a pretty weak margin for error.

2. Ryan Torain, Redskins running back. He looked like the starting running back in Washington once Tim Hightower went down for the season, but he now appears to have been jumped in the rotation by rookie Roy Helu, who got the start Sunday and was a huge factor in the passing game. That's no coincidence. One of the reasons the Redskins like Hightower better than Torain was because they thought Hightower was a better pass-blocker and receiver, and they appear to feel the same way about Helu. Interesting to see how Tashard Choice factors into this mix once healthy, and it's certainly not beyond Mike Shanahan to change his mind more than once again before the season ends. But right now it appears Helu is the lead back in D.C.

3. Miles Austin, Cowboys wide receiver. Out again with a bad hamstring, this time it looks like for two to four weeks. This season surely has not gone the way Austin had hoped it would go, and the Cowboys are going to have to get by for a while with Dez Bryant and Laurent Robinson at wide receiver. They're fortunate that they have Jason Witten as a reliable option in the passing game, and once Felix Jones gets back they'll have two strong options at running back with him and DeMarco Murray. So they're not short on weapons. But Austin looked early on as though he was in for a big year, and it's not working out that way.

RISING

1. Jake Ballard, Giants tight end. The tight end no one saw coming was the star of the show Sunday as Eli Manning found him in key spots during the Giants' comeback victory in New England. I personally think Manning deserves a great deal of the credit for what has become of Ballard and Victor Cruz (and Ramses Barden, who was a factor late in that game as well). I'm not buying that Jerry Reese saw Ballard coming. They were all talking up Travis Beckum. But Reese did have faith in his coaching staff and his quarterback to make it work with whatever personnel they had, and that faith is being rewarded.

2. Laurent Robinson. Cowboys wide receiver. His opportunity to show something is here. With Austin out, Robinson looks like a starting wide receiver for the Cowboys, and to this point he has played better than anyone could have expected. All of the hand-wringing in the preseason about the No. 3 receiver, and it turns out he wasn't even on the roster yet. Now, he's the No. 2, and Tony Romo seems to like to throw to him.

3. Leonard Hankerson, Redskins wide receiver. Like Helu, Hankerson got his first NFL start Sunday, and Washington's rookie wide receiver looked pretty good. I expect to see him and many of the Redskins' other young players continue to get long looks the rest of the way as the Redskins work to find out what they have and what they still need on offense heading into next offseason. Hankerson has size, speed and athleticism and could be a very good NFL receiver. His biggest problem has been actually catching and holding onto the ball, but that problem was not in evidence Sunday, so maybe it's something that's getting better.