NFL fact or fiction: Is Dallas king of the NFC? Packers = donezo? Published: Nov 14, 2016 at 04:36 AM Contributing Columnist Week 10 was the best chapter of this NFL season thus far. Sunday's slate of games was thrilling from start to finish. And predictably, in the immediate aftermath, opinions are bubbling up from all corners of the football-watching world. With that in mind, it's time to separate fact from fiction, Schein Nine style. Here are nine common sentiments being bandied about by Monday morning quarterbacks acro s America, along with my judgment on their validity: 1) The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Dallas This is a fact. This is a different team, one that has earned every ounce of its gaudy 8-1 record. Damn right, this team is for real -- as much for couple of . And the ' genius and greatne s was on full display Sunday in -- the new leader in the clubhouse for NFL Game of the Year. was absolutely brilliant with 209 total yards and three touchdowns on 23 touches, finishing off the with . This coming after had put Pittsburgh ahead with . (Like I said: ) and the ' offense had 42 seconds to work with following 's trickery. And Dallas' dynamic rookie duo -- as well as the best offensive line in the NFL, bar none -- adroitly lifted the 'Boys to an incredible win. I ranked Elliott, who looks like a shoo-in for Offensive Rookie of the Year and first-team All-Pro status, third in the MVP pecking order at the halfway point in the season. He's a legit candidate, even as a rookie. And Chris Paul Jersey after the game, what many of us have been saying for quite some time: Prescott's no longer just keeping 's seat warm. While I love Romo -- and the four-time Pro Bowler is in line to be active for Week 11 -- you don't me s with succe s and replace Prescott, who won another monster game on the road after overcoming early adversity. Prescott has the savvy, arm, athleticism, touch, leadership and rapport with and to be entrenched. Now, Seattle (6-2-1) will be a factor in the NFC. What a win for the on Sunday night, -- on a short week, to boot. For the second consecutive week, looked absolutely brilliant, notching a season-high 348 pa sing yards and three touchdown throws -- all of them to , who hadn't scored since Week 3. And the ' defense proved clutch down the stretch (see: and then adeptly defending to finish off .) Still, I expect Dallas to get home-field. And frankly, the are better than the . 2) Mike Tomlin should continue to go for two Total fiction. This approach is utter nonsense. Jason Garrett very easily could have handed Tomlin a game ball for . It's always easy to pile on after a lo s -- but it's also accurate in this instance. Tomlin went for two all game long -- and the went 0 for 4. It was foolish and counterproductive from the start. Please don't hit me with the ' past succe s rate on two-point conversations. Don't tell me it is working. Pittsburgh is a 4-5 football team. This was overly egotistical coaching and it cost Pittsburgh on Sunday. All in all, a bad look for Mike Tomlin. 3) The Green Bay Packers are finished They can't run. They can't play defense. And they responded to ' open venting last week about by offering up the most grotesque performance of their season. Green Bay Rodney McGruder Jersey was simply pushed around by the physical in that dropped them below .500. shredded the with four touchdowns through the air, while averaged a whopping 7.2 yards per carry on the ground. Offensively, Green Bay gave away the football three times, while Tenne see played turnover-free football. The , who have lost three straight and four of five, look stunningly dreadful. And I place the blame on general manager Ted Thompson, , relying way too much on Rodgers' individual brilliance. Yes, the are awful right now. But not finished. It's fiction. Minnesota predictably . The , who had a bye in Week 10, , thanks to the ultra-clutch play of . But Detroit is hardly a great or complete team. And the are 2-7. Blake Griffin Jersey The are on life support, but the underwhelming makeup of this year's NFC North gives them a chance. 4) The AFC West will get three teams in the playoffs Lock it in: fact. I still can't believe how the won on ! (In a year with some questionable officiating, I totally agreed with the refs overturning ' 84-yard scoring return. There .) Meanwhile, Kansas City was down 17-0 late in the second quarter but clawed back against the and "Titanic" (don't call me "Riverboat") Ron Rivera to win, . to set up the game-winning field goal. Now, the and (who had a bye) are 7-2, while Denver is 7-3. All three are going to the playoffs. 5) Ryan Tannehill has found it Oh, he deserves so much credit for turning it around after a horrendous start. In the first five games of the season, the QB posted a TD-to-INT ratio of 6:7 and took 17 sacks. Consequently, Miami went 1-4. But over the last four games -- all wins -- Tannehill has thrown four touchdowns against zero interceptions and taken just three sacks. Still, this is fiction. You can't eradicate the uninspiring start -- or the past four years. Tannehill has evened out his play and was very effective Sunday at San Diego (completing 17 of 24 pa ses for 240 yards and two touchdowns) in . But I still wonder about Tannehill's overall skills. What does he do well consistently? 6) Sunday was a big step back for the Atlanta Falcons I think was more of Kawhi Leonard Jersey a positive for the than a negative for the . So that subhead is fiction. had uncharacteristic drops. The smartly ran the ball to limit Atlanta's po se sions and ease the pre sure on . The played a tight and competitive game on the road. While it clearly wasn't 's finest performance, I don't believe this is Atlanta reverting to 2015 form. Sunday was a day and a blip. Not a trend. 7) The Houston Texans are going to win the AFC South was noteworthy. Indianapolis, which had a bye in Week 10, isn't dead at 4-5. Yet, to me, this is a fact. Houston improved to 6-3 (and 3-0 against division opponents) with . Yes, it came at Jacksonville, and the , if you look closely enough, have postage stamps on their foreheads. (This team has mailed it in.) But in a season filled with injury and inept quarterback play -- 72 Million Dollar Man couldn't even crack the century mark in pa sing yards Sunday (really) -- Bill O'Brien and the showed they can do enough to win. Houston remains the cream of the crap that is the AFC South. 8) The New England Patriots are still the Super Bowl favorites Sunday night wasn't the prettiest performance of the year for the . In fact, the New England defense looked downright confused and dreadful at times. And Seattle deserves so much credit for . But this is a fact. to sed his first pick of the season, but don't let that cloud things. He's playing brilliant ball. And the ooze so much talent around him on offense. Also, New England's defense -- despite various i sues -- remains one of the stingiest units in the NFL . The Pats boast the best quarterback and head coach in NFL history. In 2016, it's the ... and everyone else. Yes, even after Sunday night's home defeat. 9) The Cleveland Browns are quite simply the worst It's kind of odd: Cleveland is getting a pa s for this fact. Are the fans just numb to the annual losing? Is it because LeBron finally delivered Los Angeles Clippers Jersey a championship to Cleveland, and then the Indians laudably overachieved and made it to Game 7 of the World Series? The are winle s and hopele s. They won't be favored in any game the rest of the year, and I will pick against them 16 times this year. (Yes, I anticipate they'll be joining Detroit in the infamous 0-16 Club.) Blame prior regimes. Blame (most especially, of late) owner Jimmy Haslam for rotating in all of these unqualified people leading up to this point. Blame . And make sure you fault the current bra s, specifically Paul DePodesta, whose famous "Moneyball" approach had the quarterback-starved pa s on franchise QB to stockpile more picks. I'm surprised there isn't more anger. Maybe it's because this is more of a simple (and accepted?) fact than an opinion. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. 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