NFL Report: Cowboys surprisingly among NFL's best

Most of us did not see this coming. Most of us, in fact, thought the Dallas Cowboys were headed in reverse, a team primed to fall flat on its face after three straight .500 seasons that concluded with defeats in winner-takes-the-division games against each of its NFC East rivals.

Quarterback Tony Romo, 34, was getting too old and coming off back surgery that kept him out of the regular-season finale against the Eagles last season. Jason Garrett was first in line only when he was standing among the NFL's mediocre head coaches. Jerry Jones, the most meddling of owners, always pushed the wrong buttons. And with that defense, which lost DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher, and Sean Lee, every day was going to be doomsday for the Cowboys.

There is still plenty of time for everything to fall apart for the Cowboys, but that does not seem likely. Unlike the other Dallas teams that hung in the NFC East race only because the rest of the division struggled through much of the regular season, too, these Cowboys appear to be for real.

Offensively, there is no question about their authenticity, and we really should not be shocked by that development. As long as Romo was healthy, the Cowboys had more than enough weapons around him and a young, talented offensive line to protect him.

The Cowboys had some great lines during their run to three Super Bowl titles in four seasons a couple of decades ago. Before 2011, however, they had never taken an offensive lineman in the first round during Jones' 25-year tenure as owner/general manager. That changed with the selection of left tackle Tyron Smith in 2011, and he has quickly emerged as one of the best at his position. Two of their next three first-round selections - center Travis Frederick in 2013 and guard Zack Martin this year - have also been offensive linemen.

Put that line together with NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray and the receiving tandem of Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, and you have the makings of one of the best offensive teams in the league. The Cowboys head into Sunday's game against the New York Giants ranked fourth in yards and points per game.

What the Cowboys have done on defense, on the other hand, qualifies as shocking. They surrendered the most yards in the league a year ago and lost some of their best players. When asked how they could possibly be better in 2014, first-year defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli offered a simple explanation.

"We just got to get guys to have career years," he said during training camp.

Oh, that's all?

Like the Eagles in reverse, the Cowboys switched from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 last season, so familiarity has definitely helped. Marinelli went from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator, and that has helped, too. It's mostly a no-name defense that still has its flaws, but far fewer than it did a year ago, and part of it is that guys are having career years.

That the Cowboys are really good might surprise Eagles fans, but it should not disappoint. When you have two really good teams in the same division, it can bring out the best in both of them. (See San Francisco and Seattle.)

The Eagles and Cowboys do not meet until Thanksgiving Day in Texas, and then they will play twice in a span of 18 days. A lot can change between now and then in a league in which injuries so often dictate a team's destiny. The Eagles could have linebacker Mychal Kendricks and linemen Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis back by then. Other players are likely to be out.

Regardless, both games figure to be huge in determining the NFC East.

The Kansas City Chiefs return from their bye week with a difficult matchup at San Diego, where the Chargers are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents by 94-35.

Andy Reid, of course, had a pretty good thing going after regular-season bye weeks during most of his tenure with the Eagles. He was 13-0 in those games before losing to the Atlanta Falcons in 2012, his final year with the Eagles.

The Chiefs reached the bye week last season with a 9-0 record, but lost at Denver, 27-17, in what started a tumble to the finish line. Reid, however, stuck with his longtime plan of giving his players the entire week off before the bye this season.

"Sometimes it's good to get away and get recharged," he told reporters in Kansas City.

In most cases, San Diego is a great place to do that, too, but maybe not this time.

The Arizona Cardinals are 14-7 since former Temple coach Bruce Arians took over, and, with a game at winless Oakland on Sunday, they figure to go to 5-1 before they host the Eagles next Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

When matched with their statistics - they have the 29th-ranked offense and 25th-ranked defense - the Cardinals' success seems to be an anomaly. The record becomes even more impressive when you consider they won three games with Drew Stanton at quarterback in place of Carson Palmer, who himself seemed to be finished when he arrived in the desert last year.

The one thing the Cardinals have done very well so far this season is protect the football. They have just three turnovers - zero interceptions - and 11 takeaways for a plus-eight in that vital department.

WEEKEND'S BEST

TOP EARLY GAME

Cincinnati at Indianapolis

Since their Week 2 loss to the Eagles, the Colts have won four straight and averaged 34.5 points per game. Quarterback Andrew Luck threw 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions in those games. The Bengals are winless in their last two, and their tie with Carolina last week was like kissing a crocodile.

TOP LATE AFTERNOON GAME

N.Y. Giants at Dallas

The Cowboys, based on all the things we said above, have to be feeling pretty good going into this game. The Giants, on the other hand, were humbled by the Eagles and must play the rest of the season without top receiver Victor Cruz. The Giants are 4-1 at AT&T Stadium, with the only loss coming last season.

SUNDAY NIGHT

San Francisco at Denver

The 49ers were 18 yards and a Richard Sherman interception away from being the Broncos' Super Bowl opponent last season at Met Life Stadium. San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick is coming off his best passing game of the season. Peyton Manning - 15 touchdowns and three interceptions - is still Peyton Manning.

MONDAY NIGHT

Houston at Pittsburgh

The Steelers, after being routed by Cleveland last week, are in last place in the AFC North. The last time they finished a season in last was 1988. Texans running back Arian Foster has returned strong from back surgery, but Houston has lost three of four since a 2-0 start.