Gregg Rosenthal

The first few months of the NFL season are about positioning. Now halfway home, this separation Sunday saw many teams open up breathing room in the race toward the playoffs.

Before Arizona and Chicago met, it was hard to tell which was the NFC contender. The Cardinals erased any doubt; the Bears are frauds. Championship contenders don’t lose 45-10 to the Bengals, then 41-21 at home. Chicago has Jay Cutler, and little else. The Bears can stay on the fringes of the playoff chase, just like the Packers can after a humiliating loss to the winless Bucs, but both teams were aiming higher in 2009. The Vikings are your NFC North champions.

The Colts and Patriots also practically wrapped up division titles with home wins. The Patriots are now three losses ahead of Miami; The Colts are four ahead of Houston. (The Jets, with three division losses, will also struggle to catch New England.) The AFC powerhouses face off next week in a matchup that could decide playoff positioning.

The Bengals essentially knocked out Baltimore from the AFC North race with a convincing 17-7 victory. There were no penalties or fluky finishes for Baltimore to blame. The Bengals are better. The Ravens could be in the running for the wild card, but it’s going to be nearly impossible to pass Cincinnati and Pittsburgh now.

It’s dangerous to draw too many conclusions from one slate of games, but this Sunday’s key division and conference games told us a lot.

Should the Saints lose a game?
The Saints remind me so much of the 2007 Patriots down the stretch of their undefeated regular season. They barely hang on every week, and some flaws have been exposed, but they don’t know how to lose a close game. The Panthers had the recipe for a big upset with great secondary play and a powerful running game, but even that wasn’t enough. The Saints might benefit in the long run by losing a game just to take some of the pressure off.

This Texans team is better
The old Texans would not have shut down Peyton Manning for most of the second half, helping the offense score 17 unanswered points to take a fourth quarter lead in Indianapolis. The old Texans wouldn’t have forced Manning into a Sage Rosenfels-esque fumble with just over two minutes left or a punt to get the ball back with a chance to tie the game. 

Slideshow   Week 11 action Take a look at shots from the NFL's 11th week of play in 2009. NBCSports.com

The problem for Houston Sunday is that this Colts defense also is better. Kris Brown’s heartbreaking field goal miss as time expired will get all the attention, but the defense put the team in position to win throughout the fourth quarter.

A great blitz executed by linebacker Gary Brackett forced a Matt Schaub interception with just over two minutes two go. Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Colts forced the Texans into a three and out when Houston had the lead. The Colts can't run, but they can win any type of game. They have learned how to be a few plays better than their opponents, and those few plays are often coming from the defense. That makes them very dangerous.

One drive can change so much
For 58 minutes Sunday, the New York Giants' shaky defense was the story. New York stuffed San Diego’s running game for only 34 yards; Philip Rivers had the team’s longest gain. The Giants’ beleaguered secondary was limiting Rivers to fewer than five yards per passing attempt. It looked like the Giants would go undefeated in its “one-game season.”

Then Rivers happened: 8 plays, 80 yards, and the type of season-altering drive that Chargers G.M. A.J. Smith envisioned when he acquired Rivers (and much more) for Eli Manning during the 2004 draft. Rivers’ final two throws — to Darren Sproles and the game-winner to Vincent Jackson — took up 39 yards and 29 thrilling seconds that will haunt the Giants during the bye week.

The Chargers have won three straight; they have escaped their usual early season hole and looked primed to apply pressure to the Broncos in the AFC West. The Giants have lost four straight and can’t buy a win against a quality team. And there are plenty more coming up on the schedule.

Good, bad ... and the middle
There has been a lot of talk about the lack of parity this year — the haves and the have-nots. Well, the Packers and Bears are among the few teams squarely in the middle. They can’t win tough games, and they usually beat bad teams. At least when the bad teams aren’t wearing orange Creamsicle uniforms.

Rodgers sunk Green Bay
The Bucs scored 38 points on Green Bay without mustering much of an offense. Tampa’s first touchdown was set up by a long interception return. The second one came from a blocked punt, and the third was set up by a long kickoff return. The final touchdown came off a desperation late throw by Rodgers.

There is a lot of blame to go around in Green Bay — including with the coaching staff — but Rodgers deserves his share. Many of the six sacks he took Sunday were the result of holding on to the ball too long. Rodgers’ mental mistakes helped give a dead team hope.

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