Pick Six: Neil Reynolds says Dallas impressed in week six

We didn’t have the greatest of early games on Sky Sports on Sunday night as Detroit eased to a 17-3 win over Minnesota, but we did have some very exciting contests around the league that we showed you via RedZone.

And what about the Dallas Cowboys with the performance of the night, knocking off the defending champions Seahawks in Seattle. After recording wins over the likes of Tennessee, St. Louis and Houston, Jason Garrett’s men announced themselves as serious contenders in the NFL this season.

With an obvious nod to the impressive Cowboys, here is what caught my eye in NFL Week 6...

Cowboys are for real

This was a relatively complete performance for the Cowboys.

I felt like the Dallas Cowboys faced a really stern test in heading to Seattle on Sunday night and I didn’t even think they needed to win to show they are the real deal this season. For me, all the Cowboys had to do was play a competitive game against the Super Bowl champions in a tough environment. That would have provided genuine hope for the remainder of the season.

Well, the Cowboys did that and a whole lot more, recording a 30-23 victory that would not have been as close as that had Dallas not gifted Seattle 17 points via special teams mistakes and a botched snap between center Travis Frederick and Tony Romo.

Those errors aside, this was a relatively complete performance for the Cowboys. Sure, they rushed for 162 yards powered by a sixth consecutive 100-yard game for DeMarco Murray and controlled the clock for more than 37 minutes, but others made plays as well. Tony Romo kept some key plays alive with his improvisational skills, wide receivers Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams made some tremendous catches and the defence stood up to the task of slowing Seattle’s big pairing of quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch.

Seattle are going to be there or there abouts at the season’s end, I truly believe that even after they fell to a second defeat in five games. And it looks like the Cowboys will be right there with them.

Rodgers shows his class

I was following the Miami Dolphins-Green Bay Packers game closely last night via RedZone and continue to be so amazed and impressed with quarterback Aaron Rodgers as he led his team to a 27-24 win in dramatic fashion.

The Packers passer was under pressure for much of the night thanks to an outstanding effort from the Miami defence, yet he still managed to complete 24 throws for 264 yards and, most importantly, three touchdowns.

With the Dolphins clinging to a four-point lead late in the game, Rodgers delivered a big conversion throw on fourth down to keep the decisive drive alive. And then his winning score was an example of the chess match that is American football. The Packers fooled Miami by splitting athletic safety Andrew Quarless out like a wide receiver. Miami countered by sending linebacker Phillip Wheeler to that side of the field. It was a total mis-match and Rodgers easily threw the game-winning score with three seconds remaining.

It was a spirited effort from the Dolphins, but Rodgers showed that even on a day where the defence had the upper hand against him at times, he can still rise to the top and deliver the win.

Lions prove defence is no fluke

The Detroit Lions have long been known as a team with an exciting attack and a less-than-stellar defensive unit. That’s why it was somewhat surprising to see them head into last night’s meeting with the Minnesota Vikings as the top-ranked defence in the league.

It should not come as a surprise any more. The Lions were totally dominant on the defensive side of the ball, recording eight sacks and three interceptions against Minnesota’s rookie quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater.

It was far from pretty from an offensive point of view, but the Lions were without genuine stars in wide receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Reggie Bush. This was not a flashy win, but it was an impressive one and the Wembley-bound Lions have now won four of their first six contests.

More ties please

The great and legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi once revealed his disdain for draws in the NFL by stating: “A tie is like kissing your sister.”

In other words, not very nice!

But I’ll take more ties if they’re like the 37-37 classic served up by the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night, which ended when Cincy’s Mike Nugent shoved a 36-yard field goal attempt wide right as time expired in the extra period.

I know from explaining football and cricket to NFL players in the past that Americans have a general aversion to anything that ends in a draw, or a tie, as they call it. But I actually think the NFL should do away with the complicated overtime rules until the playoffs and just have a tied game end as a tie.

At least those results would go some way to breaking the necessary tie-breakers at the end of the season. And sometimes it’s good to go away from home and get a good draw… okay, I know they’re not listening to me anymore! Americans hate ties and we’ll just have to leave it at that.

Brady responds again

Those who don’t like the New England Patriots can moan about their “pretty-boy quarterback” all they like and talk about how Tom Brady is very comfortable with three Super Bowl rings in the trophy cabinet, millions in the bank and a supermodel wife at home.

Those who do that and expect Tom Brady to rest on his laurels, simply don’t know the man.

Ever since he was chosen in the sixth round of the NFL Draft, Brady has played with a chip on his shoulder that will never be removed. He plays with a steely determination and every time you write him off, he takes joy in proving you wrong.

It’s happening again, right now. Brady was terrible a few weeks back in a Monday Night loss to Kansas City. He was washed up, the Patriots were finished and questions were asked about where would the team go from here?

Since then, New England have scored 43 points against the Bengals and racked up another 37 in last night’s 37-22 win over Buffalo that gives them four wins for the year and first place in the AFC East. Panic over… Tom Brady is still pretty special and the Patriots are a playoff team. Again.

Browns control the Steelers

Cleveland have proven themselves to be one of the feel-good stories of this young season and their 31-10 demolition of the Pittsburgh Steelers has them in the playoff mix with a 3-2 record.

What was most impressive about this win – against a team that has dominated them in recent years – is that Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer only completed eight passes and other areas of the team stepped up and delivered in a big way.

The defence held Pittsburgh to just one garbage time touchdown and the running back duo of Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell combined for 36 runs for 155 yards and three scores. That kind of big-time production on the ground meant this one was never really a contest and the Browns controlled proceedings from start to finish.