FanHouse Tony Romo

When the Eagles and Cowboys step on the same field, you know you're in for a battle. This will be the 100th meeting in the series, with the Cowboys entering the fay with a 55-44 lead in the previous 99 games. The Eagles have the leg up in recent years though, culminating in a Week 17 beatdown last year that wound up earning Philly a playoff berth over Dallas. (Not that Tony Romo would have done much had he made the playoffs anyway.)

Both teams are 5-2, and with the Giants losing to both these foes in recent weeks, this game will determine who has the inside track at winning the NFC East. So if you though this would be just another regular ol' 100th meeting between hated rivals, think again.

---

---

In case you hadn't noticed, sports these days are all about Goliath. In 2009, the Steelers, Lakers, North Carolina Tar Heels and now the Yankees have all won titles in their respective sports. Cinderella is yesterday's news. The teams that win these days are the teams that always win, and if you think that's boring, well, tough. You can kiss one of Derek Jeter's five World Series rings.

So with that in mind, we need to be really careful about overlooking the Dallas Cowboys.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All you ever hear about the Cowboys is what's wrong with them. Terrell Owens was a pain. Roy Williams is a loudmouth, too, and isn't good enough to replace T.O. Tony Romo's too concerned with his golf game and his high-wattage love life to ever attain his potential. The new stadium is ridiculous...

It's been a tough stretch of games for owners of elite quarterbacks, starting with a Week 5 that saw Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler on the sideline and going through last week's off-week for Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger. Rest easy, because the rigorous fantasy games featuring backup QBs are over.

This week, only Brett Favre gets a seat on the bench in terms of QBs you'd want to use in normal-sized leagues. Next week, you just have to make it without Matt Schaub. For owners of the seven QBs in the previous paragraph, it's smooth sailing unless an injury strikes.

---

---

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

You can take Terrell Owens out of Dallas, but apparently you can't take the immature and disruptive conduct, that Owens was known for, out of the Cowboys locker room.

Clarence E. Hill Jr.of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram knows that Roy Williams is frustrated with his numbers as a receiver this season. And Williams is quick to tell everyone who will listen that it's not all his fault.

It's that time of year again. Nope, not the changing of the leaves or the holiday season, it's that time of year when a Cowboys wide receiver isn't happy with quarterback Tony Romo, and allows himself the privilege of complaining to the media about it instead of, you know, talking to TONY ROMO!

Roy Williams, who was supposed to replace previously unhappy Terrell Owens as the top wideout in Dallas, has continued his career of underachieving, this year to the tune of 41.5 yards per game and just two touchdowns. While Roy has struggled, Miles Austin, an undrafted receiver out of Monmouth has done incredible stuff, including breaking the record in Dallas for yards receiving in a game (250 in week five) and scoring six times, five of which have come in the last three games.

None of those numbers matter, however, because Roy is the best in Dallas and Roy should get more looks. According to Roy.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A month ago, the Dallas Cowboys were a 2-2 mess; inconsistent on offense, generous on defense and seemingly already out of contention in the cutthroat NFC East following a mistake-filled thrashing by the then-undefeated Broncos in Denver.

Flash forward to Sunday's lopsided 38-17 victory over the battered Seattle Seahawks -- the Cowboys' third consecutive win in their swank $1.2 billion home -- and Dallas' turnaround from bashed to brilliant seems accomplished.

Quarterback Tony Romo completed passes to 10 different receivers, including touchdown throws to the increasingly popular Miles Austin (five catches, 61 yards), as well as to the forgotten Sam Hurd and the once-missing Roy Williams. Romo's performance, where he hit on 21-of-36 passes for 256 yards, capped off the first three-game span without an interception in his seven-year career.

---

---

The Early Games

New York Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-2): The Giants are supposed to have one of the best pass rushes in the league, but they just haven't shown up in the past two games, with zero sacks over that time. They must get pressure on Donovan McNabb to have a chance on Sunday. Eli Manning also must figure out how to rebound from his four interceptions over the past two games.

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

A few years ago, I used to swear by the draft-day method of avoiding all wide receivers for at least the first three rounds -- and sometimes up to the fifth in leagues with multiple flex positions. The reasoning was simple: the incredibly fickle nature of receivers. Not only is there more turnover from season to season in terms of production than at any other position, there is week-to-week turnover. Maybe it's time to get back to that theory. Witness, Miles Austin has accrued 16 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns over his last two games. Anquan Boldin, an upper-tier wideout before the season, entered Week 7 with 306 yards and one touchdown for the entire season.

---

---

ARLINGTON, Texas -- As the Atlanta Falcons' team bus rolled toward the Cowboys' unique stadium on Sunday morning, where more than 81,000 fans would eventually swarm inside, safety Erik Coleman soaked in the sight. No doubt, he was not alone in wonderment.

"I thought to myself, 'So, this is what a billion dollars looks like,' " Coleman said. "And once the bus rolled inside of it we just kept riding and riding. Usually inside of a stadium, the bus stops pretty quickly.''

Not this time. No nasty halt for the Falcons. No rubber burned.

And the Falcons kept it going that way, opening like they were cozily at home, taking the game's first possession, keeping the ball for more than 8 minutes, and building a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

The Early Games

New England (4-2) at Tampa Bay (0-6): Tom Brady threw for six touchdown passes last week, five in one quarter alone. And to be honest, it gets easier for him this week in London against the Bucs. Expect fireworks from the Patriots offense, as Brady is beginning to click with Randy Moss, and he's extremely happy that Wes Welker is back in action.

On defense, the Buccaneers don't have the speed or skill at the cornerback position to defend against Brady and the Patriots' aerial attack. On offense, the Bucs are young and inexperienced -- especially at the quarterback position where Josh Johnson is already looking in the rear-view mirror at competition from Josh Freeman.

Pick: New England