The Fight For Second

THIS NFL SEASON is something altogether different now. Sometime in the middle of Sunday evening it ceased to be the annual carefully constructed exercise in athletic socialism—in which drafting, scheduling and free agency ensure that many teams, however flawed, can smell the Super Bowl in December—and devolved into a widely televised and very lucrative game of king of the hill. One team stands at the top, and other perfectly serviceable challengers struggle upward, fruitlessly. Laughably.

It's difficult to pinpoint the telling moment, but this one will suffice: Just before halftime in Buffalo, Tom Brady threw his fourth touchdown pass to Randy Moss, giving the New England Patriots a 35--7 lead over the helpless Bills en route to a 56--10 blowout and a 10th straight win. This was hours after the wounded Indianapolis Colts, the defending Super Bowl champions, had escaped with a desultory 13--10 home victory over the mediocre Kansas City Chiefs. And after the Pittsburgh Steelers, so impressive in winning seven of their first nine games, had fallen to the terrible New York Jets 19--16 in overtime at the Meadowlands.

The Colts (8--2) and the Steelers (7--3) had loomed as roadblocks. Indianapolis, after all, had led the Patriots deep into the fourth quarter just two weeks earlier (before losing the game, and a week later, losing defensive end Dwight Freeney, the franchise's second-most important player). Pittsburgh had looked much like the 2005 Super Bowl champion, with a stout defense and a very solid Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. Both teams now look distinctly unthreatening.

"We come in here, we've won three games in a row, everybody's saying we're the second-best team in the league," said Steelers veteran wideout Hines Ward after the loss to the Jets. "Then we go out and lay an egg like this. It's humbling. It brings everybody back to earth. There's going to be an adjustment period."

Attention turns elsewhere in search of a team to play the role of Hickory High to New England's South Bend Central. To the NFC, where Dallas has lost only to the Patriots and on Sunday rode the Romo and T.O. Show to a win over Washington. Where Brett Favre and Green Bay won their ninth game on Sunday, a workmanlike demolition of the free-falling Carolina Panthers. Where the New York Giants went to Detroit and handed the Lions their second consecutive loss. Or maybe even back to the AFC, where the Jacksonville Jaguars continued to define winning ugly in a 24--17 victory over the disappointing San Diego Chargers.

Those teams must all grow accustomed to having their performances measured not only on the scoreboard but also, in some larger way, against what New England is doing. Now it is not enough to win; teams must do so in such a way that it inspires belief in the possibility that they can defeat the Patriots between now and Feb. 3. It is that, or tempt irrelevance.

And they all know it. Four days before losing to the Jets, Pittsburgh's All-Pro safety, Troy Polamalu, stood near his cubicle at the Steelers' practice facility and assessed the games to come. "To tell you the truth," Polamalu said, "I don't even know who we play after the Jets."

New England, Dec. 9 in Foxborough?

"Oh, I'm aware of that one," said Polamalu. "But I'm not looking forward to that game. Who would be getting excited about playing them right now?" Yes, Polamalu was smiling, and no, he doesn't fear any football team. But his point is clear. No rush to face a force of nature.

THE COWBOYS might be excited about it, though. Before there was Super Bowl 41 1/2—the Patriots' 24--20 win over Indianapolis on Nov. 4— there was a mini-showdown in Dallas on Oct. 14. New England punched in a late touchdown to make a 48--27 victory look more convincing than it was. The Cowboys will remember leading 24--21 early in the third quarter and killing consecutive drives with penalties (including a brutal fourth-and-one holding call), while the Patriots answered with a touchdown and a field goal to take control of the game.

"We made plays on them," says Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. "We had two series where we could have gotten the lead back or tied the game, and we hurt ourselves both times."