With the Tennessee Titans winning again on Sunday, maintaining a three-game lead in the AFC over the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets, it'll take a Tennessee collapse and a monumental surge from another contender to force the Titans -- now 10-0 and the NFL's goliath -- to play anywhere outside LP Field in January.

But if you want to call the fight for home-field now, after 10 rounds, then expect the rest of the AFC race to go the distance.

Behind the Titans, there are seven teams with either three or four losses going into Week 12. Six of these teams can look realistically at the prospect of winning a weekend off in early January or, just as easily, losing enough to have that become the first of many weekends off.

It's that tight. Only the Indianapolis Colts -- by virtue of playing in the same division as the Titans -- really can't set the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs as a goal.

And the mess of it all figures to make it exceedingly difficult for the sliding Buffalo Bills, at 5-5, or the stumbling San Diego Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars, both at 4-6, to hold out hope of playing into 2009.

For those teams, it's must-win every week just to have a chance. The rest must win to be assured of anything.

"My message to the players is that if you walk through the door on Wednesday and your heart's not racing a million miles an hour, then you don't have a pulse," Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. "This is why we do what we do. We put ourselves in position to have a big game at home at the end of November. That's where we are.

"That being said, I don't think too much has to be said this week."

The Dolphins' showdown this week against the Patriots provides a perfect picture of how parity has returned to an AFC recently dominated by New England, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and San Diego.

Last season, the Patriots finished with the NFL's first flawless 16-game regular season, and the Dolphins tied for the most losses ever, with 15. No team has finished as far out of first place -- 15 games -- as Miami did.

Yet when the Dolphins and Patriots meet Sunday, five days before Thanksgiving and with 10 games in the books, they'll do so with identical 6-4 records.

And that's just the start of a wild month ahead.

This week, there's also the 10-0 Titans taking on the 7-3 Jets, and San Diego facing a de facto elimination game against Indianapolis. Next week, the Steelers and Patriots square off, as do the Jets and Broncos.

It carries all the way through December, right through to a tantalizing Week 17 schedule that includes Indianapolis-Tennessee, Denver-San Diego, Buffalo-New England and Jets-Miami showdowns.

Like Sparano said, motivation shouldn't be short supply, but another piece comes with what could be important tiebreaker scenarios.

With six weeks left, the Steelers, Colts, Dolphins and Broncos have five conference games apiece to play, so that aspect of the race remains up for grabs as well.

The old NFL axiom holds that the season doesn't begin until Thanksgiving, when the best teams catch fire.

But this season, getting on a roll isn't just a nice way to head for the playoffs for the conference's powers. For all but the Titans, it's the only way to get there.

"Everybody knows this is the time when good football teams step up, and that's when good football teams step out," Colts running back Dominic Rhodes said. "Usually, in November and December, we play pretty well. We're doing that again, we just have to keep pushing on."

This story first appeared in Nov. 18's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.

Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.

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But the way the Tennessee Titans punch, that's the way they'll make anyone look and, by the end of another wear-'em-out, knock-'em-out Tennessee win, that's exactly what was left of the preseason darlings from north Florida.

You hit the Titans, they hit you back harder. You keep hitting them, and they'll hit you until they're the only ones left throwing blows.

And that's why - even if this team's prospects of winning in the playoffs will likely differ from their roll through the regular season - they stand alone at 10-0, three games clear of the Jets and Steelers, their closest competitors in a jumbled AFC.

It's also why this team can go into halftime down 14-3, as the Titans did in Jacksonville, and emerge from the locker room unfazed. Because they're counting on their own will, and that it will eventually break the will of the opponent.

"We couldn't score, we couldn't convert third downs, we were hurting ourselves with penalties," coach Jeff Fisher told reporters after the game. "We kind of regrouped at halftime. We had to put those things behind us to have a chance to make some plays. And obviously we did."

SN's WEEK 11 COVERAGE

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Brown: Romo makes a difference

Breer: Titans relentless, resilient

Eichenberger: Big Blue too tough for Ravens

Dillon: Packers poised to repeat in North

Scoreboard: Full Week 11 results

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Going down 14-3 is never part of any coach's game plan. But dominating the second half is becoming more than a fraction of the Titans' M.O. It's almost a certainty.

Over their 10-0 start, the Titans have averaged 5 points allowed per second half and outscored opponents 83-37 in the fourth quarter.

One of the biggest questions posed to them during this scorching run has been how they'd respond to playing from behind with an offense seemingly bereft of quick-striking potential. The answer: When they need to come back late, the other team will have nothing left.

Witness the Indianapolis game three weeks ago, in which the Titans trailed, 14-6. They stonewalled the Colts on a fourth-and-1 to set up the go-ahead field goal, then embarked on a 13-play drive that lasted 6:51 to push the edge to 24-14.

It was similar story written a bit differently in Jacksonville.

Two long Kerry Collins-to-Justin Gage touchdown connections, one in the third quarter and another in the fourth, wound up undoing any upset hopes the Jags harbored. But it was the rest of the plays around the final touchdown that typified just what the Titans had done to Jacksonville.

With 5:49 left, and a 17-14 lead in tow, it was clear to you, me and everyone in the 32nd row that the Titans were going to run the ball. To be sure, the Jaguars knew it. And they couldn't do a damn thing about it.

LenDale White up the middle for 6 yards. White up the middle for 5 yards. White up the middle for 2 yards. And then a 38-yard touchdown pass to Gage.

The next time Tennessee got the ball -- again, clearly looking to run it with 2:20 showing -- here's how things went: White for 6, White for a 1-yard loss, a White run for 5 that was offset by an offsides call on Jacksonville, White for 5, White for 4, and a Collins kneel-down to wrap things up.

So add that up. You've got 30 yards for LenDale White on eight carries if you count the no-play on the offsides, two first downs, a touchdown and a victory. That's all despite the fact that the defense, on every play but the touchdown, had to know exactly what was coming with play-calling so imaginative a kindergartner could've drawn it up.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the defense forced three straight three-and-outs to start the fourth quarter, then registered two sacks and an interception on the Jaguars' final two series.

These are signs of a team that's leaning on another, that has worn its opponent out, and is adept at shoving its size-14 on that foe's jugular.

It's also the sign of a club that doesn't panic in the face of adversity, sticks to its plan and believes things will play out the way they did on Sunday in Jacksonville, or against the Colts.

"This group doesn't lose its poise," Fisher told reporters.

That group, thus far, hasn't lost at all.

Next week, the Titans can take another step toward locking up home field for the playoffs against the 7-3 Jets. If the Titans win that one, there's a pretty good chance they'll go into the final two weeks of the season, with a tough Pittsburgh-Indy turn to wrap things up, carrying the third 14-0 start in league history and the No. 1 seed for the AFC playoffs.

Can they win like this once the calendar turns to 2009? That's still up for debate.

But with what we've seen so far, it's hard to figure there's anyone with whom they can't go toe to toe.

Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.

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1. Brett's day

Nights like Thursday are why Favre was brought in, and the esteemed vet delivered, emerging from the caretaker role he has played lately and becoming a playmaker once again.

On a third-and-8 on the club's first drive, Favre zinged one down the seam to tight end Dustin Keller for a 20-yard gain. On their way to a 24-6 lead, Favre put all he could behind a 46-yard bomb to Jerricho Cotchery. But more than anything, when Favre took chances, they weren't the kind that would get the Jets killed. He didn't force things.

Then there were the drives to put the Jets up late in the fourth and to give them the win in overtime, after the offense hadn't done squat for the first 22 or so minutes of the second half.

For a team that now figures to be playing some pretty big games going forward, starting a week from Sunday with the Tennessee Titans, the kind of assuredness in your quarterback that Thursday night probably brought can go a long way.

2. A "special" player

At the risk of overrating an underrated player, New York's Leon Washington is proving to be every bit the weapon - maybe even moreso -- that Kevin Faulk is in New England. The Jets scored the first three times they had the ball, and the diminutive former Seminole had a big part in all three.

Long kick returns by Washington set up the Jets' first two drives at their 36- and 38-yard lines, respectively. The first march ended with a 7-yard TD pass to Washington on a slip screen. And the Jets didn't need a third drive to score, as Washington blew through the wedge untouched for a 92-yard touchdown on a kickoff return.

Just like that, it was 17-6, Jets.

Washington is coming to define what these Jets are -- multifaceted and well-rounded. Also, you can't give enough credit to special teams coach Mike Westhoff, a veteran of the Jets staff, for the job he does with the kick units.

3. On the back end

The Jets' secondary has some pretty serious issues, which were apparent last night. Yes, they're playing without safety Eric Smith. But the problems are deep.

The positive was that Ty Law played a whale of a game for a guy who hasn't been on the field in 10 months. The bad news is that rookie cornerback Dwight Lowery, who has already been benched once, struggled mightily, Safety Abram Elam had his problems, and the Patriots' offense looked downright unstoppable once it went into hurry-up mode late in the first half.

Maybe Lowery gets better, and maybe Smith's return changes everything. But right now, facing a top-shelf passing game, or even a merely good one, is a problem for New York. Which is pretty stunning, when you consider the Jets employ two of the best defensive backs in the game in corner Darrelle Revis and safety Kerry Rhodes.

4. Un-Patriotic

It's hard to see what exactly got into New England last night, but there's probably going to be some gnashing of teeth Friday morning in Foxborough, especially considering the way they came back from an 18-point deficit.

The special teams snafus were glaring, as were the mistakes in the face of prosperity early in the second half -- namely, Ben Watson's unforced fumble and the bad snap to Matt Cassel that cost the club a series.

If the Patriots wind up losing the division by a game to the Jets, the truth is they only have themselves to blame.

5. Blue line

That said, the Patriots' offensive line looked like a high-level group for the first time since Tom Brady was blistering everyone last fall.

All the blame heaped on the Jets secondary here? A big part was New York's stunning inability to get a pass rush. The Jets came in with 31 sacks.

In fact, if you look at Cassel's scramble plays, those had to do with the Jets being undisciplined up front and failing to get in the quarterback's grill. On those occasions, the Jets' secondary did do its job.

So give credit where it's due. Cassel has proven that he can be a playoff quarterback in the NFL, and his line is getting better by the week to help him out. As anyone who watched this game can tell, it's hardly time to be writing the Patriots off.

Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.

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The Cowboys are just a game back of a three-way tie for the NFC's two wild-card spots.

So, from a mathematical standpoint, the Cowboys still have every chance to pass the exam that is the NFL's regular season. But right now, they're failing the look test miserably and circumstances won't get much more forgiving for the fallen sweethearts of September.

With their return to health, the Cowboys face a trip to Washington on Sunday night to face a team that beat the Cowboys 26-24 on Sept. 28, when everything was going swimmingly. The Cowboys also have brutal slate looming in December, a month that's been unkind of late.

Can the '08 Cowboys be fixed? Maybe.

When Bryan Broaddus, who helped build this team as a scout during the Bill Parcells years and now works in the Dallas media, looks at the roster, he finds no clear answer.

He sees a club that clearly misses Tony Sparano, both as the bad-cop assistant head coach and the offensive line coach. He was replaced by Jason Garrett, who also leaned on Sparano in play-calling last year, in the former role and Hudson Houck in the latter, and both men have disappointed after carrying big reputations into the jobs.

Houck's offensive line is at the heart of the Cowboys' problems. Somehow, a line that provided the foundation for the 2007 offense's wild success has become a liability. But the offensive line isn't the only group that has regressed.

The defense, as a whole, is a mess, too. The defensive front seven isn't shedding blocks. The secondary has been even more of a problem, with Anthony Henry in need of a full-time move to safety, both because of his own aging and the team's problems at the position, that can't be made until rookie Mike Jenkins can be counted on as a starting corner.

Then, there's a lack of big plays across the board. The sacks are there, but a good chunk of those have come in garbage time and the pass rush has been far from consistent. The big-play element that fueled the offense in '07 has been stripped as opponents have beat up Terrell Owens at the line of scrimmage and rookie running back Felix Jones has been shelved with a hamstring problem and the defense isn't taking the ball away.

In short: The Cowboys are a mess. As the Cowboys come off their bye, time is running short to find an elixir.

"They've got a lot of problems to addressed," Broaddus said. "I don't think this is something that gets fixed with a few guys getting healthy."

Good health, though, would provide a start. Jones, quarterback Tony Romo, guard Kyle Kosier and cornerback Terence Newman all could play Sunday at Washington.

Here are a few things coach Wade Phillips & Co. can do, too:

1. Get the ball to Felix Jones

For one, this will help get your bellcow Marion Barber rest, and that might count for a lot. "The Barbarian" is on pace for 306 carries, 102 more than last year's career high of 204, and after averaging 4.8 yards per carry in '06 and '07, he is running at a 3.9-yard clip this year. Barber has been under 3 yards per carry in three of his last four games.

Perhaps more important, Jones can bring a missing big-play element to the offense. Owens isn't as much of a game-breaking as last year, and it's hard to count on wide receiver Roy Williams too much after being thrown in the mix in midseason.

This isn't to advocate forcing the ball to Jones, although when a guy's averaging 8.9-yards per carry he probably should be getting more touches. Just having Jones back on the field and presenting the big-play threat will have an impact.

2. Stop somebody on first down

Everyone knows Phillips can dial up a pass rush, and he has a three-headed monster of edge rushers -- DeMarcus Ware, Greg Ellis and Anthony Spencer -- to lean on down the stretch. But the coach can't dial up exotic pressure packages unless that defense stops the run, a product of shedding blocks better, and can cover receivers out of its base package on early downs. Dallas needs to put more opponents in long-yardage, late-down situations.

If you want to know the root of the problem, well, that's where it is. All the defensive wizardry in the world means nothing if an opposing offense stays out of third-and-long situations on a consistent basis.

3. Deliver on special teams

The Cowboys' coverage units have been among the worst in the league, which isn't doing much to help the offense or defense. And the return teams, despite having weapons, have been wildly inconsistent.

The offense and defense need to be put in better positions to start drives. And missteps like the blocked punt, which cost the Cowboys the Arizona game, must stop for a team with little margin for error.

It's easy to place the blame on Bruce Read, the special teams coach, but these problems have long plagued Phillips' teams because he puts little emphasis on the kicking game.

4. Be accountable

There's no measure for this one, but it's clear that the Cowboys haven't been held to a high enough standard by those calling the shots. It's costing the team big time.

Phillips isn't the step-on-your-throat type, and Sparano had been the staff's bad cop before becoming the Dolphins' head coach in the offseason.

Team leaders like Jason Witten and Ware are important. But even more important is their teammates responding to the outstanding approach guys like that take and holding themselves accountable, rather than following Wade's "The Mistakes Are Mine" way of dealing with players.

Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.

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1. Pats can count on Cassel

It's hard to believe how far Matt Cassel -- the backup-to-the-stars turned Patriots starter -- has come. The Patriots' offense clearly isn't what it was last year. No one expected it to be, not with Tom Brady chained to a rehab program.

But Cassel is triggering an offense good enough to reach 6-3. On Sunday, he won without three of the four running backs who started the season on the active roster. And a lot of it is because of Cassel -- not despite him.

Here is how the Patriots trust Cassel: They came out in '11' personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) on 18-of-33 first-half snaps, and in '10' personnel (1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR) on six first-half occasions. And the play-calling disparity was 21 passes to 12 runs in the first half, during which the game plan is most clear.

Cassel completed 23-of-34 passes for 234 yards against Buffalo with no touchdowns or interceptions.

2. Bills' season on the brink

After slapping around San Diego on October 12, the Bills were 5-1 and poised to pull away in the AFC East with three consecutive games against division opponents on the docket. Since, they've been the worst team in the division. Injuries have played their part, no question.

Losing your best players on defense -- safety Donte Whitner and defensive end Aaron Schobel -- helps no one but the opponent. Quarterback Trent Edwards hasn't looked the same since the Chargers game, and it's pretty puzzling to watch his lack of presence in the pocket of late, after he was so good there in September and early October. The line in front of him -- which dealt with injuries to Brad Butler and Melvin Fowler plus Jason Peter's holdout -- hasn't played to expectations lately, either.

The small piece of good news for the Bills is that the rest of November features winnable games against the Browns, Chiefs and 49ers. The Bills must use that stretch of games to get the ship righted for another go-round through the AFC East in December.

3. The real Patriots?

The Patriots were Jekyll-and-Hyde through the season's first half, but from some of the adjustments to a different set of pieces, a personality has emerged. This club is not going to beat itself and will use a grinding style to churn out wins.

Normally, in football terms, that means relying on a strong running game. But with the Patriots, it's through a controlled passing game and a bend-but-don't-break defense, all of which prevents the team from getting into wild shootouts it's less equipped to win this year than last.

They extend possessions by winning on third down and forcing opponents to earn every point. A poised group like the Colts can chip away on a defense like that. But against younger clubs like Buffalo, those long drives just bring more chances for a big mistake.

4. Belichick manages a DB crisis

The Patriots have no one to blame but themselves for problems in the secondary. But like he has so many times in the past, Bill Belichick has found a way to coach around them.

The Patriots' crew of cornerbacks is a bottom-half-of-the-league outfit, and while there are two solid starting safeties (Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders) there's no depth behind them. And yet, Trent Edwards looked befuddled all day Sunday and threw the two costly interceptions, one that seemed to be a direct result of a bad read.

No one plays that chess game, mixing coverages and deceiving opponents, like Belichick. It's why he has won with guys like Earthwind Moreland and, yes, receiver Troy Brown at cornerback in the Patriots' Super Bowl years. And it's why they keep winning now despite subpar talent at that spot.

5. And the AFC East winner is ...

The Patriots have seized the role of favorite, for now, given that they've won the division five years in a row and have proven they can win with Cassel. But look out for those New York Jets.

Eric Mangini's Jets have been suffocating on defense of late and will give Cassel his stiffest test yet Thursday night, after which we'll probably know a little more about how this all will shake out.

Or maybe we should just remember that it wasn't that long ago that Buffalo was considered the division front-runner, which gives you a pretty good indication of how quickly things can change.

Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.

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