ATLANTA -- Ten NFL teams are 6-3 or better. Eight are in the AFC. That shows me where the 2004 power resides.

With the exception of the Manning-skewed Colts (and the Jaguars, who are freaks of nature), the AFC Eight all have three things in common. They all can run, they can all throw it when necessary, and they're stingy when it counts.

Watching the Patriots' rout of the Bills on Sunday night, I thought of how the good teams really play the game these days. And I fear for the Eagles unless they start to develop a consistent running game behind that formidable offensive line of theirs.

The good teams are like the Patriots and Steelers. When they need to, they can run the ball with conviction and consistency. Corey Dillon had 26 carries, 151 yards against the league's fourth-rated run defense, Buffalo. Jerome Bettis had 23 carries, 101 yards against No. 9, Cleveland.

When they need to, the Pats and the Steelers can also throw the ball to extend drives and keep defenses from stacking up against the run. Tom Brady. Ben Roethlisberger. End of story.

Good teams might bend some on defense, but they don't get steamrolled. The Patriots are fifth in the league in points allowed, Pittsburgh second. The only time the Pats got their heads handed to them was in a turnover-fest at Pittsburgh.

Those are the three facets to good football teams this season. You don't have to be the best in all of them, but you need to be pretty good in every one of them if you want to win it all. Pittsburgh balances all elements the best right now, because the running game is ferocious, and no one can quite get a bead on where the Pittsburgh pass rush is coming from. Whether it's Duce Staley or Bettis at running back doesn't seem to matter. The Patriots are better than the numbers say. They're not bad at any important aspect, though they continue to be shaky defending the return game. They allowed the Bills their second touchdown on a return this year Sunday night, this time a punt return.

After that, the three teams that are the biggest threats, in order, are Baltimore, Denver and the Jets. Baltimore's problem, and the Jets' problem too, is that it all may not matter come January, because by being a Wild Card (they're both two games behind their division leaders), the Ravens would have to play three road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. Denver's sixth in points allowed and sixth in rushing; if Jake Plummer can harness his mistakes (how long have we been saying that?), the Broncos will be a handful for any team. Now, I never would have put the Ravens in with this group until I saw what Kyle Boller did at the Meadowlands yesterday. Played well. Played clutch. Looked like a real NFL quarterback. Maybe he has a chance to be a player in the playoffs this year.

San Diego and Jacksonville haven't shown yet they have staying power. We'll see. But the Bolts are helped by a pretty favorable schedule to help them, and suddenly they have a balanced offense.

That brings us to the Colts. Last week I might have dismissed them from serious consideration because of their swiss-cheese defense. But I liked what I saw on the highlights of their defense yesterday. They can't go in hoping Peyton Manning can outscore everyone, as last winter proved. Maybe they can get a teetering defense to play OK. I doubt it, but maybe. If that happens, and if they win the division, they'll be at home for at least one game on the beloved carpet in January.

The NFC? I liked what I saw of the Falcons beating Tampa Bay yesterday, but I'd like to see a more consistent Mike Vick. I still see someone too prone to run at the first instance of pocket trouble, and I wonder how long he'll last playing that way. The Eagles? They have to be better than 24th in the league in rushing. They have to not be so T.O.-centric, to borrow a perfect phrase from my Eagles beat-man buddy, Reuben Frank. And it would help if they could be stouter against the run.

As things stand now, it's hard for me to envision whoever survives the AFC not being a touchdown favorite in Super Bowl XXXIX. At least.

THE FINE FIFTEEN

1. Pittsburgh (8-1). In 14-, 24- and 14-point wins the past three weeks, the Steelers run-pass ratio is 71-29. The NFL average ratio is 46-54. Next up to try to stop the run: the Bengals, at Cincinnati.

2. New England (8-1). Corey Dillon: eight games, 900 rushing yards.

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3. Philadelphia (7-1). Eagles allowing 131 yards a game on the ground. That has to stop, starting tonight in Dallas.

4. Indianapolis (6-3). The defense still isn't good enough for January, but the last two weeks are a start.

5. Atlanta (7-2). Two Vick observations: That bullet pass he used to throw on almost every dropback has been replaced by a bullet when necessary, and a nice, soft touch when one is required. And he still looks to run far too quickly on many of his dropbacks.

6. Green Bay (5-4). Brett Favre is 56 touchdown passes behind Dan Marino's career record of 420. May not matter in a few years, when Peyton Manning throws his 500th.

7. Baltimore (6-3). Is it my imagination, or does Ed Reed make a game-changing play every week?

8. New York Jets (6-3). If I were Herman Edwards, I would not be listening to WFAN around 1:05 this afternoon. That's when the Dog, Chris Russo, will spend the next five hours screaming about how horrible the Jets are at clock management. And boy, will he be right.

9. San Diego (6-3). Four sub-.500 teams in the next five games. It's hard to believe the Bolts could win the AFC West, but it's highly possible.

10. Jacksonville (6-3). Jimmy Smith is having the quietest very good year of any receiver in football.

11. Denver (6-3). Good time for a bye week. Plenty of time to let Mike Shanahan rumors percolate.

12. Minnesota (5-4). Missing Randy Moss isn't the reason why this team's losing. They're scoring enough. Other than Antoine Winfield, not one guy is playing great on defense.

13. St. Louis (5-4). Marshall Faulk gained 139 yards against the 'Hawks -- and was still the second-leading ballcarrier in the game ...

14. Seattle (5-4) ... to Shaun Alexander. By 37 yards.

15. Chicago (4-5). The offense can't score, but that defense is studly.

THE AWARDS SECTION

Offensive Player of the Week

Kyle Boller's poise in the fourth quarter and overtime helped the Ravens beat the Jets 20-17. John Iacono/SI

Baltimore QB Kyle Boller. For as many slings and arrows as he's taken from me and everyone in my profession, Boller deserves to take a bow for the overtime win against the Jets, because instead of the Ravens winning in spite of him, they won with him contributing. Boller, 19 of 33 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, brought Baltimore back from a 14-0 deficit and was particularly sharp on late-game drives when the pressure was on. His third-and-five strike to Kevin Johnson for 21 yards in OT, a throw I'd have sworn he couldn't make, led to the Ravens' game-winning field goal. Tremendously encouraging point for the Baltimore offense.

Defensive Player of the Week

Indianapolis DE Robert Mathis. Normally the defensive end on the Colts making all the headlines is Dwight Freeney. Not against the Texans. Mathis had three sacks and three forced fumbles in the Indianapolis rout of Houston. Maybe, just maybe, the Colts have enough defense to be a factor in January.

Special Teams Player of the Week

(tie) Detroit WR Eddie Drummond. His two punt returns for touchdowns -- 55 and 83 yards, both in the fourth quarter -- gave the Lions a chance at overtime. No one in the league has more than two punt returns for touchdowns all year. Drummond got two in one quarter.

Chicago CB R.W. McQuarters, whose 75-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the offensively toothless Bears a 14-7 lead in Tennessee. The Bears eventually won, 19-17. McQuarters must have run 120 yards on the play, zigging and zagging his way on a textbook never-say-die return that saw at least eight Titans miss opportunities to tackle him. Terrific individual play.

Coach of the Week

Chicago coach Lovie Smith. Look, I've only been covering this league for 21 years. But I cannot figure the Bears winning three in a row. Winning 23-13, 28-21 and 19-17 -- with the winning points coming on a safety in Tennessee in the latest game -- with Craig Krenzel playing quarterback ... I am bordering on speechless, the Bears averaging 23 points a game the last three weeks.

Goat of the Week

Detroit QB Joey Harrington. Son, you're too old, too far advanced in the game, to go 11 of 33 against the 21st-rated defense in football.

FACTOID THAT MAY ONLY INTEREST ME

Wednesday is Bonita Favre Day in La Crosse, Wis. That's the day she'll be at the Walden Books in Lacrosse signing Favre, the family- and league-authorized book about the Packer QB.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Andre Johnson is the best wide receiver in the game right now. Better than Terrell Owens, better than Randy Moss, better than Marvin Harrison.''

-- ESPN's EA Sports NFL Matchup host Merril Hoge.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Compare the Pittsburgh's run-pass ratio to the great Steelers teams of a generation ago. Substitute Staley and Bettis for Franco and Rocky, and you're on to something. Charting the run-pass ratio of the 2004 Steelers versus the seasons Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl:

ENJOYABLE/AGGRAVATING TRAVEL NOTE OF THE WEEK

I lucked into a security line at Newark Airport with no one in it Saturday, and I handed the TSA woman at the top of the line my driver's license and boarding pass. "Thank you,'' she said cheerily. Fifteen feet later, when I had to remove my laptop to send it through the X-ray machine independent of the other other bags, the woman said, "Boarding pass?'' I showed it. Three paces later, as I prepared to step through the X-ray, a third woman said, "Boarding pass, please.''

Three women, within a first down of each other, all needing to see my boarding pass in an empty line at Newark Airport. No wonder the airlines are all going bankrupt.

TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK

1. I think these are my thoughts on the NFL's TV situation in the wake of the $8 billion extension signed by CBS and FOX:

a. The new deal allows for flexible scheduling. During the last seven weeks of the regular season (11 through 17), the NFL will have the right to switch the Monday Night Football game a total of five times. These decisions will not be in the hands of the network that wins the MNF package, but rather a partnership between the NFL and the network, with the league having final say. Here's the interesting part: The network with the Sunday doubleheader game each week will be allowed to keep one game per week from being switched to Monday, in all likelihood the late Sunday doubleheader game seen by most of the nation. And FOX and CBS will, in addition, be allowed to reject one request per year by the NFL, in any of the seven weeks, to a switch. An NFL guy told me the switches would be made about two weeks out, but the timing of the changes hasn't been determined with certainty yet. Let me give you an example of how it would work, say, on this past weekend. It's a FOX doubleheader weekend. The Monday night game Philly at Dallas. It's unlikely that would be moved anyway because of the Cowboys fans across the country. But let's say the NFL wanted to make a switch. The league goes to FOX and says, "We want Minnesota at Green Bay for Monday night.'' FOX exercises its "doubleheader" veto and says it wants that game for its broadcast. Then the NFL says, "We want Seattle at St. Louis." FOX chooses not to exercise its one wild-card veto, and so the NFL gives FOX Philadelphia-Dallas and puts Seattle-St. Louis on Monday night. I'm not saying this would happen in real life, but that's how the mechanics of the thing would work.

b. The Sunday night/Monday night package probably won't be negotiated until next October. None of the deals needed to be negotiated until then, but FOX and CBS came up with bids that satisfied the NFL, and the league wasn't willing to wait to see if the economy downturned and forced the bids lower next year.

c. ABC's no lock to keep MNF. The Monday night package is up in the air. I'm no Bob Iger, but the league thinks Disney's going to have trouble ponying up the money for one contract in the ESPN/ABC deal [Disney owns both], never mind two. NBC and FOX are in play for Monday night as well, and there's a 95 percent likelihood that the Monday night winner will be an over-the-air network, not cable. I don't see NBC making a business deal that doesn't make business sense, though.

d. A Thursday night package is likely, but coaches will hate it. The NFL, at least the money-grubbing part of the NFL, wants to take eight late-season games and put them on in prime time, mostly on Thursday nights, likely with a cable entity. "We're not kidding ourselves," one NFL source told me. "We know the coaches and even some owners will hate it, because it will disrupt everyone's schedule late in the year. Some owners don't think with their wallets." Picture the 8-4 Patriots winning a big game with the Jets at home on Sunday, then having a game at Oakland the following Thursday night. But I have a feeling mo' money will steamroll this concern. The coaches didn't like the idea of Monday Night Football 34 years ago, either. This is different, though. This isn't a one-day change on the calendar. It's a major inconvenience, and could be a factor in the pennant race.

e. Rupert Murdoch tried to buy rights for every NFL game beginning in 2006 but was rejected. They never talked money because the league felt even if the offer was a little better with one conglomerate, "We'd have lost too much promotional value by being on only one network," the source said.

2a. I think there isn't a soul in the NFL who believes Maurice Clarett has raised his stock, or clarified any question about his personal or professional life, by ratting on Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel. I'm not saying he shouldn't have done it. I don't care one way or the other. But as one front-office guy told me last week: "I can guarantee you in our draft room someone would ask a question about how much we can trust him. How do you trust a guy who took the money and all the favors, and when he thought it suited him betrayed the school?"

2b. I hear from a veteran college scout that the cupboards are bare at Ohio State and Penn State. "This looks like it could be the first year, maybe ever, that there's not a single first-day draft choice from Ohio State or Penn State," the scout said. "That is absolutely unbelievable to me.''

Falcons DT Rod Coleman has six sacks this season. Bob Rosato/SI

3. I think the toughest defensive tackle to stop is Rod Coleman of the Falcons. His first step is deadly, and the double-teams he takes up free Brady Smith and Patrick Kerney to be effective single-blocked defensive ends.

4. I think, as strange as it sounds, there are some Florida scribes who believe Steve Spurrier could become a candidate for the South Florida job if it comes open after this year. Four reasons:

1.) Spurrier's son, a high school receiver in Virginia, is being recruited by the Bulls, and evidently it's down to South Florida or Marshall for the young Spurrier. Imagine Dad coaching son.

2.) South Florida enters the Big East next year, so there's a chance it will become a big player in college football.

3.) There are many golf courses in the Tampa area.

4.) Did I mention the golf courses already?

5. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. Want to read a great story that illuminates the life of a man who is going to be a star in the coaching business? Read Pete Thamel's story in Saturday's New York Times about Utah coach Urban Meyer. What great detail. It's hard to imagine Meyer not becoming a good coach wherever he lands.

b. Please release that album, U2. We're dying for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Did you see the New York Times called it U2's best album ever?

c. Coffeenerdness: Do not trust room-service coffee, especially late at night. It always lets you down, which it did this morning at the Atlanta Airport Marriott.

d. Great, great Miller beer commercials showing officials interrupting all sorts of life forms with penalty flags and funny penalty calls.

e. Nothing like three scrambled eggs, bacon, raisin toast, hash browns and a large orange juice at the Waffle House yesterday morning for $6.83.

6. I think the crushing block Hines Ward made on Orpheus Roye in the open field, with Roethlisberger running for a first down, will be celebrated for a long time today in Steelers meeting rooms. Because of the idiotic crap Gerard Warren spewed about wanting to take Big Ben's head off before the game, the players were on edge during the game, and whenever Roethlisberger took off running, the Steelers went on his protective alert. That is one together team.

7. I think Derrick Blaylock might have had the quietest 186-yard rushing game in an NFL debut ever on Sunday in New Orleans. Is a soul talking about Blaylock this morning?

8. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of the NFL week:

a. What's all the debate about Dan Marino supposedly "ripping'' the Miami Dolphins on HBO? He said two things: Wayne Huizenga's weakness as an owner is he's too nice a guy. (Ooooh. Headlines!) And he said he faulted the coaching for the Dolphins being outscored 68-3 in the first nine third quarters of this season. (Wow! Killer stuff!) Get a life, Fin-watchers. What Marino said should be more than obvious to the most cheerleadingest of all Miami followers.

b. Congratulations on the new home in Georgetown, Paul Tagliabue.

c. Underrated player of the weekend: Atlanta defensive end Brady Smith. On one play late in the first quarter, the 6-foot-5, 274-pound right end crashed into Tampa Bay tight end Will Heller and left tackle Derrick Deese -- a 539-pound roadblock -- and blew them up to get at Brian Griese, forcing an incomplete pass.

d. The Falcons set an NFL record every home game: Most fans, advertisers, hangers-on, pals-of-Arthur Blank flooding the sidelines, pregame.

e. Mike Holmgren is one game over .500 as Seattle's coach. Somewhere, Paul Allen is steaming.

f. Memo to Bernie Kukar's officiating crew: Watch the tape of your Bucs-Falcons game this week. And see how many extra-curricular jousts there were after the whistle. There must have been seven or eight, a couple with roundhouses thrown. No excuse for that stuff, men. Throw someone out. That'll stop it.

g. How embarrassed is Drew Bledsoe this morning? Throwing a pick to Troy Brown? The receiver he made famous, now playing nickel for the Patriots, who covering Eric Moulds and intercepting a poorly thrown pass ... nights don't get much worse than that.

h. Tom Brady tapes his upcoming appearance on Letterman tonight. It airs Friday, I believe.

i. The Giants have now allowed Bertrand Berry and Alex Brown -- neither of whom, I believe, are favored to have a bust in Canton 20 years from now -- to get four sacks apiece in the last two weeks.

j. It's amazing, and a little sad, that the Minnesota special-teamer Derek Ross actually had possession of the fumbled Robert Ferguson kickoff return in the final minute of the Packers-Vikings game. And Ross was down before the pigpile got the ball disengaged from him and into the hands of a Packer. Green Bay then moved a few yards into field goal range and won. That stolen ball, quite likely, is the difference between the Vikings having a two-game lead over the Packers this morning and the Pack and Vikes being tied at 5-4 atop the NFC North.

9. I think it's not time for Eli Manning yet. Let Kurt Warner lose the job. He hasn't yet.

10. I think it's hard to be sane about the numbers Peyton Manning is putting up these days. But I thought Sean Salisbury went a tad overboard early this morning, saying Manning was playing the best quarterback of all time right now. Uh, Otto Graham led his Cleveland Browns to the championship game of his league 10 straight years, winning seven of them. Joe Montana had magic Sunday after magic Sunday. I'm hardly one to talk about cooling one's jets for a team or a player, but can the guy win a very big one first? And can we say how great he is after he shreds better defenses than the 28th (Minnesota) and 25th (Houston) in the league?

WHO I LIKE TONIGHT, AND I DON'T MEAN AL MICHAELS

I'm thinking upset. Now, understand I can't pick games. If I lived in the future I couldn't pick 'em. But there's something about Bill Parcells getting his team up for must-win games, and the middle of the Philadelphia defense, which has been prone to allow some rushing-game pounding, and Terence Newman on Terrell Owens, and the Cowboys crowd getting lubed for a Monday-nighter with the hated Eagles ... I can't get scientific on this one. I just like the Cowboys. Final: Dallas, 19-16.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week.