The Fine Fifteen

Marion Barber ran for 96 yards and a touchdown to lead the Cowboys to a 24-14 win over the Vikings. Ronald Martinez/Getty Imagas

MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

1. New England (7-0). The Patriots are seven games into the season. Randy Moss caught his ninth and 10th touchdown passes Sunday in Miami. That's the most of any Patriot wideout Since 1971! Since Randy Vataha! And there are nine games left in the season!

2. Indianapolis (5-0). Quirky schedule for the Colts. Have you noticed? They played five games in the first 46 days of the season, an average of one per 9.2 days. Starting tonight, they play six in the next 32 days, an average of one per 5.4. The first four of those six will be tough fights -- Jacksonville, Carolina, New England and San Diego. What kind of physical shape will Indy be in after that slate?

3. San Diego (3-3). I've got the Chargers and Jags, who haven't played since last Sunday, leapfrogging the Cowboys and Packers. I saw a lot of the Dallas-Minnesota game; the Cowboys underwhelmed me. And the Packers, unless they run better, are an offensive house of cards. The Chargers, meanwhile, are coming on, with Houston and Minnesota coming up.

4. Jacksonville (4-1). If Jags and Cowboys met on a neutral field this Sunday, I like Jacksonville. The Jags are holding foes to 11.6 points per game, and scoring enough. The reason they'll lose against Indy tonight won't be because their offense is feeble.

5. Dallas (6-1). Marion Barber III (19 carries, 96 yards, one touchdown) won the battle of physical running backs over the ballyhooed Adrian Peterson.

6. Green Bay (5-1). Coming off their bye, the Pack will face two interesting tests -- at Denver, at Kansas City. If they return to Wisconsin 6-2 at the midway point of their schedule, they'll be doing well.

7. New York Giants (5-2). Two differences between the Giants at 6-2 last year and the Giants at 5-2 this year: the confidence of Eli Manning and the omnipresence of a stifling front seven on defense.

8. Pittsburgh (4-2). Two road trips west. Bad loss to Arizona; worse loss to the beat-up Broncos.

9. Tennessee (4-2). Kerry Collins saved the Titans' bacon in Houston. He has no business playing that well this late in his career.

10. Carolina (4-2). John Fox has a quarterback decision to make ... but does he really have a quarterback decision to make? I think he's got to go with Walter Brennan. Testaverde, I mean, over David Carr.

11. Washington (4-2). Not a good sign to have the Cardinals play so heroically in your house and nearly win. But a W's a W ... a fluky onside kick is a fluky onside kick, and New England is on the horizon. No time to moan.

12. Chicago (3-4). Was the heroic last-second win in Philly the last gasp of a 2006 champion, or the first step toward 2007's revival?

13. Detroit (4-2). Jon Kitna has already been sacked 28 times. Detroit gave a weak offensive team, Tampa Bay, 422 yards on Sunday. There's not a lot of great news except in the bottom line -- Detroit has won two more than it's lost, and we're almost through October.

14. Tampa Bay (4-3). I still can't figure out how Jeff Garcia completes 37 passes, the Bucs churn out 422 total yards ... and still get only 19 points, against a pretty vanilla defense

15. Kansas City (4-3). For the record, Priest Holmes' first NFL action in 22 months: four carries, nine yards; one catch, minus-six yards.

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