1. Separation Sunday in the NFC » The road to the NFC East title goes through the Meadowlands. Sort of. The Giants, once flying high, then left for dead, and now stuck in the middle, host the Cowboys and Eagles the next two weeks. New York has blown every ounce of momentum from its 5-0 start by dropping five of six, but can crawl within a game of first place with a win Sunday over the Cowboys. Meanwhile, the 7-4 Eagles and 6-5 Falcons square off in Atlanta. There are four NFC teams (Philly, New York, Atlanta and Green Bay) in the lead wild card pack, making the next two weeks all the more important as the playoff pecking order is determined. — James Irwin

2. Searching for Eric Dickerson » Tennessee’s Chris Johnson has his sites on further re-writing the record books this season. He’s already set the record for rushing yards in November (since the AFL/NFL merger). He’s currently tied with Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson’s record of six consecutive games with 125 yards or more. He could break that record Sunday. But the real prize for Johnson is Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105. Going into the game against the Colts, Johnson rests at 1,396 and is averaging 126.9 ypg. That means he needs 710 the rest of the way — or 142.0 ypg. The remaining defenses the Titans face average 118.84 rushing ypg, so there is a chance. One of those teams are the woeful Rams, who are ranked 28th in the league at 148.5 rushing yards yielded per game — yikes! — Leon Saffelle

3. Can the Colts and Saints stay unbeaten? » There are still two unbeatens remaining as we head into the season’s final quarter. Indianapolis (11-0) must deal with a resurgent Tennessee squad looking to make history after an 0-6 start. New Orleans, of course, comes to FedEx Field to face the Redskins. It’s a short week for the Saints (11-0) after trouncing New England on Monday night. And Washington has zero pressure on it at this point, playing both the Cowboys and Eagles tough the last two weeks and beating Denver the week before. Indianapolis has been walking a fine line recently: A four-point win over San Francisco; the last-second drive against the Patriots; a two-point win at Baltimore; and finally, overcoming a 13-point deficit at Houston. This will catch up to them soon. — Brian McNally

Upset special

Falcons over the Eagles

Atlanta will be without quarterback Matt Ryan — and that’s a huge problem. But this amounts to a playoff game for the Falcons (6-5), who trail the Eagles (7-4) and Green Bay (7-4) for the two NFC wild-card berths and would lose a tiebreaker with the Giants (6-5) thanks to last month’s heartbreaking loss at the Meadowlands. This is Atlanta’s best chance to stay in the mix. Michael Turner may not be 100 percent, but he and the Falcons running backs need to help take the pressure off backup quarterback Chris Redman. Philadelphia has problems of its own, of course, with DeSean Jackson (concussion) unlikely to play and Brian Westbrook (concussion) still out as well. — Brian McNally

Fantasy watch


Five to start

1. QB Matt Schaub » After losing three straight games, the Texans need a win and the Jaguars’ defense is 26th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game.

2. RB Rashard Mendenhall » The Raiders’ rush defense is the second worst in the NFL and the Steelers back is averaging 5 yards per carry.

3. RB Matt Forte » The Bears back has been held under 50 yards rushing the last four games, but he faces a Rams’ rush defense that is allowing 148.5 yards per game.

4. WR Jason Avant » The last three games the Eagles receiver has 17 catches for 276 yards and DeSean Jackson is unlikely to play Sunday against the Falcons.

5. WR Mike Sims-Walker » The Jags receiver is on pace for 1,184 receiving yards this season and he had six catches for 81 yards the last time he faced the Texans.

Five to sit

1. QB Tony Romo » He has five touchdowns to three interceptions the last four games and has a 13 to 10 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his career against the Giants.

2. RB Ryan Grant » The Packers back has rushed for over 100 yards only once in the last five games and scored just two touchdowns in that span.

3. RB Brandon Jacobs » The Cowboys held Jacobs to 58 yards on 16 carries earlier this season and the Giants back has just two touchdowns in the last eight games.

4. WR Santonio Holmes » The Steelers receiver has only two touchdowns this season and the passing game will take a big hit if Ben Roethlisberger is unable to play.

5. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh » In the last two games, the receiver has just six catches for 50 yards. He’s been held under 40 yards in six games this season.

— Jeffrey Tomik

Game to watch

Titans at Colts, 1 p.m., CBS

Based on the standings, this game is meaningless. The Titans are 5-6 and the Colts are 11-0 and headed toward a division title. However, the Titans have won five straight since inserting quarterback Vince Young into the lineup. Also, running back Chris Johnson is trying to become the first runner in NFL history to rush for at least 125 yards in seven straight games. But Tennessee can’t afford another loss if it harbors serious playoff hopes. Indianapolis has won five straight games by eight points or less — and four of those were by four points or less. The game features the NFL’s top-ranked pass offense (Colts) vs. the 31st-rated pass defense. — John Keim

Examiner Power Rankings

— James Irwin