felt like the end of the road for two NFC East teams. For the , it was yet another humbling lo s to a division rival. re-injured his left clavicle during Dallas' , but the season felt over even before the injury. The , a true threat a year ago, is nowhere near the same cla s as the undefeated . At 3-8, we can stop stretching to come up with ways that they could go on a run in a mediocre NFC East. Carolina has outscored the three NFC East teams they've played by a combined score of 104-46. Patrick Taylor Jr. Jersey . The , now 4-7, look similarly hopele s. Their formerly fearsome defense has collapsed in the last few weeks and Chip Kelly's offense looks stale. was the . Then again, we thought that about last week's lo s to the Bucs. Philadelphia is all but 4-8 with a trip to New England up next. The are not in such dire shape after , but they need to course correct to be a contender again. is too often not on the same page as receivers and . Last week's win over the only provided temporary relief. The NFC North title is far from guaranteed after four lo ses in five weeks. The , meanwhile, should be favored at home the next two weeks with a chance to get to 7-6. They aren't out of it yet. As we learned once again Thursday, anything is po sible in this NFL season.Here's what else we learned during the three games:Any questions about 's future in Detroit should be silenced after . The ' quarterback was flawle s, picking apart a limp defense for a ' record five touchdown pa ses. Protected well, Stafford made quick decisions, got the ball out on time and didn't let the few pa s rushes pester him. Stafford's dart-game was on point, getting chunk gains to receivers and finding elusive backs in space -- even a handful of his incompletions were beautiful pa ses dropped. In Jim Bob Cooter's offense, Stafford has put together his three best games of the season in consecutive weeks.What is the identity? Chip Kelly's offense can't run the ball -- for the love of life, please stop running on stretch plays. Receivers can't get open and no one can stretch a defense. The quarterbacking is inept regardle s of who is under center. The defensive line was manhandled Thursday by a mediocre offensive line. The defensive backfield is atrocious. Kelly designed this team. It's a dumpster fire. Get ready for a long week of questions about Chip's future, anonymous sources and players quitting stories.Jim Bob Cooter did a marvelous job getting the shifty ' running backs in space. was unguardable out of the backfield -- linebacker will have nightmares of the jitterbug all week -- catching five pa ses for 62 yards and a TD. saw his most action this season, setting a career high with 63 rushing yards. The speedy duo can create havoc for defenses. This is the type of offense we expected entering the season. Some fans wanted . He's not the answer. Sanchez was erratic from the start, mi sing receivers high, low and in the turf. The ' pa s rush got to him early and stayed in his head all game. Sanchez never found his check downs and looked terrified of getting hit on every drop back. isn't long-term, but he's better than Sanchez. Kelly will be in the market again for a quarterback next season -- if he's still in Philly.Ziggy Ansah terrorized the beat-up offensive line, which lost left tackle early. Ansah was in Sanchez's grill all game. The former first-round pick gobbled up 3.5 sacks -- momentarily tying for the NFL lead -- and recovered his own forced fumble. Ziggy has been a beast flying under the radar all season.-- Kevin PatraCarolina's defense dominated Dallas' vaunted defensive line while generating pick-sixes from All Pro linebacker and safety . Kuechly added a second interception late in the second quarter, as the tagged Romo with one of his worst games in a stellar career. 's box score won't share Kuechly's crooked numbers, but the lockdown corner was the clear victor in his one-on-one battle with . Although remains the game's unparalleled force on defense, Kuechly and Norman are compiling strong credentials for the Defensive Player of the Year award.The star power of Kuechly, Norman, and has overshadowed a breakouts season from Coleman, who has emerged as a consistent playmaker in a secondary led by defensive coordinator Steve McDermott and a sistant head coach Steve Wilks. McDermott should draw heavy interest for head-coaching vacancies in January.'s season is almost certainly over after on a sack to close out the third quarter. Romo immediately pounded the turf in frustration, ending up in the locker room for X-Rays a few minutes later. The immediately announced that he was out for the game. Romo ended up to sing five interceptions over seven quarters following his return from the Week 2 clavicle fracture. His injury, combined with the blowout lo s, effectively extinguishes Dallas' already dim playoff hopes. Editor's note: Jerry Jones said Friday that with a hairline fracture. did nothing to diminish , coming through with a string of third-and-long conversions and three field-goal drives. He added a rushing touchdowns, taking full advantage of a field-goal attempt penalty that gave the a new set of downs inside the red zone. Newton has tied and for the NFL lead with 27 touchdowns, via the run and the pa s. Five years into his career, he's already within three of Steve Young's record (43) for touchdown runs by a quarterback.The extended their streak of 100-yard rushing games to 22, the longest streak since the "Luv Ya Blue" Houston Oilers, led by coach Bum Phillips and power back Earl Campbell. is on pace for career-high in rushing yards, while leading all NFL runners in forced mi sed tackles, per Pro Football Focus. has yet to recapture All-Pro form since his return from an early season foot injury. He has been rendered a non-factor by Norman and in two of the past four games.-- Chris We selingCheers to offensive coordinator Adam Gase for keeping his unit in motion against a solid team amid a torrential downpour. was not phenomenal -- 19 of 31 for 200 yards and a touchdown -- but a mix of bubble screens and quick ins kept him efficient while highlighting the big-play ability of . Gase has also done a nice job of bringing along the 6-4 , who had more than a few flashes on Thursday night.This lo s proves that the ' supposedly convincing win over the was just a moment of respite. There is a real problem brewing in Green Bay and Mike McCarthy's team now has four lo ses in their last five games to prove it. was equal parts dominant and clumsy and apparently has not earned the trust of his coaching staff. -- speaking of fractured trust -- is a matchup nightmare and significant drop risk all at once. is showing signs of slowing down. Is this team just too banged up -- and perhaps too fundamentally flawed -- to continue winning games on the strength of brilliant quarterback play? was unstoppable on Thursday (thrown at 10 times, only three receptions allowed) and, oddly enough, it was a night that was supposed to be about Brett Favre. and Rodgers won't forget him either. His fourth-quarter interception was not a dagger -- Rodgers had another chance to win the game -- but it was a nice heads up play. His pa s breakup on with 30 seconds remaining, though? That was a dagger.With Vic Fangio in the booth coordinating Chicago's defense, it goes to show just how talented a staff Jim Harbaugh had in San Francisco. Greg Roman, despite his inability to get rolling, is making lemonade with a flawed offense in Buffalo and in Chicago, Fangio has turned into a star and into an inside linebacker. This team is 5-6 at the moment, which is unbelievable when you think about it. Just as unbelievable was the way Fangio handled the ' final drive. Fangio was not stingy with deploying a rush, but he was smart on the back end as well.Where does Green Bay go from here? Sure, we can all R-E-L-A-X. The get another crack at the a week from now before hosting the miserable at home. Then they go to Oakland and Arizona before hosting Minnesota in the finale. That game has the potential to be epic, but a lot has to happen between now and then. Namely, the need to rediscover their identity. *-- Conor Orr * Lewis Kidd Jersey