When Tony Romo(notes) looked around his locker room after today's 24-7 win over the Raiders, he saw a lot of guys he could point to and say, "I am thankful for this guy, because he makes my job easier."

If Bruce Gradkowski(notes) said that about anyone in his locker room, he was just being nice.

The Raiders played hard this afternoon, and while it might be a stretch to say that they gave the Cowboys a game, they didn't embarrass themselves, either. The effort was there. What's not there, though, is the same level of talent enjoyed by most other NFL teams. It becomes especially clear when they play a team like the Cowboys who are loaded at the skill positions. It doesn't even look like the two teams are playing the same sport.

When Tony Romo drops back, he's got guys in front of him who can protect him from a pass rush. With the time that gives him, he's usually able to locate a receiver who has been able to get separation from the defense.

When Gradkowski drops back, he's got about two seconds before a defender crushes him. And if, somehow, he's able to get away from the rush, he'll be looking downfield for an inexperienced receiver who probably has not found a way to beat the coverage.

He's playing with such a high degree of difficulty. It's like he and Romo are both carpenters, and when Romo goes to work, he gets a hammer, a screwdriver, a drill, a saw and a tape measure. Gradkowski gets a ball of yarn and a breadstick.

I felt bad for the Raiders today. They're trying. Tom Cable has them playing hard, but they just don't have the horses. It's not Bruce Gradkowski's fault, and it wasn't entirely JaMarcus's Russell's fault, either. It's a bare cupboard. There are haves and have-nots in the NFL right now, and the Raiders demonstrated to all the haves today just how thankful they should be.

Shutdown Corner presents the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		If he had been facing, for example, the number eight quarterback on this list, Bill Belichick may have punted on that 4th and 2 Sunday night. He wasn't, though. He was facing the number one quarterback, and he knew that guy was going to score from anywhere on the field.
2. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		This week, Favre became your NFL leader in quarterback rating. In a year where we're blessed with five different quarterbacks with a rating of 100 or better, Favre stands at the top. He's thrown 285 passes, and just three of them have been intercepted. Favre might be asked to do a little bit less than most guys on this list (he's 16th in the league in pass attempts), and he might be in the most quarterback-friendly situation in the league, but he's been close to perfect. Wrangler sales are even up.
3. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady made some tremendous throws in a losing effort on Sunday night. He didn't get the win, but he did play well enough to continue his rise towards the top of these rankings, where he belongs. He's been over 300 yards in his last four games, which isn't something he hadn't done since Week 1.
4. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Saints fans are going to be mad at me, but I'm afraid it had to be done. Through his first five games, Drew Brees threw for 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. Over his last four games, Brees has six touchdowns and seven interceptions. That's not good, and I'm afraid it mandates a slide in the rankings. His yardage totals and completion percentages have still been awesome, but to stay in the top two, I'm afraid we need a better TD-to-INT ratio.
5. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Schaub rises a spot, even on his bye week, because it wasn't a particularly great week for the best quarterbacks in the league. But now, after everyone's had their bye week, let's check and see where Schaub ranks in some key statistical categories. He's third in yards passing (behind Manning and Brady) and tied for fifth in touchdowns (behind Manning, Brady, Brees and Kurt Warner(notes)). Not at all shabby.
6. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A brutal week drops Benjamin a few spots: He was 20-of-40 for 174 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. In a huge game for the Steelers, he came up with a quarterback rating (51.5) fewer than 10 points away from JaMarcus Russell's(notes) (43.6). That's not what you're looking for.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It was a very solid week for Rivers, who faced an Eagles defense that ranks fifth in the league in opposing quarterback rating. He went 20-of-25 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. This will be the fourth straight week where Rivers checks in at number seven.
8. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		A good, but not great effort from Rodgers against the Cowboys: 25-of-36, one touchdown, no picks, and just 189 yards. Not good enough to move him up the list, but not bad enough to move him down. He's been sacked 12 more times than anyone else in the league, and more than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees combined. Dallas got him four times.
9. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
		Welcome, Kurt! I'd still like to see more consistency from you, but two consecutive phenomenal weeks will get you in the mix. Over his last two weeks, Warner's thrown seven touchdowns against zero interceptions. If he has another good game this week, it'll mark the first time all year he's strung three quality games together. He's playing the Rams, too, so it's not exactly a tall order.
10. Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles
		The 450 yards against San Diego were really nice, but would have been nicer if a few more of them had come in the red zone. Again, I'd like to see some more consistency. Really, it was a three-way toss-up here between McNabb, Romo and Palmer, so I thought I'd go with the guy coming off the best week. I'd consider McNabb's grip on the 10th spot very, very tenuous.
Noses pressed against the glass: Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys

Mike Zimmer, Defensive Coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals. If you'd have told me that Carson Palmer(notes) would throw for 178 yards, and the Bengals would run for 56 yards, I'd have guessed that they would've lost to the Steelers yesterday by about four touchdowns. It's not that I thought the Bengals defense was poor; it was that the previous week against a good defense in Denver, the Steelers offense looked like a freight train juggernaut fired out of the depths of hell. The put the Steelers on lockdown yesterday, though, keeping Ben Roethlisberger(notes) confined to the pocket, giving no space to Rashard Mendenhall(notes), and recording five sacks (albeit, with a bit of help from Roethlisberger, who may actually crazy glue the football to his hand every time he takes a snap). And they did this while rarely sending more than five guys at the quarterback. Outstanding job by Zimmer and the Bengals defensive staff.

Bernard Scott(notes), Running Back, Cincinnati Bengals. I try to avoid having two people from the same team in the same top-five list, but I'll make an exception for a win the size of the one the Bengals had over the Steelers yesterday. Scott scored the game's only touchdown on a first-quarter kickoff return, and it proved to be the difference on the scoreboard. Scott also gets consideration here because if Cedric Benson(notes) is out for an extended period of time, the Bengals will still be fine at running back. The rookie sixth-rounder from Abilene Christian has some sweet feet.

Hunter Smith(notes), Punter, Washington Redskins. I'm calling it the Play of the Day from yesterday, regardless of anything Bill Belichick did. I don't know who was responsible for the play design; Jim Zorn, Sherm Lewis, Dan Snyder, or some drunk who happened to be driving by practice one day. It worked beautifully, though. The Redskins lined up to kick a long field goal, then shifted into punt formation, then ran the fake out of that. Credit goes to 316-lb. Marcus Thomas, the Broncos defensive tackle who did try to cover Mike Sellers(notes) streaking down the field, but was unsuccessful because, you know, he's a 316-lb. defensive tackle. Great call.

Charles Woodson(notes), Cornerback, Green Bay Packers. Charles Woodson turned back the clock yesterday. That was a vintage defensive tour-de-force in the near-shutout of the Cowboys. Woodson made a diving interception in front of Jason Witten(notes) at his own goal line to keep the Cowboys from getting back in the game. Before that, he clobbered Tony Romo(notes) on a backside blitz, knocking the ball loose, which led to the score that made it 17-0.

Reggie Wayne(notes), Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts. Larry Fitzgerald(notes) and Andre Johnson(notes) get most of the attention in "best receiver in the game" conversations, but Reggie Wayne doesn't have to take a backseat to anyone. The Patriots let him work one-on-one most of the time last night, and whoever tried to cover him, he punished. The move he used in the game-winning touchdown was beautiful. I don't think there's a corner in the game who could've stopped that.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		The Saints are turning scoring in the NFL into something more golf-like, where certain teams have handicaps. Against the Dolphins, Falcons and now Panthers, the Saints have given them a bunch of strokes on the front nine, and then Drew Brees just squashes them on the back nine. Brees also retook the lead in 2009 quarterback rating this week, at 106.1.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Manning threw the ball 40 times in the first half against the Texans. Not that that stat makes him a great quarterback, but it does illustrate pretty well just how much the Colts are leaning on him. Earlier in the season, Brees and Manning were clearly numbers one and two here, leaving everyone else to fight for third and beyond. Now, though, we're at a point where the one-two combo could be broken up at any minute.
3. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		The Steelers were pretty convincing in the second half last night, weren't they? They didn't leave much doubt about who was the better team on that field. What you saw in the second half was legitimate knockout power. Even if a fight isn't going their way, Ben Roethlisberger and the receiving corps still give them the ability reach out and turn your lights off at any moment.
4. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		Favre had a week off, so he'll sit quietly here in the four spot. There are two things I'll say while we're here, though. First, you know the traditional second-half meltdown from Brett Favre, where he turns into a Juggs machine that can only throw to the other team? That's not coming this year. Secondly, Brett Favre is exactly one-tenth of a point behind Drew Brees in quarterback rating. In fact, the top five guys (Brees, Favre, Peyton, Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers(notes)) are separated by less than three points.
5. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Handsome Tom makes a big jump this week, not necessarily based on his 25-of-37, 332-yard performance against the Dolphins, but because his level of play over the last few weeks has so good. It was really only a matter of time before Brady pushed back into the top five; I just wanted to see him string a few good weeks together. He's very close to being vintage Tom Brady.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		It wasn't the finest of weeks for Matt Schaub, and I should probably deduct more points because it was a week where the Texans really needed him. Still, he leads the league in yards passing and touchdown passes (tied with Brees with 17), so you can't move a guy like that too far down the list.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		Rivers threw a pair of interceptions on Sunday, and I was afraid I was going to have to move him down. That last drive, though, salvaged the week, to say the least. I know the Giants secondary isn't the most fearsome unit ever assembled, but still, that's on the road, on the other side of the country, in a hostile environment against a desperate team.
8. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
		Okay, maybe I got a little carried away with Aaron Rodgers at number three last week. Eight is probably a little low for him, too, but there's got to be some kind of a punishment when you throw three interceptions to the Bucs, and even worse, take six sacks. Rodgers is on pace to be sacked 74 times this season. Maybe his offensive line isn't great, but for all the great things Rodgers can do, no one gets sacked that much if they have any kind of pocket awareness and know when to get rid of the ball.
9. Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals
		Sort of like Tom Brady, I feel like Carson Palmer's finally rounding back into his true form, too. His stats from Sunday's game against Baltimore don't really do his performance justice. Cincinnati won that game in part because they had an effective all-around offense, and Baltimore didn't. That starts with the quarterback.
10. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Romo wasn't spectacular on Sunday night against Philadelphia, but he did enough to keep himself in the top ten here. Any time you go on the road and win (against a non-Washington-based team) in the NFC East, you've accomplished something.
Noses pressed against the glass: Kurt Warner(notes), Arizona Cardinals Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos

Apparently, it doesn't take Terrell Owens(notes) to cause a receiver controversy in Dallas -- all you need is a trade in which Jerry Jones got fleeced by the Detroit Lions, one maddeningly underachieving diva, and an undrafted free agent that came out of nowhere to put up two of the finest performances at his position in recent memory.

The diva in question is Roy Williams, the ex-Lions receiver who hasn't come close to fulfilling the price Dallas paid for him -- first-, third-, and sixth-round picks in 2009, plus a seventh back in 2010. Through Week 8 of the 2009 season, Williams has 14 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He's fourth in receiver productivity on the team, behind Jason Witten(notes), Patrick Crayton(notes), and some guy by the name of Miles Austin(notes), who has put up individual-game performances of 250 and 171 receiving yards in the last month. Austin is getting his first starts this season, and he's making the most of it. The same cannot be said of Williams, whose resemblance to Owens is only in sheer disgruntlement.

"I'm the No. 1 receiver," Williams recently told the Dallas media. "But things are just going No. 2's way." No. 2 is obviously Austin, and Williams wasn't done shifting blame away from himself.

"(Austin) gets the ball thrown correctly his way. I'm stretching and falling and doing everything. Everybody who's been here's balls are there. Our footballs are everywhere right now."

What Williams is trying to say, in a convoluted fashion, is that Tony Romo(notes) is throwing footballs with extreme efficiency to everyone else on the team, and hurling Ryan Leaf goatballs to him. That, and not Williams' sloppy routes and alligator arms, is the reason Dallas' "star receiver" has caught 14 of the 37 balls thrown his way, for a pathetic catch rate of 38 percent (as opposed to Crayton's 51 percent and Austin's 62 percent).

Now, it's come out that Michael Irvin offered tips to Williams and Austin during the Cowboys' training camp about anticipating the snap count and using correct catch technique. Irvin recently said that while Austin was a willing and grateful pupil, Williams wasn't interested. Say what you will about Irvin, but there haven't been many receivers in NFL history with his absolutely demonic competitive spirit once he got on the field. Austin understands that every little bit helps. Williams clearly doesn't.

The Cowboys have a major problem on their hands with Williams. His high price forces the team to put him in a lead role he hasn't earned and doesn't deserve, and it may take more bad plays and blamescaping before this sad experiment comes to an end.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Once again, this week features the Brees/Manning flip-flop at the top, with Brees placing his foot squarely on top of Manning's head this week. He did have the one interception where Falcons DB Brett Grimes climbed air to snatch it out of the sky, but Brees spent most of the game being pretty damn brilliant. I'm not predicting 16-0 for the Saints, but if there's one reason they can get there, it's that the play they get from the quarterback position gives them a very big margin for error in every game. Like last night, for example.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Not a great week for Peyton, but his season so far gives him enough juice to keep the top spot. It's kind of funny that the guy can complete 31-of-48 passes for 347 yards, and I'm calling it "not a great week," but that's the level of quarterback play we're being blessed with this year in NFL National Football League. Sorry, I wanted to try that.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		The Vikings outplayed the Packers, but did Brett Favre(notes) outplay Aaron Rodgers? Sort of yes, sort of no. Favre was just about flawless, but the burden on Rodgers was far greater. The Packers had no Adrian Peterson to lean on, they don't have a great defense, and they didn't get to play with a lead. They asked Rodgers to do everything, and he responded with 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. I'm giving the edge to Rodgers based on degree of difficulty. As a side note: You know who has the best quarterback rating in the league right now? It's not Brees, and it's not Manning ... it's Mr. Aaron Rodgers. The top two is dangerously close to being broken up.
4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
		Continuing the Rodgers vs. Favre on Sunday discussion from above, I do have to acknowledge some bias towards Rodgers. I know this, and you know this. I still think a slight edge to Rodgers is the right call. Favre's been amazing, but the Minnesota offense is so perfectly tailored to putting the quarterback in a great position. Obviously, that doesn't mean just anyone could step in and put up the kinds of numbers Favre is putting up, but he doesn't have the weight of an entire offense on his shoulders, either.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A week off for Pittsburgh, and Roethlisberger stays put in the five-hole.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Matt Schaub slides a bit this week after a zero touchdown, two interception performance against the Bills. I don't think Schaub will mind, though, because he also got some good news this week: he might soon have a running game, courtesy of Ryan Moats(notes). If the Texans add a consistent ground game to what Schaub and Andre Johnson(notes) are already doing ... sweet sassy molassey, that's going to be quite an offense.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It's so difficult to hash out the bottom of this list every week, because there's so little separating so many quality quarterbacks, but it seems like Philip Rivers is the one guy who can be counted on for consistency. His QB rating has been 93 or better in his past four games, and he's never been below 84.5 on the year. Thank you, Phil, for making this slightly easier.
8. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Just 15 minutes and 30 seconds into the Cowboys/Seahawks game, Tony Romo had already hit five different receivers. By the end of the game, 10 different Cowboys had caught passes. I love that stat, because it shows that a quarterback is getting through his progressions, making all kinds of different reads, and isn't relying too heavily on one guy. Three stellar weeks for Romo and counting.
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		Here's what Flacco accomplished on Sunday: 20-of-25, one touchdown, no interceptions, one win against an undefeated team and one big, sloppy wet kiss from Dan Dierdorf avoided after the game. I like Dierdorf, but he does tend to get carried away at times ... and yet, the unyielding river of verbal lust that he lavished on Flacco on Sunday was completely warranted.
10. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady had the week off, so let's talk about the two other guys who were considered for this spot. First, Eli. After reaching as high as number two on this list, he is now completely gone. Sorry. There are too many good quarterbacks here for three bad weeks to be tolerated. Second, Mr. McNabb. Great, great game on Sunday, but you know what I'd like you to do? Have two of them in a row. You've burned me before, sir.
Noses pressed against the glass: Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants; Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

Before the start of the 2009 season, most NFL observers without a specific rooting interest would have told you that in the NFC East, the favorites had to be the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins capable of competing for the division only if everything went right. Well, we know how things have gone for the Redskins, but things are definitely looking up for the Cowboys. The undrafted Miles Austin(notes) is looking like a threat of Drew Pearson proportions, Tony Romo(notes) is playing consistently well recently, and the combination of their huge offensive line and three-headed running back attack makes Dallas a very tough team to stop. Now that DeMarcus Ware(notes) has jumped off the milk carton, the Cowboys look strong -- they certainly did when they demolished the weak-kneed Seahawks, 38-17, at the Jerry Jones Den of Iniquity today.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are up to their usual Jekyll-and-Hyde tricks. Two weeks after an embarrassing loss to the Raiders in which the playcalling of Andy Reid was called into question by the boo-birds for the five millionth time, and a mere six days after they took advantage of a Redskins squad who basically forgot to show up for Monday Night Football, Philly took the wood to the Giants, 40-17. They did it without Brian Westbrook(notes), who was out with a concussion, but they did have gamebreaking threat DeSean Jackson(notes). Jackson scored on a 54-yard reception, giving him six plays of 50 or more yards this season. And they did it with the power running (!) of halfback LeSean McCoy(notes) and fullback Leonard Weaver(notes), who combined for 157 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. And they did it with a ravenous defense that limited the Giants to two touchdowns and 163 first-half yards (whole the Eagles were racking up 262). The Giants are flagging, having lost three straight, and they seem to have no answers for an offense that has lost the ability to run with consistency and control the tempo and momentum of a game.

So, when the Eagles welcome the Cowboys to the Linc for Sunday Night Football next week, the game will put the division leaders, each at 5-2, against each other in what should be the first step in a thrillride for supremacy down the stretch. Last time these two teams met, it was in the 2008 regular-season finale. Philly destroyed Dallas, 44-6, going on to the NFC Championship game while the Cowboys simply went home. Don't believe for one second that Dallas has forgotten how their season ended.