By Jared Sandler | @SandlerJ

Opening thought: How many weeks until a team thinks they tie the game last-possession, only to miss the game-tying extra point?

COWBOYS NOTEBOOK

Random Thoughts
*Unsung hero #1: Barry Church for doing a great job jamming Giants TE Daniel Fells off the line on that critical 3rd down play on New York's final possession.
*Unsung hero #2: Morris Claiborne for doing a helluva job locking down OBJ, who had a minimal impact.
*I don't care what anyone else, but Tony Romo IS a Super Bowl-caliber QB. Whether he gets there or not isn't all on him. But if people ask if he's good enough to lead a team to a Super Bowl, the answer is a resounding YES.
*The Cowboys were handing out gifts like Santa Claus for most of the game and they still found a way to win. Sloppy, but their 1-0 is no different than anyone else's.
*

Wilcox broke his nose when he hit Beckham. Told trainers to leave it alone until after game. Beckham told him he'd never been hit that hard.

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) September 14, 2015

*Sean Lee is still healthy. #Winning
*

if you don't love dez bryant then i don't even know pic.twitter.com/pnVbQpgGgP

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) September 14, 2015

KICKING OFF

Is there a more dominant player at his position than Rob Gronkowski? If not Gronk, who is?

MY NFL TOP FIVE

*A ranking not at all based on record but my own one-person committee's thoughts.

1. New England (1-0)

: They look determined...plus, the NFL's big punishment for cheating? $200,000. That's a weak incentive.

2. Green Bay Packers (1-0)

: Pick five guys from your a rec flag football league and Aaron Rodgers would make you want them on your fantasy team.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1):

Not going to knock them off the list because they fell to the team ranked number one on my board.

4. Seattle Seahawks (0-1)

: Bad start. Not ready to bump them off the list.

5. Arizona Cardinals (1-0): If Carson Palmer can stay healthy...

*Had Dallas put forth a stronger showing, they'd have found themselves on the list. Maybe next week. They're on the fringe.
*Cincinnati, Tennessee, Buffalo, and Arizona looked good, but I'm not ready to put them in the top five.

HUDDLING UP

NCAA

• The highly touted Michigan State-Oregon matchup lived up to the hype. Michigan State won, but Oregon still has a great chance to make the playoff if they win out the rest of the way...and they very well might.
• Baker Mayfield has the charisma to serve as a team's leader at the quarterback spot...I'm not sold that he's got the talent to win multiple big games in a year. But maybe he doesn't need to. I was really impressed with the Oklahoma defense.
• Jacksonville State...oh, no!

NFL

• Gronk...Oh my!
• James Jones wasn't good enough to make the Giants, but he scores two TDs and plays a big role in the Packers week-one victory. Did the Giants miss out? Perhaps. But I think more of it is pointed towards Aaron Rodgers doing what great quarterbacks do: make ordinary receivers look way better than they are. Even Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, both of whom would be exceptional with any quarterback who isn't a total putz, benefit from having a guy who puts it on the money everytime.
• Guessing that the Seahawks make a strong push to get a deal done with Kam Chancellor sometime this week. The pressure is certainly on them after they not only lose their opener, but do so surrendering 34 points to the Rams.
• And please do not place me on that sure-to-grow Rams bandwagon. Not buying in just yet.
• I'm also not buying the "Marcus Mariota-is-going-to-take-the-league-by-storm" campaign. Helluva debut for the rookie, especially doing it against the QB picked in front of him, Jameis Winston. I'm still not sold that he will be a Pro Bowl-caliber starting quarterback.

3-PIECE OF NUMBER NUGGETS

NCAA
-Oregon is 1-26 all-time in true road games against AP Top 25 opponents.
-Oklahoma's 17-point comeback was the largest lead blown by Tennessee at home in program history.
-Dalvin Cook's 266 rushing yard performance is the second-highest single game total in Florida State history (Greg Allen, 322 in 1981).

NFL
-The Seahawks fell to 23-1 when scoring 30+ points under Pete Carroll.
-Jameis Winston became the first player to throw a "Pick-6" on his first NFL pass attempt since Brett Favre (1991)
-Tony Romo has 28 career game-winning drives in the 4th quarter/OT, most by any quarterback since 2006.

HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE

Here were my pre-season picks

NFC
East: 1. Philadelphia 2. Dallas 3. New York 4. Washington
North: 1. Green Bay 2. Detroit 3. Minnesota 4. Chicago
South: 1. Carolina 2. New Orleans 3. Tampa Bay 4. Atlanta
West: 1. Seattle 2. Arizona 3. San Francisco 4. St. Louis

AFC
East: 1. New England 2. Buffalo 3. Miami 4. New York
North: 1. Pittsburgh 2. Baltimore 3. Cincinnati 4. Cleveland
South: 1. Indianapolis 2. Tennessee 3. Houston 4. Jacksonville
West: 1. Denver 2. Kansas City 3. San Diego 4. Oakland

Super Bowl: Green Bay over Indianapolis

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

In:
• NFL