The Denver Broncos continue to win and the Oakland Raiders continue to lose.

Nothing else in the NFL makes sense anymore. Parity, shake hands with unpredictablity and your weird cousin, disfunctionality.

DeMarco Murray steps out of the time machine as Jim Brown, circa 1960, and suddenly the Dallas Cowboys are relevant again. The St. Louis Rams use trickery to beat Seattle and the Pittsburgh Steelers use two old men on defense to turn back Houston.

Wonder if Willie McGinest has heard from Patriots Coach Bill Belichick now that Chandler Jones is out for a month with his hip injury.

So what if McGinest is 42? This is the NFL, 2014. Anything can happen, from the commissioner’s office in New York to every locker room across the land. Who would have thought the NFL would mirror American society at large, where uncertainty is rampant.

Today you’ve got as much confidence in the Patriots as you do in Wall Street or Washington.

Advertisement

At least America has its team back. Just last week a news item said the Cowboys were no longer THE team, based on an annual survey of fans.

Mention the Cowboys and meddling owner Jerry Jones comes to mind. Or quarterback Tony Romo. Maybe even Dez Bryant.

Now the face of the Cowboys has become Murray. He’s rushed for 100 yards in seven straight games and evokes one of Jim Brown’s favorite quotes: Make sure when anyone tackles you, he remembers how much it hurts.

The Seahawks, last season’s Super Bowl champions, trade mad Percy Harvin to the New York Jets’ madhouse last week. Then Seattle comes apart against St. Louis, losing 28-26 when the Rams go against the script, using a fake punt and other deceptions to win.

The once-touted Seahawks defense has seven sacks, two interceptions and three fumbles in seven games. By comparison, the Buffalo Bills have 24 sacks. The Houston Texans’ defense has created 15 turnovers.

The Rams were lumped with Oakland and Jacksonville among the NFL’s sad sacks. Jeff Fisher came to St. Louis in 2012 to turn things around as the new coach. He wasn’t counting on quarterback Austin Davis as a catalyst.

Advertisement

Davis was a walk-on at Southern Mississippi, signed as a free agent by the Rams, cut and signed again. He replaced the injured Sam Bradford and Wednesday, Brett Favre was quoted in USA Today that Davis could be the next Tom Brady or Kurt Warner.

Ridiculous? No, it’s the NFL, 2014.

Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher said Pittsburgh’s defense was playing soft. It was rare criticism and it must have stung. The Steelers brought 36-year-old linebacker James Harrison out of retirement in late September. A month earlier the team re-signed defensive lineman Brett Keisel, also 36.

Monday night, the Steelers scored three touchdowns in 1:13 just before halftime to stun the Texans. Keisel’s interception off a deflected pass and his return to the Houston 8 helped Pittsburgh turn a 13-3 deficit into a 24-13 lead.

Quarterback Brian Hoyer, the Patriots’ cast off, has kept his job in Cleveland despite having Johnny Manziel looking over his shoulder. Kirk Cousins couldn’t keep his job as Washington’s quarterback despite some gaudy stats. Third-string Colt McCoy has the next start.

Or does he? Robert Griffin III has rehabbed his dislocated ankle and could be ready for next Monday’s game against the Cowboys.

Advertisement

The Patriots still tease. Tom Brady and the boys blow up Cincinnati 43-17 but the Bengals collapse again, losing to Indianapolis, 27-0. The Patriots have to hold off the Jets 27-25 in a game no one expected to be close.

Brady got protection and the offense scored points but the defense without Jerod Mayo was shaky. If Belichick gives McGinest a call – I am kidding, sort of – the head coach might call Lofa Tatupu, too.

The former Seahawks and one-time University of Maine linebacker is available. He tore his pectoral muscle in 2012 and had a tryout with the Broncos last spring. He’s 31 and living under the Patriots’ noses in eastern Massachusetts.

This is the NFL, 2014. Anything can happen. It already has.

Comments are no longer available on this story