Denver won?! You Must be Dreamin'

The last thing I really remember is that a bunch of us were gathered around the big screen in the Grill Room last night to watch the overrated Broncos of Kyle Orton take their licks against the vaunted Patriots of Tom Terrific.

Then, I guess, things got kind of blurry...

OK, I confess, we were pretty generous with the juice last night, but after the last shot was fired, I could have sworn I watched out of the corner of my open eye, as the Broncos kicked their way to an overtime win.

But that can't be right, can it?

Because aside from the fact that it would have meant the pupil, McDaniels, had schooled the master, Belichick...And aside from the fact that it would have meant the oh-so-average Orton had outplayed the oh-so-superior Brady...And even aside from the fact that a win would have moved the Broncos to a perfect 5-0...

Aside from all that...
The biggest single reason I am having trouble believing what I think I saw, is that the Broncos did all this improbable stuff playing in their pajamas!

Maybe I should lay off the sauce for a while.

Now onto a sampling of what the nation's sportswriters and columnists are saying about their football teams across every NFL city, because in the Grill Room we love the newspaper business, even if it hates itself.

(14) Cincinnati 17
(6) Baltimore 14

• Bengals' defense rises up and gives its heartbroken coach a lift.
• It's official, Ravens need to stop pointing fingers.
  

(28) Cleveland 6
(26) Buffalo 3

• This win was an ugly Brown with some beautiful thrown in.
  
• Go ahead, blame the guy who had the guts to dive on the hand grenade.

(23) Carolina 20
(22) Washington 17

• Carolina QB in no hurry to come to his senses.
• If the sorry Redskins put in a call to Cowher, do you really think he'd answer?
  

(9) Pittsburgh 28
(27) Detroit 20

• Steelers get three sacks and a win, baby...
• ...while Lions find out it only happens in the movies.
  

(18) Dallas 26
(31) Kansas City 20 (OT)

• Cowboys win! Now fire the coach already.
• Chiefs had a victory handed to them, but never had a chance.
  

(1) N.Y. Giants 44
(30) Oakland 7

• Eli dominates and proves heel be fine in New Orleans.
• This was as bad as it gets for Raiders...but it gets worse.
  

(7) Philadelphia 33
(29) Tampa Bay 14

• Eagles continue to soar through preseason schedule.
• The ink is dried, but Clayton can't make his mark.
  

(4) Minnesota 38
(32) St. Louis 10

• Vikings are the real deal. I mean, why worry?
• Rams put on rose-colored glasses and see progress.
  

(10) Atlanta 45
(8) San Francisco 10

• Abraham rises up and challenges his flock of Falcons to hold the line.
• Singletary has to be careful about being like Mike.
  

(20) Arizona 28
(17) Houston 21

• No reason to get defensive about Cardinals' heart-pounding win.
• Texan two-step is one step forward, one step back.
  

(11) Denver 20
(5) New England 17 (OT)

• Undefeated Broncos make quite a fashion statement against Patsies.
• Student schooled the teacher in this one.
  

(25) Seattle 41
(16) Jacksonville 0

• Seahawks' defense goes soul-searching and finds a shutout.
• Jet-lagged Jags hardly sleepless in Seattle.
  

(3) Indianapolis 31
(24) Tennessee 9

• Don't look for this perfect squad to go south in the division.
• Titans circle their wagons and crash.

(*) denotes NFL 100-proof ranking