As I blogged yesterday, there are six unbeaten teams remaining after three weeks. So which team will go the furthest before their first loss? Baltimore plays at Pittsburgh on Monday night, then host Tennessee in Week 5, so the Ravens won’t last. The other five aren’t as obvious.

For sure, in Week 9, either the Cowboys or the Giants will be handed their first loss (barring the unforeseen, rare tie), as the two teams play each other. Buffalo plays at St. Louis and Arizona the next two weeks, then is bye, then hosts San Diego — you would think either the Cardinals or Chargers will give the Bills loss No. 1. Denver plays at Kansas City, hosts Tampa Bay, hosts Jacksonville and plays at New England; my bet is the Broncos won’t survive against a real defense and will get three in a row in the next four weeks (assuming the Patriots improve).

Tennessee’s schedule looks good: at home vs. Minnesota, at Baltimore, a bye, at Kansas City, then at home vs. Indianapolis. The Colts will be better by then, but if the Titans can win, only a Week 11 game at Jacksonville stands in their way to a really impressive record. But they need to find more offense for that to happen.

That leaves the Cowboys and Giants. Both teams stand a good chance at being 8-0 by Nov. 2, and if Dallas emerges from the showdown … it would still have to contend with road games at Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to go 16-0. The Giants’ schedule is even tougher. I’m calling it now, the Cowboys will stay undefeated the longest and finish 14-2.

More musings:

– How many knockout pools were destroyed by the Patriots’ 38-13 loss to Miami? What must be disconcerting for New England fans wasn’t Matt Cassel’s play, but rather, the defense that couldn’t stop the Dolphins. I’m standing by 10-6.

– Here was a classic Brett Favre stat line: 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, no victory. Yes, he still can play, but it was that kind of performance that was happening more often before last season’s magic. And maybe, that was why the Packers were ready to let him go — they knew the magic wasn’t going to last.

– Finally, six winless teams remain: St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Houston, Cincinnati and Detroit. Of these, the Rams are in the most danger of going 0-16. Serious danger.