Yes, injuries have taken their toll, but the Packers were ripped for 414 yards passing by Houston quarterback Matt Schaub on Sunday. This was Schaub's first start in five weeks after Jared Allen injured his knee. In fact, the Texans rolled up 549 yards in Lambeau Field, a place the Packers used to hold sacred. Rookie running back Steve Slaton ran for 120 yards as he continues to chase Tennessee's Chris Johnson for the rookie rush total.

The Packers simply don't play with much emotion anymore. They are a hard-to-read team. A year after finishing 13-3 and one game away from the Super Bowl, the Packers will miss the playoff party this season. They have defensive holes everywhere, plus their veteran cornerbacks, Charles Woodson and Al Harris, aren't getting any younger. Neither are offensive tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher. Heck, the Texans had four turnovers and still won on the road in the cold.

But the Packers are missing something, and their young players aren't responding to the pressure of a long season. I thought their depth was better than this. The Saints have lost six defensive starters and they were able to win on Sunday, stopping Atlanta and Matt Ryan.

Green Bay was supposed to run away and hide in the NFC North this season, and just the opposite has happened. After humbling Peyton Manning and the Colts in the middle of October, the Packers have lost five of their last six games and sit at 5-8.

Singletary building a case

Front-office exec Jed York and the 49ers must ask themselves this question pretty soon. Are they going to find anybody better to be their head coach than Mike Singletary?

Hall of Fame Mike has a 3-2 record now, in the worst of circumstances, considering his style of football conflicts with his offensive coordinator Mike Martz. But he made the smart move in switching to Shaun Hill over J.T. O'Sullivan at quarterback. And Sunday in Candlestick, Hill more than doubled the offensive production of Brett Favre, the aging wonder who doesn't have the playmakers that he used to have.

I find it laughable that Laveranues Coles keeps crying about not getting the football from Favre like he did from good buddy Chad Pennington, but when do you ever see Coles wide open? His last three receptions have totaled seven yards. The Jets are close to being frauds, especially the defense that surrendered 375 yards to Hill and Co.

Which brings me back to Singletary. The pickings are pretty slim for head coaching candidates. Yes, there are three quality defensive coordinators in the NFL — Steve Spagnuolo, Rex Ryan and Jim Schwartz — who deserve opportunities to test their wares. They have paid their dues. But Singletary seems to have control of the 49ers and they are winning and actually looking better.

Singletary actually should be 4-1 if he and Martz didn't mess up the finish against the Cardinals a few weeks ago. Singletary definitely has gotten the attention of the 49ers and they have played hard in all five games that he has been the boss. Granted, he is learning on the job, but the results cannot be ignored.

Tomlin almost blew it

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin nearly cost his team a victory. Tomlin continues to act like an emotional player on the sidelines. He continues to make the emotional decision over the common sense approach.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers were perched more than a yard away from the end zone. It was fourth down and Dallas led 13-3, with more than 12 minutes to play. Hey, you kick the field goal. Take the three points, knowing you have the best defense in football and you should get the ball back two or three more times before time expires.