IRVING, Texas — Was it last week or 1995 that the Dallas Cowboys were considered the best team in the NFL? I can't remember.

The NFL is a funny business. One week the Cowboys can do no wrong. The next week they can do nothing right.

The best part about the NFL is that there is one game a week. The worst part about the NFL is that there is one game a week. After wins, the weeks go by fast. After losses, the weeks last forever.

With last Sunday's loss to Washington, the Cowboys are in one of those forever weeks.

Quarterback Tony Romo's reaction to a loss is probably like a lot of his teammates. He said he ignores the outside talk for a few days.

"As soon as we lose a game, I usually end up understanding (with) the local media it's a chicken little thing," Romo said. "I just don't read or watch news or SportsCenter. I've taken that approach over the years and it allows me to just go back in here, watch film, do what I do."

I'll gladly point out to Romo this is not a Cowboys phenomenon.

Trust me, it happens all over the place. It happened in Cincinnati (I covered the Bengals for three years) and it happened in Miami (three years there, too).

The level of overreaction here is no different than any other place I've been. In Cincinnati, one victory would be viewed as the turning point only to be followed inevitably by losses. In Miami, one win meant the Dolphins were headed to the Super Bowl.

Even New England had its sky-is-falling moment. The Patriots lost their first regular-season game since Dec. 10, 2006, two weeks ago to Miami and were booed by their fans.

How does that happen?

Easy, there are only 16 games. Lose a game in baseball and you can come back tomorrow. Lose a game in football and you have to hear about it every day for a week. It's like a 10-game losing streak in baseball.

That's why football coaches are generally easier on their teams when they lose than when they win. When a team wins, some of the mistakes get glossed over, so the coach harps on the things they did wrong. Or at least they should do that.

When a team loses?

"It's always a big atom bomb dropped anytime we lose," Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears said.

Most of you will say it's the media overreaction that creates the atmosphere. I can't deny that's part of it, but it's the fans, too.

Here's one of a number of e-mails I received since the Redskins loss:

The Cowboys appear to think the Washington loss was just a slight bump in the road.

But McNabb will probably get them in Philly, Campbell can play pitch and catch in Washington, there is Eli to meet twice and a few other challenges, like a trip to Pittsburgh.

Unless the defense makes significant improvement the "NFL best team" will not win its division or make the playoffs.

And we overreact? Now they can't make the playoffs?

"I'm glad it wasn't the last game of the season," linebacker Bradie James said. "It wasn't a playoff game. We still have 12 more games to get better."