Meet the new America’s Team

Tony Romo already won the $67-million grand prize, but for the right to shake your head in amazement over the contract extension given a quarterback who hasn’t started 20 NFL games, can you answer this quiz?

The Dallas Cowboys are:

a) America’s Team.

b) The National Football Conference’s Team.

c) Waiting to be served up as Super Bowl fodder on Feb. 3 to the New England Patriots.

d) None of the above. Although the Green Bay Packers just might be all three.

The Cowboys and the Packers improved their records to 8-1 on Sunday. Dallas delivered a statement with a 31-20 road victory over the New York Giants, and that statement is: Eli Manning is playing for a wild card. Green Bay shut out the Minnesota Vikings, 34-0, while limiting Vikings rookie Adrian Peterson to 251 fewer rushing yards than he amassed against San Diego in Week 9.

The Packers accomplished this, in part, when Peterson was forced out of the game because of a knee injury in the third quarter. Before that, Peterson had netted 45 yards in 11 carries, demonstrating just how difficult putting together consecutive 296-yard performances can be.

Peterson’s injury was initially diagnosed as a sprain. An MRI has been scheduled for today, an examination that has sent shivers through the bodies of all Vikings fans, even those who have ample heating in their ice-fishing shacks. (Also looking on with interest: Eric Dickerson, whose rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards in 1983 appeared to rest on a thin sheet of cracking ice before Sunday.)

As the Packers were recording their first shutout since 2002, the Detroit Lions were suffering a 31-21 defeat at Arizona, where the Lions rushed for minus-18 yards -- or 314 fewer yards than Peterson had against the Chargers. That put some separation between the Packers and Lions; Green Bay now leads 6-3 Detroit by two games in the NFC North standings.

The Packers’ victory was also notable in that Brett Favre completed 33 of 46 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns en route to becoming the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for 60,000 yards.

Dan Marino holds the record with 61,361 career yards, but probably not for long. Favre will surpass Marino if he averages 158 yards in Green Bay’s last seven regular-season games.

Favre has replaced Roger Clemens as America’s most popular sports folk hero, for many reasons, but just to name three: 1) It’s easier to root for Green Bay than New York; 2) Unlike Clemens, Favre grinds out full seasons, including training camp; 3) Favre is hounded by opposing defensive ends and tackles but not steroids rumors.

With Favre surprisingly back in play as a Super Bowl contender, the Packers have staked their claim as America’s Team of 2007, moving ahead of:

* The New Orleans Saints, who reigned as America’s Team in 2006 and lost on Sunday to St. Louis, 37-29, to deprive the Rams their shot at the NFL’s first 0-16 season.

* The Patriots, who remain entrenched as America’s Anti-Heroes, and seem to be quite happy about it.

* The Indianapolis Colts, who saw Peyton Manning incredibly triple brother Eli’s Week 10 interception total, 6-2, in a 23-21 loss at San Diego.

* The Cowboys, who haven’t been America’s Team for years, and certainly wrecked their resume for reinstatement the day they signed Terrell Owens.

Sunday, The Times’ sports department received an e-mail from a self-described Packers fan who informed: “I was talking to a Friend & watching the Packers-Vikings game today, until FOX, in their infinite wisdom, cut away from that game, ‘for a more competitive game.’ ”

Wrote agoodwin@socal.rr.com of Fox: “They ARE aware that the Packers have what would equal to a ‘Cult’ following, don’t they? . . . Packer Television is a Sunday way of life, & especially for the State of Wisconsin, let alone Packer fans that have had enough of Wisconsin Winters or for Vocational reasons have had to relocate!”

The Packers and their fans will have to wait a while to formally state their case, but they will have their chance. On Thanksgiving, the Packers play the Cowboys in Dallas.

Elsewhere around the NFC . . . hmm . . . well, there really isn’t much else in the NFC.

The Lions were talking big, but that was before the old Kurt Warner-Mike Martz connection witnessed Warner completing 26 of 36 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns. For the Lions, there was one problem with this: Martz is now a Detroit assistant coach and Warner is now an Arizona quarterback.

The Washington Redskins were trying to talk themselves into believing they belonged in the NFC East hunt, but then they watched Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb complete four touchdown passes and lost to the Eagles, 33-25.

The Saints were on a 4-0 streak after opening the season 0-4, but lost at home to a hapless Rams team that hadn’t won anywhere since 2006. After passing for 302 yards to help the Rams improve to 1-8, quarterback Marc Bulger celebrated the occasion by telling a television reporter, “We’re still a really bad team.”

But they are not pro football’s worst team. Not anymore.

The Miami Dolphins moved into that driver’s seat by shifting into reverse just in the nick of time against the Buffalo Bills.

The Dolphins’ quest for a winless season was in serious jeopardy for more than three quarters, but Miami reasserted itself by drawing a clutch holding penalty to negate a touchdown on a kickoff return by Ted Ginn Jr.

A few minutes later, Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman engineered a drive that set up Rian Lindell for the game-deciding field goal with 46 seconds left. The Bills got their fourth consecutive victory, 13-10, and the Dolphins dropped to 0-9 for the season.

Or, to put it another way:

Losman 13, Lossmen 10.

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christine.daniels@latimes.com