ESPN

It's one of life's cruel twists: Things change. Friends lose touch. Our bodies betray us. Alex Trebek shaves his mustache. ("Oh, I'll play your game, you rogue!")

So it's comforting when we come across a rare constant, an indisputable, iron-clad truth. Here's one: To win in the NFL, now as always, you must make hay with the run game. Chicks might dig the long ball, but you'd better be willing and able to knock heads on third-and-2.

Chicago, Dallas and St. Louis (St. Louis!) proved this theory in Week 8 wins. And in losses, so did Philadelphia and Green Bay. Four of the NFL's top five rushing teams through Sunday's games are division leaders (the fifth, Pittsburgh, has played two fewer games than Cincinnati but owns the tiebreaker). Their combined record: 27-8.

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