The Dallas Cowboys style themselves as America’s Team, but Saturday night they’ll have a more modest title: the sports bar’s team.

That’s when Dallas will play its biggest game of the season thus far against Baltimore. The game is key for the Cowboys as they are fighting to qualify for the National Football League playoffs. But perhaps there’s a bigger incentive for Dallas: This game is the team’s final regular season game in fabled Texas Stadium.

Time Warner Cable, the city’s cable provider, is one of five major cable companies in the nation that doesn’t carry the NFL Network.

And while Time Warner and the NFL point fingers at each other, the reality is that people who don’t have either DirecTV or Dish Network will have to find other ways to watch the game.”We still don’t know why the NFL Network won’t let us carry them,” said Time Warner spokeswoman Vicki Triplett from her office in Corpus Christi. “We want to carry it. We made several offers, and they were all turned down.”

“Our latest one was to carry it on pay-per-view and give them 100 percent of the revenue. They turned us down.”

Sports bars and restaurants that offer the NFL Network stand to benefit.

“It’s good for business, so (if an agreement) doesn’t happen anytime soon, we won’t complain,” said Mike Amparan, the owner of a West Side sports bar, The Brew. “It’s going to be packed” Saturday.

Dallas Cowboy Tony Romo suffered a knee in the back on a first-half sack against the New York Giants on Sunday. Ever the vigilante he continued to play. He was noticeably sore in practice on Wednesday’s practice and cut out early because of it. He returned to practice on Thursday for the entirety. 

“If it continues to progress the way it is, then hopefully it won’t feel too bad Saturday night,” Romo said. “During the course of a long season it’s something you have to overcome, every locker room has that though,”He is taking his chances and not wearing extra protective gear for the game on Saturday. 

The Ravens defense is No. 2 in the NFL, marking the third straight game the Cowboys have faced a defense in the top six. Baltimore has 31 sacks and has returned five of its 22 interceptions for touchdowns.

Baltimore “provides you with a whole gauntlet of pressuring you without really pressuring you, if that makes sense,” Romo said. “They are going to send a bunch of guys, but they are still going to be able to play coverage.”

5. New York Giants
The defending Super Bowl champions are once again a very good defensive team. While they don’t have the amazing pass rush they had last year, they are a solid all-around defense. They give up only 177.1 yards per game in the air, which is second best in the NFL. The Giants are a serious threat to win another Super Bowl this year — in large part due to their defense.

4. Baltimore Ravens
In the Ray Lewis Era, the Baltimore Ravens have been a very good defensive unit. Coming into this season, the Ravens were thought to be over the hill on the defensive side of the ball. It turns out that the supposed NFL experts were wrong. In 2008, Baltimore has been almost impossible to run against, as they give up only 65.4 yards per game on the ground. No team in the league looks forward to facing this veteran yet effective defensive bunch.

3. Carolina Panthers
The odd part of the Carolina Panthers’ defense is they aren’t especially good in any one category. However, the bottomline is it’s difficult to score on this team. The Panthers give up only 14.8 points per game, which is second best in the NFL. While it’s possible to get yards against the Panthers, getting into the endzone has proven to be quite difficult.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been a very good defensive team — and this year is no different. They lead the league in pass defense, allowing only 171.1 yards per game. Overall, no team gives up less yardage per game. Pittsburgh mark of 240.3 yards given up per game is more than 18 yards better than second place Baltimore.

1. Tennessee Titans
The main reason why the Tennessee Titans are currently undefeated is their league-best defense. The Titans give up only 13 points per game, which is easily the best mark in the league. Tennessee can pressure the quarterback, stop the run and shut down passing games. All in all, no team in the NFL can claim to have a better defense than the one in Tennessee.

Part of the reason why it’s hard to score against the Titans is their distracting cheerleading squad: