Biggest winners halfway through the 2016 NFL season

We're just about at the halfway mark of the 2016 NFL regular season. Time to take stock of what is working, not working and what is just darn weird on this day after Halloween as we look to the second half of the season.

Hello, and welcome back to the Yardbarker roundtable, where we ask our experts to sit back, relax and talk about the serious (and not so serious) side of sports. Today we're talking about winning, the only metric that truly matters in football. The Pats do it, the entire NFC East (we're as shocked as you are) do it, even rookie quarterbacks have made winning seem simple this year. So we asked our panel:

Who (or what) has been the biggest winner so far this season? Team, player, coach, fans, technology; whatever is making football more enjoyable in 2016. 

Daniel Tran:  Like so many offensive lines before them, the Dallas Cowboys offensive line are the biggest winners and unsung heroes of the NFL. Not only is rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott fighting for the rushing title, rookie quarterback Dak Prescott is completing 68.7 percent of his passes throwing for seven touchdowns against one interception.

But no one gives the offensive line any credit.

People ooh and aah over the instant success that the rookies have had while overlooking the men in the trenches protecting them and opening up lanes. Elliott and Prescott have proved they are talented for sure, but don't forget about the five grown men making the job much easier for them.

Mike Tunison: Jack Del Rio - he's gone from a laughingstock to one of the more daring coaches in the league, even if it's partially because his team's defense sucks. Still, he's got the Raiders playing well and got to beat up on his former team in Jacksonville.

Antonio Brown - NFL fines be damned, he's going to twerk for us. He's a hero in the NFL's crusade against fun.

Colin Kaepernick - Following his lead, protests are taking off around the league, and he has won the starting quarterback job back in San Francisco, even if it's not ideal situation in the Bay between Kaepernick, head coach Chip Kelly, GM Trent Baalke and owner Jed York.

Sam Greszes: *INCOMING NORTHWESTERN HOMER ALERT*

There's only one right answer to this question, and it's 'TOUCHDOWN' TREVOR SIEMIAN. The success of the second-year veteran out of Northwestern University might not be that surprising to you, but for me, as a Bears fan, watching Touchdown Trevor come into his own as an average-to-pretty good quarterback has given me a good excuse to not pay attention to the garbage fire that is my football team right now.

I'm half joking here, but it is important to remember that for us Northwestern fans, this really is a big deal. Siemian is one of only two Northwestern alumni to start at quarterback for an NFL team, and the other was the legendary Otto Graham. It's been a bright spot in an otherwise bleak season.

Demetrius Bell: We're halfway through the season now and not only are the Dallas Cowboys alive, but they're alive and very well as they sit atop the NFC East. Yeah, the preseason went well for Dak Prescott, but I don't think that even the most ardent of Cowboys backers could've seen this level of success coming for the rookie QB and the rest of his squad. They've got the inside track on at least a return to the playoffs, and if all goes well they could have a divisional title in their future as well. They've also got the world's largest quarterback controversy in their future as well once Tony Romo gets healthy again, but I'd say that this is a good problem to have. It's sunshine and lollipops for America's Team right now, and let's be honest – even with the league going through a bit of a nadir when it comes to the on-field product, the league is still more interesting when the Cowboys are actually good.

Shiloh Carder: How about that NFC East? Last season, the Redskins went on a late season run to prevent the division from sending a losing team to the playoffs. This year, every team has a winning record. This despite having rookie quarterbacks running the show in Dallas and Philly and a rookie head coach in New York. Ezekiel Elliott has been a force as a rookie and helped the Cowboys get out to an NFC-best 6-1 mark. Sure, the rest of the division is 4-3 (uh, and Washington's tie) but it's still quite a turnaround for a division that went a collective 26-38 a year ago.

Jamie Neal: Cowboys. Sure, there will be some struggles, but their offensive line, RB, WR, and QB positions seem to be all tied up. Dallas looks like a free agent destination for the first time in quite a while as well. It remains to be seen how much money they’ll have to splurge with this offseason, but they have a quality product that they can sell to any prospective free agents. This is only the third time the Cowboys have started 6-1 since their last Super Bowl win.

David Matthews: It's Buffalo Bills fans. Their team is 4-4, and clearly the second-best team in the AFC East, Rex and Rob look like they're having fun. The fans are having even more fun! Each week they seem to outdo themselves and go viral. Are they practicing wrestling moves on each other in the parking lot? No, this week they're throwing a dildo at the Patriots during a trip to the red zone. Kudos, Bills fans. Kudos.