All four divisions in the AFC are wrapped up, with the Colts, Broncos, Patriots and Bengals now merely jockeying for seeding position, and 11-4 Jacksonville already in as the 5th seed. The Chargers, who ended the Colts’ bid for a perfect season—in a season where they beat both Indianapolis and New England on the road—were eliminated last week after losing to the Chiefs, perhaps bringing Martyball to an end once and for all.
The Steelers, perhaps the league’s hottest team, can clinch with a win or a Kansas City loss next week, which would set up one of the strongest 1-through-6 playoff lineups in league history. Expect to see multiple ESPN Classic staples emerging from this year’s AFC playoffs.
Things aren’t quite so strong in the NFC, however, with the no-respect Seahawks the no. 1 seed, and serious flaws visible in every other team in the field. Only in the sorry NFC could a team with next-to-no offense, the Bears, go 12-3 and clinch the no. 2 seed. Is there any team in the NFC field, besides Seattle, which you’d be surprised to see lose by 25 points in the playoffs? The Bears? The Bucs? The Giants? Carolina? Dallas? Washington?
Eliminated from contention Sunday were the star-crossed Minnesota Vikings, who fell to the Ravens and really had the opposite season Washington did—unbeatable in the middle, but unwatchable at the beginning and end. At the end of his contract and unable to take his team into the playoffs, odds now favor Mike Tice’s heading to the unemployment line, where he’ll likely be joined by Schottenheimer, Dom Capers, Jim Haslett, Norv Turner, Mike Sherman, Mike Martz/Joe Vitt, and the retiring Dick Vermeil and Bill Parcells. The jury’s still out on Herm Edwards, Brian Billick, Dick Jauron, and Mike Mularkey.
The weekend’s best coaching highlight? The Falcons’ Jim Mora living up to his father’s legacy, throwing a tantrum during a post-loss press appearance.
End of an Era: The 36-year run of “Monday Night Football” on ABC ended Monday with a lackluster game between the Patriots and Jets, which finished with the two teams playing quarterbacks—Doug Flutie and Vinny Testaverde—who are a combined 81 years old. Must have felt great for Flutie, in what may have been his final NFL game, to once again beat a Miami Hurricane.
Throughout the night, Michaels and Madden went through the motions of sharing all the records of who’s scored the most touchdowns and who’s hosted the most MNF games. But does anyone really care about such things, other than the MNF research department?
Michaels also went through the names of some of the people who have announced on MNF over the years, including some of the more embarrassing ones (Dennis Miller, Eric Dickerson, Lisa Guerrero). But I don’t remember hearing O.J. Simpson’s name.
