Wild chase for playoff spots

Question: How many of you at the beginning of the season, or even a month ago for that matter, thought the Christmas Eve meeting between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans would have playoff implications?

Hey, join the club.

The Titans beat the Jaguars 24-17 Sunday for their fifth straight win and seventh in nine games, completing their long climb to .500 (7-7). Proving once again that this is a week-to-week league, the Jaguars last week trampled the Colts and six weeks ago crushed the Titans, 37-7. The Bills, meanwhile, improved to 7-7 with their fifth win in seven games, a shutout of a Miami Dolphins team that only one week ago blanked the New England Patriots.

Indeed, if you make the playoffs in the AFC, you will have earned it. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, three teams have clinched, nine others are still in the playoff hunt, and 12 of 16 are 7-7 or better.

The wild-card race tightened considerably Sunday. And it could get even tighter if the Colts take care of business Monday night against the visiting Bengals, who, as of right now, lead the wild-card competition at 8-5. The Jaguars' loss, the Jets' win at Minnesota, and the Broncos' win at Arizona left three teams at 8-6. The defending champion Steelers won for the fifth time in six games to get to .500 for the first time since Week 2. The Chiefs' loss at San Diego left them 7-7 along with the Steelers, Bills, and Titans.

Confused yet? Thankfully, the logjam will be broken over the course of the next two weeks.

New York still has (on paper) what appears to be the easiest road to the playoffs, with games remaining at Miami and home against Oakland. After playing the Titans, Buffalo hits the road to play the Ravens, who could still be playing for the AFC's top seed.

Another big matchup in Week 16 features Cincinnati at Denver, which won for the first time Sunday behind rookie quarterback Jay Cutler. The Bengals finish with Pittsburgh at home -- wouldn't it be great if those rivals end up playing a win-and-get-in game? -- while the Broncos get San Francisco at home to finish the regular season. The Steelers and Ravens renew acquaintances Sunday.

Jacksonville seems to have the toughest road to the playoffs, with a home game against the Patriots followed by a roadie against the Chiefs, who rarely lose this time of year at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City tunes up for the finale with a trip to Oakland Saturday. The Titans wrap things up at New England.

How stacked is the AFC? The Jets have two teams with losing records on their remaining schedule. The Broncos (49ers) and Chiefs (Raiders) are the only other contenders with, as of this moment, sub-.500 teams remaining on their schedules. The rest of the important AFC games down the stretch feature decent to good teams. The schedule makers must be smiling.

Over in the NFC, the Eagles are feeling good after their third straight win, a 36-22 triumph over the host New York Giants. Philadelphia has a one-game lead in the wild-card competition with games remaining against T.O. and the Cowboys next Monday and the Falcons six days later. Win out and the Eagles, who lost five of six in one stretch this season, win the NFC East.

The Giants still control their fate: New York is home against New Orleans for Week 16 and at Washington in Week 17. The Redskins, by the way, went into the Superdome and beat the Saints 16-10 on Sunday, so they're no pushovers. On Sunday, Atlanta plays host to Carolina, still in it at 6-8 -- along with the Packers, Niners, Vikings and Rams.

All we know at this point is that the Chargers, Ravens and Colts have clinched berths in the AFC playoffs, the Bears, Saints and Cowboys have clinched in the NFC, and that the NFC playoffs will go through Chicago as long as the Bears are alive.

The rest we won't know probably until the final day of the regular season -- just the way the league likes it.

• Atlanta owner Arthur Blank, having reviewed tape of Jim Mora's appearance Thursday on a Seattle-area radio station, isn't buying his coach's excuse that he was only joking with the co-hosts when he said the University of Washington post was his dream job. Isn't buying it at all. A guy who is big on image, Blank believes Mora's latest misstep doesn't sit well with the fans. Mora has definitely reduced his margin of error to zero. Not so much in terms of wins and losses, or even making the playoffs, but in how he conducts himself. Like the little boy who cried "Wolf!" too often, Mora has been forced to apologize to the fans and to the guy who signs his paycheck way too many times now. Blank is weary of hearing "I'm sorry" all the time and Mora is on a short leash. Even if Mora survives, he has exhausted his political capital with his boss and won't be able to rebuff any suggestions about staffing changes. Blank wanted to shake up the staff after the 2005 season, but Mora was able to change his mind. Mora doesn't have any clout left now to save some assistants if Blank wants them dismissed.

• Dallas left offensive tackle Flozell Adams is finally beginning to play up to his past form. But it's actually right tackle Marc Colombo, who came back after two seasons of rehabilitating from a shattered leg, who might be the Cowboys' most consistent offensive lineman this season.

• The Cowboys deny that they considered trading starting tailback Julius Jones around draft time in the spring. But with the emergence of backup Marion Barber III, who runs a lot tougher inside, Dallas might be tempted to dangle Jones after the season to gauge what he might net in a trade.

• Some league scouts hope that LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell makes himself available in the draft as an underclass prospect. Russell has great size, arm strength and athleticism, and the people intrigued by him feel he could be the second-best quarterback prospect, behind only Brady Quinn of Notre Dame.

• It won't be surprising if Minnesota coach Brad Childress gives rookie quarterback Tarvaris Jackson a start in the next two weeks. Given the way the performance of Brad Johnson has eroded as the season wore on, Childress is going to have to consider alternatives for 2007. A second-round pick this season, Jackson has a very strong arm, but is also very raw.

• The agent for Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher has been phoning Steelers ownership a lot in recent days. But the Rooney family isn't likely to commit to an extension for Cowher, who is under contract through 2007, until they sense more commitment from him.

• Chicago management is checking with league officials to ascertain its options with defensive tackle Tank Johnson. There are some in the organization who want to dump the troubled, three-year veteran now, even though doing so would leave the Bears thin on the defensive line.

• In past years, Pro Bowl voters seemed to ignore the right offensive tackle position, usually filling five of the six all-star berths with left tackles. Such a quota might be justified this season, because there have been few outstanding seasons authored by right tackles.

• New England left offensive tackle Matt Light, the O-line's best player over the last few years, has really struggled at times this season. Second-year left guard Logan Mankins has arguably been the best player on a unit that has experienced more problems that in recent seasons.

• New England officials are growing incrementally more encouraged that strong safety Rodney Harrison might be able to return for the playoffs. He's still recovering from a broken scapula.

• Cincinnati could get left offensive tackle Levi Jones back for the Monday night game at Indianapolis. Jones pitched a shutout (no tackles or sacks permitted) against Colts right defensive end Dwight Freeney in last season's meeting.

• In Seattle, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia and other NFC cities, the talk is about the mediocrity of the conference. While that is completely true, someone has to win a conference that no one wants to win. Face it, inconsistency is everywhere and it keeps everyone in the playoff race. Look at some of the most recent streaks. The Bears and Cowboys have each won five of their past six games. They would be considered the hot teams in the second half of the season. How about some of the other NFC teams? The Eagles have won three in a row, but that's coming off a streak in which they lost five of six games. The Saints are a .500 team over their last eight games. The rest of the playoff contenders are even worse. The Seahawks have lost three of their last five. The Giants have lost five of their last six. The Falcons have lost five of their last seven. The Vikings have lost six of their last eight. The Panthers have lost four in a row.

• The prevailing thought out of Chicago is that Tank Johnson's days are numbered. The only thing preventing him from being cut now is the collective bargaining agreement. The Bears can't just release him without checking out all the ramifications. Thanks to the Terrell Owens problems of last year, teams can suspend a player for four games but have to document any release for non-football related activity. The only way he would stay on the roster is if the Bears didn't think they could release him. His Bears days are done.

• LaDainian Tomlinson says he slightly injured his jaw late in the Sunday night game against the Chiefs, but he doesn't think it's serious. The curious question is how much the Chargers try to use him on Christmas Eve against the Seahawks. Even though he can take the touchdown and scoring records to new heights, the team must start resting him a little to get him ready for the playoffs.

• The Ravens consider Steve McNair questionable for Sunday's game against the Steelers. He suffered a cut on his right hand when a Browns defender stepped on it. He could have returned to the game if the Ravens really needed him, but they decided not to risk making the cut worse. If the Bengals lose the Monday night game and give the AFC North to the Ravens, Brian Billick might consider resting McNair and giving him a chance to let the injury heal.

-- Check out John Clayton's blog

• The Redskins' defense did an outstanding job disrupting the rhythm and flow of the Saints' offensive schemes. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams should get a tremendous amount of credit for using an assortment of blitz schemes that placed a lot of pressure on QB Drew Brees. The Redskins were very physical on the back end with their coverage schemes, which took away the explosive elements in the Saints' passing attack. Redskins QB Jason Campbell relied on RB Ladell Betts (119 yards). The Redskins' offensive line controlled the line and didn't allow the Saints to disrupt the flow of their rushing attack. Campbell showed a lot of poise in the pocket by taking advantage of the soft areas in the Saints' zone defenses, especially down the middle.

• Cleveland QB Derek Anderson and Baltimore QB Kyle Boller (right) both showed their immaturity, but they also did some good things and showed efficiency in their play. Anderson had success going away from Chris McAlister, especially after Samari Rolle left the game with an injury. McAlister played a great game. Still, Anderson was accurate despite being relentlessly harassed by Baltimore's pass rush. The Browns' offensive line was overmatched and confused trying to pick up multiple blitzers. The Ravens also had great success swapping their defensive ends to create more suitable matchups against Cleveland's offensive tackles.

-- For more from Scouts Inc., check out the Briefing Room and all the divisional blogs: AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West | NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West

Question: Will Brett Favre play next year?
Jeremy Green: I hope so. He is having fun again and he is playing better. He can still play. I am amazed at some of the throws he can still make on a weekly basis.

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Question: Is Mario Williams a big letdown for the Texans with all these other rookies making such an impact already?
Green: I don't think he has been a big letdown. Rookies develop at different rates and I think he has made a lot of strides since early in the season. He has also played with an injured foot all season that needs surgery. I would say he is off to an average start.

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Question: What has to happen for the Colts to have a better run defense?
Green: They need to get out of the Cover 2 defense. With their lack of personnel they can't stop the run with seven in the box. I know the Cover 2 is Tony Dungy's thing, but they need to play more Cover 3. In doing that the strong safety would be down in the box to form an eight-man front and the free safety would have the deep middle.

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Question: How optimistic are you for the (near) future of the 49ers?
Green: Very optimistic for next season. Alex Smith his getting better and Frank Gore is a stud. The offensive line has been more consistent. They still need to fix the secondary, but I think with another solid draft class and UFA class they are a legit playoff contender next season.