There were playoff parties scheduled all over the NFL Saturday and Sunday and nobody came.
Teams failed to wrap up packages early, so the postseason lineup remains a surprise that won’t be opened until the night before Christmas.
With only one week remaining in the regular season, there still are no obvious Super Bowl favorites emerging. The only team with a significant winning streak is the Baltimore Ravens with six in a row. And they remain in second place behind the Tennessee Titans in their division.
The Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders all lost games and chances to make Christmas week a little simpler on their families and their fans.Home-field advantage? Still undecided in both conferences. Division champions? What division champions? There’s only one, the New York Giants, who won the NFC East Sunday night.
The Vikings are fading faster than a snowman inside their warm and cozy Metrodome. By losing their first home game of the season Sunday to the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings blew a chance to clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Their defense can’t stop anybody and quarterback Daunte Culpepper and running back Robert Smith suffered injuries that could sideline them this week.
Now the Vikings must finish next Sunday on the road in Indianapolis against a Colts team that remained alive for the AFC playoffs with a clutch win of their own.
The Colts beat the Dolphins in Miami, where coach Dave Wannstedt’s suddenly-cold team blew a chance to clinch the tight AFC East race.
Now the Dolphins must travel to New England on Christmas Eve in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.
The Jets blew a playoff-clinching game against the Detroit Lions and now must beat the Ravens in Baltimore to stay alive.
The Raiders lost to the lowly Seattle Seahawks in the last seconds Saturday, leaving an invitation for the Broncos to surpass them in the AFC West. Alas the Broncos couldn’t stretch their six-game winning streak to seven, losing to the Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday.
By beating the Cowboys Sunday night, the Giants became the first team to clinch a division title and now can clinch home-field advantage by beating Jacksonville in the Meadowlands next week.
Minnesota coach Dennis Green had placed great emphasis on beating Green Bay, saying, “Playing at home is the name of the game.”
But with the Vikings’ loss, NFC home field remains very much in question. The Monday night NFC title rematch between the St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa will help clear up the picture, but not entirely.
Unless the game ends in a tie, the New Orleans Saints will clinch a playoff spot. If the Rams lose the Saints will clinch the NFC West and remain alive for home field. Also if the Rams lose, the Lions will clinch a spot by beating the Bears next Sunday in the Silverdome. And the Bucs could still win the NFC Central.
The Packers also stayed alive for the playoffs but will need help. They host the Bucs the day before Christmas at Lambeau Field on what is expected to be the kind of a chilly day when Brett Favre never loses and the Bucs never win.
What the Packers have going for them besides Favre is a three-game winning streak, which would be modest in any other year. These days it is cause for celebration and the knowledge that a three-game winning streak is all that’s required for Super Bowl glory.
In the AFC the Titans have the home field and AFC Central lead. But unless the Ravens lose to the Jets next Sunday, the Titans must win at Dallas next Monday night to clinch.
Ordinarily teams that back into the playoffs are chased out in a hurry. Last year the Titans won their last four games and the Rams had won seven in a row to settle everything before losing their meaningless finale to Philadelphia.
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But Denver coach Mike Shanahan put interesting spin on his loss Sunday by reminding listeners his Broncos lost their 14th and 15th games in 1997 and 1998 and went on to win both Super Bowls.
Didn’t everybody predict a Ravens-Saints Super Bowl anyway?