Wha... what just ha-happened?

This is the question that a number of NFL teams have to be asking themselves today after questionable performances over the weekend. The big losers are a number of playoff hopefuls that held their postseason destinies in their own hands and failed to come through.

-Denver Broncos - Yes, they are my hometown team and thus my primary rooting interest, so they may be listed higher than they should. But consider what we're looking at here: the Broncos reached an 8-5 record with a stunning win over the highly-touted (at the time) New York Jets on the road. At this point Denver held a 3 game lead in the second-worst division in football (just ahead of the despicable NFC West) and looked like a virtual shoe-in for the playoffs. Two weeks later, the Broncos will be going on the road to face a suddenly hot Chargers team with the division title on the line. This after somehow blowing a home game to a Buffalo team that has been phoning it in for about 8 weeks. Ay carumba!

-Dallas Cowboys - Sure they got bailed out on Sunday by the collapse of two other teams on this list (see below), but the Cowboys simply didn't show up for their home finale (and the last game ever at Texas Stadium) against the Ravens when they controlled their own destiny. For a defense that many thought had turned the corner, that fourth-quarter performance was just dreadful.

-Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Last year, the Bucs stumbled into the playoffs in a weak division and coasted to another first-round loss with a sub-par performance against the eventual champion Giants. This year, the Bucs blasted out to a 9-3 record but have since lost 3 straight, including a game at home Sunday against a very mediocre San Diego team that could have helped not only the Bucs but the Broncos, too, and now the Bucs need help to make the playoffs. This team had no business laying an egg like this after the good fortune of Dallas losing on Saturday.

-Philadelphia Eagles - Against a team that is hard-pressed to score 10 points in a game, and with the benefit of knowing the Cowboys lost and they now controlled their own destiny, the Eagles offense sputtered (again) and came up short at Washington. Now Philly will have to beat the aforementioned Cowboys at home and get lots of help to make the playoffs. Not that a team this inconsistent has any business making the postseason.

-New York Jets - Wow. Just, like, wow. This team has completely fallen off the tracks and now looks like a mortal lock to miss the playoffs. I guess Packers fans can breathe easy (thanks to their old coach Mike Holmgren and the Seahawks, no less) that their old (figuratively and literally) QB will not be winning a Super Bowl for the wrong team this year. This Jets team is three JP Losman decisions away from riding a 4-game losing streak and sitting at 8-7 today.

-Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings get a slight pass for facing a playoff team in the Atlanta Falcons that had a lot to play for, too. That said, Adrian Peterson continues to come up small in big games (with three fumbles, two lost yesterday) and this team could have sealed their division at home yesterday. Now they have to hope the Bears blow it against the Pack tonight, or else it will come down to the final week.

-Pittsburgh Steelers/Carolina Panthers - Yes, they were both on the road playing against the best teams in their respective conferences, but considering what was on the line, these are huge missed opportunities for these teams. Now both will likely have to go on the road to rematch these games for the conference title, and they both have the knowledge that they've lost there already. The Steelers looked like the inferior team on Sunday against Tennessee, and they'll have their work cut out if this AFC title game comes to pass. The Panthers, on the other hand, had the game almost in hand but couldn't come up with a big offensive or defensive play late to pull it out. Regardless, the Giants and Titans have a lot of confidence going forward now.

-Arizona Cardinals - Yes, they've already clinched their exact playoff position, but COME ON! That was one of the worst played games I've seen all year. This team will be extremely lucky if it can win it's first round game, and their only chance is that it's at home. Talk about mailing it in after clinching. Good luck against the Falcons, guys!

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the blog, please post below or I can be reached at chrisf884@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.