Bears, Bucs, Bengals, and others leave fans scratching their heads

The college football cliché is “every game is a playoff game.” That’s not exactly true in the NFL. Things happen. Atlanta lost to the Saints and Panthers and will still get the #1 seed. Patriots lost to the Cardinals (who have now lost 9 in a row) and followed that up losing to the Ravens, but should still get a playoff bye. But if you blow too many chances, especially at this point in the season, you will end up watching the playoffs at home on TV.

Some teams came into the week and took care of business. Peyton Manning and the Broncos handled the Raiders with ease. The Giants dropped 52 on the Saints. Seattle put on a show for the home crowd with a 58-point victory, solidifying their playoff hopes. But it was crazy how many teams that needed a win simply wasted a soft spot in their schedule, blew a lead, and missed an opportunity to improve their postseason chances.

-- Buccaneers gave up a last-second touchdown from Nick Foles to end the Eagles 8-game losing streak. As the Seahawks, Redskins, Cowboys, and Vikings all won, the Bucs season is over. And it happened in a home game against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

-- Facing a slumping Christian Ponder and Percy Harvin-less Vikings, the Bears loaded the box but still couldn’t contain Adrian Peterson as they stumble again. After looking like a playoff lock they are now hanging on the verge of missing out after losing 4 of their last 5 games with a game against the Packers due next.

-- The first place Falcons got blown out by Cam Newton and the last place Panthers. However, since clinching the division last week, they still have a 2-game pad on home field advantage in the playoffs so they could afford a loss here.

-- The Steelers got Big Ben back but still got their butt kicked by a bad Chargers team. Despite stunning the Ravens with third-string quarterback Charlie Batch last week, four of Pittsburgh’s losses are to the Raiders, Titans, Browns and Chargers. And suddenly the terrible Jets emerge as a playoff possibility.

-- The Ravens knocked RG3 out of the game only to let Kirk Cousins lead a Redskins comeback.

-- Moments after seeing Pittsburgh and Baltimore go down, the Bengals blew a great opportunity at challenging for the division when they gave up a 9 point lead in the final 7 minutes at home to the Cowboys. Emotional or not, with the playoffs on the line you have to beat the Cowboys at home. They are now are back to the outside of the Wild Card picture looking in.