your end of season Top 5

The regular season is over, going out with a big bang in a very exciting Week 17. As the smoke settles on the season with the playoffs starting this week, here are your Top 5 headlines for the weekend.

1. All Day. Adrian Peterson and the Vikings won in the best game of the season. AP (or AD, if you prefer) scored two touchdowns and ran for 199 yards, including a 27 yard run with 30 seconds left that set up the game-winning chip-shot field goal that sent Minnesota into the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers led his team back time after time, scoring on 7 of their last 8 drives, but it was the Vikings that had the ball last. Vikings went from 6-6 to 10-6. Adrian Peterson finished the season with 2,097 yards, including an astonishing 1,013 yards after contact, and should be named league MVP.

2. Taking care of business. Every team that needed to win to secure a playoff berth won. In the games with two playoff teams, the one going for the Wild Card always won. The Giants, Bears, Vikings, Redskins, Seahawks, Bengals, and Colts all did their job. The 49ers, Patriots and Broncos won their easy matchups to secure their week off.

3. Rookies leading the way. The playoffs include an incredible group of rookie quarterbacks: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson. (You could also include Washington’s Kirk Cousins, who helped lead the Redskins to two wins in RG3’s absence.) The Redskins were also led by rookie sixth-round-draft-pick running back Alfred Morris, who set the franchise single-season rushing record, including 200 yards in Sunday Night’s game where RG3 passed for only 100 yards.

4. Black Monday. The end of the season isn't all good news. The following coaches and general managers are being fired today: Bears’ Lovie Smith, Eagles’ Andy Reid, Chiefs’ Romeo Crennel, Bills’ Chan Gailey, Browns’ coach and GM Pat Shurmur and Tom Heckert, Chargers’ coach and GM Norv Turner and AJ Smith, Cardinals' coach and GM Ken Wisenhunt and Rod Graves, Jaguars’ GM Gene Smith, and Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum. That is nine front offices. Along with those head coaches, most of their staffs will likely be out of a job, too. Rough day. How Jim Schwartz and Rex Ryan can survive their debacles I have no idea.

5. Nose diving out of it. The Bears started the season 7-1, the Giants got out to a 6-2 start, and the Steelers were at a comfortable 6-3, and none of the above made the playoffs. Both the Bears’ and Steelers’ swoons coincided with their quarterbacks getting knocked out, but while both Jay Cutler and Big Ben were able to finish the season neither was effective in their returns. As for the Giants, they have no excuses at all. At least their rings are still shiny.

(honorable mention headlines: Romo chokes again, Hail to the Redskins, Peyton's good season, Calvin Johnson sets the receiving record, Texans and Ravens limping in)