SPOTLIGHT / A Glance at This Week in the NFL : PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES

With one week remaining in the regular season, here is a look at the NFL postseason picture:

* AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY--Clinched division.

DENVER--Clinched at least a wild-card berth, thanks to losses by Pittsburgh and the New York Jets.

RAIDERS--Need to defeat Denver to clinch wild-card berth or have a Pittsburgh loss.

* AFC CENTRAL

HOUSTON--Clinched division. Tied with Buffalo for home-field advantage throughout playoffs.

PITTSBURGH--Needs to defeat Cleveland and have Miami lose its final two games and for the New York Jets and the Raiders to lose Sunday to clinch a wild-card berth.

* AFC EAST

BUFFALO--Clinched division. Tied with Houston for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

MIAMI--Can clinch wild-card berth with victory over San Diego tonight or New England on Sunday.

NEW YORK JETS--Need victory over Houston and two losses by Miami and a Pittsburgh or Raiders victory to clinch wild-card berth. Jets can also clinch with a victory, plus a victory by Pittsburgh and loss by the Raiders.

* NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO--Clinched division.

NEW ORLEANS--Needs to defeat Cincinnati and losses by Philadelphia and Minnesota to clinch wild-card berth.

* NFC CENTRAL

GREEN BAY--Clinched wild-card berth. Can win division with victory over Detroit.

DETROIT--Clinched wild-card berth. Can win division with victory over Green Bay.

MINNESOTA--Needs to defeat Washington Friday to clinch wild-card berth.

* NFC EAST

DALLAS--Clinched wild-card berth. Can win division and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with victory over the New York Giants.

NEW YORK GIANTS--Clinched wild-card berth. Can win division and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with victory over Dallas.

PHILADELPHIA--Needs victory over San Francisco and losses by New Orleans and Minnesota to clinch wild-card berth.

WHERE ARE THE FANS?

When only 26,571 fans showed up at Foxboro, Mass., to watch New England win its third consecutive game with a 38-0 rout over Indianapolis, the Patriots gained the honor of having the smallest NFL crowd of the season.

A crowd of only 34,155 watched Cleveland defeat the Rams, 42-14, at Anaheim Stadium. It was the smallest crowd for a non-strike game since the Rams moved to Anaheim in 1980.

The second smallest crowd (27,014) in Riverfront Stadium history for a Bengal game watched Cincinnati defeat Atlanta, 21-17.

BAD WEATHER OR BAD FOOTBALL?

Part of the reason for the low attendance around the league Sunday was bad weather.

For example, the windchill factor was minus-20 for the Patriots’ victory over Indianapolis at Foxboro, Mass., and it was only 19 degrees for the Bengals’ victory over Atlanta at Cincinnati.

Bad weather, however, does not explain why 54,482 showed up at Green Bay Lambeau Field with a windchill of minus-22 to watch the Packers defeat the Raiders. Or why 70,817 saw the Bills defeat the New York Jets with a windchill of minus-28 at Orchard Park, N.Y. Or the 13-degree temperature that a crowd of 43,443 sat through the Bears’ loss to Detroit at Chicago. Or the 50,085 who attended the Eagles’ victory over New Orleans in minus-12 windchill temperature at Philadelphia.

Bad weather also does not explain why there were over 25,000 empty seats at Anaheim Stadium on a cool Southern California day to watch the Rams drop to 4-11 with a loss to Cleveland.

QUOTES TO GO

Tampa Bay Coach Sam Wyche, after the Buccaneers’ 17-10 victory over Denver: “We had a good day against one of the best teams in the NFL, and we beat them at their place, on their turf, in their house. The thing I’m proudest of is we were playing for nothing but pride.” Phoenix cornerback Lorenzo Lynch on the Cardinals’ 17-6 victory over the New York Giants Sunday after losing to the Giants on the road four weeks ago on a last-second field goal: “We beat them up and down the field and we beat them fair and square. We really beat them at their house, too. Just that little field goal, so they know they’re not a better team than us.”

LOSING WHEN IT COUNTS

Coaches around the NFL always talk about getting on a roll heading into the playoffs. Three AFC teams, however, did not follow this theme Sunday.

The Raiders, Pittsburgh and the New York Jets all needed victories to boost their playoff hopes but came up short with dismal efforts and now will have to wait until next week to try again.

The Raiders (9-6) could have clinched a wild-card berth with a victory over Green Bay Sunday but were shut out, 28-0, instead. The Raiders will now have to defeat Denver next Sunday at the Coliseum in a one-game showdown, or hope for a Pittsburgh loss to gain a wild-card berth.

After losing four of their last six games, including a 16-6 loss to Seattle Sunday, the Steelers (8-7) now need to defeat Cleveland and hope for losses by the Raiders and the Jets.

The one victory the Jets (8-7) needed sailed away on three missed field-goal attempts by Cary Blanchard and three field goals by Buffalo’s Steve Christie in the Bills’ 16-14 victory. The Jets now need a win over Houston plus a Raider loss and a Pittsburgh victory, or two losses by Miami and either a Pittsburgh or Raider victory.

TOUGH GUY

If Tampa Bay middle linebacker Hardy Nickerson wakes up with a headache every Monday, it’s understandable.

For 15 consecutive Sundays, Nickerson has led the Buccaneers in tackles, including nine in Tampa Bay’s 17-10 victory over Denver on Sunday. Nickerson had a team-record 20 tackles in one game this season and had a 15-game streak of 10 or more tackles in a game end against the Broncos.

Not bad for a player Pittsburgh left unprotected last summer before being signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay.

“I’m playing on a team that is mentally tough with no quitters,” said Nickerson, who played at Verbum Dei High School and California. “It feels good to finally get my chance to show what I can do.”

IT TAKES A THIEF . . .

Philadelphia cornerback Eric Allen tied the NFL record of four interception-return touchdowns in a season with two in the second half of the Eagles’ 37-26 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Allen has returned four of his six interceptions this season for touchdowns to tie a record first set by Houston’s Ken Houston in 1971 and tied a year later by Kansas City’s Jim Kearney. Allen gained the respect of Steve Walsh after intercepting two of the New Orleans quarterback’s passes and returning them 33 and 25 yards for touchdowns.

“He has speed like Deion Sanders getting to the ball,” Walsh said. “Both my throws were on the money, but he has the ability to turn good throws into bad throws.”

OR WAS IT THE QUARTERBACK?

According to Allen, his two interceptions against Walsh were easy.

“The first one, I looked in (Walsh’s) eyes and he tried to force one in,” Allen said. “The second one he threw right to me.”

Said New Orleans Coach Jim Mora: “Our quarterback play wasn’t good enough at all,” Mora said. “Our quarterbacks need to do two things: they must make the plays that help you win and do the things that don’t get you beat. Our quarterbacks didn’t do either.”

RUNNING WILD

Sunday was a big day for unheralded running backs.

New England’s Leonard Russell rushed for 97 yards in the first quarter and 113 at halftime before finishing with 138 in the Patriots victory over Indianapolis. Russell now has 1,060 yards becoming the first Patriot to reach 1,000 yards rushing since John Stephens in 1988.

Phoenix’s Ron Moore gained 110 of his 135 rushing yards and scored twice in the second half, in the Cardinals’ 17-6 victory over the New York Giants.

Jon Vaughn, who had only six carries this season going into Sunday’s game, replaced an ailing Chris Warren and had a career-best 131-yard performance in 26 carries in Seattle’s 16-6 victory over Pittsburgh.

Filling in for injured running backs Barry Sanders and Derrick Sanders, Detroit rookie Eric Lynch gained 85 yards in 22 carries and caught seven passes for 46 yards to finish with 131 all-purpose yards in the Lions’ 20-14 victory over Chicago.

Atlanta’s Erric Pegram had 37 carries for 180 yards in the Falcons’ 21-17 loss to Cincinnati. Pegram has 1,055 yards this season.

Free-agent rookie Scottie Graham gained 166 yards and tied a team record with 33 carries in Minnesota’s 30-10 victory over Kansas City.

Washington running back Reggie Brooks shattered the Redskins’ rookie rushing record set by Mike Thomas in 1975 with 85 yards against Dallas, giving him 995 yards this season.