NFC Teams Not Quite Up to Playoff Scratch

So this is how it ended in the NFC, the only way the 2004 regular season could end, really, in the Punt Blocked, Pass Dropped and Kick Shanked conference:

The Minnesota Vikings lost for the fourth time in five games and the 20th time in 21 outdoors games after having one touchdown pass dropped and another nullified by a holding penalty, eventually watching Randy Moss give up on the cause altogether by taking off his helmet and trudging off the field into the tunnel while teammates lined up a desperation last-second on-side kick, trailing by three points.

The Vikings qualified for the NFC playoffs.

The New Orleans Saints went into Carolina to take on the NFC’s so-called “most dangerous team” and “the team nobody wants to play in the NFC playoffs” -- the Panthers entered the game 7-8; that’s the NFC for you -- and won for the fourth time in as many games, ending an 0-4 streak against Carolina by breaking through the line and blocking a last-second field-goal attempt.

The Saints failed to make the NFC playoffs.

The St. Louis Rams blew an 11-point second-half lead to the New York Jets, dropped a potential game-saving interception at the goal line in the final seconds, saw Jet kicker Doug Brien send the game into overtime with a short field goal and watched Brien line up a 53-yard field-goal attempt that threatened to end the Rams’ season in sudden death. Brien, channeling the spirit of the NFC, pushed it wide right.

A few minutes later, Jeff Wilkins converted for the Rams, giving them a 32-29 victory and an 8-8 record and a chance to win the NFC West championship, depending on how Seattle fared at home against Atlanta.

In that one, Michael Vick stayed around only long enough to throw seven passes, leaving the game in the second quarter after complaining of numbness in his passing hand. That meant the Seahawk defense saw a lot of Falcon backup quarterback Matt Schaub, supposedly encouraging news, except there was Schaub hitting Brian Finneran in the back of the end zone as time expired in the fourth quarter.

The touchdown pulled Atlanta to within a two-point conversion of overtime.

The Falcons gave the ball to Warrick Dunn, who had already netted 132 yards in 25 carries, an average of 5.3 an attempt. Dunn netted less than the required 2.0 yards on this try.

Seattle won, 28-26, to win the NFC West title at 9-7, finalizing the NFC’s six-team playoff field, because that’s what the rules say, a minimum of six teams are required.

And, in descending order of awfulness, they are:

* No. 6: Minnesota. For the second time in as many seasons, the Vikings went 3-7 over their last 10 regular-season games. A year ago, that cost Minnesota a playoff berth, even though the Vikings wound up 9-7. But in this season’s NFC, a 3-7 stretch run and an 8-8 overall mark gets Minnesota in. And on Sunday, the Vikings get to play a wild-card game at Green Bay. On Christmas Eve, Minnesota lost at home to Green Bay, 34-31.

* No. 5: St. Louis. Since the NFL expanded its regular season to 16 games in 1978, only five 8-8 teams previously have reached the playoffs. In 2004, the NFC will have two, the Vikings and the Rams, who somehow made it despite being dead-last in the league with a takeaway ratio of minus-24.

* No. 4: Seattle. After opening 3-0, the Seahawks finished 6-7, going 3-3 in a division that included 2-14 San Francisco and 6-10 Arizona. Seattle went 1-1 against the Cardinals and 0-2 against the Rams, who will try to make it three for three over the Seahawks in a wild-card game Sunday.

* No. 3: Green Bay. The Packers beat up on Chicago, 31-14, to win the NFC North title at 10-6. Green Bay will enter the playoffs with statistically one of the worst defenses to ever reach the postseason, having yielded 33 touchdown passes and managing only eight interceptions this season.

* No. 2: Atlanta. The Falcons enter the playoffs at 11-5. Before Christmas, they were 11-3. How they have fared in their last five games: Lost, 27-0, at Tampa Bay; defeated Oakland at home; edged Carolina at home in overtime; lost by 13 points at New Orleans; lost by two points at Seattle.

* No. 1: Philadelphia. The Eagles are also 0-2 in their last two games, including Sunday’s 38-10 home defeat to Cincinnati. Good news for Eagle fans, if you choose to call it that: They can blame the last two games on the JVs. Koy Detmer and Jeff Blake split quarterback duties for Philadelphia, combining for three interceptions. Eric McCoo was the Eagles’ leading rusher with 54 yards. Not so good news for Eagle fans: By the time their team plays again, on either Jan. 15 or 16, the Eagles will be four weeks removed from their most recent victory, a 12-7 decision over Dallas on Dec. 19.

Fact: One of these teams will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6.

Their combined record against AFC teams this season: 11-13.

(This is moderately better than how the NFC fared as a whole. Overall, the NFC went 20-44 against the AFC this season.)

Their combined record against AFC playoff teams this season: 2-7.

(Atlanta defeated Denver, seeded sixth in the AFC, on Oct. 31, 41-28. And then there was Sunday’s overtime victory by St. Louis over the Jets, who are seeded fifth in the AFC.)

Maybe Moss had it right with his walk-off walk-off for the Vikings against Washington.

Sure, you’d like Moss to be more of a team leader and not head to the locker room with his teammates down, 21-18, with two seconds left on the clock. Perhaps it would have been helpful for Moss to stick around long enough to see whether Minnesota’s long-shot on-side kick had any miracle potential.

On the other hand, Moss showed himself to be an unsentimental realist. We’ve got no chance, I’m outta here, who’s with me? Can’t catch any passes with your fingers crossed, anyway.

Moss simply had no time for false hope. That’s not to say he won’t find some between now and next weekend. The Vikings have a wild-card game scheduled for Sunday at Lambeau Field. Most likely, they will have to show up and play it.