NFL Bottom Ten

Sure, Indianapolis has to decide whether to stick with its starters and try for an undefeated season or rest some players so the Colts will be healthy for the playoffs.

But No. 1 St. Louis and No. 2 Grampa Bay have choices to make too. They have to decide whether to bench their starters in an effort to post the NFL’s worst record and thereby gain the first draft choice. But here’s the problem: If they do sit their starters, how do they know the strategy won’t backfire and they’ll actually win? After all, how much worse could the Lambs’ and Bucs’ subs be than the first-stringers?

Well, maybe a lot worse, as a matter of fact. After all, the No. 1 Lambs started their No. 3 quarterback, Keith Null, on Sunday and he threw five interceptions in a 7-47 drubbing by Tennessee. The New York Times pointed out that Null played for West Texas A&M, where the quarterback coach was Ryan Leaf. No joke.

Dallas and the Pitts, meanwhile, remained winless in December. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threatened that if his team doesn’t win this week, he’s going to take his scoreboard and go home.

Wreck (Record); Last Loss; Next Loss

1. St. Louis (1-12); 7-47, Tennessee; Houston

2. Grampa Bay (1-12); 3-26, N.Y. Jets; Seattle

3. The Pitts (6-7); 6-13, Cleveland; Green Bay

4. Detroit (2-11); 3-48, Baltimore; Arizona

5. Kansas City (3-10); 10-16, Buffalo; Cleveland

6. Dallas (0-2 in December); 7. Cleveland (2-11); 8. Oakland (4-9); 9. Seattle (5-8),10. Washington (4-9).

Rout of the week: Green Bay (9-4) over the Pitts (6-7).

Crummy game of the week: Cleveland (2-11) at Kansas City (3-10).

Unclear on the concept: During a kickoff return against Minnesota, Cincinnati’s Quan Cosby pumped his arm as though faking a forward pass. The defense, as you might expect, was not fooled. Cosby gained 16 yards.

steveharvey9@gmail.com