NFL: Matt Flynn's Top Five Landing Spots for the Future Free Agent

Expectations were low for Packer fans when they turned on their televisions and Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, and Charles Woodson were all still in warm-up suits. 

Few people expected the Green Bay second-second stringers to compete with the playoff-bound Lions, and no one expected Matt Flynn and Matt Stafford to combine for more passing yards in a single game than any two players in NFL history.

The Packer faithful have known since last season that Flynn was capable of starting for an NFL team, and his 480-yard, six-touchdown game has made that clear to fans across the country.

The Green Bay backup will not be a backup for long as he will be a free agent this offseason.

Several teams will be in the market for a quarterback after this weekend, and Flynn may be the best available.

Here are the five teams most in need of his skills.

5. San Francisco 49ers

Alex Smith has turned his career around under Jim Harbaugh this season, but he is still an average quarterback at best. 

Smith has run the West Coast offense well, but has been unwilling (or unable) to get the ball down the field. 

The 49ers lack the ability to stretch opposing defenses, and because of this, David Akers has been the offense's second most valuable player behind Frank Gore.

Flynn showed against the Lions that he can hit any receiver, on any spot on the field, at any time.

His skills would give the Niners offense a new dimension, and could possibly make them the most complete team in the NFL going into the 2012 season.

4. Washington Redskins

The Redskins switched between Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback this season, and left their fans wondering which free agent passer was going to be the next player to get big money from Dan Snyder.

Matt Flynn could be that guy.

Flynn's record-setting performance will be fresh in the minds of general managers across the league when free agency starts.

If a bidding war over the former LSU standout starts, look for the Redskins to pay a premium to have Flynn as their new starting quarterback.

3. Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's decision to bring in Tarvaris Jackson as its new starting quarterback this year was a perplexing move to many NFL fans.

After finishing 28th in the NFL in total offense, Pete Carroll may be looking for a mulligan in this year's free agent market. 

Carroll watched Flynn lead LSU to a BCS National Championship in the 2007 season after sitting behind JaMarcus Russell for three years.

Flynn just spent his fourth season as an NFL backup, and will almost certainly get his shot at a starting job in 2012.

The Seahawks would be smart to turn the page on Jackson, and hand the job over to Flynn. 

2. Buffalo Bills

By sticking with Ryan Fitzpatrick the entire season, the Bills showed an affinity for quarterbacks with big, scruffy beards.

In signing Matt Flynn, Buffalo could continue this trend and make a big upgrade at the position.

The NFL's most tortured franchise was the biggest surprise of the first half of the season, going 5-2 in its first seven games.

Unfortunately, the Bills did nothing to alleviate decades of pain from its fanbase in the second half of the season, and went 1-8 in its final nine games to finish in a tie for last place in their division.

Buffalo showed early on that there is enough talent on its roster to put together a winning season, but the offense was limited with Fitzpatrick at quarterback.

The former Harvard quarterback took care of the ball and made smart decisions, but never threw the ball down the field. Opposing defenses soon caught on, and the Bills stopped looking like a playoff contender. 

With Fred Jackson running the ball and catching screen passes, in addition to young receiving corp with plenty of potential, Matt Flynn could be the final piece of the puzzle for the Bills.

1. New York Jets

With three games left, the Jets were 8-5 and in prime position to land in a wild card spot and start a run towards their third consecutive AFC Championship appearance. 

Then in the final three games of the season, Mark Sanchez threw only five touchdowns to seven interceptions, had an average passer rating of 62.5, and most importantly, New York lost all three games.

Over his career, Sanchez has thrown 55 touchdowns and 51 interceptions and has a 73.2 passer rating.

He has shown marginal improvement over three years as a starter, but the offense, and more specifically the passing game, has been the Jet's Achilles Heel throughout Sanchez's career.

New York is an unforgiving town, and the NFL is a results based business. Sanchez's time in the Big Apple may be over, and Flynn looked ready for the spotlight in Week 17.

General manager Mike Tannenbaum is always aggressive in free agency, and may be looking to move away from Sanchez and find a strong arm to help back up Rex Ryan's big mouth.