NFL Slow Starts: Are Playoff Hopes Still Alive for Chargers, Cowboys, Vikings?

The increasing competitiveness in the NFL has resulted in a number of teams underachieving in the 2010 season.

Those of you anticipating a Chargers-Cowboys Super Bowl (and there were some of you) have been shocked to see the Chargers get off to a disastrous 2-5 start and the Cowboys win just one game for a lackluster 1-5 record.

Are these teams going to turn around their seasons? Or have their slow starts doomed their playoff hopes?

The Minnesota Vikings fell to divisional rivals Green Bay Packers on Sunday, dropping to 2-4 and third in their division. The Packers and Bears are tied at the top, with commendable 4-3 records. While it's still relatively early in the season and this isn't such a big deficit, it's the quarterback situation which worries me the most.

Brett Favre's age seems to be catching up with him. He has looked a shadow of the player he was last season, while his 10 interceptions are already three more than his total from last year. Worse yet, Favre's record streak of 291 consecutive starts appears to look like it's about to be broken with the recent injury to the relic's ankle.

Although this is Brett Favre we're talking about, a stress fracture in his ankle is a fairly serious injury and would keep most NFL players out. Even if he does decide to play through the pain, will we see last season's Favre or this season's Favre?

Regardless of whether he plays or not, the Vikings look to have a problem at quarterback. The Vikings can't be too high on Tarvaris Jackson if they are considering playing Favre with a stress fracture in his ankle.

The Vikings also have to go to play New England, and while a loss wouldn't end their season just yet, it would certainly put a bigger dent in their playoff hopes.

Another team with troubles at quarterback, the Dallas Cowboys, lost to the New York Giants on Monday night to cap off a miserable 1-5 start. As if the loss to their divisional rival wasn't bad enough, starting quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken clavicle.

Without their leader Romo, things could go from bad to worse for the Cowboys. When backup Jon Kitna finally got things together against the Giants, it was too little, too late and the Cowboys dropped to 1-5.

The tough NFC East doesn't do them any favors either. With the Redskins and Eagles at 4-3 and the Giants at 5-2, the Cowboys would need a miracle to reignite their playoff hopes.

Had Tony Romo not suffered his injury, I might not be so hasty to jump off the Cowboys bandwagon, but with no leader and games against teams such as the Colts and Saints still to play, I can't see how the Cowboys will be able to rebound from their awful start.

Whereas the Cowboys and Vikings have numerous problems, the San Diego Chargers don't seem to have many at all. They have all the tools there, but the only problem is the number of wins in their win column.

With the league's best offense and defense in terms of yardage, it's astounding that the Chargers are 2-5. What these stats don't show is turnovers, special teams and missed opportunities. A combination of errors have limited the Chargers chances to win games this season.

With all five losses being by eight points or fewer, it's fair to say the Chargers' record isn't a true reflection on how they've played this season. Is it time to give up on the Chargers? Absolutely not.

We all know the Chargers have a habit of starting poorly. It is unlikely, but with Philip Rivers at quarterback and the return of Vincent Jackson, the Bolts are capable of clocking up a large win streak and finishing with 10 wins this year.

Will this be enough to get them into the playoffs? Who knows, but they are lucky they are in the AFC West and not a tougher division. Their playoff hopes, although hanging by a thread, are still alive.

Unpredictable has been the theme so far this season, and it seems anything can happen in this year's NFL. I'm not ready to rule out any team from the playoffs until it is statistically impossible.

Chargers-Cowboys Super Bowl anyone?