NFL Week 17 Observations

44-6. No, that is not a typo. The Dallas implosion reached its climax yesterday as it failed to show up for a must win game vs. the Eagles that could've put them into the playoffs. And after such lofty expectations coming into this season, this has to go down as one of the biggest disappointments in NFL, and franchise, history.

San Diego would've been a close runner up had not the Broncos' free fall allowed the Chargers to sneak into the post season.

Back to Sunday though, the Cowboys came out flat. They had no sense of urgency and after McNabb and Co. rattled off 24 unanswered points to take a 27-3 halftime lead, the ship officially hit the iceberg when Romo was stripped in the red zone and the ball was taken all the way back by DE Clemons for the TD. Game over.

And just so Dallas really got the point, on the next drive, which was taken down into the red zone once again, this time RB Marion Barber was stripped inside the five and that was then taken back to the house.

It was a very embarrassing day for "America's" team, which suddenly resembles many of the American financial institutions that have tons of toxic debt on the books and are in need of bailout money.

The only difference for Dallas is its toxic debt is locked up long term, and due to precarious midseason moves (WR Roy Williams for a first and third rounder), and the NFL salary cap, it won't be able to do any wholesale changes anytime soon.

The Panthers solidified their stranglehold on the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a 33-31 win over division rival New Orleans. After jumping out to a 30-10 fourth-quarter lead, Drew Brees, who came with in 15 yards of Dan Marino's single season passing record, led the Saints to 21 unanswered points before K John Kasay held seal the deal for Carolina.

So now they get that much needed bye and look like a real contender in the NFC.

As to the Bucs, ouch. Is Jon Gruden really going to to keep his job? After racing out to a 9-3 record and positioning themselves for a possible No. 1 seed in the NFC, they hit the wall and dropped their last four games.

And yesterday's was the worst of all. Had they won, they would've advanced to the playoffs with a Dallas loss, and for God sakes, all they had to do was beat the Oakland Raiders at home. Instead, they blew a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead to lose to the 5-11 Raiders, 31-24.

Onto the AFC, let's give a round of applause to the Miami Dolphins. After winning one total game in 2007, they upped that mark to 11 and won the AFC East. And they did so in the most satisfying way possible: burying a division rival, who just happened to kick their new QB to the curb in favor of old man Favre prior to the season.

I'm sure that decision now had little bearing on Mangini receiving the pink slip Monday morning...

The only sad thing from yesterday was that the Dolphins win eliminated the New England Patriots, who at 11-5, deserved to be in the dance. This was Bill Belichick's best job of coaching since he led his 2001 team, after staring 0-2, to a Super Bowl with then unknown QB Tom Brady.

The season's were eerily similar; both teams finished 11-5, but this year they were squeezed out by tie breakers. Had they got in, with the maturity of Matt Cassel, who knows what might have happened.

And lastly, the San Diego Chargers. It's unbelievable that an 8-8 team can win a division in the NFL, but that's what happens when the other team wants no part of the post season. After cruising to an 8-5 record, all the Broncos had to do was win one more game and it was over; the Bolts playoff chances were through.

Well, after getting crushed by the Panthers in Carolina three weeks ago, they let the unthinkable happen—the Bills beat them in Denver—and after that, they had already lost last night's game mentally before even boarding the flight to San Diego.

And the final score was indicative of how badly they were (mentally) beaten. The Chargers wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and ran it up 52-21. This is a double edged sword for SD though; with the win, they're in the dance and have an opportunity to make some noise.

On the flip side, they've just bought themselves another year of Norv Turner at the helm so get ready for another .500 season in 2009, which as we look at the rest of the landscape in the AFC West, still might be enough to win a division title.