NFL Playoff Picture: Denver Broncos and Teams Not Ready for Playoffs

Heading into Week 17, teams like the Green Bay Packers are primed for another deep playoff run while teams like the Denver Broncos are extremely lucky to even be in the playoff talk.

Some of the playoff positions have been settled at this point, but the AFC West title, an AFC wild-card spot and the NFC East title are all up for grabs in Week 17.

But just because those spots are open doesn't mean that all of the teams who are in a position to potentially fill them are worthy of making it to the playoffs or make a run in the postseason. They have problems with turnovers, balanced attacks or have simply taken advantage of weak schedules or divisions.

Bottom line, there are a lot of weaknesses seen in these teams.

Who are they? Let's find out.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys (8-7) are putting it all on the line in Week 17 when they face the New York Giants in a battle for the NFC East title.

That means that quarterback Tony Romo (pictured) will likely play despite his deeply bruised right hand. But his injured hand could negate their seventh best passing offense in the league. If that is the case, the Cowboys will have to rely in their very mediocre run game who is without their biggest weapon, DeMarco Murray.

Their pass defense is is ranked 23rd in the league, and they are going up against the fourth best passing offense, one that is more motivated than ever to play well after an average showing against the New York Jets last week.

But let's say the Cowboys can do the near impossible and make it to the playoffs.

How will Romo's hand fare after the Giants game? Will he even be able to play in a potential first-round matchup against the Atlanta Falcons? Their run game won't be any better, and the Dallas secondary will still be bad.

The Cowboys have yet to beat a potential playoff team in 2011, except for a 27-24 OT victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. 

Dallas has a good team, but they are missing too many pieces because of injury to be a factor in the playoffs.

Tennessee Titans

Somehow, the Tennessee Titans (8-7) are still in the playoff picture going into Week 17.

They can get in with a wild-card spot with: a win and a Cincinnati loss and a NY Jets win and a Oakland loss or tie; OR a win and a Cincinnati loss and a NY Jets win and a Denver loss or tie; OR a win and a Cincinnati loss and a NY Jets loss or tie and an Oakland win and a Denver win.

That's how convoluted their playoff picture is. And that's a tribute to how not ready they are for the playoffs.

The Titans beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, 26-13, but that is now an afterthought. Tennessee hasn't beaten a playoff-bound team since then. Not only that, the Titans handed the Indianapolis Colts their first win of the season.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (pictured) has done about as well as anyone could have expected, having thrown for 3,274 yards and 16 touchdowns, making them the 12th best passing team in the league.

But running back Chris Johnson has let them down. In the offseason, he signed a huge contract extension worth $53.5 million over four years with $30 million guaranteed money. Since then, he has only rushed for 986 yards and four touchdowns, bringing the Titans down to be the second-to-worst rushing team in the league. 

The Tennessee defense is fairly average, but it has helped that four of their games have been against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Colts, two of the three worst offenses in the NFL.

The Titans have taken advantage of a very week AFC South to put themselves in a position to make the playoffs, no matter how small the chances are. But that doesn't make them ready for what's in store in the postseason.

New York Jets

Rex Ryan has talked the talk all year, but in crunch time, he couldn't walk the walk.

With their 29-14 loss to the Giants, the Jets (8-7) proved the season-long belief that they are not ready for the playoffs.

Yes, they can still get into the playoffs in two different scenarios. New York can clinch wild-card spot with a win and a Cincinnati loss and a Tennessee loss or tie and a Oakland loss or tie; OR a win and a Cincinnati loss and a Tennessee loss or tie and a Denver loss or tie.

Pretty confusing, right? 

Well the Jets made it that way by squandering multiple games, but none were bigger than the Week 16 loss to the Giants. The Giants sacked quarterback Mark Sanchez (pictured) five times and forced three interceptions. 

The Jets certainly have a lot of good pieces in place but their biggest, Sanchez, isn't. He currently ranks 22nd in passer rating, sitting behind quarterbacks like Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Moore. Until Sanchez finally lives up to his potential, if he ever does, the Jets won't be ready to win a Super Bowl.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) have had a great season to date after having very low expectations coming into 2011, a lot of this can be attributed to the play of two rookies, quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green.

Dalton and Green have proven they will be a deadly combination for years. Dalton is ranked 16th in terms of passer rating and has thrown 20 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. Green has 1,031 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. While the offense as a whole isn't that great, they are getting the job done.

The Bengals have put together some solid wins, including a five-game win streak through the month of October and the first week of November. Their six losses have been to teams who have already clinched playoff spots, with the exception of the Denver Broncos.

But they lack a definitive win. Their only win against another team that is still in the playoff hunt was a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, another team on this list.

Don't get me wrong, the Bengals are going to be a very good team in a few years. But right now, they lack the experience to be ready for a push in the playoffs.

Having to beat the Baltimore Ravens to get into the playoffs won't help either. 

Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow and the defense has turned the Denver Broncos (8-7) from a cellar-dweller into a team that can make it into the 2011 playoffs by winning their final game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But even if they can make it into the playoffs, this is not a team that can go deep into the postseason. They do have the best rushing offense in the league, but when your quarterback is rushing for 644 yards, that number is viewed a bit differently. 

Having a smash-mouth running offense is distinctly different than one that has a quarterback who can run, sometimes just extending broken plays. It means that if Tebow gets injured and has to leave the game, not only do they lose their quarterback, they also lose the second best running back on the team.

On top of that, Tebow is not a good quarterback. 

He did win them a string of games that will forever go down as "Tebow time," but that time is up. Tebow threw four interceptions to the Buffalo Bills in a 40-14 loss in Week 16 and three the week before in a loss to the New England Patriots. 

The Broncos defense has done a great job keeping their team in games, but at the end of the day, they don't run an offense that is built to win championships, only a few games here and there.