Two playoff AFC playoff teams clashed on Sunday, but only one of them is heading in the right direction.

For the Bengals to have to deal with the death of Chris Henry and then have to travel cross-country to face a red-hot Chargers team was a tall task. But they did it, and they fought hard despite eventually falling 27-24 on Nate Kaeding’s last-second field goal.

That said, the Bengals have now lost two in a row and three of their last five. They haven’t looked sharp since their win against the Steelers in mid November, which isn’t good considering the playoffs are coming up in two weeks. And since their loss on Sunday was against San Diego, they now won’t have a first round bye.

San Diego, on the other hand, is scorching hot and has locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC. Vincent Jackson came up huge with five receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He routinely beat Cincinnati’s excellent cornerback duo of Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph and is really coming on of late as Philip River’s go to go on the outside.

It’s interesting how this season has unfolded for the Bolts. They were a lot of people’s preseason favorite to make an outside run at the Super Bowl, but when they struggled early on, many started to hop off the bandwagon. But now that they’ve rattled off nine in a row, people are breaking their ankles climbing back on their bandwagon.

Every team in the NFL has an opponent that is just a pain in the ass for them, and the Chargers are that team for the Colts. Indianapolis obviously looks incredible this year, but I wonder if Peyton Manning and company are getting a little uneasy with how good San Diego has looked over the past nine weeks.

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I don’t want to take way anything the Denver Broncos and first year head coach Josh McDaniels have accomplished this season. But they might not be able to look at themselves in the minor tomorrow after allowing Charlie Frye and JaMarcus Russell combine to beat them 20-19 in Week 15. Did I mention Denver was at home, too?

Actually, Michael Bush and the rest of Oakland’s was the reason the Raiders were able to pull off yet another surprising upset this season. Frye and Russell just made sure they stayed the hell out of the way. Bush rushed 18 times for 133 yards and a touchdown, while Darren McFadden chipped in 74 yards on 12 carries. On the day, Oakland rushed for 241 yards, which was huge because the team only had 102 passing yards on the day.

This is a rather jarring loss for the Broncos, who now have an identical record as the Ravens at 8-6. They’re still in good shape in the AFC playoff race, but no team should lose at home to the Raiders when Charlie Frye is starting for Oakland and J. Russell McBust makes an appearance. There’s just no excuse for Denver to allow Russell to lead a game-winning touchdown drive. None.

What an ugly loss for the Broncos.

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What in God’s name is going on with all the blown field goal attempts in the NFL these days?

The Jets’ chances of making the playoffs entering Week 15 were slim, but at least they still had a shot. And with the Falcons officially eliminated from postseason contention with the Cowboys’ win over the Saints on Saturday night, one would have thought that the Jets would have taken advantage of the situation on Sunday and get a win over a depleted team. (Matt Ryan and Michael Turner both started for Atlanta, but Turner left the game after just one carry.)

But thanks to three blown field goal attempts, New York will likely be home for the playoffs this season as the Falcons beat the Jets, 10-7. Holder Kellen Clemens dropped a snap on the first attempt, kicker Jay Feely missed a chip shot before half on the second, and Atlanta blocked the Jets’ final kick with just under four minutes remaining to set up their game-winning touchdown drive.

The best and the worst of Mark Sanchez were on full display today. He threw an absolutely beautiful 65-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards in the first quarter to give the Jets a 7-3 lead, but he also turned the ball over three times, including on New York’s final possession. He took command of the Jets’ offense and moved the ball the entire game. But the turnovers killed him today, which has been the case so many times this season.

Give the Falcons credit, after they were eliminated last night they could have rolled over on a cold day in East Rutherford. But their defense played inspired and with a lot of help from the Jets, they were able to notch their third win of the year. If they can beat the Bills and Bucs the next two weeks, they’ll finish with back to back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. (Breaking one of the most embarrassing records in sports.)

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