This is the ultimate “GET OFF ME!” moment of the 2009 NFL season…

That was really more of a slap than a stiff-arm.

Former Patriots’ safety Rodney Harrison brought up an interesting point last night on “Football Night in America” when he said that the Bengals would lay down against the Jets so that they didn’t have to face the Texans next week in the first round.

At the time, I thought Harrison was reaching. No professional football team with professional players would just allow an opponent to walk all over them. Players and coaches have egos the size of California and would never concede anything before the game started. At the very least, I figured the Bengals would play most of their starters until the second quarter or even half time and then pull them for the second half.

But then the game started and watching the Bengals was like watching monkeys slap each other for three hours. Cincinnati was absolutely horrendous in every phase of the game, including things as simple as lining up to get the snap off. They had no interest in stopping Thomas Jones defensively and even less interest in trying to score offensively.

I still doubt that Marvin Lewis got his players together and said, “Go out there and trip over yourselves for 60 minutes.” But one has to wonder if the Bengals didn’t have ulterior motives last night. Think about it, had they beaten the Jets, they would have had to play a Houston team that had already smacked them in Cincinnati during the regular season. If they lost, they got to face that same Jets team with a rookie quarterback making his first postseason appearance on the road. Why would the Bengals go all out for a semi-meaningless game?

I feel bad for the Texans, because they clearly were hosed by the Bengals’ effort last night. I couldn’t imagine being a Houston player that didn’t turn the game on until the second half, hoping that when they tuned in that they would at least see a close game. Instead, they saw J.T. O’Sullivan run around the field like Brucie from the remake of “The Longest Yard.”

Chris Johnson became the sixth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards after racking up 134 yards on 36 carries and two touchdowns in the Titans’ 17-13 win over the Seahawks in Week 17.

Johnson finished the season with 2,006 rushing yards and 2,509 all-purpose yards, which eclipsed Marshall Faulk’s all-time record. He came up short of his goal of 2,105 (which is Eric Dickerson’s single-season record), but Johnson can’t be disappointed with his effort this year.

It’s too bad that the Titans’ season is over, because Johnson would be fun to watch in the postseason again. He’s got a MVP award in his future.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

After the Broncos collapsed down the stretch in 2008, owner Pat Bowlen decided that enough was enough. He fired long-time head coach Mike Shanahan and replaced him with first-timer Josh McDaniels, who became the youngest coach in the NFL.

As it turns out Bowlen’s decision netted the same result, as the Broncos collapsed for the second straight year. Things came to an embarrassing finish today when Kansas City routed Denver 44-24, as Kyle Orton racked up 431 yards and a touchdown but also threw three picks.

As if the collapse wasn’t bad enough, McDaniels is also in the midst of a controversy after he decided to bench Brandon Marshall for Sunday’s game. ESPN.com is reporting that Marshall was specifically benched for being late to a therapy session for his strained hamstring. Marshall suffered the injury on Wednesday and said he wasn’t healthy enough to face the Chiefs, but McDaniels noted that some Broncos were playing with more serious injuries and deactivated the wideout in retaliation.

However the Marshall-McDaniels’ spat started, it didn’t end well and the Broncos’ embarrassing loss to the Chiefs added insult to injury. How do the players view a head coach who benches their key offensive weapon for a must-win game? I’m not suggesting McDaniels was in the wrong, but I wonder how the players feel now that they’re season ended like this.

I would have to imagine that Marshall has played his last snap in Denver.

After defeating the Texans 23-18 in Week 13, the young Jaguars had high hopes of making the postseason. But they proceeded to lose their next three games before dropping their season finale today in Cleveland.

Despite Jacksonville’s 23-17 loss to the Browns in which the Jags allowed 300 total yards and 214 rushing yards, Jack Del Rio’s job appears to be safe for now. Michael C. Wright of the Florida Times-Union wrote via his Twitter page that Del Rio would be with the Jaguars next season, although he didn’t go into any detail as to why.

T-Bone, one of our regular readers, brought up a good point last week about NFL teams possibly playing things cautiously when it comes to coaching hires because of a potential lockout in 2011. They don’t want to pay a new head coach boatloads of money with a threat of a lockout coming in two years. Granted, that’s just an observation, but it’s one that might have teeth.

Del Rio had a young team that wasn’t supposed to compete this year and given their overall inexperience, it’s not a complete shock that they faded down the stretch. For the most part, I think he did a decent job keeping them in contention until the final month of the season. Had they beat Indianapolis a few weeks ago on Thursday night when they were matching the Colts score-for-score, the Jags might be getting ready for the postseason right now.

Some may look at the Jags’ effort today in Cleveland and make a case that Del Rio should go. But there’s not much shame losing to a Browns team that finished the season on a tear and that found a gem in running back Jerome Harrison. Again, I think the Jags’ collapse had more to do with their youth than Del Rio’s lack of coaching. But Jacksonville fans may have a different opinion.

Per NFL.com…

* New Orleans and Minnesota captured the top two seeds, respectively, and the first-round byes that come with them. In the divisional round of the playoffs on Jan. 16-17, the Saints will host the lowest remaining seed from the wild-card round and the Vikings will host the highest remaining seed.

* Dallas won the NFC East and clinched the conference’s No. 3 seed by beating Philadelphia, and will host the sixth-seeded Eagles in the wild-card round next weekend.

* Despite losing to Green Bay, Arizona finished as the No. 4 seed and, in a rematch from Week 17, will play host to the fifth-seeded Packers in the wild-card round.

In the AFC, if the Jets win, they’re in. If they lose, Houston will get the postseason berth. New England and Baltimore will play in the first round no matter what, with the Bengals taking on the Jets (if the Jets win tonight) or the Texans (if Cincy wins).

ESPN.com is reporting that Patriots’ receiver Wes Welker has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and MCL and will miss the entire postseason. Welker suffered the injury while trying to make a cut during New England’s 34-27 loss to Houston in Week 17.

For those fans that complain about teams resting starters late in the season, this is why they do it. I understand this isn’t the same as the Colts conceding a perfect season by pulling Peyton Manning and the rest of their starters last week, and I’m not trying to compare the situations. But did Welker have to play today? Did he absolutely need the extra work? If he took the week off, would he and Tom Brady not be able to complete a bubble screen next week in the postseason after successfully completing 4,350 bubble screens this season?

I get it – momentum is vital in sports. Teams don’t want to have a losing mindset entering the postseason and it’s key for coaches to keep their players confident. But what was this all for in the end? What if this had been Brady? I’m sorry, but I disagree with those that think teams with nothing to play for should keep their starters in through Week 17. I get that injuries can happen in practice and even in the player’s own homes, but the risk factor is amplified in a live game.

I feel bad for Wes Welker. He worked his ass off all season to help his team get to the playoffs and now he’ll have to watch from the sidelines because Bill Belichick and his coaching staff decided that he needed to play in a semi-meaningless game against Houston.

The Cowboys definitely had a nice Sunday. After beating the Eagles 24-0, the Cowboys should be brimming with confidence. Nobody expected them to shut out the Eagles but they managed to do so easily.

Tony Romo got things going early on, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton, respectively. Romo ended up completing 24 of 31 attempts for 311 yards. He’s finally heating up and looks just as good as the other top quarterback. By the end of the first half it was clear that something was wrong with Eagles.

From then on the Cowboys focused on their defense, which did just enough to prevent the Eagles from gaining any momentum. The Eagles couldn’t convert on third downs and made a couple errors that could have changed the tide of the game.

This is the time of the season when the Cowboys usually break down. If they continue communicating well on both fronts, the Cowboys might just be the team to beat in the playoffs. Strangely enough, they’ll face the Eagles in the first round. After today’s game, I’m sure they’re more than ready.

For the second straight week, the New York Giants were horrendous. In their pathetic 41-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, they proved that they need to rebuild. It’s easy to accuse Eli Manning, but I’d put more blame on offensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. The Giants looked confused on each of their drives so it’s no surprise that the Minnesota Vikings defense shut them down. Their only score came on a one-yard run by Danny Ware early in the fourth quarter. Still, Manning wasn’t completely absent as he did manage 141 yards on 17 of 23 attempts. With this defeat, the Giants fail to make the playoffs for the first time in four years. Their fans deserved a solid effort but the Giants just didn’t seem to care.

As for the Vikings, they straight up abused their opponents. Not only did they show up on defense, but their offense was even more impressive. Brett Favre posted possibly his best game of the season, repeatedly finding receivers Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Percy Harvin. Gradually picking apart an uninspired Giants defense, Favre went 25 for 31 on attempts for 316 yards and four touchdowns. His passes to Rice were a sight to behold. Rice really worked for both of his touchdowns, running interesting routes to fool the coverage.

The Vikings will now await the results of today’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallsas Cowboys. If the Cowboys beat the Eagles and clinch the NFC East, the Vikings will get the buy in the first week of the playoffs.

Most fantasy football leagues held their championship games last week, but there are still a few holdout leagues that schedule their title games for Week 17. To that end, here are a few players that I like, and a few that I don’t.

The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

The Steelers need a win, and Ben Roethlisberger has a great matchup against the Dolphins’ 23rd-ranked pass defense (allowing 236 yards, 1.3 TD per game)…The Giants have struggled to stop the pass of late and phoned it in against the Panthers last week, so Brett Favre should have a good game, especially since the Vikings need to win…The Browns have a sketchy pass defense, so David Garrard should have a nice line in a game that the Jags have to win to have a shot at the postseason…Desperate? Josh Freeman has a nice matchup against the Falcons, who are ranked 28th against the pass. Matt Ryan and Co. looked pretty good in Week 16, so the Bucs will likely have to throw to stay in the game.

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