St. Louis’ wide receiver Torry Holt is claiming that an official during the Rams’ 23-20 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday used the scoreboard to call an offensive pass interference penalty on him in the second half.

“He said he looked up in the Jumbotron and saw that I pushed off,” said Holt, who is in his 10th year with the Rams (2-12). “I told him I never extended my arm. It is one thing if you extended, because that is pass interference. But everything was in motion catching the football. I don’t even know if I had my hands on the guy.

“That was his explanation, and I told him it was a bad call.”

With the Rams leading 17-13 with 4:40 left in the third quarter, St. Louis took possession on its 20 and moved to the Seattle 46. On second down, Marc Bulger threw a strike down the right sideline that Holt caught at the 26 against cornerback Marcus Trufant.

The play was brought back on the penalty, pushing the Rams to their 44. St. Louis moved the ball to the Seattle 29 and settled for a field goal with 11:09 remaining. The Seahawks trailed only 20-13 and were still in the game.

“I was surprised,” Holt said of the key penalty. “I could understand if I did because I would take that, but I could not understand it. It was a big play for our team. It was something that we needed. We needed some energy, something to get us going.

“Torry made such a nice catch there. I think he did (push off),” Bulger said. “It wasn’t just one play that cost us this game.”

Here’s the thing, Bulger’s right. One play doesn’t make or break an entire game. The Rams were up 17-7 at one point and couldn’t put a bad Seahawks team away at home.

This season couldn’t end any faster for the Rams.

After their stunning, last-second collapse against the Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star writes that Herman Edwards and the rest of the Chiefs’ coaching staff should be fired.

That was pretty much all I could come up with. And really, even if you total up all the positive vibes, it probably does not quite make up for the astounding way that the Chiefs blew an 11-point lead in the final 5 minutes Sunday.

They blew it by punting on fourth and inches, then by allowing the Chargers to drive 89 yards in about 3 1/2 minutes (all without using a timeout), then by Dwayne Bowe dropping the onside kick, then by forgetting to cover a Chargers receiver deep (even though they were in a coverage conveniently designed to have four defensive backs deep), then by forgetting to cover a receiver in the end zone, then by pulling out their Three Stooges playbook for the final offensive drive, then by missing a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer.

The only thing missing was the “Psycho” music and the see-through shower curtain.

And the truth is that, after that sort of mind-shattering collapse, it’s hard to come up with a single good reason why anybody involved with the Chiefs should be back next season. Sure, everyone knew that this year would be trying, that there would be more losses than wins, that young players would make lots of mistakes. But there was no way to see this mess coming.

After a game like Sunday’s, it’s kind of hard not to share Posnanski’s feelings on the subject. But in the coaching staff’s defense, this is a young team severely void of talent. They don’t have an offensive line, the secondary is littered with inexperienced players and quarterback Tyler Thigpen (who has made strides this season) is in his first year as a starter. Look what Edwards is working with. You actually have to hand it to him because for the most part, the Chiefs have been somewhat competitive even though they’ve found every way possible to lose this season.

Then again, sometimes it’s just better to blow up the entire thing and start fresh. Turnarounds in the NFL happen all the time (see the Dolphins, Ravens, Falcons and Jets this year), so regardless of the situation, maybe it is time for the Chiefs to start anew.

The Dallas Cowboys put all of the internal bickering and inner squabbling that dominated the headlines at Valley Ranch last week behind them Sunday night and came up with a massive 20-8 win over their division rivals the New York Giants, who lost back to back games for the first time all season.

Tony Romo was excellent, completing 20 of 30 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, as well as Tashard Choice, who rushed nine times for 91 yards and a game-clinching 38-yard touchdown run. But the Dallas defense was the true hero, sacking Eli Manning eight times, intercepting him once and limited a Brandon Jacobs-less Giants’ running game to just 72 yards.

For the moment, the win puts the Cowboys in the fifth playoff spot in the NFC. They’ll host the Ravens next Sunday before wrapping up the season in Philadelphia on December 28. If they continue to get this kind of defensive effort and can keep from killing each other in between games, Dallas will not only make the playoffs but they could potentially make a deep run, as well. One game at a time though.

As for the Giants, they’re now 0-2 since Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at a nightclub and suddenly their offense looks incredibly ordinary. Getting Jacobs back will obviously help, but if the offensive line plays as badly as they did Sunday night in Dallas, the G-Men won’t get past anyone come January.

Two weeks ago the Giants beat the Redskins in convincing fashion and everyone thought they were a lock for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Now a loss next week at home against the Panthers and Carolina would own the top spot in the conference. It’s amazing how quickly things can turn on a dime in the NFL.

With their 13-9 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers captured the AFC North title and a first-round bye in the postseason. But their win didn’t come without a little controversy, which is something that the Steelers have become accustomed to this season.

Down 9-6 with under a minute remaining in the game and facing a third and goal from the Baltimore 4 yard line, Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger found receiver Santonio Holmes on a broken pass play. Holmes was ruled down at the one-inch line after his momentum carried him out of the end zone, but the play was overturned by replay and Pittsburgh was awarded the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Even after looking at the replay multiple times, there’s no way officials had a definitive camera angle to determine that the ball was across the goal line. And considering the original call on the field was that it wasn’t a touchdown, it’s amazing the call was overturned. Doesn’t there have to be indisputable visual evidence to overturn a call?

The controversy comes in not only because of the fishy decision to overturn the call, but also because had the play not be overturned, the Steelers would have had a fourth and goal at the Ravens’ one-inch line. Maybe Mike Tomlin would have kicked the field goal to possibly force overtime. Maybe Pittsburgh would have gone for it and scored anyway. Or maybe the Ravens come up with a goal line stand and win the game. We’ll never know, which of course is the most frustrating part about all of this.

In a perfect NFL world, a game would never be decided by an official’s replay decision. But as we’ve seen multiple times this season, this isn’t a perfect NFL world.

NFL purists always say that teams with momentum heading into the postseason are always the most dangerous. Well after two impressive wins, their latest being a 30-10 victory over the Broncos on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers might be the most dangerous team in the NFC right now.

With all due respect to the New York Giants, Carolina has been the most impressive team in the NFC the last three weeks. In their last three games, the Panthers came back multiple times in a thrilling victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field, absolutely ran over the Buccaneers last Monday night and then handled Denver in convincing fashion on Sunday.

What has been the most impressive thing about Carolina the past three weeks is the way they’ve run the ball. Quarterback Jake Delhomme hasn’t necessarily been that impressive (Steve Smith has one again made Delhomme look better than he is), but he hasn’t needed to be because the running duo of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart has been so good. Plus, the Panthers’ defense has really tightened things up again, just in time for the playoffs.

The Panthers still have a tough road ahead of them because they have to travel to the Giants and Saints the next two weeks. But they also have a two-game lead over the Bucs and Falcons in the NFC South, meaning they have to win just one of their two remaining games to clinch the division. It’ll be interesting to see if the Panthers can not only can claim the NFC South crown, but also win out and achieve home field advantage throughout the postseason.

If someone would have said before Sunday that the quarterback who threw four touchdown passes and no interceptions in the Vikings-Cardinals game would not be Kurt Warner, I would have said let me take a sip of whatever you’re drinking because it has to be some good stuff.

While subbing for the injured Gus Frerotte on Sunday in Arizona, Tarvaris Jackson threw for 163 yards and four touchdowns in Minnesota’s impressive 35-14 win over the Cardinals. Granted, Adrian Peterson was the real star for the Vikings while rushing for 165 yards on 28 carries, but Jackson didn’t make one mistake and finally made some plays in the passing game (with a little help from Bobby Wade and Bernard Berrian, of course).

I realize that the Cardinals already clinched their division last week, but they’ve still got a lot to prove. Outside of the Cowboys, they haven’t beaten any team of substance this year and their defense remains a massive question mark. It’s one thing to get gashed by Adrian Peterson but it’s quite another to allow Tarvaris Jackson to throw for four touchdowns on just 17 attempts. That’s horrible.

Yes, the 2008 Arizona Cardinals have been a nice story and it’s okay to feel all warm and fuzzy inside about Kurt Warner turning in an MVP-like season when most figured he would be in a reclining chair watching games on Sunday from his home. But after Sunday, how could anyone think that this is a Super Bowl contender? There’s no way they’re winning on the road in New York or Carolina come playoff time and after their pathetic defensive effort on Sunday, I’m not even sure if they’re better than the Buccaneers or Falcons (two Wild Card contenders) at this point either.

Good for Tarvaris Jackson and a surging Vikings team – seriously, impressive performance. But this loss was rather shocking for Arizona.

Here are some quick-hit thoughts from the early games in Week 15:

- The Indianapolis Colts might be the most dangerous team in the AFC right now and nobody is talking about them. They’re 10-4, have won seven in a row after beating the lowly Lions on Sunday, and Peyton Manning has thrown four touchdowns to zero interceptions the last two games. That said, they need to get healthier on defense – and fast. They won’t go very far in the postseason without Bob Sanders, especially considering they’ll be playing on the road the entire time.

- Not that they’ve played any explosive offenses of late, but how good has the Miami Dolphins’ defense been the past three weeks? They’ve allowed just 24 total points in their last three games and haven’t allowed a touchdown in 12 consecutive quarters. That’s impressive, I don’t care who they’ve played during that stretch.

- Herman Edwards should take his own advice. You play the game to win, Herm? How about going for it on one of the multiple fourth and one’s your team faced on Sunday? Seriously your team is 2-12 – grow some nuggets and take some chances.

- I know they did it against the Chiefs, but the Chargers come-from-behind win on Sunday was amazing. Even though San Diego’s season has been a massive disappointment, that’s one game you look back on as a fan and just say, “Damn that was fun to watch.”

- Stick a fork in the Redskins – they’re done. You can’t be considered a legitimate playoff threat when you lose to a previously two-win Bengals team. What’s amazing is that this team was once 6-2 and everyone couldn’t help but to look ahead and see that they had a very manageable rest of the season. So much for that as they’ve now lost five of their last six games.

- Does anyone else think Seneca Wallace can start in this league? I for one think Matt Hasselbeck still has some game left in him, but Wallace has been pretty good after getting the opportunity to play more regularly this year. He has eight touchdown passes and only one interception this season. Maybe he deserves a shot to be a full-time starter next year.

I realize Trent Edwards is hurt and the Bills aren’t playing for much these days, but how is J.P. Losman still starting in the NFL? I certainly don’t have the talent to play one of the toughest leagues in the world, but after watching him over the past three weeks, I struggle to fathom how this guy was ever a first round pick. And not only that, how he’s still getting the opportunity to start. A moist towelette might be more productive under center than Losman is.

Losman gift-wrapped a 31-27 victory for the Jets on Sunday by throwing three interceptions (only two were his fault) and losing a fumble after being stripped deep in New York territory. Defensive end Shaun Ellis returned the fumble for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game, which essentially gave the Jets’ their game-winning score.

Losman wasn’t a complete waste – he did run for a touchdown and threw for a score on a nice slant pass to Steve Johnson right before half – but I can’t see how the Bills don’t rid themselves of this guy after the season. He’s just bad. And just like Joey Harrington, what makes him even more nauseating is that once in a while he’ll show you something to make you believe he can play (only to make you puke the next week).

This was a huge win for the Jets because it keeps them in first place in the AFC East on a day when both the Dolphins and Patriots also won. But this wasn’t a very impressive performance, especially considering the Losman-led Bills had scored a total of just six points the past two weeks. Regardless, a win is a win and at this point in the season, it doesn’t matter how a team gets them.

The Jets still control their own destiny from here on out, although they have to travel to the West Coast again next week (they’re 0-3 out West this season) to play the Seahawks and then host divisional rival Miami in their season finale.

The Tennessee Titans might have the AFC’s best record, but they’re currently not the hottest team in the conference. That title can be bestowed on the Houston Texans, who have now won four straight games after beating the Titans 13-12 on Sunday.

Many NFL purists (some of which write for ESPN the Magazine) expected the Texans to be one of the surprises in the AFC this season. But after getting out to a dismal 0-4 start, it appeared as though nothing had changed for the Texans.

Granted at 7-7 they still won’t make the playoffs, but at least they have a lot to build off of heading into next season. They found a great young running back in rookie Steve Slaton, their defense has the makings of maturing unit and as long as he can avoid injury and be more consistent, quarterback Matt Schaub is starting to come around.

This wasn’t a critical loss for the Titans because they clinched the AFC South last week, but building momentum heading into the playoffs is vital. And considering they have two tough games left in the Steelers and Colts, it would have been nice to see them throttle a team in the Texans that they’re superior to – especially with the Steelers and Colts still left on the schedule. Either way, no harm, no foul. But this loss to Houston leaves a little to be desired.

Rookie Matt Ryan has been everything the Atlanta Falcons dreamed of having in a quarterback when they drafted him third overall in April’s NFL Draft. But has running back Michael Turner been the key reason for the Falcons impressive turnaround this season?

Turner rushed for 152 yards on 32 carries and scored the Falcons’ lone touchdown in their crucial 13-10 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. On a day when Ryan threw two uncharacteristic interceptions that kept Tampa in the ballgame, Turner gashed the Bucs’ suddenly poor run defense and was the key in keeping the Falcons’ playoff hopes alive.

Turner has carried the ball 300 times this season for 1,269 yards and 14 touchdowns, which set a Falcon single-season record. He’s also forced opposing defenses to jam the box in efforts to stop Atlanta’s dynamic rushing game, which has allowed Ryan to find open receivers all season. For as good as Ryan has been (and rookie or not he’s been absolutely fantastic), Turner has allowed him to make an easy transition from the college level to the pro. Of course, one could say that Ryan has also helped Turner excel seeing as though he hasn’t made the mistakes that usually doom a rookie.

One more note on Atlanta – how good has defensive end John Abraham been this year? He added three sacks to his amazing season total of 15.5. For as good as Ryan and Turner have been on offense, Abraham has taken games over this year for the Falcons and he certainly did so again on Sunday while producing huge plays – none bigger than a sack on third down in overtime to force the Bucs to punt.

For Tampa, this was a huge blow. They’ve now lost back-to-back divisional games, although they’re still in great shape because they host the Chargers and Raiders in their final two games. But their run defense has been gashed the last two weeks and they continue to have issues putting the ball in the end zone when they’ve moved into opponents’ territory. Barring a collapse over the next two weeks, the Bucs should still make the playoffs. But this has looked like a weary group the last two games.