By Dave Goldberg
The Associated Press

Three-quarters through the NFL season, the race for the playoffs should be hitting its peak.

Not in the NFC, where the six playoff teams were all but decided Sunday, and what remains is deciding the seedings.

The AFC? Wait a few weeks.

In the NFC, Green Bay (9-3) clinched the North on Sunday, something the Packers could have done two weeks ago had they not lost two straight games. The San Francisco 49ers (8-4 in the West) and Philadelphia Eagles (9-3 in the East) are three up with four to play.

The New Orleans Saints' 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just about guarantees that those two teams, plus the Atlanta Falcons, will make the postseason from the South. Tampa Bay is 9-3, Atlanta 8-3-1 and New Orleans 8-4.

"This is kind of a round robin," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "We beat Tampa twice. Atlanta beat us twice. Hopefully, Tampa will beat Atlanta next week and we'll just pass the thing around."

The losers in this are the New York Giants and the St.Louis Rams, who two weeks ago looked like playoff contenders.

With the injury to quarterback Donovan McNabb making the Eagles vulnerable, the Giants looked ready to seize control in the East. But New York (6-6), its defense weakened by injuries, lost to the Tennessee Titans and expansion Houston Texans.

"I'm not even thinking of the playoffs," Giants running back Tiki Barber said.

St.Louis, with Kurt Warner clearly hurting, lost 10-3 in Philadelphia. Warner is 0-6 as a starter this season, and the Rams are teetering at 5-7.

The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys also are 5-7, and everyone else in the NFC is 4-8 or worse.

"I hate the word 'parity,'" St.Louis tight end Ernie Conwell said. "But we've been able to see both ends of it. We were 4-12 and then went to the Super Bowl. Now we're the defending NFC champions - and this."

If Conwell wants to discuss parity, the AFC is the place.

Only three teams are under .500: the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-7), Cincinnati Bengals (1-11) and Houston (3-9). And the Jaguars still are contenders, albeit barely. So with four weeks to go, it's almost impossible to line up playoff scenarios.

Next week should clear up some questions.

The Indianapolis Colts (8-4) take their four-game winning streak to Tennessee (7-5), with the winner in control of the South. That's because the Titans won in Indy, so if they win again, they have a clear tiebreaker for the division title.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4-1) have a 11/2-game lead over the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in the North. On form, the Steelers should win it.

But the East and West are blanket races.

In the East, one game separates the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins (7-5) in first from the Buffalo Bills (6-6) in last. And Drew Bledsoe goes back to Foxboro, Mass., next week with the Bills to face the Patriots.

In the West, San Diego's overtime win over Denver gives the Chargers an edge in a three-team race with the Broncos and Oakland Raiders, with the Kansas City Chiefs (6-6) two games back.

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