By Dave Goldberg
The Associated Press

Playoff contenders often learn the hard way about teams with nothing to lose. Just ask the Saints, Falcons and Jets.

One after another Sunday, New Orleans stumbled against Minnesota, Atlanta lost to Seattle, and New York threw in its annual late clunker by losing to Chicago.

So the Jets are just about out of the playoff race, while the seemingly certain wild-card spots reserved for the Saints and Falcons aren't quite so certain.

"We were a 3-10 team. What did we have to lose?" Minnesota coach Mike Tice said after the Vikings upset the Saints by making a two-point conversion in the last 10 seconds rather than kick an extra point and send the game into overtime.

The Jets' loss to the Bears - another team that was 3-10 - dropped New York to 7-7, two games behind Miami in the AFC East with two games to go. The Jets are in a five-way tie for ninth in the tightest conference race in recent memory, making a playoff spot a dim possibility.

The losses by New Orleans (9-5) and Atlanta (8-5-1) left them just a half-game ahead of the New York Giants (8-6) for a wild-card berth. The Giants can get in if they win their last two, and Atlanta or New Orleans loses one.

But New York has the toughest closing schedule - at Indianapolis and home vs. Philadelphia. The Saints play the Bengals on the road and Carolina at home, while the Falcons finish at Cleveland after hosting Detroit.

What happened Sunday?

"When you know you're not going to the playoffs, you wonder whether you're going to show up and win - or show up and lose," said Shaun Alexander, whose 27-yard touchdown run gave the Seahawks (5-9) their win at Atlanta in the 22nd overtime game this season, an NFL record.

The Jets, who had won six of eight going into Sunday, do this kind of thing every year.

Two years ago, they were upset at home by Detroit in their next-to-last game and ended up losing their final three and missing the playoffs. Last season, they lost in the 15th game to a Buffalo team that finished with just three wins, although the Jets won their finale in Oakland to get in.

Home-field advantage

The Philadelphia Eagles will clinch home-field advantage in the NFC if they win their final two games, at Dallas and at the Giants.

But Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, whose team also is 11-3, said Monday he doesn't consider home-field advantage crucial.

"There is a perception around here that we are going to curl up in a fetal position and die if we have to play a road playoff game," said Gruden. "I say, 'hogwash.'"

We're in the playoffs."

even though the Bucs have lost in Philadelphia in each of the last three seasons. They were eliminated from the playoffs there the last two seasons under Tony Dungy, and lost in Philly 20-10 on Oct. 20 - the reason the Eagles own the tiebreaker.

"There is a perception around here that we are going to curl up in a fetal position and die if we have to play a road playoff game," said Gruden, who lost the AFC title game to Baltimore at home when he coached the Raiders two years ago.

"I say 'hogwash.' We're in the playoffs. I saw the Ravens, close range, do it three consecutive weeks. They did it to me at a previous employment and rallied to win the Super Bowl."

AFC playoff logjam

With two games to play, no AFC team has clinched a playoff spot. The last time that happened was in 1987, a strike-shortened season when teams played 15 games.

And it's the first time it's happened since the league went from five to six qualifiers per conference in 1990.

The reason: 13 of the 16 AFC teams are between 9-5 and 7-7.

In 1996, by contrast, Denver clinched home-field advantage Dec. 1, when it was 12-1. The Broncos then lost two of their last three games, never got momentum back and lost their first playoff game to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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