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Only three times in NFL history have both Super Bowl teams failed to make the playoffs the next season. Tampa Bay (4-4) and Oakland (2-6) could make it four. If they do, that will be three times in five years. The other seasons both Super Bowl teams failed to make the playoffs were 2002 (New England and St. Louis), 1999 (Denver and Atlanta) and 1988 (Washington and Denver).

The Bucs could become the 11th defending Super Bowl champion to miss the playoffs in the next season. The first 10 and the season they didn't qualify for postseason play: Packers, 1968; Chiefs, '70; Steelers, '80: Raiders, '81; 49ers, '82; Giants, '87; Redskins, '88; Giants, '91; Broncos, '99; and Patriots, 2002.

THE RAY-DUHS: Oakland started 2-2 but has lost four games in a row. And cornerback Charles Woodson criticized coach Bill Callahan for losing the team.

"I really believe (Woodson's comments are) inappropriate and inaccurate," Callahan said. "I'm not going to fuel the negativity of a player's comments."

REPLAY: Over the last 10 years, 26 teams that were 4-4 or worse rallied to make the playoffs, including six in 2002 (Oakland, Tennessee, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Giants and Jets). At this time last season, San Diego and Denver were 6-2. Buffalo and Miami were 5-3. None made the playoffs.

CAPTAINS COMEBACK: Since the start of the 2001 season, Giants quarterback Kerry Collins leads the NFL with 12 comeback victories in the fourth quarter or overtime. New England's Tom Brady is second with nine. San Francisco's Jeff Garcia, Kansas City's Trent Green, Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and Denver's Jake Plummer have eight each.

CITRUS SQUEEZE: The 7-1 Colts are favored to win today at 1-7 Jacksonville, and if they do they will be the first team to win at Miami, at Tampa Bay and at Jacksonville - a Sunshine State sweep - in one season.

GOOD GUY: San Diego wide receiver Tim Dwight made a lasting impression on an Iowa family in the past year. The Iowa native and former University of Iowa star visited the Make-A-Wish Foundation tent at the San Diego Super Bowl and befriended a 9-year-old Iowa boy suffering from colon cancer.

Dwight ended up going to radiation and chemotherapy treatments with the boy and took him trips to Iowa City, where they attended museums and Hawkeyes basketball games. Dwight also took him surfing when the boy's family visited San Diego.

The boy, Ben Reinier died Sept. 5, and his parents, Debbie and Don, attended the Chargers' season opener five days after Ben's death. Then they attended the Chargers' game at Soldier Field last week.

PANTHER PRIDE: Carolina's best addition might not have been a player. Team observers say offensive line coach Mike Maser has been a perfect fit. Brought in from Jacksonville after Paul Boudreau left for the Jaguars, Maser doesn't use a whistle on the practice field. His voice is the most distinctive sound, and the Panthers are listening. Carolina is second in the league in rushing yards per game.

AFC NORTH: The Ravens' five victories have come against teams with a combined 13-28 record. They're 1-1 against teams with a winning record, beating Denver and losing to Kansas City, and both of those games were in Baltimore. The Ravens have not won a division title in their first seven years in Baltimore, either, but have a two-game lead over the Bengals and Browns at midseason. . . . QB Tim Couch and wide receiver Kevin Johnson were the Browns' Nos. 1 and 2 draft picks in the team's inaugural draft of 1999. Now they are both on the bench. Couch said: "We're just connected in a different way now. Now we're on the same page sitting on the bench." . . . Jerome Bettis ran for 142 yards on 36 carries and three touchdowns the last time the Steelers played the Cardinals, in 1997. Bettis has only 220 yards and three touchdowns this season, and the Steelers have not rushed for more than 138 in a game.

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Compiled from notes submitted by NFL beat writers.

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