AH, THE SPIRIT OF GIVING.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

In a league that has perfected the art of holding cities hostage for public funding, gouging fans at the turnstiles -- if the mob were selling personal seat licenses, it'd be called racketeering -- and deciding that depriving most of the country from watching NFL Network games is simply collateral damage in its war with cable companies, something of a Christmas Miracle occurred.

All over the NFL this weekend -- on the field, at least -- the holiday spirit reigned, though there was one notable exception, at the Meadowlands, where boos continued to rain down.

This spate of uncommon generosity came as the scramble began for the final playoff berths and home-field advantage. The belief that it's better to give than to receive appeared to be the rule of thumb -- or thumbs, in the case of Seattle receiver Deion Branch, who seemed be using them to catch passes (he dropped four) in the Seahawks' 20-17 loss to SanDiego.

With one team after another given a chance to step toward the playoffs or a better seed, one by one they stepped back.

If it wasn't Jacksonville, then it was Buffalo, San Francisco, Minnesota and Pittsburgh. And Cincinnati, Atlanta, Seattle and Indianapolis. Rather than getting ready for a postseason scrap, they all looked ready to settle in for a long winter's nap.

No team was more giving than Cincinnati. It wasn't enough that Chad Johnson lost the first fumble of his career, leading to a Denver score. The Bengals drove 90 yards to score the what appeared to be the tying touchdown with 46 seconds left, only to have Brad St.Louis snap the point-after attempt out of the grasp of holder Kyle Larson, sealing a 24-23 loss that put the Broncos one game ahead of four 8-7 teams for an AFC wild-card berth.

He might have lost a few friends in Cincinnati, but in Denver they were praising the Christmas spirit of St.Louis.

Mostly, though, charity began at home.

Buffalo blew a nine-point, fourth-quarter lead and trailed Tennessee 30-29, but had a chance to line up Rian Lindell, who had made 11 consecutive field-goal attempts -- including five Sunday -- for a 45-yarder in the final minute to win it.

Instead, Dick Jauron, the Yale-educated coach of the Bills, preferred a long pass on fourth down from J.P. Losman into the same strong wind into which Lindell would have kicked. The result, an interception, not only gave life to the Titans' playoff hopes -- and spiked the Bills' -- it also proved again that football isn't rocket science, or English Literature for that matter.

Jacksonville had a chance to cement a playoff berth, but lost for the second week in a row when David Garrard lost a fumble late in a 24-21 loss to New England. The Patriots appreciated clinching the AFC East, as well as the final score being the same as their last trip to Jacksonville, for Super Bowl XXXIX.

Atlanta also blew a chance to jump into the playoffs when it lost its second in a row and fourth straight at home -- to a quarterback, Carolina's Chris Weinke, who stopped his own 17-game losing streak as a starter. Weinke threw seven passes, completing four, for 32 yards to keep the Panthers' playoff hopes alive and lead some to wonder whether they'd stolen the Falcons' playbook.

Seattle, with a chance to win the NFC West, came from ahead to lose in the final minute to San Diego on Philip Rivers' 37-yard strike to Vincent Jackson. It was nothing new to Rivers -- not the late heroics, but the way he played. He completed 10 passes to beat the Seahawks, one week after completing eight to defeat Kansas City.

Nor was it anything new to the Seahawks. They squandered a chance to clinch the division title for the third consecutive week, but managed to win the West anyway, when San Francisco lost to Arizona -- at home, naturally.

This is not just the way the West is won, but other playoff spots, too. The Saints clinched the NFC South last week, even as they lost to Washington at home.

Indianapolis did the same in the AFC South when Jacksonville lost, and Dallas clinched a playoff berth last week when the Giants lost.

The Cowboys returned the favor Monday, rolling over to Philadelphia 23-7, allowing the Eagles to clinch a playoff spot -- and Philadelphia can win the NFC East with a win next week against Atlanta.

It was the Eagles' third division road victory in three weeks -- all with Jeff Garcia at quarterback.

Not that it's the most unlikely turn of events. The Giants, losers of six games in seven weeks, have dropped ``must-win'' home games the past two weeks to the Eagles and Saints. But because this is the NFC, they sit in a position -- 7-8 entering Saturday's game at Washington -- to make the playoff with a win.

If not, it opens the way for four other 7-8 teams.

First in line would be Green Bay. With a victory at Chicago -- which figures to rest many of its starters -- the Packers would be in the playoffs. This would be the same Green Bay team that has been outscored 359-275 this season. The same team whose biggest accomplishment might be pushing Brett Favre into retirement.

Playoffs with the Packers?

A Christmas miracle, indeed.

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Cincinnati kicker Shayne Graham never got to attempt the tying PAT against Denver because of a bad snap.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press