WANTED: SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NHL 

By the time the big ball dropped Sunday night in Time Square and the clock struck midnight on Jim Mora and Dennis Green, eight more teams had been eliminated from the postseason over the weekend, which for all intents and purposes wasn't really the end of the season but the start of the playoffs.

And after witnessing the weekend's events and sizing up what's left of the field, it only seems right to ask one question about the shiny silver Lombardi Trophy:

Does anybody want to win this thing?

It certainly didn't look like it Sunday. Consider that Denver, Cincinnati and Tennessee each were playing home games against teams with nothing at stake. If any of the three would have won, it would be in the playoffs. Instead, they will stay home for the holidays.

The Broncos jumped to a 13-point lead against the 49ers

then unraveled much the way they had over the season's final two months, losing in overtime 26-23.

The culprits were a defense that set an NFL record by allowing just 44 points in its first six games -- and has rarely stopped anyone since -- and rookie quarterback Jay Cutler, who aided the collapse by throwing an interception that was returned 28 yards for a touchdown by Walt Harris.

But placing the blame at Cutler's feet wouldn't be any more accurate than many of his throws. The Broncos wouldn't be winning the Super Bowl with Jake Plummer, whom Shanahan yanked after Thanksgiving, but they wouldn't have given away home games to Seattle and San Francisco -- and their spot in the playoffs.

Say what you want about Plummer -- and most Broncos fans already have -- but who wouldn't mind heading to New England next week with a quarterback who has beaten the Patriots three times in the past 15 months?

Shanahan isn't the only coach with something to answer for. Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis wasted his last two timeouts, then had Carson Palmer fall down and spike the ball on the Bengals' last two plays rather than get closer for kicker Shayne Graham's potential winning field-goal attempt against Pittsburgh.

The Bengals, who lost to Denver last week on a botched snap of an extra point, at least got that part down. But Graham's 39-yard kick sailed wide right. That meant asking the Bengals' defense for help in overtime, which is always a risky proposition. Sure enough, Ben Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes on a short pass. Holmes eluded three Bengals and raced 67yards for a touchdown and a 23-17 win. And there went the Bengals' playoff hopes, dashed by a walk-off Holmes' run.

For the first four months of the season, Tennessee found itself with little to play for, thanks to an 0-5 start and the decision to begin the season with Kerry Collins at quarterback. After six straight wins, the Titans finally found themselves playing with something at stake, but the experience apparently didn't agree with them. They lost to New England 40-23, watching the Patriots seal the win with fourth-quarter touchdown drives led by Matt Cassel, the only quarterback to leave USC this decade without a Heisman Trophy, and Vinny Testaverde, who won his Heisman when Cassel was barely out of diapers.

The beneficiary in all this was Kansas City, which wedged its way past Jacksonville 35-30 and, to its surprise, reported to team headquarters on New Year's Day not to clean out their lockers but to begin studying Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville was left kicking itself just like the rest. Three weeks ago, the Jaguars and Bengals sat comfortably atop the wild-card standings at 8-5 and looked capable of scaring the Chargers, Ravens, Colts and Patriots.

They never won again.

And there you have the difference between the AFC and the NFC. In the AFC, losing three in a row ends your season. In the NFC, lose three in a row, as Seattle did, and you clinch the division. Lose three in a row at home, as Dallas did -- the finale a 39-31 defeat to Detroit -- and you win a wild-card berth.

Fittingly, the Seahawks and Cowboys play each other in the first round of the playoffs in a game that, sadly for both teams, somebody has to win.

They aren't the only ones being dragged into the playoffs kicking and screaming. The New York Giants, which claimed the final wild-card berth in the NFC with a Saturday-night win over Washington, didn't really act like they wanted it, nearly blowing a 21-point second-half lead.

The Bears, who sewed up the best record in the NFC sometime around Columbus Day, have their own Monster of the Midway to deal with, better known as INT-Rex.

But when Rex Grossman, after throwing three interceptions and having a passer rating of zero Sunday night against Green Bay, gave way to Brian Griese, the people's choice in Chicago, the backup threw two interceptions of his own. So, with two weeks until the Bears open the playoffs, expect the airwaves in Chicago to be filled with calls for Kyle Orton.

This leaves the most dangerous NFC teams being the New Orleans Saints, whose next playoff win will double the franchise total, and the Philadelphia Eagles, who were left for dead when Donovan McNabb's knee was mangled.

Over in the AFC, better known as the varsity bracket, there is a more formidable look. The San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens, who seem more than capable of earning a week-long holiday in Miami, aren't without questions.

Can Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer, whose last playoff win was with Joe Montana at quarterback, ever reach a Super Bowl?

Can the Ravens, who have thrived on a league-leading 28 interceptions, something that may not be so forthcoming against Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?

Indianapolis' leaky run defense is a concern and makes for an intriguing matchup with Larry Johnson coming to town. But the Colts are 8-0 at home, and it doesn't require a vivid imagination to see them winning in Baltimore or San Diego.

The New England Patriots have started to look like the Patriots, and act like it, getting indignant over a hit that Rodney Harrison, who's dished out his share of cheap shots, took against Tennessee.

But they'll have to leave home, something they've done just once on the road to three Super Bowl titles. And if they have to win a game late, they won't have Adam Vinatieri.

Any mystique the Patriots have in Foxborough isn't likely to faze the New York Jets on Sunday.

New York has already won there this season, and rookie coach Eric Mangini, a former Patriots assistant, shouldn't have a problem demystifying them. He was even able to figure out how to shake Bill Belichick's hand last time, something the Patriots coach, who doesn't mention Mangini by name, had no interest in doing the first time the teams played.

A similar post-game scene may unfold Sunday. Which, if this weekend's form continues to hold, may be the best reason for somebody to win.

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