Saints Among 6 Teams Looking To Clinch Playoff Berth This Weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — There it is, within grasp, for half a dozen NFL teams: That coveted playoff berth.

The chore is simple for five of them. If the defending champion New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, New York Jets or Baltimore Ravens win, they are in.

The Kansas City Chiefs need a victory and a loss by the San Diego Chargers to capture the AFC West division. The Chiefs host the Tennessee Titans, while the Chargers are at the Cincinnati Bengals, and many expect that race to end next weekend, the last of the regular season.

"What you work and play all year for is to play after the regular season," says Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson. "And that's what we plan to do."

Quarterback Matt Cassel showed tremendous grit last Sunday by returning from an appendectomy to guide Kansas City past Missouri state rival St. Louis. But it's the staunch running of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones that makes the offense go, and the defense under coordinator Romeo Crennel is among the most improved in the league.

"I'm happy we're in a situation where we can control our own destiny. I'm happy that no matter what, we're going to have a winning season. There are a lot of pluses," Chiefs guard Brian Waters says. "But now we have a responsibility to our fans and to ourselves not to get carried away and not to look too far ahead."

San Diego has made its usual charge in the second half of the schedule, winning six of its last seven games. Star quarterback Philip Rivers believes it will take eight of nine to stay alive.

"We know we need to win the next two to even have a chance, and we still need some help," says the NFL's highest-ranked passer in December. "We've always wanted to finish strong, and we've been able to do that. But it's certainly going to be a challenge these last two weeks."

Well, maybe not that big a challenge: The Chargers' other game is at woeful Denver. Kansas City hosts its biggest rival, Oakland, next weekend.

The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons already own playoff spots. The Saints get one if they win at Atlanta, which also would keep the Super Bowl champions in position to take the AFC South that the Falcons currently lead by two games.

The winner of that division should get a first-round bye in the postseason.

"It's a huge advantage to have that bye and have that home game, but there's been teams that haven't had that luxury and moved on to do special things," says Saints linebacker Scott Shanle. "I won't deny that (playing on the road) does make your job harder. But it's not impossible."

In their first clash this season, Atlanta won on an overtime field goal at New Orleans in September, a victory that provided tremendous impetus toward owning the league's best win-loss record at 12-2. The Falcons can shut up any remaining doubters that they are a championship-quality outfit by handing the Saints a second consecutive defeat, which will give Atlanta home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

New Orleans struggled against the run in its loss at Baltimore last Sunday, which bodes well for the Falcons, who can ram the ball through most defenses.

The Eagles can win the NFC East by beating the Minnesota Vikings.

Also on Sunday, the Giants are at Green Bay and the Jets visit Chicago. With wins at their NFC North opponents, both New York teams can secure wild cards.

The day after the Giants' stunning collapse against Philadelphia last weekend, quarterback Eli Manning got vocal with his teammates. Was that a sign of leadership or are the Giants on the verge of panic?

Manning had one of the best games of his career in the 2007 NFC title game at frigid Lambeau Field, and he's pretty good at bouncing back from disappointment.

Green Bay is hopeful of getting back its star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, from a concussion. The Packers must win their last two games to get into the postseason as a wild card.

Baltimore travels to Cleveland with a chance to secure a postseason berth; New England is at Buffalo with a shot at grabbing the AFC East crown and a first-round bye; Indianapolis tries to hold onto the top spot in the AFC South when it visits Oakland, while division runner-up Jacksonville hosts Washington; San Francisco is at St. Louis and Seattle visits Tampa Bay in the not-so-wild NFC West race.

A few games have no meaning whatsoever in the playoff races: A rare Saturday affair that has Dallas at Arizona, plus Houston at Denver and Detroit at Miami on Sunday.

The round began on Thursday with the Steelers accounting for the Carolina Panthers 27-3. The Steelers can seal the AFC North division title and a first-round bye in the playoffs if Cleveland upsets the visiting Ravens.