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On a day with so many record-setting performances, two other players deserve to be mentioned along with the likes of Priest Holmes, Mike Vanderjagt and Jamal "Man, I was this close" Lewis.
Entering 2003, only four running backs in history had at least 850 yards rushing, a 5.0 per-carry average and 50 catches in the same season: Philly's Timmy Brown (1965), St. Louis' Marshall Faulk (1999-2001), Oakland's Charlie Garner (2002) and Kansas City's Holmes (2002). On the heels of their 200-yard rushing performances Sunday, Ahman Green and LaDainian Tomlinson joined the club.
Green ran for 218 yards in Green Bay's playoff-clinching win against Denver -- including a 98-yard TD run -- and finished the year with a team-record 1,883 yards rushing, a 5.3 per-carry average and 50 receptions.
L.T. rushed for 243 yards as San Diego beat Oakland -- and also "won" the No. 1 pick in April's draft -- to end with 1,645 yards, a 5.3 per-carry average and 100 catches.
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Green also set the Packers' single-game record for yards rushing, and ran for
two TDs, giving him 20 to eclipse Jim Taylor's mark (19 in 1962).
Sunday was Tomlinson's second 200-yard game this year; he also ran for 200 yards in a loss at Cleveland on Oct. 19. It was the second-best rushing performance in the league this year, behind the NFL single-game record 295 yards by Lewis on Sept. 14 against the Browns, and Tomlinson tied for 10th-best in NFL history. He is the first player to rush for 1,000 yards and have 100 catches in the same season.
"The biggest thing is the win," Green said. "None of this other stuff matters at all. I don't think anybody would have cared about anything any of us did if we didn't make the playoffs."
• Arizona 18, Minnesota 17: If you had closely followed Nathan Poole's career, you knew it was coming. Entering this season, Poole averaged a TD once every 13 catches -- his career stats after one year. This season, Weeks 1-16 and through 59 minutes and 56 seconds Sunday, Poole had 12 catches ... none for a score. And then the law of averages caught up with the Minnesota Vikings.*
Poole, a former free agent who last year earned a roster spot with the razor-thin Cards receiving corps after two training camps with the team, was Arizona's leading receiver Sunday with five catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. That it came on the final play of the game -- the play that knocked the Vikings out of playoff contention -- was almost as unlikely as Poole being the most notable Marshall alum to catch a TD pass in the game.
Minnesota began the fourth quarter with Randy Moss scoring on a 7-yard reception to conclude an 11-play, 57-yard drive to take a 14-6 lead. The Vikings then picked off Josh McCown's first pass on the ensuing drive and posted a 46-yard field goal from Aaron Elling for a 17-6 advantage with just under seven minutes to play.
What followed will leave a good taste in 'Zona head coach Dave McGinnis' mouth, at least until his impending dismissal comes to pass.
McCown brought the Cards within 17-12 with a 2-yard TD pass to Steve Bush -- his only catch of the day -- with two minutes remaining. Following an onside kick that was recovered by Damien Anderson, McCown rallied Arizona by completing a 13-yard pass on second-and-5 to Poole and then the game-winning 28-yarder on fourth-and-25 to Poole along the right side of the end zone.
With that catch, Poole -- who was pushed out of bounds before both feet landed, but the call was upheld after review -- had his 13th reception of the year ... and his first TD of the year.
* Stat of the Week from coach T.J. Troupe: Fifty-one teams have started 6-0 or better, and only three failed to make the playoffs: 1963 Browns, 1978 Redskins and the 2003 Vikings.
Lemme make sure I've got this right. Neil O'Donnell, just off the street, threw two TD passes in his first start since Sept. 23, 2001, while completing 18 of 27 passes for 232 with a pick. Kordell Stewart, who'd started seven games this season, relieved Rex Grossman and then finished 5 of 15 for 86 yards and two INTs. Maybe Slash should go away and see if his phone rings. ...
Buffalo's 243 points scored are its second fewest in a 16-game season. ... The Patriots outscored opponents 108-22 in their last six home games. ...'Zona rookie Anquan Boldin caught five passes to tie the franchise single-season record of 101 catches (Larry Centers in 1995). ... Tennessee is 6-0 at home against Tampa Bay and leads the series 7-1. ... New Orleans' Deuce McAllister's 49 yards rushing against Dallas fell 34 yards short of breaking the Saints' single-season record (George Rogers, 1,674 in 1981). ...
Miami (10-6) is the first team since Philadelphia and San Francisco in 1991 to win 10 games and miss the playoffs. ... After losing 23-21 to the Dolphins, seven of the Jets' 10 losses were by seven points or less. ... Holmes' second TD gave him the Chiefs' career record (61, one more than Otis Taylor). ... Kansas City's offensive line -- Willie Roaf, Brian Waters, Casey Wiegmann, Will Shields and John Tait -- started its 32nd consecutive game as a unit. That's the longest streak since 1971-73, when the Chargers' line started 40 games in a row. ...
Barry Sanders (6) has the most 50-yard running plays in a season, while Clinton Portis and LaDainian Tomlinson had five this year. ... In its past 32 regular-season games, New England has 43 INTs in 23 wins and only four picks in nine losses. ... Green Bay went 4-0 in December for the second time in four years. ... Brett Favre finished with 32 TD passes, the record-tying fourth time he led the league and first since 1997. His 65.4 completion percentage is a Packers record. ... With its 20-17 loss against Indy, Houston's last seven home games were decided by less than a touchdown. ...
Marvin Harrison failed to extend his record of consecutive 100-catch seasons to five. He had two catches and finished with 94. ... The Rams' Torry Holt finished with 117 catches, two short of Isaac Bruce's team record. ... The Jets' Curtis Martin rushed for 92 yards; the Dolphins did not allow a 100-yard rusher this season. ... This is the first Giants team to finish the season with eight consecutive losses since 1966, when the team was 1-12-1. ...The Redskins are 2-10 against NFC East teams under head coach Steve Spurrier. ...
Saturday against Washington, the Eagles scored on their opening drive for the sixth time this season; they are 10-0 when scoring in the first quarter. ... Tomlinson has four career 200-yard games, tied for second place on the career list with Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. The record is six, by O.J. Simpson. ... Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck broke Warren Moon's season franchise record for passing yards during the first half. He finished with 3,841 yards passing. ... Sunday's crowd of 65,362 was the largest ever for a Bengals game in Cincinnati. ...
Lee Suggs' 186 yards were the most by a Browns rusher this season and eclipsed William Green's high of 178 yards last year. ... The Falcons set a team record by allowing 6,108 yards this season. ... The Jaguars finished winless on the road for the first time in their history. ... Dennis Erickson did what he was never able to do during his tenure in Seattle -- get the Seahawks into the playoffs.
• Mike Vanderjagt's record 41st consecutive field goal, a 43-yarder as time expired, helped Indianapolis beat Houston 20-17 and clinch the AFC South title.
Trailing 17-10 when Vanderjagt quick-kicked on a fake field-goal try, the Colts pinned the Texans at their 4-yard line. Two plays later, Indy's Donald Strickland snared a tipped ball to pick off David Carr. On the next play, Peyton Manning hooked up with Brandon Stokley for a 5-yard TD with 3:55 remaining.
After styming Houston on its next possession, Indy managed to drive down field to set the stage for the "liquored-up" kicker's game-winner. It was a kick that kept the Colts as the AFC's No. 3 seed, instead of falling to fifth -- the difference between a first-round home game and being on the road from the get-go.
Reckon Manning bought the first round at the postgame party?
• Dolphins QB Jay Fiedler: Where did this come from? Fiedler, who improved to 36-17 as a starter, was a tidy 21 of 29 for 328 yards, one TD and an pick as Miami beat the Jets 23-21.
In his past three games against the J-E-T-S, Fielder is 51 of 78 passes for 703 yards with three scores and an INT plus a rushing TD. Let's just call it too little, too late -- again.
• Browns RB Lee Suggs: The 11th running back chosen in the 2003 draft, Suggs' coming out party was a 26-carry, 186-yard, two-TD game that knocked the rival Bengals out of the playoff race.
"Teams passed on me 114 times," said Suggs, the 115th overall pick. "I've got to prove I'm better than a fourth-round pick." Are you listening, William Green? I think you know it's go time in July.
• Dolphins WR Chris Chambers: What is the issue in South FLA? Fiedler wins 68 percent of his games, Ricky Williams is one of the league's best RBs, Randy McMichael is one of the best young TEs and Chambers is a difference-maker.
So why is it that Chambers only has a couple of these games a year? Sunday's nine catches for 153 yards and a TD was his third big game of the season (7-118-2 in Week 1; 5-96-3 in Week 13).
The Associated Press and
team Web sites contributed to this report.