Leon Washington and the rest of the New York Jets were banned from talking about the playoffs all season. Minutes after they clinched an improbable postseason berth with a 23-3 victory over Oakland on Sunday, the rookie running back could hardly contain himself. "Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs -- three times for ya," Washington said with a big grin.

Sometimes teams that enter the final game of the season needing half a dozen things to break their way get their wish. The Kansas City Chiefs went around all week grumbling at themselves for failing to make the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons. Now they're rubbing their eyes and getting ready to go to Indianapolis on Saturday, thanks to a 35-30 victory over Jacksonville and losses by...

If, indeed, this was his last game, Brett Favre went out in style. The rocket-like passes that defined his career were on full display, zooming between helpless defenders and into receivers' hands. And when it was over, his voice cracked. Tears flowed. Is this really it, though? "If this is the last game, I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome," Favre said after the Green Bay Packers closed out...

No, losing to the Detroit Lions does not revoke the playoff spot the Dallas Cowboys had already clinched. It just means they're in a mess of trouble heading into what Bill Parcells likes to call "the tournament." Done in by repeated mistakes from Tony Romo and a few more by Terence Newman, the Cowboys blew their chance to stay alive in the NFC East race and build some much-needed momentum for the...

Joey Porter tried to end the suspense and get an answer for the question that all of Pittsburgh is asking. A few minutes after the Steelers knocked the Cincinnati Bengals out of playoff contention with a 23-17 victory in overtime Sunday, the emotional linebacker cornered his head coach -- the one he kissed after a victory early in the season -- and asked if he was staying.

If it had been, say, the Super Bowl, Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson would have played on. Both were on the sideline, though, as the San Diego Chargers finished their most remarkable regular season with a 27-20 win Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals. Rivers sprained his right foot, which didn't keep him from throwing two touchdown passes.

Now Mike Shanahan wishes he hadn't gotten his wish. Denver's coach wanted Kansas City to win on Sunday so that the Broncos wouldn't back into the playoffs but be motivated to play their best football. Instead, the Broncos tumbled into the offseason when Joe Nedney's 36-yard field goal with 1:56 left in overtime sent the San Francisco 49ers past the stunned Broncos 26-23.

Peyton Manning and the Colts played with the aggressiveness and passion they need to win in the playoffs. Now they must figure out a way to duplicate that effort in January. With Manning running through defenders, shredding a depleted Miami secondary and watching his maligned defense force Miami to kick five field goals, the Colts hung on to the AFC's No.

No Dirk Nowitzki. No problem for the Dallas Mavericks in extending their winning streak to 10 games. "Everybody knew Dirk was out of the lineup," Dallas forward Josh Howard said. "We needed some people to pick it up and not just me." Howard had 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Mavericks to their 10th straight victory, 89-85 over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

Steve Nash isn't going to complain about getting a win at the Palace of Auburn Hills. But he feels the victory deserves an asterisk because of the injury to Pistons All-Star guard Chauncey Billups. "It's not like we are going home feeling like we beat the Pistons," Nash said after the Phoenix Suns' 108-101 victory Sunday.

As long as his back holds up, Tracy McGrady says he's ready to carry the Houston Rockets until Yao Ming returns from a leg injury. McGrady scored a season-high 38 points and had nine rebounds to help the Rockets beat Memphis 111-109 on Sunday night, handing Grizzlies interim coach Tony Barone his first loss.

Tim Duncan beat the stomach flu -- and the Atlanta Hawks. Duncan had 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, and Tony Parker scored 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Hawks 95-81 on Sunday. "(Duncan) did a great job, especially with the way he was feeling yesterday," said Manu Ginobili, who missed a game Tuesday night because of the bug.

When he wasn't scoring, Elton Brand was making it difficult for the New York Knicks to put points on the board. Brand had 32 points and tied his career high with eight blocked shots, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 90-80 victory over the Knicks on Sunday. "Our defense is what we prided ourselves in last year, and that's what kept us in ballgames," Brand said.

The Lakers leaned on Kobe Bryant and their reserves, something Los Angeles may have to do for several weeks after losing starting center Kwame Brown to a sprained ankle. Bryant finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Los Angeles reserves Sasha Vujacic, Vladimir Radmanovic and Maurice Evans made some clutch 3-pointers down the stretch to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-94 on...

Chris Wilcox is different from most forwards around the NBA. For the Seattle SuperSonics, that's a good thing. Wilcox, at 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, may not have the strength or weight of other big forwards, but he makes up for it with speed and quickness. Wilcox flashed his way through middle of the Celtics' defense for a season-high 24 points Sunday night to help the Sonics to a 101-95 victory against...

The Washington Wizards were on a terrific scoring spree. The Milwaukee Bucks showed that they can score plenty of points, too. Michael Redd scored 28 points and Ruben Patterson added 21 as Milwaukee beat Washington 119-102 Saturday night to snap the Wizards' five-game winning streak. "We've gotten on a groove offensively," Milwaukee coach Terry Stotts said.

Instead of dreaming of a Stanley Cup, Anaheim Ducks fans might just want to wish for good health in the New Year. Already without the services of top goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Ducks' sick bay added another big name on Sunday night. Anaheim lost All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger to a broken left foot during the Ducks' 4-3 loss at Minnesota.

The San Jose Sharks didn't waste any time bouncing back from a lopsided defeat. Joe Thornton scored his 200th career goal and added two assists to help the Sharks snap a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night. Joe Pavelski, Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau also had first-period goals for the Sharks, coming off a season-worst 8-0 road loss to the...

Detroit showed that persistence pays, especially when the Red Wings face the Los Angeles Kings. Detroit got goals from six players Sunday night in a 6-2 win over Los Angeles, the Red Wings' 12th straight victory over the Kings. After struggling on offense early in the season, the Red Wings scored at least five goals for the fifth time in their last 13 games.

Outshot and outplayed most of the way, the lowly Philadelphia Flyers still found a way to beat the defending Stanley Cup champions Sunday night. Alexei Zhitnik scored the go-ahead goal while Robert Esche played a strong game in net to lead the Flyers past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2, giving Philadelphia its second straight victory after a franchise record 10-game losing streak.

Miikka Kiprusoff came up huge early, and Jarome Iginla and the Calgary Flames took it from there. Kiprusoff made two huge saves on Ryan Smyth in the first 20 seconds of the game Sunday night to set the stage for the Flames' 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Iginla paced Calgary with a goal and two assists, but said Kiprusoff bailed out the Flames early.

Columbus' game plan was to keep Chicago bottled up. It worked almost to perfection. Manny Malhotra scored the winner late in the second period to lift the Blue Jackets to a 3-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Sunday night. "It's one of the teams we have to catch," said Malhotra, who scored his first goal in 11 games.

Rick DiPietro was outstanding again. Martin Brodeur was even better. Brodeur stopped 29 shots for his NHL-leading sixth shutout of the season and the 86th of his career, and Brian Rafalski's unusual goal was all the New Jersey Devils needed in a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

In a matchup of the Eastern Conference's best teams, the Buffalo Sabres got some payback against the Atlanta Thrashers. Thomas Vanek had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Miller made 29 saves in Buffalo's 4-1 victory over the Thrashers on Saturday night. The victory pushed Buffalo seven points ahead of Atlanta for the top spot in the conference.

St. Louis goaltender Manny Legace believes the formula to his recent success comes down to expecting a good result when he takes to the ice. He didn't have that feeling very often while the Blues muddled through their first 30 games. Lately he has. Legace stopped 33 shots and St. Louis won for the fifth time in six games with a 2-0 victory over Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.