Good afternoon, everyone.  I hope you're having a pleasant Monday.

This is the final Monday Mash of the NFL regular season, and the New York Jets have one question for you...

Who likes to rock the party?



Yes, the Jets have qualified for the NFL playoffs.  Thirty-two teams set this as their goal at the beginning of the season, and only twelve can make it a reality.  How the Jets got to this position depend on who you ask...

"Those guys backed into the playoffs..."

"Those lucky bastards beat 2 teams that weren't trying..."

"Congrats, they are the 12th least-crappiest team in the AFC..."

Ok, we only asked the negative people there.  But everyone has a different take.  The bottom line is that the Jets will take the field at 4:30 on Saturday.  And their opponent will be the same team they just pulverized, 37-0.  It has taken a combination of fortune and performance to get where they are.  But they are there.

Of course, those thinking that the Jets are really 37 points better than the Bengals are clinic and/or rehab-worthy.  The Bengals froze their asses off for three hours and couldn't wait to get out of the Meadowlands.  In reality, Cincy has a lock-down defense and a quarterback that's always capable of making it rain.

But we'll get to the realities on Saturday.  Today, on this day, it's all about the celebration.  Today is when the wackos call into sports radio and ask if the long plane ride to Miami will affect the Jets' performance in the Super Bowl.  It's just the way these fans work.  They are starved for their first championship since 1969, and getting in the playoffs means the NFL is saying there's a chance.

So this Monday Mash will be brief.  The victory lap celebration by the Jets yesterday was basically week 17 in a nut shell.  Sure, there were some technicalities tweaked in the NFC, and the Ravens took care of their win-and-in at Oakland.  But week 17 was about last night.  In the final regular season game at the Meadowlands, the hot-and-cold, yes-and no, in-and-out up-and-down Jets getting into the playoffs.  It was a celebration last night, it's a celebration today.  But starting tomorrow, celebration becomes anticipation for Saturday's rematch.  The Bengals will come out rabid for revenge.

We will have all kinds of Jets-Bengals and all the other playoff games during the week.  But we'll keep the Mash in celebratory mode for now, and get to the rest from week 17, the regular season's swan song. 

The Montauk BeverageWorks Delicious Performance of the Week:
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs.  Chiefs 44, Broncos 24.  Was it the Chiefs bwing awesome with nothing to play for, or the Broncos laying an egg when it mattered most?  Well, the only thing that matters (besides Denver missing the playoffs after a 6-0 start) is that Jamaal Charles absolutely caught fire at the end of the year for Kansas City.  Fans had no problem forgetting about Larry Johnson once this guy took over.  It all culminated in the final game, as Charles burned Denver for 260 yards and 2 touchdowns.  K.C. may have had a down year with that 4-12 record, but they have plenty to look forward to with this 23-year old stud in the backfield.

The Favorite Flop of the Week:
Denver Broncos.  This is really by default only.  In week 17's silly spreads, teams such as the Pats and Colts were underdogs because nobody expected them to play very hard.  So Denver, with the most to play for, has to be the pick.  Take this one with an obvious grain of salt though, because the pickings were so very slim.

The Underdog Uprising of the Week:
Oakland Raiders.  Again, there were literally NO upsets this week (besides KC/Den.)  But hey, Oakland were 'dogs by 10.5 and lost by only 7.  And it was against a Ravens team playing for the postseason.  Good enough for me.

The rest from Week 17

• Well, uhh, there's really nothing else from week 17.  Ok, there's a couple of things we can bang out,
• Like the Cowboys dropping the two-ton hammer down on the Eagles in Dallas.  The Cowboys were playing for a home game (pretty big) and the Eagles were playing for a first round bye (very, very, VERY big.)  But it was Dallas that was the hungrier team in all aspects of the game.  So not only do the Eagles miss out on their week off, not only do they miss out on a first-round home game, but they must go right back to Dallas to play a Cowboys team that has beaten them twice already this year.  Oy. 
• And that will be the theme of this week: rematches.  Dallas-Philly, Arizona-Green Bay, Jets-Cincy.  The Bengals and Cards both seemed to lay down in the 'appetizer' games.  We'll see what the main course has in store.
• The Eagles didn't clinche their bye, so it goes to the Vikings.  To nobody's surprise, Minnesota blew the roof off the Giants early.  Brett Favre now gets his immaculately-important week off to rest his fossil bones.  They also erased some legitimate 'falling off' concerns yesterday with their Big Blue beatdown.
• Wes Welker's knee exploded.  That's two seasons, two exploded knees for the Patriots since the year of Spygate.  Are the football gods going to 'eliminate' one Pats player for every title that they won in the era?  Hopefully Randy Moss invests in some reliable knee braces to wear next season.
• Sorry, for the first time there is no Monday Night game to predict.  So instead I'll go out on a limb and say Chris Jericho and the Big Show defeat Degeneration X tonight to win back their unified tag titles.  Happy? 

Thanks for reading, everyone.  Be sure to check back in for more playoff talk during the week.  And be sure to get in your playoff picks any time before kickoff on Saturday.  Should be a fun contest.