It's not a complete lock that the Super Bowl winner will be decided by the AFC playoffs this season.

But the prong of the Master Lock most of you use to secure your belongings at the YMCA has just about clicked.

While much of the discussion going into the playoffs will center around which team has the best chance to stop New England's assault on history, there are anywhere from three to five teams in the AFC that can beat the best the NFC has to offer.

Be it the Patriots, defending champion Indianapolis, San Diego, Pittsburgh or Jacksonville, they all are legitimate threats to win the Super Bowl. If they get there – and that's the hardest part.

Defenders of the NFL's senior circuit will point out that Green Bay was 4-0 in interconference play this season. Nice, but the Packers played the AFC West, which is the worst division in the conference. Overall, the six AFC playoff teams were 19-5 against the NFC. The six NFC playoff teams were 15-9. That's a sizeable disparity.

Dallas was 3-1

LANDOVER, Md. – Here is an age-old question that goes with season-ending NFL games where either so much or nothing at all is riding on the outcome: Can a team switch on the emotion as necessary?

On Sunday, the Washington Redskins played as if they were connected by a giant circuit board in beating the Dallas Cowboys 27-6 at FedEx Field. It was the team's fourth straight win as it rebounded from the lowest point of this tragic season, the combination of Sean Taylor's death and a bitter loss to the Buffalo Bills conspiring to leave Washington at 5-7 in the standings and far lower in psyche.

"Four weeks ago, no one gave us a chance," said Redskins running back Clinton Portis, whose team also lost up-and-coming quarterback Jason Campbell along the way. Now, the Redskins (9-7) will travel to play the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs.

By contrast, the Cowboys played this game as if they had been wired by Ralph the Handyman, the unlicensed guy who says, "I can

My top resolution for 2007 came true, so I no longer have to hope that Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning will win a Super Bowl. That's good because I don't want anyone to think I regularly cheer for a particular team or individual. Last year was just one of those human moments for me – don't worry, those moments don't occur that often – when I couldn't help myself.

With that in mind, here are some resolutions to consider for the new year. These are the football ones. I'll leave off the personal ones, such as the promise to actually go on a diet so I won't look like mini-Ted Washington anymore:

I will continue to patiently explain to readers that I am not a Miami Dolphins fan. Yes, I covered the team for 15 years. No, I have nothing against the good people who work there and I hope the team can improve for their sake. But that doesn't make me a Dolphins fan. Please, dear readers: Don't keep assuming what I like or dislike.

I will hope that Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown and coach

New England Patriots linebacker Larry Izzo has carved out a quietly impressive 12-year career in the NFL. In 1996, Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson named Izzo, an undrafted free agent rookie at the time, as the second player to make the team's roster that season (Dan Marino was first, Johnson said). Aside from longevity, Izzo has become one of the best special teams players in the NFL. He's made two Pro Bowls, serving as New England's special teams captain since 2001 and collecting three Super Bowl rings along the way.

These days, Izzo is not just part of a 15-0 start for the Pats; he's already thinking about post-season awards … in the film industry. Izzo is a serious movie buff and recently recorded his version of the Academy Awards for the Patriots All-Access TV show:

Cole: How long have you been doing the movie reviews for the Patriots TV show?

Izzo: Since I got here in 2001. On this show, I did my picks of the year, what I liked. You know, best actor, best actress. I like "American

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The 15-0 New England Patriots are the hottest commodity in the NFL, drawing the biggest television audiences this season. They have a GQ quarterback who's one touchdown pass short and a wide receiver who's one TD catch short of tying the respective league records.

In short, they're hot. They're sexy. And sometimes they're really boring.

Before Patriots fans get their collective panties in a bunch, claiming that the "B" word is some almighty insult, that's not the case. What the Patriots do is a fascinating study in group psychology.

It's just that studies in group psychology don't exactly generate great interest. That may be why nearly half the full house at Gillette Stadium was gone with six minutes remaining in this latest chapter of history.

New England's 28-7 victory over Miami on Sunday won't be one for the highlight reels. The Dolphins were dispatched the way most people send out laundry at a hotel. Any hope that these hapless Dolphins (1-14) would protect the

A terse exchange of letters from at least three U.S. senators and between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the head of Time Warner Cable could lead to an ugly fight over the league's plan to put games on its in-house program, The NFL Network.

In short, if the NFL doesn't find a way to have the potentially historic New England-New York Giants season finale Dec. 29 seen across the country instead of being made available only to those who pay, at least two senators said they plan to challenge the league's anti-trust exemption, the lifeblood of the league's ability to operate.

On Wednesday, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) sent a letter to Goodell. The letter was a follow-up to a letter sent Dec. 14 from the Vermont delegation of Leahy, Senator Bernard Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch, who expressed deep concern about the citizens of Vermont not being able to see the Patriots-Giants game.

That game could feature the Patriots going for what would be

A hectic day of talks for longtime NFL coach Bill Parcells ended with him agreeing on Wednesday to a four-year contract to take over as head of football operations for the Miami Dolphins, according to two sources.

Parcells will not coach the team but will have power over all football decisions, and he is expected to be at the team's facility on a daily basis. Chief among those decisions is the future of Dolphins coach Cam Cameron, who has led the team to a 1-13 record in his first season, and general manager Randy Mueller.

Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga arrived at the team's facility in Davie, Fla., just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday and discussed the situation with several members of the organization.

The deal is expected to be finalized by Thursday, and Parcells is expected to be introduced in South Florida next week, after the Dolphins play at New England on Sunday and likely after Christmas, a source said.

Interest by Parcells in joining the Dolphins had been rumored since October.

Bill Parcells has been many things in his football career, including duplicitous, conniving and manipulative on occasion.

But one thing he has always been during his four stops in the NFL as a head coach is productive. From the New York Giants in the 1980s to the Dallas Cowboys of the new millennium, Parcells has helped guide four franchises from some of their darkest moments to glory, at best, or respectability, at the very least.

On Wednesday, the Miami Dolphins and owner Wayne Huizenga became the latest to employ Parcells in hopes of revitalizing the franchise, giving him a four-year deal to head the team's football operations, according to two sources. Parcells will not coach, but will be in charge of the general manager and coach.

The deal had not been finalized as of late Wednesday, leaving the door open for Parcells to spurn the Dolphins the way he has other teams. But a source close to the long-time coach said it was expected to be done Thursday. Parcells is then expected to be