MINNEAPOLIS – Since winning its last Super Bowl a little less than two years ago, the Green Bay Packers have perfected the art of the high-wire act. Whether it's taking a run at an undefeated season last year with Aaron Rodgers putting up other-worldly numbers or the team overcoming a slow start this season, the Packers are nothing if not entertaining.

Aaron Rodgers, right, watches from the sideline. (AP)But when it comes to focusing on the little things that win and lose games, Green Bay sometimes makes you wonder. Such instances occurred Sunday, when Green Bay dropped the regular-season finale 37-34 to the Minnesota Vikings and blew a first-round bye.

Among the little things the Packers did wrong were …

• Committing three false-start penalties and a delay-of-game error. Two of those four flags contributed to stalled drives that ended without points.

• Inexplicably burning two timeouts inside Minnesota's 10-yard line in the first half, leaving them without a timeout and the opportunity to challenge a

While eight NFL sources told Yahoo! Sports that the league’s annual firing spree will likely result in six to eight head coaches losing their jobs at season's end, at least 13 jobs appear to be in some state of discussion. In addition, another six general manager jobs are also in flux.

Here’s a rundown of what could happen come as early as Monday, along with potential replacements for the most likely fired coaches.

Most likely changes

Norv Turner is 55-40 in six seasons with San Diego. (AP)1. San Diego Chargers – A year after Norv Turner was kept over the objections of the Chargers fan base, his reign as coach appears to be down to a matter of hours. Turner will end up somewhere as an offensive coordinator, but his career as a head coach is likely done.
Possible replacements – Andy Reid (Eagles head coach), Bruce Arians (Colts offensive coordinator), Hue Jackson (Bengals assistant), Jim Caldwell (Ravens offensive coordinator).

2. Kansas City Chiefs – Romeo Crennel deserves a medal for what he has been through this season,

While it's somewhat disappointing that only two playoff berths are undecided going into Sunday's season finales, there are definitely some potential dream matchups Jan. 5-6.

As a result, please forgive me for letting go of my normal objective point of view (I really don't have a favorite team, despite what many of you think from time to time), but here's my list of teams I'll be pulling for this week: Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and either the New England Patriots or Cincinnati Bengals.

[More: Playoff seeds | Y! Sports' NFL playoff scenario generator]

Let's start with the NFC. If the Redskins beat Dallas for the NFC East championship, Detroit beats Chicago, Green Bay beats Minnesota, the Giants beat the Eagles to clinch the last playoff spot and the San Francisco 49ers win the West, here's what the first round looks like:

Eli Manning's Giants pulled out a gritty NFC title game victory over the 49ers last season. (AP)Giants at 49ers – While the Giants aren't exactly looking like the team they became at the end of last season,

If Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was in need of a little more motivation for next season, he got it Wednesday.

Sherman was the most obvious snub as the NFL announced the annual AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams. While Sherman's positive test for a performance enhancing drug undoubtedly weighed on his failure to get selected by the three-pronged process of fan, player and coach balloting, there is one overriding issue when considering his case.

[Related: Complete AFC Pro Bowl roster | NFC]

Sherman was better than everybody in the league at his position. And it wasn't close, according to some.

"I know we didn't vote for him and the only reason was the [PEDs]," a receivers coach from an NFC team said Wednesday evening. "I know he's appealing, but you don't want to send the wrong message.

Richard Sherman scoops up a blocked field goal attempt in last Sunday night's win over the 49ers. (AP)"But if you just want to talk about how he played, he was great. When I say he was the best corner in the league, I'm telling you that it wasn't really that close."

On the 40th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis chuckled about what might someday be known as the Ridiculous Deception.

With Sunday's 13-10 win over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, Lewis and the Bengals qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 30 years, which is a deep commentary on the ineptitude of Cincinnati owner Mike Brown. But that's a long, depressing story that has been told about as many times and in as many forms as "A Christmas Carol."

Bengals Kevin Huber and Josh Brown (R) celebrate the game-winning field goal against the Steelers. (REUTERS)The really interesting backstory to Cincinnati's newfound success is how the Bengals completely rebuilt a team from virtually the ground up. That included Lewis firing longtime offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski after the 2010 season and bringing in Jay Gruden.

There's just one thing Lewis conveniently didn't really explain to Gruden.

"Yeah, I didn't tell him, ‘By the way, we have no idea who your quarterback and top two receivers are going to

This is how the world turns with Nick Saban.

On Tuesday, a longtime source was insistent that rumors about Saban leaving Alabama to return to the NFL are off-base.

“That’s not happening,” the source said, emphatically.

As I posted on Twitter, take the adamant denial for what it’s worth, particularly when another source I spoke with on Thursday claimed that Saban has already begun interviewing potential assistants he would take to the Cleveland Browns with him. The source laid out the timing of how current Browns coach Pat Shurmur will be fired after the season, one or two candidates will be interviewed (complete with the name of a minority candidate) and that Saban will be hired on Jan. 8, the day after Alabama’s BCS title game tilt vs. Notre Dame.

Nick Saban celebrates after Alabama's 32-28 win in the Southeastern Conference championship. (AP)That bit of information advances an earlier report by Boston Globe ace NFL writer Greg Bedard about Saban wanting to return to the NFL and that Saban would work with current NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi. Lombardi is

In addition to likely parting ways with Tim Tebow in the offseason, the New York Jets are mulling whether to eat more than $8 million in order to cut or trade fellow quarterback Mark Sanchez, according to two sources familiar with the circumstances.

The team’s obvious preference is to get something for Tebow through a trade, but that may be difficult considering how little he has played and the fact that he has now been bypassed by third-stringer Greg McElroy, who will start for New York (6-8) this Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.

New Jets starter Greg McElroy (L), Mark Sanchez (C) and Tim Tebow look on during a preseason game. (AP)“You’d think that they’d want to showcase [Tebow] just a little if they want to deal him,” one of the sources said. “Do something to increase his value.”

Tebow, acquired from the Denver Broncos for a fourth- and sixth-round pick last offseason, is scheduled to make $1 million in 2013.

The bigger issue for the Jets is the $8.25 million that Sanchez is guaranteed for next season. The overall cap number is $12.85 million, which includes

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Something strange happened Sunday night as the temperature dropped and pressure rose on a rainy evening at Gillette Stadium.

It was the master and his talented subjects who blinked while the upstart passer from across the country played as if he had been here and done this so many times before.

Bill Belichick and the rest of the New England Patriots came up short despite a furious second-half comeback when the coach made a questionable decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from New England's 12-yard line with 2:24 remaining . While some observers will say that New England was badly outplayed in an eventual 41-34 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and young quarterback Colin Kaepernick, this decision was one for the ages.

Bill Belichick reacts to an official's call in the second quarter of Sunday night's loss to the 49ers. (Getty Images)Except for the fact that a similar insistence happened pretty recently. This is akin to Belichick's controversial call to go on fourth-and-2 at Indianapolis in 2009.

Like then, the Patriots failed to convert.

Like then,