The Rest of the Story

The last game of the regular season in the NFL. Can things get any better than this?

Well, from the looks of things, they just can't. But for two teams vying for a chance to get into the AFC playoffs - the Cleveland Browns & the Tennessee Titans - it's do or die; the stakes are already high as it is.

With the Titans, the stakes are definitely high. After stumbling through much of the last frame of the regular season, Tennessee is making a resurgence of sorts. But did their resurgence as a playoff-bound team come at the right time? Well, they had help with the Browns losing to the Bengals last Sunday so that in itself was a plus, a boost they so desperately needed to stay in the playoff hunt. But the one way Tennessee will have to stay alive (& hope that Cleveland croaks against the 49ers) is by beating the Colts. And folks, as any opponent who has played the Colts this season has learned all too well, taking on a formidable team like Indianapolis is not an easy task by any means.

Cleveland is just as eager to get back to the playoffs as well. Losing to divisional & intrastate rival Cincinnati didn't help their cause; hopefully they can bounce back from last weekend's loss by being ready to play against San Francisco. The Browns sure can't get complacent here or else it'll be last Sunday all over again & instead of the playoffs they'll be sitting at home wondering what might have been. And at a time like this, they sense what's on the line as much as the Titans do but even more so; the Browns franchise for much of their time back in town has been a running joke both for the home fans & for the opponents' fanbase...Hopefully a win on Sunday will make believers out of skeptics who feel that Cleveland is all about baseball & Lebron James...go Browns!!

For the Browns & Titans, things can't get any better than this weekend. It's all or nothing, do or die, win or lose: there is no middle ground for that last playoff spot & may the best team be granted a victory & with it a trip to the postseason.