NBC PICKS BRONCOS-CHARGERS FOR WEEK SEVENTEEN

With the Broncos losing (again) and the Chargers winning (again), NBC got what it wanted for Week Seventeen -- a clear, unambiguous play-in game for a playoff berth. And so to end the 2008 regular season, the Broncos and Chargers will square off in San Diego. The winner captures the AFC West, and the loser goes home. That said, we still think that Dolphins-Jets would have provided a far more compelling way to cap the season. If the Pats beat the Bills, a win by the Jets would deliver an AFC East title to New England. If the Pats lose, a win by the Jets would deliver the division crown to New York. And, regardless of the outcome of Pats-Bills, a Miami win will result in an AFC East title for the Fins, one year after a 1-15 finish. So while the Broncos-Chargers entails no if’s or but’s, the resolution of the AFC East title presents a far more compelling game, in our view. Then again, it’s possible that CBS protected the Fins-Jets game, given the possibility that it will be the 2008 version of the last game of Lord Favre’s career. UPDATE: A reader has reminded us of something we knew, but that we’d forgotten -- CBS and FOX can’t protect games in Week Seventeen. So Dolphins-Jets was in play.