Some panic is acceptable
1. The Dolphins make too many mistakes in Tennessee for a team with little margin for error. Ricky Williams lost another fumble. They team had eight penalties. Chad Henne threw three interceptions, including a pair of terrible decisions and one bad underthrown pass to Ricky Williams in the red zone.

Give Henne some credit: Down 24-9 to start the fourth quarter, Henne engineered two drives over 80 yards to force overtime. But he forced a pass in overtime, which was characteristic of Miami’s sloppy play. (And uncharacteristic of how they climbed out of an 0-3 hole this season.)

The Dolphins around on a running attack. The coaching staff may regret throwing three straight passes in overtime on its only possession.

2. Jets fans have seen this movie before. Once the team botched its third field goal of the day, the Gang Green faithful almost didn’t have to watch Atlanta’s decisive drive.

But they did, and like most memorable Jets losses, this 10-7 defeat ended in the most painful way possible.

A fourth-down throw from Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez put the Falcons ahead for the first time all game, with just less than two minutes to go. Mark Sanchez threw his third interception moments later and suddenly all those Jets playoff scenarios didn’t mean much.

Slideshow   Week 17 action Take a look at shots from the NFL's 17th week of play in 2009. NBCSports.com

The problem with most playoff scenarios is that they assume an impending winning streak. Without a passing game, that’s just too hard for the Jets to pull off.

They’re real and they’re spectacular
1. For a guy known for his running skills and funny throwing motion, Vince Young pulls off a lot of pretty passes. He threw for 236 yards against Miami on only 27 attempts, including three touchdown tosses that had little margin for error. Unlike many of his running quarterback predecessors, Young is quite accurate.

2. Josh Cribbs returned two more kicks for touchdowns to set, and then extend an NFL record. He’s better than Devin Hester ever was at his peak, which is saying a lot. Cribbs also had a higher quarterback rating than Brady Quinn.

3. Jerome Harrison is another example of why you just never know. The fourth-year back had 301 rushing yards all season, including nine in Cleveland’s previous game against the Steelers. He racked up 286 yards Sunday against the Chiefs, the third-highest single game total in NFL history. Kudos to Eric Mangini for riding the kid, even if it caught every fantasy football owner in the country by surprise.

NFL game stories Quick look at Week 3 games JETS 31, DOLPHINS 23: Edwards returns to makes key TD catch  |    Highlights COWBOYS 27, TEXANS 13: Dallas avoids rare 0-3 start  |    Romo excited FALCONS 27, SAINTS 24, OT: Champs miss short FG in OT  |    Saints explain loss TITANS 29, GIANTS 10: Johnson scores 2 TDs  |    Coughlin takes blame EAGLES 28, JAGUARS 3: Vick makes Reid's decision look great  |    QB thrilled COLTS 27, BRONCOS 13: Manning throws 3 TD passes VIKINGS 24, LIONS 10: Peterson's career-long 80-yard TD keys win PATRIOTS 38, BILLS 30: 14th straight win in series for New England SEAHAWKS 27, CHARGERS 20: Washington has two kickoff returns for TDs CHIEFS 31, 49ERS 10: K.C. 3-0 for first time since '03  |    Chiefs confident STEELERS 38, BUCCANEERS 13: Batch shines in first start in 3 years RAMS 30, REDSKINS 16: Only second win in last 29 games for St. Louis RAVENS 24, BROWNS 17: Flacco fires 3 TD passes BENGALS 20, PANTHERS 7: Clausen struggles in first NFL start CARDINALS 24, RAIDERS 23: Janikowski misses 32-yard FG on final play