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The Vikings' Brad Childress may not win coach of the year, but he is becoming a serious candidate each week.

Following a 3-6 start capped by a 34-0 loss to the Packers, the Vikings have rolled off five consecutive victories and could clinch a playoff spot if they beat the Redskins on Sunday night.

NBC recognized something two weeks ago and flexed its muscle by grabbing this game from a mediocre afternoon slate. The network figured Childress would let the Vikings hop on the backs of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor and run off some victories. It gambled that the Redskins would bounce back from a tough loss to Buffalo.

A matchup between the 8-6 Vikings and the 7-7 Redskins is a good showcase game for Week 16.

Where Childress has done a remarkable job is managing the offense around a young quarterback. Tarvaris Jackson is the league's most interesting work in progress. He's raw. Childress knew that in training camp when he picked Jackson as his starter.

He devised an offense that brought back memories of what former Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt did during Ben Roethlisberger's rookie season. Jackson isn't ready yet to run a complete passing attack. Five- and seven-step drops are shaky, so Childress minimizes them for Jackson.

What Jackson excels at is throwing slants out of three-step drops. He throws a nice sideline pass. Childress mixes in some roll-outs and plenty of play-action. The Vikings' coach won't ask Jackson to throw too many high-risk passes in the middle of the field. Childress features Jackson's strengths and tries to minimize his weaknesses.

Often, Childress, the former Eagles' offensive coordinator, will go back and look at old Donovan McNabb film. He sees a lot of McNabb in Jackson and believes Jackson will be able to develop into a top quarterback. Although a trade for McNabb might be an option for the Vikings during the offseason, the great stretch run and Jackson's recent efficiency will probably keep the team out of the high-end quarterback market.

Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams stands in the way of Jackson's success and a Vikings trip to the playoffs. Though Williams doesn't blitz all the time, his all-out blitz schemes are some of the best in the NFL. This is a type of game in which he would consider throwing every blitz possible at Jackson.

Dealing with blitzes is a weakness of Jackson's. Forty-five quarterbacks have a better rating than Jackson against the blitz, according to Stats Inc. He has completed 57.4 percent of his passes against the blitz for 421 yards. He's been intercepted four times and sacked seven. Childress tries to protect his team's down-and-distance situation the best he can by running the ball on early downs with Peterson and Taylor.

The Redskins haven't given up on the playoffs, even though their chances are remote. They see a struggling Giants team that has a difficult closing schedule. Despite the loss of starting quarterback Jason Campbell (knee) and the tragic shooting death of safety Sean Taylor, Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs has the Redskins at 7-7 and feeling good about themselves.

NBC made the right flex on this one.

1. N.Y. Giants at Buffalo: We've seen this before. The Tom Coughlin Giants jump out to a 6-2 start. The weather turns cold and Eli Manning turns colder. Incompletions increase. Interceptions rise. Giants fans turn from true blue to angry red.

The Giants not making the playoffs seems inconceivable after their great start. However, if they fall to 9-6, the Giants would have to stop the unbeaten Patriots in Week 16 to ensure a playoff spot without outside help. What odds will Vegas give the Giants for that task?

The Bills were officially eliminated from the playoffs in Week 15 with an 8-0 loss to the Browns. Still, it's been a good season for Dick Jauron. He is coming out of the season with a quarterback he likes in Trent Edwards. The defense survived more injuries than just about any team in football.

2. Philadelphia at New Orleans: The Saints aren't done yet, but they need a Giants loss to remain in the playoff hunt. Quarterback Drew Brees is getting hot at a right time, and wide receiver Marques Colston is taking his game to a new level. After becoming a great possession receiver as a seventh-round rookie last season, Colston has become a red zone touchdown target for Brees.

The Eagles won't be a pushover. Ask the Dallas Cowboys, who suffered a 10-6 home loss to Philly in Week 15. Saints fans will be frantic with the hopes of staying in the playoff race, but Saints coaches will be even more frantic trying to figure out a way to contain RB Brian Westbrook.

3. Tennessee at N.Y. Jets: The Jets make First and 10 for a second straight week for story purposes only. In Week 15, it was Spygate. The Jets earn the honor this week because the Titans have playoff hopes. The Titans are the last remaining contender on the outside looking in. Their fate is in the hands of the Steelers, Browns and Jaguars.

Jets QB Chad Pennington came off the bench last week and seemed to turn a few heads in New York. With Kellen Clemens struggling, Pennington probably gives the Jets the best chance to win.

4. Cleveland at Cincinnati: The Browns can't believe their fortunes. At first, the thoughts of a wild card danced in their heads like some Christmas tune. Now, they have a shot at having a playoff home game if the Steelers stumble. The ride has been fun for the Browns, but they still could have trouble with the Bengals.

A blizzard helped to hold down scoring last week in Cleveland in an 8-0 win over the Bills. On a clear track, though, the Browns can give up 28 points in any given game. The Browns beat the Bengals 51-45 in Week 2. That loss put a dagger in the Bengals. Their defense never recovered. Quarterback Carson Palmer has been scrambling all season to score more points than the defense allows. The Bengals remember the embarrassment of that Week 2 loss. They will want a little payback and some satisfaction for a frustrating season.

5. Dallas at Carolina: This Saturday night battle once again is a Tony Romo showcase. First, the football world wants to see how his sore right thumb holds up throwing the football after the Week 15 sprain. Second, the tabloids want to see how Romo holds up with Terrell Owens after the receiver gave the thumbs down to Jessica Simpson. Earlier this week, Owens said he thought Simpson was a distraction for his quarterback. (He later said he was joking.) If Simpson is a distraction, how is T.O. classified?

The Cowboys need a win to lock up home-field advantage through the playoffs. The other interesting sidelight to this game is Panthers quarterback Matt Moore, who was cut by the Cowboys before the start of the season. Moore did a decent job running the offense last week in a victory over the Seahawks. That win probably saved John Fox's job. The Panthers want to close their home schedule with some momentum.

The Moore story is interesting. The Panthers really like him. In some ways, they think over time he could develop into another Romo. Though they had no plans to start him this year, they like his arm and poise. Whatever he does, though, won't change the team's plans for the future. More than likely, the Panthers will draft a quarterback in the first or second round to develop behind Jake Delhomme. Moore will be around as the potential backup. After some soul-searching, the Panthers realized they stayed a little too long with Chris Weinke as opposed to developing a potential young starter behind Delhomme. That omission should be fixed in the offsesaon.

What's important for Romo is to throw well despite the sore thumb. People tend to overreact when it comes to injuries involving quarterbacks. Packers fans worried Brett Favre's longevity streak would end following the elbow injury he suffered against Dallas in Week 13. Favre might not have been sharp in the next game, but he was back to his old self two weeks after injury. Romo needs to make good throws to settle down the fans. Head coach Wade Phillips noted Romo looked better and better each day he threw the ball in practice. Romo should be fine.

A more important adjustment will come in front of Romo. Center Andre Gurode is out with a knee injury and the team isn't exactly sure when he will be back. Romo will have to adjust to having Cory Procter snapping the balls and blocking in front of him. Any change in center is a big adjustment for the line and the quarterback behind him. Plus, Procter is going up against Kris Jenkins and some of the most talented defensive tackles in the league.

The Panthers lost their home-field edge this year, but they gained it back a little with their Week 15 victory over the Seahawks, who appeared to sleepwalk through a 13-10 loss. The Panthers are 2-5 at home and are playing for pride. That makes them a little dangerous to the Cowboys.

6. Green Bay at Chicago: The Packers still want to have the road to the Super Bowl go through Wisconsin, so they have to win their last two games, and they finish the season against division rivals. The Bears-Packers games are still great rivalries even though the Bears are down this season. Still, it's hard to envision a shootout between Favre and Kyle Orton. Orton didn't offer much firepower in his battle against Tarvaris Jackson Monday night. These Bears were grumbling after that loss to the Vikings. The disappointment of going from the Super Bowl to 5-9 had players wondering what happened. This isn't a happy group. The Packers are happy. Favre is having a blast, and his young offense grows more by the week.

7. Denver at San Diego: The Chargers are getting hot at the right time. Two things are starting to look good in San Diego. First, Norv Turner finally has found the sweet spot of the offense. A few weeks ago, he started calling more power running plays. LaDainian Tomlinson is on fire. Second, the defense is playing with great intensity, despite mounting injuries. With the AFC West clinched, Turner doesn't have to play banged-up bodies on Monday night. Philip Rivers will start, but quick hooks will be used for anyone showing any signs of injury. In Week 17, Turner probably will be more aggressive in resting players before heading off to the playoffs.

The Broncos will continue to rotate more young players on defense to see what changes need to be made after the season. Last season when the Broncos missed the playoffs, Mike Shanahan overhauled the defensive line. This season, he might fire everybody on defense.

8. Miami at New England: Does a new vice president have to offer handshakes to coaches after the game? The Bill Belichick-Eric Mangini handshakes are awesome photo opportunities, but how about another Bill Parcells-Belichick handshake? The Tuna is back in the division, this time as a vice president of football operations. It will be his mission to find enough players to catch up to the Patriots. The most nervous person will be Cam Cameron, who was blindsided by the Parcells hiring. Cameron could be one-and-out as the Dolphins' head coach. That decision goes to Parcells. He might not give good reviews if this is a 40-point blowout.

9. Atlanta at Arizona: All right, I know this is a dog of a game. There are a lot of dogs barking this weekend in a league that has most playoff spots clinched. This game is included just to talk about the Falcons. Forget the games. Let's make the Falcons a reality show or a game show. First, Bobby Petrino quits after giving a handshake assurance to Arthur Blank that he has a coach for the rest of the season. Then Parcells breaks an agreement in principle to be the team's vice president. The next move is to hire Howie Mandel as a consultant. Obviously, Blank, a masterful businessman, is having deal-making problems. Who better than the "Deal or No Deal" guy to stop Blank's incompletion streak? The unfortunate deal for the Falcons is not many people will be watching this television show in Atlanta. Howie, we need you.

10. Oakland at Jacksonville: No coach has better motivational tools than Jack Del Rio. His Jaguars are 10-4. They beat the Steelers and Chargers. They've survived injuries and suspensions. Yet, the Jaguars get little respect. The NFL released the Pro Bowl rosters on Tuesday and the Jags were shut out. For a team that has a chance to win 12 games, that's a tough oversight. As it turns out, RB Fred Taylor will end up going because the Steelers' Willie Parker suffered a fractured fibula and is lost for the season.

Even at 10-4, the Jaguars still need one more win or a Tennessee loss to lock up a playoff spot. The Raiders shouldn't be too much trouble. It's hard on any team making a cross country trip, and the early start in Jacksonville won't be easy for the Raiders. The interesting possibility is that rookie QB JaMarcus Russell could end up getting the start or his first extended playing time.

John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.