Take your finger, stick it deep in the back of your mouth, and watch what happens.

Now you know how the Jets, Falcons and Saints feel today.

They all gagged Sunday.

Falcons kicker Jay Feely agonizes over his short miss of a potential game-winning FG in OT.(AP)

So much for potential playoff teams flexing their muscles in December.

The Falcons now have lost two consecutive games, the Saints have lost three of five and at 7-7 the Jets have about as much chance of getting into the playoffs as someone did of winning the $100 million lottery in Florida on Saturday night. (Hey Jets, there were four winners of that pot.)

As we head to the final two weeks of the season, the Saints and Falcons are both probably still going to get into the playoffs, but their losses Sunday are major red flares to the rest of the league.

S.O.S.: We're not as good as we think.

The Saints have had defensive troubles all season, and Sunday they made the Vikings look like Minnesota teams of recent years -- a team that could score at a rapid pace. When Daunte Culpepper ran in with a 2-point play with 15 seconds left, the Vikings beat the Saints 32-31.

New Orleans is now two games behind the Bucs in the NFC South, all but assuring they will be on the road as a wild-card team in the playoffs.

Atlanta is a half-game behind the Saints with an 8-5-1 record, and they, too, are headed for the wild-card path. Atlanta's loss to the Bucs last week was expected, but losing at home to a Seattle team playing for nothing is a reflection of how they might not yet be ready to handle prosperity.

Michael Vick has been rather ordinary the past two weeks -- can we stop the MVP talk now? -- and the Atlanta defense hasn't been so sharp, either. The Falcons and Saints still have to have major collapses to lose out on being the final two wild-card teams, but this isn't the way they expected to be playing now. Three of the four divisions have been decided in the NFC, with Philadelphia joining San Francisco and Green Bay in doing so. Tampa Bay wins the NFC South with a win next Monday night against the Steelers.

In the AFC, the only thing that's been decided is that three teams -- Houston, Cincinnati and Jacksonville -- have been eliminated from the playoffs. Everyone else is still alive and no playoff berths have been secured.

The Jets had their playoff table set. If they had won their final three games, they probably would have won the AFC East. But instead of a huge divisional showdown with New England next Sunday, they have to hope like heck a bunch of stuff happens to have any chance to get in.

This is the third year in a row the Jets have lost to a non-playoff team in December, severely hurting their playoff chances.

The Dolphins made a major statement in beating Oakland on Sunday, and now appear to be the team to beat. But watch them lose at Minnesota next Sunday. Isn't anything possible now?

If the Dolphins are smart, they'll be sure to post the scores from Sunday in their locker room. Or if they want they can spend the week sticking their fingers in their mouths.

That gag reflex should be enough to remind them of what can happen when you don't stay focused.

You can throw up on your own feet, just like the Falcons, Jets and Saints did Sunday.

Prisco's points

• The Dolphins may be giddy about beating the Raiders on Sunday, but losing guard Jamie Nails for the season with a torn Achilles tendon was a major hit. Nails is one of the better offensive guards, a player who has mauled his opposition. Nails worked hard to shed 40 pounds in the offseason and became a feel-good story as he resurrected his career. His loss will be felt. "It's a tough loss, especially this late in the season to have to get ready to play with adjustments," Dolphins right tackle Todd Wade said. Nails had become proficient in pulling to lead Ricky Williams on his counter runs.

• Tampa Bay also suffered a serious loss that could impact their playoff run. Defensive tackle Anthony McFarland, who some scouts say was actually outplaying Warren Sapp, broke his right foot against the Lions and is lost for the year. Chartric Darby will replace McFarland, but he doesn't have the power that McFarland brings. This is a loss that will be felt when teams start pounding the ball inside in the playoffs.

• If the Vikings were a different team, Mike Tice's decision to go for two with 15 seconds left instead of kicking the extra point to tie the game Sunday would have been an awful decision. It's still not the right decision from a football standpoint -- why put an entire game on one play? -- but we'll give him a reprieve since his team hadn't won on the road in two years. Tice said in the middle of the winning drive, "I told the coaches to have your two-point play ready. It was not a question we would go for it." The play worked, the Vikings won and Tice earned some respect from his players for playing to win. But it was the wrong call in any other situation, no matter what the team's record. Never, ever put the game on one play. Tice has this team still playing hard, which is a good sign for his future with the Vikings.

• It's a new thing every week with the Bengals. They lost in part because they got caught with 12 men on the field during a Jaguars punt. That turned a fourth-and-6 into a fourth-and-1. The Jags went for it, got it, and eventually scored the go-ahead touchdown on the drive. The Bengals never regained the lead and are now 1-13, losing every home games this season. Having 12 men on the field is coaching, which doesn't bode well for Dick LeBeau.

• Nice of you to show up, Cowboys. Are you kidding me? There's no way the Giants are that much better than Dallas. If owner Jerry Jones was looking for signs whether his players wanted Dave Campo back next year, he got one Sunday. Campo can't like the fact that his team was destroyed by a so-so Giants team. If Jones was wavering about making a coaching move before Sunday's game, he won't be anymore. When players quit, it's a direct reflection on their coach.

• What can you say about Marvin Harrison? The guy catches nine passes for 172 yards, two TDs and breaks the record for catches in a season. He is amazing, and perhaps should be getting a look as MVP. His numbers are the equivalent of what Priest Holmes is doing for the Chiefs and his team has a better record. Another thing about the Colts: Give me Peyton Manning every day, all day. The guy is the pure definition of a quarterback.

• David Carr was sacked only two times Sunday by the Ravens. So? It means that he is still two sacks shy of the NFL record of 72, which is held by Randall Cunningham. Want to bet Carr gets it?

• Wayne Chrebet forgot about the movie White Men Can't Jump . In his case, he shouldn't have jumped. Chrebet's stupid hurdle play led to a fumble that all but ended the Jets playoff hopes. With the Jets trailing 20-13, Chrebet caught a pass and appeared to be on his way to giving the Jets a first down inside the Chicago 20. But Chrebet tried to leap over Larry Whigham and fumbled the ball. The Bears recovered and the game was over. "It's not something I sit around and think about doing," said Chrebet. "That was my natural reaction. It's not the smartest thing to do. But if it works, we tie it up. I had a good head of steam going. Next thing I know, I'm higher in the air, I'm face-first on the ground and I didn't know what happened. It's my fault we didn't have a chance to tie it up." No kidding.

• Steve Spurrier has found his quarterback. Rookie Patrick Ramsey tossed three touchdown passes Sunday against the Eagles and showed well enough that he should be the team's quarterback of the future. Ramsey has a big arm, which should have been on display sooner this season. Spurrier will make him a star, just wait and see.

• One week after limiting the Texans to 47 total yards, the Steelers held the Panthers to none in the first half Sunday. So is that defense getting back in shape or is it that those two offenses just flat out stink? Probably a little of both.

• Of all places, Marty Schottenheimer has to turn to Doug Flutie in Buffalo? Marty may have opened up an ugly situation when he benched Drew Brees in favor of Flutie. Brees was struggling, but if the Chargers are going to be a playoff team they can't have their quarterback looking over his shoulder all the time -- especially since Flutie has a way of inflaming these situations. Imagine if Flutie had actually played well enough to lead the Chargers to the victory? San Diego may have been flooded with stale boxes of Flutie Flakes. Anyone need milk?

• Let's hold off on the premature talk that Culpepper is fading. He completed 26 of 36 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints. Culpepper was also the game's leading rusher with 73 yards and two touchdowns.

• The more you watch Denver rookie running back Clinton Portis, the more you realize he will be special. During the preseason, Denver players all predicted he would be a star. He's on his way. Portis had 130 yards and four touchdowns for the Broncos, including a 51-yard run. And he did it while playing with the flu. Portis has wiggle and speed, which is a deadly combination.

• With all the talk about the Buffalo passing game, Travis Henry has quietly developed into a Pro Bowl back for the Bills. He rushed for 144 yards and a game-winning 26-yard touchdown run against the Chargers Sunday. On a day when Drew Bledsoe threw for 106 yards, the Bills still won. Who could have imagined that? By the way, what is wrong with Bledsoe? Aside from the Dolphins game three weeks ago, he has struggled the past six games.

• For Holmes' sake, let's hope he doesn't know what Bo knew. Holmes suffered an injured hip in the Chiefs' loss to the Broncos, but the severity won't be known for a while. Let's hope it's just a bruise, not a career-endangering injury like Bo Jackson had.

• Scary stuff for Lions quarterback Joey Harrington, who had to leave Sunday's game with the Bucs because of an accelerated heartbeat. The Lions say he will be fine and that his heart returned to normal when he was taken to the hospital. Since he's doing OK, and there shouldn't be any problems stemming from it, we can joke about it now. So here goes:

Fan: Did you hear what happened to Joey Harrington?

Second fan: No, what.

Fan: He had to leave the game because of an irregular heartbeat.

Second fan: Oh, someone must have told him he they heard Marty Mornhinweg was being fired. You would expect that to get him a little excited, don't you think?

• Their playoff hopes have been over for a while, but in the past month the Seattle passing game has come alive. One reason is the improved play of second-year receiver Koren Robinson. He went over 1,000 yards. Robinson now has 65 catches for 1,043 yards after he caught nine catches for 143 yards Sunday against Atlanta.

• Is it me, or is Eric Crouch taking his sad story to every national media outlet he can find? Hey Eric, you can't throw the ball 30 yards without it fluttering, you're 5-foot-11 and you act so big time your Rams teammates -- remember them -- thought you were an idiot. It's either receiver, which you aren't good at, or nothing at all. So quit griping about your plight. We know you're coming back.

• Oakland has to have a healthy Charles Woodson if it is going to make a Super Bowl push. The guys the Raiders put on the field Sunday were awful. Clarence Love turned the game into the Chris Chambers highlight reel.

Player of the week: Marvin Harrison. All the guy does is catch passes and score touchdowns. What an impressive game Sunday.

Flop of the week: (Tie) Falcons, Jets and Saints. You guys blew it.

Rising team: The Vikings. Too bad it matters little for this year. At least it's something to build upon.