Two things are known about the AFC playoff picture. The Indianapolis Colts are back and will receive a first-round bye. And, two, the Baltimore Ravens will be scoreboard watching this Sunday, praying that the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Diego Chargers. I'm also pretty sure that Mike Holmgren is hoping for that same result.

Otherwise, there are still a lot of unknowns in the AFC playoff picture.

Based on Monday night's performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Colts appear to be a lock to win their final two games against Houston and Miami, thus securing one of the conference's top two seeds and the first-round bye.

The Chargers currently hold the No. 1 seed but they must beat Seattle and Arizona to keep ahead of the pack.

The Ravens, who travel to Pittsburgh this Sunday before hosting pesky Buffalo, believe they can win those two games. If they do, and San Diego falters just once, Baltimore would earn a first-round bye. How's that?

Well, should Baltimore and San Diego finish with the same record when the regular-season ends, the Ravens hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their 16-13 win over the Chargers in Week 4. The Colts hold the advantage over the Ravens, even though both are 11-3, based on a better record against common opponents. That's why the Ravens were rooting for the Bengals on Monday. Baltimore has lost to two teams -- Cincinnati and Denver -- that Indianapolis beat.

Right now, New England (10-4) owns the fourth seed in the AFC, but the Patriots have two difficult road games during the holidays. They travel to Jacksonville, who remains alive for a wild-card spot, and then Nashville to face rookie Vince Young and a 7-7 Tennessee team.

If the Patriots beat Jacksonville, it should guarantee the winner of Sunday's Cincinnati-Denver winner of a wild-card spot. If Denver wins, they would be 8-4 against conference foes, by far the best record among teams that have not secured a division title.

The other spot could go to the surprising New York Jets. The Jets travel to Miami and then host the Oakland Raiders. If they win out, I say they will get a wild-card spot. As physical and tough as Jacksonville is, the Jaguars simply can't be counted on when it matters most. The Jaguars can beat the Patriots, but I wouldn't bet on it. But it is something of a mini-playoff game, similar to the Bengals-Broncos' matchup.

Pro Bowl thoughts

The first thing I noticed was that Giants quarterback Eli Manning wasn't selected, but the three players (or draft selections) which were traded for him did. How remarkable is that? The Chargers ought to give GM A.J. Smith a raise.

Quarterback Philip Rivers, who wasn't good enough for Giants GM Ernie Accorsi, made it in his first year as a starter (this is Eli's third such starting season), as well as outside linebacker Shawne Merriman (despite missing four games for a steroid suspension) and kicker Nate Kaeding.

For the most part, I thought the majority of the selections were no-brainers. It's difficult to judge interior linemen and interior defensive linemen. I do believe Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce deserved it over Seattle's Lofa Tatupu. Even Minnesota's E.J. Henderson is a much more physically-imposing linebacker than Tatupu.

You can't argue with the NFC's running backs, but I will anyway. Frank Gore definitely deserved it; he's carried the 49ers this season. Nothing against Tiki Barber or Steven Jackson of the Rams, but Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook would have been on my team over those two. Westbrook has 1,756 yards from scrimmage; he's a bigger playmaker to me.

Two players got the shaft in the AFC. Jets receiver Laveranues Coles has 87 receptions and a 12.2-yard average and he should have been one of the four receivers selected; in three or four games, Coles helped secure wins for the Jets. He was the NFL's leading wide receiver (28 receptions) on third down plays.

Also, Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has eight interceptions and his play is one reason why Oakland has been much improved on defense this season, ranking first against the pass and fourth overall. He's definitely more deserving than Baltimore's Chris McAlister.

The other receiver I liked was Seattle's Darrell Jackson, who has more third-down catches than any of the four NFC starters. Doesn't being clutch, plus carrying a 15.2-yard average and 10 touchdowns, count for anything?

The only other stunner is that overweight defensive tackle Kris Jenkins of the Panthers was selected as the third interior defensive linemen.

Suspension warranted

The Bears suspended defensive tackle Tank Johnson for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions. Johnson was arrested for the third time last Thursday and then a day after he apologized to the team and its fans, Johnson was out clubbing past 1:30 a.m. with his good friend Willie B. Posey, who ended up getting shot and killed. How many hangouts do you go dancing in where your night ends up with a buddy getting murdered?

You can call it bad luck or whatever, but Johnson hasn't been hanging with the right people once he leaves Halas Hall. His teammates have been supporting him and the Bears seem willing to accept him long-range as long as he undergoes counseling.

Johnson can blame the automatic weapons found in his house on his dead friend, who lived with him, but there are too many instances in his life were he's crossed the line going back to his college days at the U. of Washington.