It makes for a nice bit of history that the Arizona Cardinals will host a postseason game for the first time since 1947, even if that's precisely what Arizona, San Diego and Denver should all be going into Week 17.

History.

"Man, they ought to just leave the AFC West out of the playoffs this year," a Raiders player said this week during a casual conversation about this year's tournament.

Ditto the NFC West.

As much as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would like unilaterally to bounce the at-or-near .500 club from the postseason, it illustrates the problem of a league with eight four-team divisions and ensuring that each of those "champions" get a spot in the playoffs even if they don't deserve it.

The farce is carried out even further by the fact that a division winner gets to face a wild-card winner at home, even if the opponent has had a far superior season.

The Cardinals and Chargers (or Broncos) have no business hosting a playoff game. Not when a team such as Indianapolis or Atlanta will begin on the road.

Even worse, a team that would stand a legitimate chance of winning a conference championship, New England, could get left out altogether with an 11-5 record.

As much as you may love to see Bill Belichick get a little payback for Spygate and the haughty arrogance he so often exudes, the Patriots, after they beat Buffalo today, belong in the AFC playoffs, even if the Dolphins beat the Jets.

So do the Baltimore Ravens, who could be bounced with a loss today.

As for the NFC, if the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all get to 10 victories, no way should the Cardinals get in with eight or nine.

Assuming the NFL wants no part of having fewer divisions with more teams, the solution is simple enough.

A team with 10 wins or more that doesn't win its division gets in over an eight- or nine-win team that wins its division, with existing tiebreakers applying if there happens to be more than one double-digit winner with the same record.

In that scenario, we would be spared seeing the Chargers playing for vindication and an 8-8 record for a bad Hochuli call that turned a Jay Cutler fumble into an incomplete pass a play they've been whining about for the better part of the season.

The Chargers, it should be noted, allowed a fourth-and-goal touchdown from Cutler to Eddie Royal as well as a two-point conversion, so it's not as if the game still wasn't there for the taking.

For that matter, the defenseless Broncos, beaten decisively at home by Jacksonville, Kansas City and Oakland (combined record 11-34) and losers at home to Buffalo last week, are a non-competitive one-and-done waiting to happen.

The Cardinals prevailed in an NFC West that may be worse than the AFC West, and are only a game over .500 because 49ers coaches couldn't tell the difference between the 1-yard line and the 3-yard line.

They've been crushed in three of their past four games, giving up 130 points in losses to Philadelphia (48-20), Minnesota (35-14) and New England (47-17).

Had the Cardinals known they needed to get to 10 wins for their division title to mean anything, they may have even expended a little effort in the snow last week against the Patriots.

Jumping to more Week 17 conclusions:

If the Bengals don't plan on franchising T.J. Houshmanzadeh, as the NFL's Adam Schefter reports, and Houshmanzadeh rejects overtures for a multiyear contract, both Bay Area teams would do well to prepare an offer for a professional receiver whose 204 receptions are second to New England's Wes Welker since the start of the 2007 season.

It's already started in New York. Brett Favre isn't sure about his throwing shoulder or his status for next season. Here's hoping Chad Pennington and the Miami Dolphins can put the Jets out of their misery now, even if the Favre story will linger for months.

In a creepy coincidence, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers may need shoulder surgery. Rodgers proved to be productive and tough as Favre's successor only for his supporting cast to have an off year.

Packers exec Ted Thompson made the right move, regardless of Green Bay's 5-10 record and the Jets being a win away from the playoffs.

Indy running back Dominic Rhodes has a career-high 45 receptions for 302 yards and three touchdowns. Man, if Lane Kiffin would have only had a running back last year who could catch the ball ... never mind.

The Denver Broncos listed 16 who participated fully in practice Friday as probable. It's also probable that Denver coach Mike Shanahan is up to one of his favorite traditions mocking the NFL policy on reporting injuries.

The Detroit Lions announced they were cutting ticket prices in the wake of the poor economy and on the brink of a winless season.

Pay attention, Raiders and 49ers. The Lions are 26-69 over the past six years, better than the Raiders (22-73) and not as good as the 49ers (31-64).

Considering the product and the economic climate, all three belong on the discount rack.

The Washington Post reports ex-Raider Trace Armstrong, along with Troy Vincent, Mike Kenn and attorney David Cornwell, are the front-runners to succeed Gene Upshaw as head of the players union.

There's a lot on the line where the Raiders and 49ers are concerned, because their luxury-box revenues don't measure up with a genie-out-of-the-bottle uncapped year in 2010.

One of the reasons they won't be discounting their tickets any time soon.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a quarterback in Donovan McNabb who could be a 4,000-yard passer, one of the best run-and-catch running backs in the league in Bryant Westbrook and are ranked third in total defense.

And barring an unlikely chain of events, they'll be ranked in the top 10 in both offense and defense and be out of the playoffs for the second straight year.

Think Andy Reid might have a few boos headed his way?

James Harris is out as a personnel executive in Jacksonville, probably wishing he'd have asked Art Shell what he thought about the idea of signing Jerry Porter to a six-year, $30 million contract.

Less than a year after failing to get Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett as their head coach and "settling" for John Harbaugh, the Ravens stomped the Cowboys and are on the verge of the postseason.

If Jerry Jones is to be believed, Garrett stays at his O-coordinator post for at least another year behind Wade Phillips, even if the Cowboys don't make the playoffs.

What kind of odds does Rod Marinelli face today in avoiding an 0-16 fate?

Detroit hasn't won at Lambeau Field in 17 years.

Assuming Mike Martz is blown out in a Mike Singletary regime, it means he's been dumped by the 49ers and Lions in successive years.

Ouch.

BY THE NUMBERS: 1 The number of games the Raiders have won outside the state of California after Dec. 1 since returning to Oakland in 1995. They beat the Chiefs 41-38 to conclude the 1999 season, have won in San Diego three times and have 21 other defeats in California, Missouri, Colorado, Washington, New York, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin.

QUOTABLE: "Our coaching staff, as far as I'm concerned, is in place ... I see a team in place to compete for several years." Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, reiterating he has no plans to dump head coach Wade Phillips.

GAME OF THE WEAK: Kansas City at Cincinnati. Watch out ... Bengals on a roll with two straight wins, with false hope to follow for 2009.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Denver at San Diego. The brawl for it all in the AFC West, with the Chargers hoping to get to .500 and get a home-field opener at the same time.

Sometimes it pays to be mediocre.

Contact Jerry McDonald at jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com