ESPN

Not to get all Andy Rooney on you, but did you ever wonder why some players succeed and some ploys work late in the season, when they wouldn't have had a prayer early on?

Just like he of the bushy brow, I won't bother waiting for an audience response to answer. Here's the deal: NFL teams not only are subject to the whims of the schedule, catching a favorable matchup or two that they weren't lucky enough to enjoy as a potential momentum-builder back in September. They're also comprised of human beings, who become considerably less robotic and more unpredictable depending on what -- if anything -- their team has left to play for.

Weird things happen in the last weeks of the regular season. Players whose teams are out of playoff contention or already are locked into a spot might play looser or with less intensity. Coaches are more willing to give inexperienced players a look or take calculated risks they normally wouldn't dream of chancing. It explains why last year's 6-8 Houston squad could not only play spoiler but could shut out and embarrass a Jacksonville club with playoff designs on its own turf. It's also why QB Patrick Ramsey can throw for 216 yards and two TDs and RB Ladell Betts can run for a career-high 118 yards for last year's 5-10 Redskins in a meaningless season finale -- meaningless for Washington, anyway. Minnesota, the victim, was playing for a postseason bid but seemed to lock up.

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