Proving once again that anything can happen in an NFL stretch run, four teams that seemed safe to make the playoffs are scrambling for their postseason lives today.

There's still no guarantee whether Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams will be able to play Sunday's first-round playoff game against Philadelphia.

Forget Matt Cassel, Donovan Mc-Nabb, Tim Tebow and other possibilities.

Joselio Hanson couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Joselio Hanson grew up a Deion Sanders fan, in Southern California.

LOS ANGELES - Deon Butler, Penn State's 5-10, 170-pound senior wide receiver, didn't hesitate when asked if he had ever come across a free safety as freakishly athletic as Southern California's Taylor Mays.

Eagles Notes It's remarkable how one big victory can wash away so much controversy.

As the Eagles clambered down the stretch, there were fans who said they really hoped their team would miss the playoffs, because they figured that was the only way Andy Reid was going to get fired.

They were left for dead.

Character matters.

Not many people get to read their own obituary in the newspaper.

WHERE WERE the pigs? You know - the ones in the sky, the ones that fly around on days when too many strange and unexpected things happen in too small a window of time? Where were they yesterday when the Eagles took the field at 4:15, somehow with a chance

WHEN THE INACTIVES were announced over the press box PA a couple of hours before history was written at the Linc, I thought there was a glaring omission on the Eagles list.

Brian Dawkins dropped to the turf, after his second strip of a Dallas Cowboy in two drives resulted in a second successive fumble return for an Eagles touchdown, and a third-quarter lead big enough to stretch from South Philly to Minnesota.

Somehow, the essence of the Eagles appeared to slip from the peak.