Losses are what have made the 1999 season so charming. The Saints, Browns, Falcons and 49ers have been doing their part all year, and a bunch more made their contribution Sunday.

	Despite a four-game skid, Mike Holmgren's Seahawks still have a chance to win the AFC West.

But Jerry Jones, owner-"coach" of the Dallas Cowboys, was hardly charmed by the 22-21 defeat to the Jets.

"Our entire team knew that the Giants had lost, Washington had lost, Detroit had lost," he said. "So everyone knew what was at stake. This was a playoff-type reward if we could have gotten it done. That makes this one of the toughest losses that we've had in the time I've been here."

Jones' scenario describes perfectly what happened Sunday with one exception -- he neglected to mention Tampa Bay, which had its six-game winning streak shattered 45-0 in Oakland. That was the worst loss in the Bucs' mostly woeful history and kept them from clinching at least a wild-card playoff spot.

On the other hand, they didn't lose their NFC Central lead because the Lions lost in Chicago, That makes Detroit 1-5 in games played outdoors and shows once again parity prevails this season.

The same was true in the AFC.

Teams like the Raiders and Ravens stayed on the outskirts of contention with wins that put them at .500. But the Seahawks lost their fourth straight to drop a game behind the Chiefs in the AFC West.

But this is 1999, and all Seattle has to do to win the division is win its last two, against the Chiefs at home next Sunday and then at the Jets. Because the Seahawks won in Kansas City on Nov. 21 (their last victory), they'll get the tiebreaker if they sweep the season series from the Chiefs.

Jones also knows that if his Cowboys win at New Orleans and at home against the Giants, they have a good chance of winning the NFC East if Washington loses one of its two final games -- they beat the 'Skins twice and own the tiebreaker.

Yes, "coach" Jones can still beat his friendly rival, Redskins "coach" Dan (The Fan) Snyder.

The Rampage continues
How did a Rams team that's so good finish 4-12 last season? While the Colts have gotten all the publicity for tying the record for a best one-season turnaround, nine games, St. Louis is right behind them at eight.

On Sunday, the Rams clinched home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs. That means after they finish the regular season in Philadelphia, they won't have to play outdoors again this season -- Super Bowl XXXIV will be played in the Georgia Dome.

The reasons for the dramatic improvement:

1. Quarterback: Last season, the QB was turnover-prone Tony Banks, who has resurrected his career in Baltimore. This season, it's Kurt Warner, who was active for just one game last season and exposed for Cleveland in the expansion draft. Warner is now a candidate for MVP, along with his teammate ...

2. Marshall Faulk: Last season, the leading rusher was June Henley, who gained all of 313 yards, as the Rams finished 29th in rushing. Faulk, obtained for the relatively cheap price of second- and fifth-round draft choices, has 1,248 rushing yards and 817 receiving, a total of 2,065 net yards to lead the league.

3. Isaac Bruce: In 1995 and 1996, he caught 203 passes for 3,119 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 1997 and 1998, he missed 16 games with hamstring injuries and caught 88 passes for 1,272 yards and six touchdowns. Healthy again, Bruce has 73 catches for 1,120 yards and 11 TDs. He also has more help -- Faulk, Az-Zahir Hakim and rookie Torry Holt in a prodigious receiving corps.

4. Kevin Carter, Grant Wistrom, London Fletcher: Carter and Wistrom were No. 1 draft choices lost on a bad team. They've now come into their own as bookend defensive ends.

Fletcher is a ferocious run-stopping 5-foot-10, 250-pound middle linebacker in his first year as a starter after signing as an undrafted free agent from John Carroll, Don Shula's alma mater.

5. Adam Timmerman: Signed as a free agent from Green Bay, he has been the missing piece on the offensive line to go with Orlando Pace, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft.

6. Dick Vermeil: After exhausting his players in practice during his first two seasons and being given a final warning by the front office, he has realized that Y2Kers have to be handled in a more cuddly way than the 1980 variety. And Vermeil is downright cuddly -- hugging, crying at each positive step and smiling on the sidelines, all major violations of the coaches' code.

An obvious prediction: With the Rams unbeaten at home and winning by an average of 25 points, Vermeil will smile all the way to the Super Bowl.