It’s the holiday season, a time for cheer, happiness and good will.  But you wouldn’t know it lately with all the outrage in the air.  The political fallout over the publication of classified government documents on the WikiLeaks website.  The Yankees playing contractual hardball with Derek Jeter.  The early struggles of the “Dream Team” Miami Heat.  Derek Anderson flipping out after yet another Arizona Cardinals loss.  But these pale in comparison to one developing story.

Could a team with a losing record actually win an NFL division title?

The answer is “yes” and the division is the NFC West.  As of today, the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks are tied for the “lead” with 5-6 records.  The once left-for-dead San Francisco 49ers trail by just one game with a 4-7 record, while the Cardinals bring up the rear at 3-8.  Nothing like parity, eh?

Let’s examine the remaining schedules.  The Rams travel to Arizona to play the Cardinals this week then face the defending champion New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, followed by home games against the resurgent Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers.  It culminates with a Week 17 showdown at Qwest Field against the Seahawks, in what could very well decide the division “title.”

The Seahawks get a gift this week against the one-win Panthers at home, then face the 49ers at Candlestick next week, followed by a home match-up with the best team in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons.  Week 16 brings a visit to Tampa to face the surprising Buccaneers, followed by the season finale in Seattle against the Rams.

The 49ers have a more uphill battle, especially given the fact that running back Frank Gore is out for the season.  After facing the Seahawks this week, they travel to San Diego to play the red-hot Chargers, then face the Rams on the road, and wrap it all up against the Cardinals in San Francisco.

Hard to predict how it will all pan out, but it doesn’t look like any of the three teams will run the table or finish with a winning record.  And we won’t bore you with the possible tiebreaker scenarios, either.

You mean to tell me that you’re still not excited?

No NFL team has ever won a division with a losing record.  The last team to win a division with an 8-8 record was the 2008 San Diego Chargers.  Ironically, they won their home playoff game against the 12-4 Indianapolis Colts in Tony Dungy’s last game as head coach.  (Perhaps Dungy’s criticism of Norv Turner earlier this year on NBC was the result of pent-up anger over this overtime loss, but we’re still checking on that.)

As if that wasn’t bad enough, one of these teams will actually get to host a home playoff game against an NFC Wild Card team.  I’m sure the Giants, Packers, Saints and Packers will all be thrilled about this.  And I bet Jerry Jones will soon petition Roger Goodell for realignment that moves the Cowboys to the NFC West.

Come to think of it, TCU should forget about joining Big East and call Goodell.  They could win at least nine games…

Used with permission of the author.

Chris Lardieri also covers the NFL for Sports Climax and the Los Angeles Dodgers for Examiner.com.  He has written about Major League Baseball for Inside Edge, a scouting company that provides content to ESPN Insider and Yahoo Sports. He previously wrote for 1766, the Rutgers Alumni Magazine, and popular blog, ‘The Outer Loop’.  Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter for more MLB and sports observations

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