Defense might still win championships, but offense gets you into the playoffs.

Nine of the top 10 offenses in the NFL advanced to the postseason. Only five of the top 10 defenses made it. Quarterbacks who put up nine of the top 11 passer ratings also advanced.

The moral of the story?

You'd better have at least a decent quarterback and an offense to have a chance, no matter how good your defense is.

The lowest-ranked offense to make it was the Atlanta Falcons, 20th in total yardage. But they have the incomparable Michael Vick at quarterback, a one-man offense.

Vick also had the lowest passer efficiency rating among playoff-bound quarterbacks, 21st, but his escapability (he rushed for 902 yards) makes him unique.

The only other playoff quarterbacks not ranked in the top 11 are Denver's Jake Plummer (15th) and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck (17th).

The only passers among the league's top 11 who failed to make the playoffs were Tampa Bay's Brian Griese (sixth) and Kansas City's Trent Green (seventh).

The second-lowest-ranked offense was the 16th-place Pittsburgh Steelers, who happen to field the No. 1 defense.

The Kansas City Chiefs were the No. 1 offense, but failed to make the playoffs because they have the No. 31 defense. However, other low-ranked defenses advanced because of high-powered offenses.

The Indianapolis Colts have the 29th defense but are second on offense. The Minnesota Vikings have the 28th defense but are fourth on offense. The Seattle Seahawks have the 26th defense but the eighth offense. The Green Bay Packers have the 25th defense but the No. 3 offense.

Five top-10 defenses failed to carry poor offenses into the postseason.

The No. 2-ranked defense of the Buffalo Bills had the No. 25 offense and Drew Bledsoe ranked 25th in passer efficiency. The No. 3-ranked defense of the Washington Redskins had the No. 30 offense and Patrick Ramsey was 28th. The No. 5 defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the No. 22 offense despite Griese's No. 6 ranking in passing. The No. 6-ranked defense of the Baltimore Ravens had the No. 31 offense and Kyle Boller was the 30th passer.

The No. 8 defense of the Miami Dolphins had the No. 29 offense and A.J. Feeley was the 33rd passer. The Bears had no quarterback with enough attempts to qualify for a passer rating.

If the Vikings and Seahawks happen to lose their opening playoff games this weekend, keep in mind how two of their stars gained entrance into the Selfish Hall of Fame last Sunday.Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander said he was "stabbed in the back" when he didn't get to carry at the 1-yard line against Atlanta and fell one yard short of the Jets' Curtis Martin for the NFL rushing title. Hasselbeck scored on a quarterback sneak."We were going to win anyway," Alexander said. "We were on the goal line, and I got stabbed in the back. It would have been sweet to get it. I feel worse because we had a quarterback sneak for a touchdown. That hurts, but I'll be all right."Alexander said nothing about his fumble on the 1-yard line against the Jets two weeks ago. On Monday, Alexander publicly apologized, saying the NFC West title was more important.Vikings coach Mike Tice said he spent an hour on the phone talking to receiver Randy Moss about his premature walkout during Sunday's loss in Washington."That was poor judgment," Tice said.Vikings center Matt Birk said he didn't like it either and made sure he hustled into the locker room to tell Moss so.With two seconds left in the game and his teammates lining up for an onside kick, Moss walked to the locker room.As usual, Moss did not publicly comment.