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Even Seattle's edgy mayor couldn't keep the city from celebrating Sunday afternoon, after the Seahawks earned their first division title since 1988, ending the NFL's longest active playoff drought. Actually "earned" may be the wrong word, for the Seahawks lost five of their last six games and looked so miserable in their season finale against the Jets that Joey Galloway almost begged Rick Mirer to return. But the Hawks were bailed out by the Raiders, who beat the Chiefs in Kansas City for the first time since Jon Gruden began shaving. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren owes his friend Gruden a case of champagne, a fancy dinner atop the Space Needle and at least two Jon Kitna fumbles next season. The Chiefs saw a promising season end abruptly, largely because of several special teams errors. Bare-footed kicker Jon Baker knocked three kickoffs out of bounds, including one in overtime, showing his eagerness to return to the CFL. What a difference a single field goal can make to the fortunes of two teams? Had Pete Stoyanovich, one of the most reliable kickers in NFL history, made a 44-yarder in the final seconds -- as he did in the first meeting with Oakland -- the Chiefs would have been division champs and Gunther Cunningham 's rookie season as head coach would have been a roaring success. Instead, Holmgren and his Seahawks are the champs and the Chiefs will spend the off-season cursing the Raiders.

BREAK UP THE BUCS: The Buccaneers, expansion mates of the Seahawks in 1976, are also celebrating their first division title in many years. But unlike the Seahawks, the Bucs are surging into the playoffs and could be trouble for the Rams. The Bucs had never before won 11 games in a season. But then again, they had never before had a King for a quarterback. Does anybody know what Trent Dilfer's plans are for next season?

PLAYOFF SLUMP: The wild-card games this weekend feature several teams that backed into the playoffs. Like the Seahawks, the Dolphins have lost five of their last six games, while the Lions have lost six of their last eight. Thankfully for the Hawks and Fins, they play each other on Sunday, so one team will taste victory before being fed to the Colts or Jags. The Colts will no doubt root for the Seahawks, hoping to avoid a clash with the winner of the Titans-Bills game. In the NFC, Tampa Bay will root for the Redskins to beat the Lions, hoping to avoid another tussle with the Vikings. Assuming, of course, that the Vikes beat the Cowboys.

COACHING CHANGES: Ray Rhodes and Pete Carroll learned an important lesson this week: If you want to be a head coach, it's better not to replace a genius like Mike Holmgren or Bill Parcells. Expectations are too high. Even an 8-8 season can get you fired. You're more likely to survive if you coach a perennial loser like the Bengals, as Bruce Coslet would be happy to tell you. Coslet's team is 4-12, only two games better than the expansion Browns, yet Coslet will be back in 2000, ready to sweep the Browns again. Meanwhile, Rhodes and Carroll, who won twice as many games as Coslet, are looking for jobs. Was it fair to fire Rhodes, a former Coach of the Year, after only one season? Probably not. Both Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson had losing records in their first years with the Giants and Cowboys. They went on to win two Super Bowls each. Perhaps Bill Belichick was wise not to accept the Jets' coaching job, vacated by Parcells on Monday. He'd have more job security coaching the Jamaican bobsled team.

NEW MILLENNIUM QB: NFL scouts will keep a close eye on Virginia Tech's freshman quarterback Michael Vick, who is so amazingly athletic and elusive, he makes Doug Flutie look slow. Thanks to him, it's no longer an insult to tell a quarterback that he "throws like a freshman." Vick could be the prototype quarterback of the 21st Century, a player who runs as well as he passes. The NFL already has several quarterbacks whose mobility is key to their success. Among them: Steve McNair, Mark Brunell and Steve Young. Then there's Kordell Stewart, who has quick feet but throws like a sophomore.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: Falcons' speedy wide receiver Tim Dwight shined in Monday night's victory over the Niners. The best part of his MVP performance: being interviewed after the game by ESPN's Melissa Stark. When the attractive reporter misstated the Falcons' record as 4-12, Dwight was quick to correct her: "We're 5-11," he said with a smile, obviously trying to separate the Falcons from the Bengals. It's still not clear whether Dwight was able to get any other numbers out of Stark.

BITS AND PIECES: Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick's stellar performance in the Sugar Bowl almost caused a flood in Cleveland. Browns officials couldn't stop drooling at the prospect of drafting Warrick. ... Before the season, Monday night's Falcons-Niners game must have looked like a real thriller, loaded with playoff implications. Unfortunately for everyone, including ABC's Al Michaels, the game turned into the "Boomer Esiason Trivia Contest." ... Trying to win a tie-breaker to grab the NFC's last playoff berth, the Packers and Panthers scorched their opponents for 49 and 45 points respectively. Makes you wonder why they didn't play like that during the previous 15 games. Waiting until the last game only works for some teams, such the Cowboys. ... Wade Phillips' questionable decision to bench Doug Flutie in favor of Rob Johnson proves one thing: He's really afraid of the Titans.