The United States Postal Service might be losing billions of dollars, but much of the National Football League tried to bail it out by mailing it in this week.

San Diego lost at home by 24 points to a team that arrived for the game 4-9. The Bucs, needing a win to keep postseason hopes alive, lost by 41 points. Buffalo lost a "home" game in Canada by 33 points. Kansas City, playing a Raiders team that entered 3-10, did not record a first down until 5:28 remained in the third quarter, finishing with 119 yards of offense against one of the league's worst defenses. Detroit lost by four touchdowns to a team that entered the contest having dropped nine consecutive games. Jacksonville played cross-state rival Miami and neglected to score a touchdown. Baltimore, which came into the season calling itself a Super Bowl contender, trailed 31-3 at home. The Jets turned the ball over five times, allowing the Titans to win a game in which they made only 12 first downs. Fittingly, the final play of the week's action was Mark Sanchez fumbling.

Until Sunday, only two of the 208 NFL games this season had been shutouts. On Sunday, there were three shutouts in 14 games. Discounting for Atlanta shutting out the Giants -- that was a hard-played contest in which a 12-2 team was terrific -- the NFL scene was awful performance piled on awful performance.

To say many teams mailed it in this week actually is sugarcoating. They didn't even phone it in. They barely bothered to text it in.

With Oakland leading 12-0, Kansas City reached third-and-goal. The play was a flare pass to Dexter McCluster. He fell down -- and didn't get up, just watching the play from the ground.

Eric Decker of Denver beat Cary Williams of Baltimore for a 51-yard touchdown. Once Decker broke into the clear, Williams came to a stop and watched him, not bothering to pursue. Later, Denver's Knowshon Moreno jogged across the goal line untouched as the Ravens' front seven stood watching.

Detroit trailed Arizona 24-10 but was still alive with the ball on the Cardinals' 2 in the fourth quarter. Someone ran the wrong pattern, as two receivers went to the short left corner of the end zone. The pass was intercepted by Greg Toler. Wide receiver Kris Durham, the Detroit player closest to Toler, casually jogged to about the 10-yard line and then just stopped and watched as Toler went 102 yards for a touchdown, making no attempt to chase down the play.

Seattle's Marshawn Lynch was running for a touchdown with only Buffalo's Da'Norris Searcy between him and pay dirt. At the goal line, Searcy stepped out of Lynch's way so he would not have to exert himself by attempting a tackle. Later, Earl Thomas intercepted a pass intended for Buffalo's Scott Chandler. Thomas fell to the turf; all Chandler had to do was touch him, and the play was over. Instead, Chandler did nothing, then didn't bother to chase Thomas as he took off for a 57-yard, game-icing touchdown.

Philip Rivers dropped back into the pocket and, without being touched by anyone, fumbled. The Chargers gained 164 offensive yards playing at home.

The Giants and Ravens are strong teams that played poorly; the Bills, Bucs, Chargers, Chiefs, Jaguars, Jets, Lions and Raiders simply quit. The Raiders accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of winning while mailing it in, failing to record a touchdown at home against one of the league's worst teams.

And it wasn't just players who quit. Many coaching staffs quit on Sunday's games, too. Norv Turner, job in jeopardy, nevertheless looked bored on the sideline as his charges were embarrassed at home. Chan Gailey has acted all season as though he was fired last season. John Harbaugh was more concerned with shifting blame than fixing his team. Jim Schwartz and his staff had the Lions utterly unprepared for a cellar-dwelling opponent.

The NFL is a year-round enterprise that, for 20 of 32 teams, builds up to only 16 games. Every quarter ought to matter. Thousands of hours of offseason preparation, then teams simply quit when the playoffs become out of reach. Even if there is no chance of the postseason, you should play hard and coach hard. Even if it looks like the guy who intercepted the pass has a clear path down the field, you should chase him -- he might stumble. Prorating the salary cap, players and coaches earned about $75 million this week for quitting on games. How about refunds to ticket buyers?

Athletes should be honest about wanting to keep their records. Getty Images

In other football news, TMQ maintains that sports stars who hold records should be honest about hoping their records stand. Thus it was refreshing to hear that Eric Dickerson does not want Adrian Peterson to break the single-season rushing record. Dickerson says he wishes Peterson well, just hopes he pulls up shy of the mark. This is being honest. It's great to hold a record. Why should any athlete root to be bested?

Stats of the Week No. 1: On the season, Adrian Peterson is averaging 6.3 yards per rush; Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder is averaging 5.9 yards per pass.

Stats of the Week No. 2: Seattle has won its past two games by a combined score of 108-17.

Stats of the Week No. 3: In 2011, Chicago opened 7-3, then went 1-5. In 2012, Chicago opened 7-1 and since has gone 1-5.

Stats of the Week No. 4: A week after winning by 25 points, the Giants lost by 34 points. A week after losing by 58 points, Arizona won by 24 points.

Stats of the Week No. 5: St. Louis is 4-0-1 in its division and 2-7 against all other teams.

Stats of the Week No. 6: New Orleans allowed 386 yards of offense, yet won by 41 points.

Stats of the Week No. 7: Second-half possession results for the Eagles against Cincinnati: punt, interception, fumble, fumble, punt, punt.

Stats of the Week No. 8: On Sunday, the Bills play at Miami; Buffalo is on a 2-for-35 third-down conversion streak versus the Dolphins.

Stats of the Week No. 9: The New England offense had four giveaways against San Francisco and has nine in all other games combined.

Stats of the Week No. 10: Baltimore lost for the third consecutive week -- and made the playoffs.

Sweet Defensive Plays of the Week: The score tied with 1:34 remaining in regulation, the visiting Steelers had first-and-10 on their 46, holding three timeouts, and seemed ideally positioned to drive to a winning field goal. Dallas showed an unusual blitz alignment and got a sack. The Steelers used a timeout. Dallas ran twists on both sides of its line and got another sack. The possession ended with a punt, and the home team went on to win in overtime. Rob Ryan often calls too many crazy fronts. But calling just a few, and saving them for a big moment in the game, can be effective.

Sour Play of the Week: Denver leading 10-0 at Baltimore, the Ravens completed a pass to the Broncos' 4-yard line with 44 seconds remaining in the first half. Baltimore was holding all three timeouts -- yet rushed up to the line to quick-snap, just one of many mistakes on the day that seemed to result from the Ravens' puzzling decision to fire the offensive coordinator with three games to go. (See more below.)

Joe Flacco threw a short sideways pass. The situation is first-and-goal on the 4, 30 seconds remaining, holding three timeouts. There's plenty of time to calls runs. A touchdown makes the score 10-7 at the half, and the Ravens usually win at home. Yet the call is a sideways pass, another mistake that seemed to result from the Ravens' puzzling decision to fire the offensive coordinator with three games to go.

The gift the Rams' cheerleaders received was that the game ended. AP Photo/Seth Perlman

Flacco threw a hurried, off-balance pass to the inside shoulder of the receiver. This kind of pass is thrown to the outside shoulder, so either the pass is complete or the ball sails out of bounds. In the Green Bay versus Chicago collision, in a similar goal-line situation, Aaron Rodgers threw sideways to the outside shoulder of James Jones, only Jones could make a play on the ball for a touchdown. Because Flacco threw to the inside shoulder of Anquan Boldin, Denver corner Chris Harris was able to jump the route. He returned the pick-six 98 yards -- a 14-point swing in a game decided by 17 points.

The call was all wrong, the throw was all wrong and the unused timeouts can now be donated to charity.

Because the Broncos yield the tiebreaker to New England, Denver needs at least one more victory to attain a bye week. The Broncs' final regular-season foes are Kansas City and Cleveland, combined record 7-21. This puts Denver in the driver's seat for resting starters in the regular-season finale, followed by a week off -- the very situation in which Peyton Manning tended to falter in Indianapolis.

Sweet 'N' Sour Play of the Week: Dallas leading Pittsburgh 3-0, the Boys had first-and-10 on the Steelers' 17. Little-used safety Robert Golden entered the contest. Tony Romo noticed and audibled to a seam route for tight end Jason Witten to run directly at Golden. Touchdown: sweet.

Perhaps you assume Golden was the sour player on this down. Veteran linebacker Lawrence Timmons ignored Witten, letting him run past; veteran defensive back Ryan Clark ignored Witten, letting him run past. Timmons and Clark are experienced performers. They knew a green guy had just come in and was likely to be targeted, yet ignored the receiver heading toward the green guy. Sour.

Give gifts to children, and receipts for donations to adults. AP Photo/Brian Ach

A Donation Is Real Giving: "Twenty-two percent of holiday regifters said they regift to get rid of an unwanted item" -- The Wall Street Journal, citing a consumer poll.

Exchanging gifts is a nice custom, but not if the result is clutter. Modern homes and apartments are full of unwanted items -- stuff that is in the way, serving no purpose and fulfilling no desire.

Don't give yet more clutter for the holidays. Make a charitable donation in someone's name, then wrap the receipt in fancy foil paper. You will feel good, your recipient will feel good and there will be no chance your present will be regifted in order to get rid of it.

Here is a commendable educational philanthropy. Here is a college that does not charge tuition because it accepts only students from poor families. Here is a global anti-poverty organization with high standards. Here is one of the most admirable organizations in the world.

An added benefit of making donations is that no value is lost. As economists annually point out around this time of year, if I spend $100 buying you a present you don't like or want, the entire $100 is wasted. If you sort of like the present but won't wear or use it often, most of the $100 is wasted. If I donate $100 to a philanthropy or school, then wrap the receipt for you in fancy foil, no value is wasted. All $100 goes to help someone -- which should cause the recipient to feel good.

A 2014 car on sale in 2012. AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Unified Field Theory of Creep: John Denny of Big Rapids, Mich., reports, "Just read the January 2013 issue of Car and Driver, which featured a review of the 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI, a car that won't be available in the U.S. until 2014." Matt Coombs of Lynn, Mass., reports the 2014 GMC Sierra went on sale Dec. 13, 2012.

Bad Sportsmanship Comes Back to Haunt You: Since Bucs coach Greg Schiano thinks it's fine to risk injuries on the last snap of a game by charging an opponent's kneel-down, presumably he had no problem with New Orleans openly running up the score on staggering City of Tampa, keeping Drew Brees on the field in the fourth quarter despite a 31-0 lead.

Brees complained angrily to officials when City of Tampa defenders didn't hustle to get back to the line as seconds ticked down before halftime. So just snap the ball, and the Bucs are offside!

The biggest basketball game in Indiana since 1954. AP Photo/Pat Lovell

The Falcons leading the defending champion Giants 34-0 just inside the two-minute warning, Atlanta reached first-and-goal. Mike Smith had his backups in and had them kneel. Now that's class.

Gene Hackman Must Have Been in the Building: The Butler Bulldogs not only defeated No. 1 Indiana in the most important basketball game held in Indianapolis since Milan over Muncie Central in 1954 -- Butler defeated No. 1 Indiana in the Boston Scientific Close the Gap Crossroads Classic. This tourney name rivals the Tuesday Morning Quarterback Non-Quarterback Non-Running Back NFL MVP for the coveted title of "longest name in sports."

TMQ's Christmas List: Do you grill in the dark? Worry no more. Long to wear a glove on your head?

Offseason Blame Game Starts Early: What exactly was accomplished by the Ravens' firing Cam Cameron -- known to this column as the Crafty, Clever, Cunning Cam Cameron -- with three weeks to go? What about Baltimore's plodding offense suddenly became clear, that has not been clear since 2008, when Cameron was given the reins?

Firing the offensive coordinator with three weeks to go -- a canny, crafty, cagey move. Rob Carr/Getty Images

By firing Cameron now -- rather than this past offseason, when the offensive coordinator position could have turned over in an orderly manner -- Ravens coach John Harbaugh sent the signal that he expects yet another playoff collapse and wants an excuse lined up. At the postgame media event following the playoff collapse Harbaugh/East appears to expect, he can blame Cameron for the team's troubled offense. Firing an assistant coach just before the playoffs isn't a bold move to invigorate the team. It's a desperate move about blame shifting.

College Economics 101: The expense of college continues to rise faster than inflation; total student debt is close to $1 trillion; even attending a public university is becoming a financial challenge.

This suggests parents, and high school students, will begin to alter their behavior in ways calculated to manage college costs. Parents of children who are doing well in school should consider moving to Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia or Wisconsin, where the flagship state university is a prestigious institution, offering the chance of in-state tuition at a great college. (California has prestigious public universities, but its state budget, public schools and public university system are so fouled up, at the moment no one in his or her right mind would move to California for education.)

Trends in college costs might make Advanced Placement courses more important. At some colleges, passing Advanced Placement courses in high school allows a student to "test out" of a degree requirement, arriving at college with some credits already completed. College costs might make it more attractive for high school students to angle to graduate after the first semester of senior year, in order to work and save before college begins.

College is busily pricing itself out of the market. Thinkstock

Your columnist put himself through college, doing so partly by taking extra classes so I earned a bachelor's degree in three and a half years, cutting out one semester of expense. Rising college costs might force many students to follow such headings, hoping to get a four-year degree in three and a half or even three years. The open online course movement, begun by MIT, could help in this regard.

One traditional reason to attend four years of college is to mature; most 22-year-olds are very different people from when they were 19. But young men and women become more mature whether in college or not. The expectation of four years at a leafy campus while maturing might be replaced, for cost reasons, by an expectation of some time on campus, mixed with online courses and work. Not as much fun perhaps as four idyllic years being Joe College or Jane College, but a way to restrain student debt.

Jiminy Cricket: Oakland leading 12-0, Kansas City faced fourth-and-goal. Quarterback Brady Quinn signaled for the snap, then signaled for the snap, then signaled for the snap; delay of game was called as Quinn madly signaled a fourth time.

As noted by reader William Lichtenberger of Shawnee, Kan., in the first half, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel declined a penalty against Oakland, to make the Raiders' situation second-and-10 from the Oakland 47 rather than first-and-15 from the Oakland 42. That is, Crennel let the opponent have 5 yards in order to prevent a repeat of first down.

The Raiderettes' gift was a visit by the worst offense in the league. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

There were nine seconds remaining in the half when Crennel made this decision. Who cares about the extra down; the Raiders can't run four plays in nine seconds! Pushing them back, on the other hand, keeps strong-legged place-kicker Sebastian Janikowski farther away. Oakland completed a short pass, then hit a 57-yard field goal as time expired. Jiminy Cricket.

Buck-Buck-Brawckkkkkkk: Its season on the verge of implosion, Philadelphia faced fourth-and-goal on the Cincinnati 1, score tied at 10, in the final minute of the first half. The home Eagles crowd roared for a touchdown try. Philadelphia is averaging 5.8 yards per offensive snap this season. The Eagles needed 1 yard in front of their home fans. Trotting out the kicker would send the team the message that the coaches expected to lose and were trying to hold down the margin of defeat.

When Andy Reid sent out the field goal unit, TMQ wrote the words "Eagles season over" in his notebook. And so it was -- Philadelphia went on to lose 34-13, failing to reach the Bengals' red zone in the second half. A 4-9 team that won't try for a touchdown from the opposition 1 on its own turf is a team that needs a housecleaning.

The Bengals emerged from the game 8-6, with a decent shot at the postseason. They have been getting energy from Vontaze Burfict, who went undrafted after being roundly denounced in the draftnik world. They are allowing opponents only 101 yards rushing per contest, and teams that stop the run tend to do well in big games. Bengals at Steelers on Christmas Eve Eve might determine this season's Cincinnati outcome.

No one talks about increasing U.S. oil production because neither political party can claim credit. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

"Last Resort" Update: The ABC conspiracy show "Last Resort" has but a few episodes remaining, which is just as well, as the already-strained premise is coming apart at the seams. Favorite scene from the most recent episode: Two good-guy commandos leave the fictional island in French Polynesia where the rogue nuclear missile submarine Colorado is parked. The commandos depart aboard a small Zodiac inflatable boat -- and minutes later are in Manila, 6,000 miles from French Polynesia.

Don't Click This Link Until Dec. 22: TMQ has long believed that whenever all experts are certain something will happen, the reverse is about to happen. For instance, a generation ago, experts were certain natural gas was nearly exhausted, while the peak-oil moment had been reached. Today, there is ample low-cost natural gas. The International Energy Agency recently forecast that the United States soon will surpass Saudi Arabia as an oil producer.

The rebound of American oil production has not received anywhere near the attention it deserves, in part because neither political party can take credit. George W. Bush talked about energy supply being a "crisis," which turned out to be completely wrong. Barack Obama wants to pretend petroleum is depleted in order to keep the focus on subsidies for green energy.

Rising domestic oil production stems from geologic discoveries in North Dakota, and improved seismology and drilling technology, all of which happened independent of government -- which is always the last to know. Rising U.S. oil production means the American economy is likely to enter a new growth phase, which is very good, and that greenhouse gas accumulation is likely to accelerate, which isn't good.

Don't worry, government experts assure us this will not happen. Columbia Pictures

Back to the point that whenever the experts agree on something, the opposite is about to occur. In that context, TMQ finds it unsettling that NASA is completely certain the world will not end Friday. Here is its assurance, datelined Dec. 22. You also can find the video by going to the main NASA page and typing "Mayan prophecies" in the search box.

The Football Gods Chortled: In last season's playoffs, the Giants defeated the Falcons largely on the strength of stopping two Atlanta fourth-and-1 plays. On Sunday, the Falcons defeated the Giants largely on the strength of stopping two Jersey/A fourth-and-1 plays.

Should the Giants panic over their 34-0 loss? Atlanta is among the league's best teams and was playing with strong motivation. But now the defending champions are just one of five 8-6 teams angling for two spots in the NFC. One of those teams will win the NFC East, but only one pair (Washington and Dallas) play each other, so only one additional defeat is assured in the 8-6 group. The defending champions are in serious jeopardy of missing the postseason party. Giants at Ravens on Christmas Eve Eve might in effect be an elimination game both ways.

End of the Digital Divide: Millions of electronic devices and boxes of software will be unwrapped over the holidays; many if not most of the devices will be hooked to various forms of wireless communication or high-speed Internet.