Also-rans left wondering where it all went wrong in sprint to playoffs

Bad penalties, bad coaching. And a whole lot of bad decisions.

They happened all over the NFL on Sunday

The Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons are all shaking their heads about how they blew big games in the midst of the playoff run.

At least the Carolina Panthers went down gambling, missing a 2-point conversion. The pass play would have worked, but Cam Newton missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone.

The other clubs either made suspect choices or played not to lose.

And, naturally, they lost.

"This is as tough as it gets," Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell said after his team blew a 16-0 lead to Pittsburgh and lost on a last-second TD by Ben Roethlisberger.

"There are going to be some games you definitely lose and you'll definitely win. But when it comes down to that last play, and you're on the losing side of it, it hurts ... especially in a situation where we're a desperate team in need of a win."

And a team that got too comfortable with a 16-point edge.

Jacksonville stopped being as aggressive as it had been earlier in dominating the Steelers, and pretty much dropped from postseason contention at 3-7.

"If people in here are content - not saying anybody is - but if people are content with losing and things not going right, that's not the type of guys you want on the team and that's not the type of environment you want to have," said cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

The environment might be worse in Arizona, where rookie coach Steve Wilks watched his club make several critical errors down the stretch, leading to a 23-21 loss to Oakland.

The Raiders were the only team with just one victory heading into the weekend.

A dropped pass by running back David Johnson hurt the Cards, and an penalty for unnecessary roughness to tight end Jermaine Gresham cost 15 yards and stopped the clock.

On the next play, Johnson ran 57 yards for what was sure to be the clinching score, only to have the play called back on a holding call against tight end Ricky Seals-Jones.

Two plays later, the Cardinals punted. The Raiders then drove 63 yards and won as the clock expired on Daniel Carlson's 35-yard field goal.