It's playoff time in the NFL and once again that leads us to take a look at what seperates the teams that are still playing right now to the teams that are not. As a life-long Bengals' fans I am left to ask myself this every off-season it seems.

In watching NFL Network last week I heard Adam Schefter throw out a couple stats and their direct correlation to teams making the playoffs. Let's take a look:

TOP QUARTERBACKS (QB Rating)
1. Tom Brady - NE - 117.2
2. Ben Roethlisberger - PIT - 104.1
3. David Garrard - JCK - 102.2
4. Peyton Manning - IND - 98.0
5. Tony Romo - DAL - 97.4
6. Brett Favre - GB - 95.7
7. Jeff Garcia - TB - 94.6
8. Matt Hasselbeck - SEA - 91.4
*14. Carson Palmer - CIN - 86.7

TOP DEFENSES (Points Allowed)
1. Colts - 16.4 ppg
2. Steelers - 16.8 ppg
3. Bucs - 16.9 ppg
4. Patriots - 17.1 ppg
5. Chargers - 17.8 ppg
6. Packers - 18.2 ppg
6. Seahawks - 18.2 ppg
8. Titans - 18.6 ppg
*24. Bengals - 24.1 ppg

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that your team is not going very far giving up over 24 points per game, but if Carson can right his ship the Bengals are half way there. This organization needs to make a committment to investing in and focusing on offense. If that means trading Chad Johnson to free up money so be it. After this season coming up something will have to give as TJ's contract will be up. It's hard to justify spending too much on wideouts when you have so much invested in a QB.