In the end, even destiny couldn’t beat Peyton Manning.

The Indianapolis Colts’ future Hall of Fame quarterback ultimately proved once again that he is indeed that dominant, and that this year, “MVP” might as well stand for “Most Valuable, Peyton.”

Through four straight wins and nearly half of what looked to be a fifth, the New York J-E-T-S had lived off of F-A-T-E, and appeared destined to become the second New York franchise in three seasons to make an improbable journey from an unheralded five seed to the Super Bowl.

Instead, Manning did exactly what you’d expect from the player who won an unprecedented fourth NFL MVP award this season –- make a good defense look bad.

As a result, Manning and the Colts (16-2) return to the Super Bowl for the second time in four years, while the Jets’ magical ride is D-O-N-E.

Facing a surprising 17-6 deficit with 2:11 left in the first half of Sunday’s AFC championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Manning took over, rallying the Colts’ offense for the game’s final 24 points, in a 30-17 comeback win.

Four weeks prior, same setting, same opponent, Manning stood on the sideline, leaving his helmet on, annoyed that team president Bill Polian wouldn’t allow Manning or the Colts (then 14-0) to protect a 15-10 lead against the Jets (11-8) and try for a perfect season.

Manning certainly wasn’t being pulled this time.

And, with rapid-fire efficiency, the Colts’ signal caller carved up a vaunted Jets defense which not only came in as the top-ranked defensive unit in the league both overall and against the pass, but which had allowed a total of just 75 points, for a 9.375 points per game average, over its previous eight games.

It was no problem for Manning, not even when forced to rely upon a largely inexperienced receiving core.

After a 48-yard field goal by Jets’ kicker Jay Feely capped New York’s 17-point second quarter and had Jet fans everywhere dreaming of a super ending to Gang Green’s fairy-tale ride, Manning swiftly dashed the hopes of the Jets’ faithful.

The Colts responded in a mere 58 seconds, going 80 yards in just four plays, with Manning sending rookie wide receiver Austin Collie (7 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD) on his way to his first-ever 100-yard receiving day.

Manning hit Collie for 18 yards to the left, and then went right back to him for 46 yards over the middle. It was the turning point of the game, and Manning and the Colts knew it.

“That play down the field to Collie before the touchdown is the play that I think really got us going,” Manning said. “From that point on, we really had a good bead on things.”

The next play, Manning found Collie again, in the back of the end zone for a leaping 16-yard touchdown catch, with 1:13 left in the first half.

Though the Jets still took a 17-13 lead into the locker room, it was as if the Colts had already taken control of the game.

“You think about 17-6, we thought we were in a good position at that point,” Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said. “But… they got the drive right before half, and after that it was downhill from there.”

The quick jaunt downfield was nothing new for Manning and the Colts. In Week 2, while possessing the ball for just 14:53 (the least amount of time by a winning team since 1977), the Colts won 27-23, scoring all 27 points on offense, in ironically, Miami — the site of Super Bowl XLIV in two weeks, on the same field in which Manning got his only Super Bowl win, three years ago.

The next key moment which sealed the Jets’ fate came early in the third quarter, when Gang Green had a good chance to regain momentum.

New York took the opening kickoff of the second half 39 yards before stalling at the Colts’ 34 yard-line.

On 4th-and-7, it was a typical ‘too short to punt, yet too long to try a field goal’ scenario.

A perfect time for the brash, big-talking Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan to back up his bravado with some guts and call a play that would have fit his over-confident and over-the-top attitude which fueled the Jets’ playoff run.

To that point, the Jets, normally relying on solid defense and a strong rushing game, were enjoying surprising success with their passing game, with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez (17-30, 257 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) completing most of the big throws he had to make.

It would have been a great time to go for the first down and keep the drive going. Even a fake field goal or fake punt might have been a better choice than trying a long field goal, especially since Ryan had already gone into his bag of tricks in the second quarter, with former Missouri quarterback-turned-multi-purpose option Brad Smith completing his only pass of the season, a 45-yard play that set up the Jets’ second touchdown of the game.

Although Ryan didn’t go ultra-conservative and punt, he also didn’t exude the persona of his coaching style or of his team by settling for a long 52-yard field goal that sailed harmlessly wide right off the foot of Feely.

The missed kick gave Manning great field position at the Colts’ 42 yard-line, and again, Manning went to work fast.

The next eight plays were all Manning passes, six of them completions, on a drive that took 3:31 and which ended on a 4-yard touchdown pass to second-year receiver Pierre Garcon (game highs of 11 receptions and 151 yards), who did a nice job to keep his feet inbounds in the end zone, along the right sideline, to put Indianapolis ahead for good, 20-17, with 8:03 remaining in the third quarter.

After the game, Garcon, for the second straight week, raised the Haitian national flag in honor of his relatives in earthquake-ravage Haiti.

For all of the pre-game talk of the Jets’ rookies (Ryan, Sanchez, and running back Shonn Greene), it was the Colts’ youngsters who helped Manning and Indianapolis win the AFC crown.

“They made some huge plays for us today,” Manning said of Collie and Garcon, who became Manning’s primary targets with Jets’ shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis keeping Colts’ leading wide receiver Reggie Wayne (3 catches, 55 yards) in check.

Jets’ nickel back Donald Strickland going down with a groin injury in the first quarter also helped open up some opportunities for the Colts’ passing game.

Meanwhile, Greene (10 carries, 41 yards), whose prolific rushing helped carry the Jets to its two postseason wins to reach Indianapolis, was limited in part, by a rib injury he suffered in the third quarter. He would leave the game, but would later return.

However, the Colts’ defense was stopping the Jets on the ground, anyway. A Jets’ rushing game which led the NFL with 172 yards per game in the regular season, remained consistent in the playoffs with 171 rushing yards in Cincinnati and 169 more in San Diego. On Sunday though, it was the Colts (ranked last in the league in rushing) who actually outrushed the Jets, 101-86, as the Indianapolis defense shut New York out in the second half.

That was all of the defensive help that the Colts’ offense needed, as Manning closed things out, leading Indianapolis on consecutive scoring drives in the fourth quarter.

Manning (26-39, 377 yards, 3 TD, 0 turnovers), who recorded an NFL postseason record seventh 300-yard passing game, took the Colts 51 yards in 3:33, putting Indianapolis ahead, 27-17, on a 15-yard scoring toss to tight end Dallas Clark, with 8:52 left in the game.

“There’s a reason why he’s the MVP of the league,” Ryan said of Manning. “He’s that good, and you’ve got to be on top of your game to beat him… if you can’t disrupt his rhythm he’s gonna kill ya, and we couldn’t disrupt it enough.”

The Colts iced the game on a 12-play drive that resulted in the third field goal of the game by Matt Stover, who will turn 42 on January 27th and will become the oldest player ever to play in the Super Bowl.

It was the second time in as many AFC championship games hosted by the Colts in Indianapolis, that Manning rallied his team from a double digit deficit to win. The Colts also trailed New England in the old RCA Dome in Indianapolis, 21-3, in the second quarter, before beating the Patriots, 38-34, in the 2006 AFC Championship game, en route to Manning’s only other Super Bowl appearance.

The Jets’ first road loss in six games provided some perspective on just how difficult and unlikely the 2007 Giants’ run to a Super Bowl title was. The Giants won 11 straight games away from home that season, and the end of their regular season as well as the beginning of their playoff run that year mirrored what the Jets had accomplished prior to Gang Green falling to the Colts on Sunday.

While Manning and the Colts choose to do all of their talking on the field, the loss seemed to humble the usually outspoken Ryan, who declared his Jets Super Bowl favorites before the playoffs.

“Today wasn’t our day,” he said. “There’s no question. You have to give credit to the Colts. Obviously they’re the cream of the crop right now.”

Adding more to the thoughts of what might have been for Jets fans, this year’s Super Bowl was originally scheduled to be hosted by the Jets, but plans for New York City’s proposed West Side Stadium fell through years ago, after the city, state, and the Jets could not agree on funding. The game was then awarded to Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the Jets will instead open play in the new Meadowlands stadium next year.

However, Jet fans should feel encouraged knowing that their team no longer appears to be the “same old Jets” as many have often described the franchise. With a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback, realistic expectations should have included nothing more than a playoff berth this year.

To be just 32 minutes away, after seemingly being “Jets-tined” to reach the Super Bowl certainly hurts, but to be so close was really just a bonus for this season. With a very solid foundation in Ryan, Sanchez, Greene, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (who turned down a head coaching opportunity in Buffalo), and one of the league’s best defenses, the Jets figure to remain Super Bowl contenders for several years to come.

“Everybody’s disappointed that we didn’t go to the Super Bowl, especially when we were this close,” Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson said. “We didn’t do everything that we needed to win. But, at the same rate, we did do a lot of great things [this season].”

Strong safety Jim Leonhard added, “Maybe this football team needed to get here and have this experience in order to take the next step.”

Indianapolis meanwhile, will face the New Orleans Saints (15-3, after starting 13-0), on February 7th, in a matchup that will feature two number one seeds in the Super Bowl for the first time in 17 years (when Dallas beat Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII).

On a couple of different levels, the game will bring things full circle for Manning and the Colts, who will be making their fourth trip to football’s ultimate game, while seeking their third Super Bowl victory.

The Colts’ three previous visits to the Super Bowl were all in Miami, where the Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl V, and the Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI (in which Manning was named the game’s MVP).

The Saints are marching into the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43 seasons, after capturing the NFC title with a thrilling 31-28 overtime victory over Minnesota on Sunday, four-and-a-half years after the city of New Orleans (Manning’s birthplace) was decimated by Hurricane Katrina.

Well, they helped create this monster. Now the Peyton Manning led Indianapolis Colts finally get a second chance to end the New York Jets season. The 2010 AFC title game between the Jets and Colts  for the rights to go to  Super Bowl XLIV, pits two teams who are trying to set the record straight. The Jets aim to once and for all rid themselves of the “fraud” tag they were given last month by many, as a result of the “red carpet” circumstances that led to their playoff entrance. The Colts hope to finally justify forking over a chance at an undefeated season and an eternal “God like” football status for the comforts of injury free stars rested for a postseason run. Once again, for the second straight week, it’s a high powered air attack against the Ground and Pound. Jet fans are frothing at the mouth with the notion that a chance for the franchise’s biggest win in four decades is only days away. To do it, Gang Green will for the third time this January, have to pull of a playoff road upset. This time against the AFC’s top seed. It’s a daunting task but for a ball control team like the Jets. Yet for a team that beiieves so much in itself, whose confidence has grown exponentially since December, maybe immeasurable intangibles can help lead the way towards the promised land.

The Jets greatest achievment since their inception as the Titans, led by coach Slingin’ Sammy Baugh in 1960, was of course Super Bowl III. Their January 12, 1969 16-7 upset over the Baltimore Colts helped to once and for all legitimize the AFL as a league on par with the NFL (The creative Kansas City Chiefs out manuevered the stagnant NFL champ Vikings in Super Bowl IV the following year to further cement the AFLs legacy). Joe Namath guaranteed the win despite being a 17 point underdog. How did they do it? By running the Colts into the ground. Jet RB Matt Snell’s 30 carries for 121 yards helped control the clock while Colts QB Earl Morrall was picked off 3 times. Sound familiar? It should.

These 2009 Jets will look to implement the same approach Sunday. As they have throughout 2009.  Shut ‘em down on D and pound the ground with RB’s Thomas Jones and rookie Shonn Greene. Greene this year’s third round steal out of Iowa, is on fire with back to back hundred yard games and two long TD runs in the postseason.  Shedding himself of fumble issues that plagued him midseason when he took over for the injured Leon Washington, Greene has become a force to be reckon with. A player that the Jet offense has been able to recently base itself around. These old school “smashmouth” Jets can complete a playoff run few could have envisioned a month back, if they can do as they did in San Diego; stay close going into the second half. Close enough to allow the run game to get moving downhill without burning out their own clock while trying to come back from way behind.

The Jets Colts history begins with the Jets Super Bowl III win in Miami. ironically, THIS years Super Bowl is in Miami.  The Colts have AGAIN been part of the story, connected to the journey. Back then it was former Colts coach Weeb Ewbank, who led the Colts to the famous 1956 OT win over the Giants in the greatest game ever played,  leading the way as head coach for the Jets (young head coach Don Shula coached the Colts that day). Rough and tumble former Colt S Johnny Sample also sought to burn the team that cut him. “I kept a little bitterness in me. I was almost in a frenzy by the time the game arrived. I held a private grudge against the Colts. I was really ready for that game. All of us were.” Eight time all star ( 4 times in the AFL, 4 in the NFL after the 1970 merger)  offensive lineman big Winston Hill was cut by the Colts five years prior. Hill gave his thoughts on THIS years “O” line saying “Our offensive line is one of the best. They don’t back down from anybody, period … The entire team believes in Rex. He’s not sending soldiers out there on the field; he’s leading them out there.”

This years link between the two clubs is simple. Week 16.  Nothing more needs to be said. In fact, the Jets 29-15 win was one that will go down in football lore like the “Heidi game” of 1968 (look it up).  A day where the Colts replaced their undefeated team with what Rex Ryan termed “the JV” in order to insure a healthy January march to the Super Bowl. The Jets took advantage with a season saving win that left Indy fans, fans of AFC teams fighting to stay alive, and the football world in general, angry and wondering what could’ve been. Personalities like New York sports talk host WFAN’s Mike Francesa, to this day is cocksure that the Colts would’ve knocked out the Jets and then gone on to beat the Bills to go undefeated. Francesa’s scenario would’ve sent the Steelers to the postseason, not the Jets. Could’ve would’ve should’ve. The Jets instead capitalized on what Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz has called A G-I-F-T GIFT GIFT GIFT (mocking the traditional Jets chant often led by Superfan Fireman Ed during home games). The good fortune of facing a 14-0 team looking to play it safe helped the Jets regain control of the their playoff destiny. A destiny that Gang Green embraced when it posted a convincing 37-0 win against the unmotivated AFC North champion Bengals in the final regular season game. The final game ever at Giants stadium. Since that “JV game,”  the Jets have been trying to rid themselves of the perception by many, that they don’t belong in the postseason. That they were simply let in on the day when Colts backup QB Curtis Painter became a household name. For all the wrong reasons.

How can the Jets overcome a Colts team that has future hall of fame QB Peyton Manning spearheading the charge? By making the Colts beat them in ways that include more than Manning.  By confusing the genius student Manning as often as humanly possible. Ryan was 0-4 against Manning as a coordinator for the Ravens but HAS gotten to him before. A 2006 15-6 playoff loss by the Ravens still limited the Colts to five field goals. The game included  a full menu of  Ryanesque  “come from anywhere” blitzes and two (of what should’ve been three) Ed Reed interceptions. A day of drive halting results that the Jets would be thrilled to obtain this Sunday. Manning said of that day “I can’t tell you how many different looks we studied,” Manning said afterwards. “I didn’t sleep well all week.”

The Jet front four, which includes ten year vet Sean Ellis and his “club” (thanks to breaking his hand on the first play out in San Diego) and the suddenly overachieving NG Mike Devito,  has to get SOME pressure on Manning. They will be aided by blitzing Jet defenders who will come from everywhere, rarely if ever repeating their paths. While the pressure makes its way towards one of the safest pockets in football, the Jets must do a top notch job defending receivers with tight  press coverage. A coverage the Jets switched to at the pleading of the defense to Ryan at halftime in San Diego. The Jet started out soft in zone coverage, which allowed the Chargers to move it well through the air early on. This Sunday, the Jets can’t allow perennial All Pro’s Reggie Wayne and TE Dallas Clark time to get into their routes consistently. Revis will switch from Wayne to Clark  as he did with Jackson and Antonio Gates last week. This means that risk taking ball hawk CB Lito Shepherd and steady CB Donald Strickland will have to continue their solid play. Perhaps even raise their level against speedy tough slot threat Austin Collie and tall strong WR Pierre Garcon. Collie hurt the Jets in week 16 with six catches for 94 yards while the Jets focused their attention on shutting down Wayne and Clark.

The Jets “Walk Around” defense, a mixture of defenders walking around never claiming any one spot before the snap, can resemble the aimless hustle and bustle of Grand Central station during rush hour. This heavily disguised style, confused Chargers QB Phillip Rivers (whose pass heavy offense averaged 28 points all season yet managed just 14 last Sunday) during the Jets divisional round victory. Rivers had trouble locating pre snap coverage. The hard to decipher alignment also contributed to three Charger false starts, wasted timeouts throughout, and precious time eroding late in the fourth as Rivers looked to find mismatches for quick scores. The “walk around” must do the same to Manning this week. If Manning can be derailed from consistently picking up coverage schemes, and the Jet line can get some help from timely blitz packages, perhaps the Colts can be taken out of THEIR rythym as well. It’s a look  that coach Rex Ryan  and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine worked to perfection against the Bolts. With Manning at the helm this week though, the task becomes greater of course. This is after all, the Colts and Peyton Manning we’re talking about here.

The Jet defenders especially the secondary will need to make plays, game changers, just as they did in San Diego. The way teams like the Chargers and Colts, and NFC title game opponents Vikings and Saints throw it, one could make a case that “secondary” has become the new “linebacker” in importance this year. The Jets have a secondary that CAN change games. In fact this unit is changing games even more as of late. It hasn’t just been  happening on Revis Island either.  S Kerry Rhodes had a key blitz last Sunday. S Jim Leonhard made the most of his chances. The gritty Leonhard forced an apparent fumble in the second quarter on a hard hit on WR Malcom Floyd then earned the payoff for a “lunch pail”style days work, by intercepting Rivers deep in Jet territory at the end of the third quarter. A turnover that proved to be the key momentum swing for the Jets. All pro CB Darrelle Revis made yet another key play in 2009,  with his intereception prior to the Leonhard pick. The Jets top defender thwarted top  Charger wideout Vincent Jackson on a pass catch attempt in the red zone. The play came on a mid third quarter drive where the Chargers sought to add to a 7-3 lead. A lead that could’ve proved tough for

the grind it out Jets to overcome. This week will HAVE to be more of the same from the strength of the Jet defense at this point, the secondary.

On offense there will be no suprise. Unless you’ve been away all year and haven’t yet heard of the Ground and Pound.  If you’re a Jet fan, it’s become your mantra. Run them into submission. It’s no secret that win or lose the Jets will look to run for glory against the NFL’s 24th ranked run defense. A defense that includes top ranked pass rushing ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.  All pros Nick Mangold and Alan Faneca join Damien Woody and 6’7 D’Brickshaw Ferguson to create a man made brick wall unlike no other team currently can in pro football. Line coach Bill Callahan has been phenomenal this season at devising intricate blocking schemes whose designs have helped pave the way for the Jets to become the league’s top rushing team. Rest assured this “hit em in the mouth until it hurts” approach will be featured on Sunday once again. Woody made that point known today saying that the Jets will run until they wear the Colts down.  The Jets can neutralize those bookend pass rushing threats Freeney and Mathis by running well on first and second down so as to keep 3rd downs manageable.

Rookie QB Mark Sanchez has gone from a turnover machine (20 ints in 2009) to a game manager capable of converting key throws when it counts. He’ll have to do the same Sunday and some. Dustin Keller has emerged in these playoffs. Keller’s big day in Cincy during the 24-14 Wildcard win over the Benglas, saw the former Purdue star haul in three important grabs for ninety nine yards and a TD. Keller is turning into the reliable safety valve Jet fans hoped he’d be early in the year. Sanchez and Keller are finally on the same page, thinking together. Need proof? Take the the ad libbed TD throw from Sanchez to  the double covered Keller for the go ahead TD in San Diego for example then. Add the always dependable WR Jerricho Cotchery into the mix and what you have is the ability for the Jets to convert third and short yardage situations. That is unless Ill advised picks by Sanchez in Jet territory a reverting back to the monsoon that took engulfed him in October, rear their ugly head on Sunday. Rookie mistakes by the Jets quarterback, something the former USC Rose Ball winner has avoided lately, will make an uphill battle become mountainous for New York.

Perhaps a key to the game could be the emergence of the long overdue WR Braylon Edwards. His two catches for 41 yards last week may appear minimal on paper. However it’s a step up from the previous weeks that saw a myriad of dropped TDs and long tosses from Sanchez. Ryan said heading into last week against the Bolts that Edwards ” is gonna break out sooner or later and let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.” Attempts by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to open the field up vertically early in the game by having “Sanchise” go deep to Edwards could catch the run focused Indy defenders by surprise. Whether he can hold onto the ball if and when it gets there is anybody’s guess. Then of course there’s Brad Smith. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a few wrinkles put into the gameplan by “Schotty” for Smith, the teams most versatile skill position player this week.

The Jets have only averaged scoring three points in the last nine games after the first quarter. That has to change this week. The Ravens kept it a 3-3 game into the second quarter in their 20-3 loss to Indy last week, but had way too many three and outs. The Jets  have to think bigger than that. The Colts MLB Gary Brackett is always active from sideline to sideline and often lands around the ball. S Antoine Bethea is solid in run support and helps out a secondary that lacks a true shut down corner. You already know about Freeney and Mathis.  Gang Green can and must find a way to mix in some deep shots against the Colts defense while moving the chains in the first half. The Colts won’t lend the Jets a hand in keeping it close by burning out the clock out on the ground early. The way pass happy Chargers coach Norv Turner uncharacteristically did.

The Colts  ended the regular season dead last in the NFL in rushing. Their tandem of Joseph Addai and UCONN rookie Donald Brown combined for just a 3.5 average in ’09. Much like the Charger game, if the Jets can continue to keep opposing running backs bottled up, the Jets may benefit from 3rd and long situations. Downs that will allow Ryan to dial up the heat or at least not have to risk too many defenders at the line of scrimmage, in order to help the Jets retain possession.

The Colts this year won four games straight by a total of ten points. One of those included the Patriot game, a win aided by Pats coach Bill Belicheck’s decision to go for a 4th and 2 deep in Pats territory with the lead and two minutes to go. The plan backfired as the Colts stopped New England a yard short before Manning hit Wayne for the game winner. The Colts also had eight come from behind fourth quarter wins in 2009. Resilient? Yes. Dominant? No. If the Jets can keep Peyton from controlling the game, force the Colts running attack to provide some help, make the Colt defenders stop the Ground and Pound for an extended amount of time, the Jets will be in this game.

The media friendly Ryan added to an infinite list of bombastic quotes this week saying he’d “be shocked” if the Jets didn’t win. The rookie head coach’s mindset is being followed by a Gang Green

team that appreciates their coaches faith. Ryan is the anti Jet. The coach who seems to own the remedy for curing a cursed franchise that along with it’s fan base, can’t stop wallowing in self pity,

negativity, and self fulfilling prophecy. Players like LB Bart Scott say that these are the “New” Jets. That this current crop has no link towards the many tragic endings that have symbolized

so many Jet seasons.

Then  there’s the added motivation. the Jets have grown weary of hearing how they didn’t belong in the playoffs. The Jets are tired of hearing that the Colts, who were only up 15-10 with 5:38 in week 16, before coach Jim Caldwell pulled key starters, handed them the game. The Jets will be fired up to prove that they belong among the league’s elite.The Colts meanwhile have dealt with their own headaches perpetuated by those in the media as well as many of their fans, who feel that “laying up” to stay healthy was the wrong approach.That momentum can only be sidetracked by slowing it down for a month.  That a football immortality stemming from having a perfect season was worth fighting for. Sunday is President Bill Polian and the Colts chance to prove to the football world, that the choice to remain healthy in order to go into a championship game with your best foot forward now, made pulling the plug then, worth it.

These Jets now have youth leading the way. Rookies Sanchez and Greene, second year man Keller, the all world 24 year old Revis, have become the playmaking faces of this team. However chances like these don’t come around so easily. For the Super Bowl Champion Jets, they never saw the playoffs again after their 1970 13-6 loss to KC in the AFL title game at Shea Stadium. The followup campaign to their improbable upset in ’69. The Jet franchise had to wait twelve more years before returning to the postseason.  A drought that included to many three and four win seasons. The Jets playoff return in 1981 culminated in a dramatic 31-27 Wildcard loss at home to the Bills. This thanks to a last minute Richard Todd interception in the end zone to Buffalo’s Bill Simpson. Twelve years. That’s a long time. Jets fans of late, despite the “Same old Jets” headlines that follow tough losses,  have not suffered this type of pain. In fact the Jets have actually been to the playoffs five times in the past decade. So it’s fair to say that given the current young talent the Jets possess, coupled with GM’ Mike Tannenbaums proven ability to find players both through the draft and free agency, a long playoff drought may be avoided this time around.  Nonetheless, Gang Green is here. They are here now. On the cusp of doing something Super. Chances like the one the Jets have in Indianapolis on Sunday can be awfully hard to come by. No matter who you are. Just ask Joe Namath.

“I’ve dreamed about playing in a Super Bowl my whole life. It’s every player’s dream.” long snapper James Dearth said Wednesday. For Dearth and the Jets the dream is alive and it’s for the taking.  If Ryan’s number one defense can dial it up at the right time and slow down Manning just enough, if Shonn Greene can stay hot and Sanchez can stay cool, the Jets have a chance. A great chance, in a game where the stakes haven’t been as high since Apollo 4 was gearing up to land on the moon. It’s hard to believe, but a Jet return to a Super Bowl in Miami really does hang in the balance on Sunday.

It wasn’t long ago that the notion of the Jets going to Miami was far fetched. Even the idea of it, moments after Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez turned Giants Stadium into a mortuary in week 15 was laughable. Better yet, a sick joke to diehards who remember Al Woodall. Painful for the ones who can still see the “Klecko’s Klan” and “In Todd We Trust” banners that blew wildly along the windy walls of Shea. Nightmarish for those who remember Gastineau’s late hit on Kosar, or the passion that came from those bouncing stands ready to collapse when Barkum beat the Dolphins. Now that 10-7 Falcon loss that even had Ryan saying the Jets were dead and buried, couldn’t be farther away. That’s because somehow, miraculously, with time running out on the 2009 Jets, the landscape changed. They got help, then they helped themselves. For Gang Green and the many who live and die with them each and every Sunday, the reality of being Super has all of a sudden become only sixty precious minutes away.

THREE KEYS TO BEATING THE COLTS:

SLOW DOWN MANNING: Little more has to be said. Peyton is 8-8 in the playoffs. It can be done. Rex was 0-4 lifetime against him before the “JV game” but has made Manning look pedestrian before. He and Pettine will have to coach their best game of the year in order to give the Jets a chance.

DON’T PULL A RAVENS: The Ravens were tied 3-3 for a good long time last Saturday. Too long. Too many three and outs. The Jets didn’t get a first down on their first four drives against the Bolts and the Colts aren’t San Diego, they are a step up in class with Manning. .Assuming the Jets can keep it close Sunday, they’ll have to do better than go three and out and give it back to the Colts who won’t help the Jets burn the clock by running it as much as the Chargers did in the first half. Jet defenders will tire chasing this receiving corps if this week is a repeat of last week’s slow start.  Move the chains guys.

Do it from the get go, it’s a must.

BROADWAY BRAYLON:  We’re calling for him again. Jones and Greene will pound it, the O line with lead the way. Can you imagine  the back pages on Monday with a shot of Edwards holding up the ball after catching the first of two TD passes though? We can. That’s because we see that as one of the ways that the Jets can shock the Colts again. 41 years after the fact.

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Less than four weeks ago, Indianapolis Colts’ president Bill Polian left the door open, and now, whether he wants to see them or not, the New York Jets have crashed the NFL’s postseason party.

Championship Sunday, on January 24th, was supposed to be a private affair, with only the top four playoff seeds invited.

Instead, three of those four seeds will be there, and then there are the misfits among the crowd — the only team in this year’s conference title round seeded lower than second, and the only squad left without one of the greatest quarterbacks in the league or an explosive passing game capable of lighting up a scoreboard at will.

Yes, the fifth-seeded New York Jets, the unwelcome visitor, the big pests who simply won’t go away, return to Indianapolis on Sunday, and although under far different circumstances than before, will try do what they did the last time they were there –- make themselves at home in Lucas Oil Stadium and leave with a victory that the Colts should have.

Although the stakes are much higher this time, don’t expect THIS lower seed to be intimidated at all.

No, these Jets are brash, brazen, unabashed, and supremely confident that they deserve to be where they are, and that they’re quite capable of defying the odds and going from the brink of playoff elimination, to a good postseason team, to super, despite doing things differently than the other three seeds competing for a Super Bowl berth this weekend.

And, the Jets owe it all to Polian for giving them the opportunity.

Rather than taking a shot at extending one kind of history and taking aim at another which has yet to be accomplished in the NFL, Polian wanted his team to rest up for the playoffs, even when his own players, and his own head coach (whether he admits it or not) sought perfection.

It’s the old debate each year in the final week or two of an NFL season for teams that clinch playoff berths early. Rest or rust?

While Polian had done the same before, the move was curious to most this year. Had a precedent been set of the Colts producing multiple Super Bowl titles coming off of late regular season rest, many would have been in Polian’s camp.

However, the Colts have usually come up short in the postseason after shutting down their starters at the end of a regular season.

This was also no ordinary year to choose rest over continued momentum.

To Polian, an NFL-record 23-game regular season winning streak and building on a 14-0 record in 2009 meant absolutely nothing, even if that view alienated most Colts fans and caused a backlash among the blue and white nation in Indianapolis which Polian never expected.

More importantly, with a 15-10 third-quarter lead, holding the Jets’ offense to a mere three points, the Colts -– the real Colts — had a chance to end the Jets season on December 27th, before the Colts’ bench allowed the Jets to win, 29-15.

Polian had his team shut it all down against its will, a decision which might come back to haunt him and his Colts on Sunday.

Football is often a game of momentum and week-to-week growth. The Jets return to Indianapolis possessing both of those things.

While they won’t see the watered-down Colts Lite version they saw when Polian handed Gang Green a Week 16 gift that jump-started the Jets’ improbable run to Sunday’s rematch with the Colts, the Jets are a lot different themselves, since then.

They arrive with key ingredients –- the NFL’s top ranked defense playing with the confidence that it can stop any offense (even one directed by Peyton Manning), and the league’s top rushing game, now bolstered by running back Shonn Greene -– which give any outmanned team a chance to pull a postseason upset against even the best.

The Jets may also have some karma and magic on their side:

- Though they certainly played well enough to earn their way to Sunday’s AFC title game, they might not have arrived at this point without a little luck.

- Two missed chip shot field goals by Bengals’ kicker Shayne Graham helped the Jets win 24-14, in Cincinnati, in the wild-card round. And, in stopping the Chargers’ 11-game win streak with a narrow 17-14 win in San Diego last week, the Jets, to keep San Diego from scoring 20 points for the first time all season, needed the help of three more missed field goals, including two from 40 yards and less, by All-Pro kicker Nate Kaeding, who had made his previous 69 kicks from that same distance.

- Chargers’ leading wide receiver, Vincent Jackson, dealt with the distraction of being briefly arrested and having his car impounded for driving with a suspended license and an expired registration after he was pulled over for loud music hours before kickoff last Sunday.

- The Jets got a key, fluke interception from shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis on a ball that bounced off of Jackson’s leg before literally falling out of the sky and into the Revis’ lap.

Want more?

- The last time the Jets had the top-ranked defense and the top rushing game, they went to the Super Bowl, their only Super Bowl.

- For numerologists, fullback Matt Snell, born in ’41, who wore number 41 both at Ohio State and as a Jet, scored the only touchdown in Jets’ Super Bowl history to date, 41 years ago.

- In the Jets’ 50th anniversary season, New York has the ironic opportunity of going through the Colts, to return to Miami in two weeks, to the same city where the Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III.

Like that Jets team, it’s the Jets’ talented defense, powerful rushing game, a young quarterback who’s avoiding mistakes, and especially, the belief in themselves despite the doubters, which seem to have spawned their current run.

The only thing right now that’s soaring higher than the Jets’ quick ascent from late regular season mediocrity is their confidence, behind the bravado of inspirational head coach Rex Ryan, who has pushed all of the right buttons since the Jets’ Week 15 home loss to Atlanta which at the time, caused Ryan to say his team’s season was over.

And maybe, that was all part of the master plan of the Jets’ master motivator.

Some thought Ryan might be crazy when he broke down and cried in front of Jets’ players in their locker room earlier this season, only to go back to maintaining how great his team was during a poor 4-7 mid-season stretch following a 3-0 start, before making the comment after the Atlanta loss.

Crazy?

Crazy like a fox.

All of that the “season was over” talk might very well have been carefully calculated by Ryan.

For one, that move has allowed Ryan’s team to play loose ever since.

Additionally, Ryan might have deliberately planted a seed in Polian’s head at the time that the Jets were done and were no longer a threat.

It was a message as if to say, “Sure, Bill, go ahead and rest everyone. Our season is over, you won’t have to worry about seeing us in January.”

In fact, once other AFC contenders started to lose their own grips on the AFC wild-card race, Ryan publicly advocated for the Colts resting their starters leading up to the Jets’ Week 16 visit to Indianapolis –- the game which thrust New York right back into the playoff picture.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the savvy, shrewd, and manipulating Ryan now says he’d “be shocked” if the Jets don’t win on Sunday, and prior to the playoffs, he called the Jets “Super Bowl favorites.”

That’s a far cry from “our season is over” less than five weeks ago.

This week, Ryan also said that we “won’t ever see a looser team for an AFC championship game.”

And, he’s probably right.

After all, the Jets weren’t supposed to be here. They’re simply shocking the world week by week, much like Giants’ Stadium’s other former tenant, also a five seed, two years ago. And, we all remember how the magical run ended for the New York Giants that year. So, why not the Jets, this year?

All of the pressure is squarely on the Colts, who are not only favored, but who thanks to Polian, now have the added weight of having to prove something in a “real” game after losing with their backups to a Jets team which has since grown leaps and bounds ever since that Week 16 win over the Colts.

It’s true that the Colts might have had even more pressure on them had they been trying for an undefeated season right now. And, maybe that figured into Polian’s thinking. Perhaps Polian figured that the pressure they’re facing now would be nothing compared to that of having to navigate through a postseason while remaining undefeated. It could also easily be argued that the rest was more beneficial to the Colts, whose well-rested defense was flying around the field in stopping the Baltimore Ravens, 20-3, in last week’s divisional round playoff game.

But, because Polian didn’t allow the Colts to knock the Jets out when they had the chance, they now have to play a very dangerous and confident team that no one wants to play.

Thanks to Polian, the Colts are not only playing for a Super Bowl trip, but they have the added pressure of proving that Week 16 was indeed a fluke, while the Jets get to play for the same high stakes with house money.

Still, by Sunday evening, Polian may very well be vindicated, especially by Colts’ future Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning.

Manning certainly has the receiving weapons needed to do what the fourth-seeded Cincinnati Bengals and the second-seeded San Diego Chargers couldn’t do against the NFL’s best defense. And, he’s had a lot of past success (including regular and post seasons) against Ryan-led defenses when Ryan was with the Ravens.

But, the Jets definitely have their own weapons to counter.

It’s been joked that water covers 75 percent of the earth, and Revis covers the other 25 percent.

The Jets will have to start there and run the ball well enough to control the clock, shorten the game, and keep Manning off the field.

Even that, and more, could likely not be enough against a Colts team that will be favored by over a touchdown on Sunday, and which has yet to lose this season while playing its starters for a full game.

Yet, sometimes in football, an edge in talent doesn’t beat an edge in momentum, or a date with destiny.

It’s a date — and a risk — that Polian could have avoided had he done the right thing nearly a month ago.

Polian gave the Jets a gift in Week 16, and now, it might be time for him to pay the bill on that charitable donation.

The Colts’ president may be banking on the fact that things will be different with the Jets now trying to beat Manning and company instead of players like Colts’ backup quarterback Curtis Painter.

However, by not seizing the chance to make history before, the Colts’ season could quickly become history, while the Jets could go from beating Painter to painting Polian’s town Gang Green.

Jets rookie head coach Rex Ryan admitted after his clubs shocking 17-14 win Over San Diego in the AFC Divisional round Sunday at QualComm stadium, that a rematch with the Colts for the rights to go to the Super Bowl, was not what most football fans wanted to see yet added “That’s too bad. Here we come.” As the moments passed shortly following the Jets 17-14 shocker over the AFC West champion Chargers, it was hard to believe that it was the 13-3 Chargers, NOT the 9-7 Jets who were going home. Eliminated. Finished. Packing up. Well, believe it. The Chargers, a team that averaged 28 points per game in 2009, could muster only seven against the Jets until the games waning minutes Sunday. The Jets, owners of the NFL’s number one defense once again seized the moment to record their second straight road playoff win and now look to cap off an improbable month long run with the biggest win of them all. A victory against the Colts that would ironically propel the Jets shockingly into the Super Bowl in Miami.

After all it was the Colts back in week 16 who infamously resuscitated the fading Jets by benching star QB Peyton Manning in the third quarter of a 15-10 game in which the Jets trailed. Throwing their undefeated season away in exchange for the assurance of the health of their key players for the post season, the Colts handed the reigns over to QB Curtis Painter who hand’t taken an NFL regular season snap in his career. The Jets then did what THEY had to do by stripping backup QB Curtis Painter and turning it into a TD and a 17-15 lead. What ensued from there was a 29-15 win that, coupled with the following weeks 37-0 shutout of the equally unmotivated AFC North champion Bengals, paved the way for a bizarre and controversial playoff berth.

Many questioned if the Jets even deserved to be in the playoffs. Most fans will tell you that the Colts would’ve easily held on to beat the Jets and then the Bills in week 17 to go 16-0, yet the truth is, we’ll never know how THAT would’ve turned out. Instead, the Jets and Colts will do it again next Sunday both with a chance at setting their own record straight. The Jets can prove all those who feel the Colts handed the Jets the game that day wrong, by beating the Colts at full strength. By beating the Jets, the Colts can quiet the detractors who disagree that resting starters after locking up the one seed is the best way to prepare for a Super Bowl run. For the Chargers, a great regular season has again led only to a difficult playoff loss and an offseason left wondering, “how” and “why.” The Bolts self examination begins today as players began cleaning out their lockers most likely in disbelief, after one of the more surprising Jet wins in franchise history.

The Chargers, the leagues top team twenty plus yard receptions, came into yesterday’s Divisional playoff game hoping to make good on the challenge of facing the NFL’s stingiest defense against the pass. (The Jets led the NFL in pass defense, giving up just 153 yards per game in 2009.)The first quarter saw the Bolts moving the ball reasonably well through the air as Chargers QB Phillip Rivers found Bolts top wideout Vincent Jackson (7-111 yards) for some nice twenty yard gains. TE Antonio Gates (8-93 yards), the future hall of famer who at 6′5, always presents a mismatch, was gaining position in the middle of the field, and slowly becoming Rivers’ security blanket. The Jets on the other hand, failed to manage a first down on their first four drives. The Chargers finally took the lead on a Rivers 13 yard TD pass to Kris Wilson. Rather than try to add tot he lead in the air, the Chargers strength, Chargers head coach Norv Turner instead tried to force the Charger run game, ranked 31st in the NFL, rushing at just 3.8 yards per carry, down the Jets throat. The plan failed as Jet defenders consistently kept Charger legend Ladanian Tomlinson (12-24 yards), who has been slowed by toe injuries the past two seasons, in check. By playing a game of field position the Chargers hoped to wait on a mistake by Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez (who threw 20 ints in 2009, but none in the past three games), as a way to go up two scores.

San Diego’s plan may have worked had it not been for the first of three missed FGs by AFC Pro Bowl kicker Nate Kaeding (69 straight FGs form 40 yards in going into the game) from 36 yards out. Kaeding has a history of playoff misses vs the Jets. A rookie back in 2005, he had a key missed 40 yard FG against the Jets in the AFC Wildcard OT win. A 57 yard attempt by the AFC pro bowler fell short . With it, the Bolts ability to create distance and force the Jets out of the Ground and Pound in the second half. The score was 7-0 Chargers, a position Ryan admitted later made him feel good about the clubs chances in pulling off the major upset.

After a quality drive that followed Brad Smith’s return to the Jet 40 to start the third. Ryan called a timeout on a key fourth and one, midway through the 3rd, at the SD 29. Ryan then elected to change his mind and try for a long field goal, rather than the original plan to go for it. The extra time to decide payed off as K Jay Feely drilled the Jets onto the scoreboard 7-3. This left the Jets in the position to need one big play in order to take control. Enter S Jim Leonhard.

The hard nosed Wisconin Badger walk on, who forced, then seemingly recovered a first half fumble of WR Malcom Floyd in the Charger territory while falling helmetless, became the man of the moment for the Jets just after a Steve Weatherford punt left the Chargers inside their own five yard line. Leonard picked off Rivers who miss timed a Charger crossing route inside the Charger 25. After the play, a personal foul for unsportsmanlike conduct on the uncharacterisically volatile Chargers left the Jets inside the Charger 10 to start the fourth. Penalties plagued the Bolts all day. Some were a result of stupidity, others frustration, others like three false starts by the Chargers offensive line, were a result of a disguising aggressive Jet pressure that kept Rivers off balance all day.

The Leonard pick became a 3rd and 2 in side the five on the second play of the fourth, Sanchez then looked to make up for a mistake made minutes earlier when he threw his first interception in 48 possesions. Trying to find the heavily guarded Braylon Edwards, the rookie’s ill timed throw left the Chargers inside the Jet 50 with a chance to widen a 7-3 lead. CB Darelle Revis, snubbed this week in favor Charles Woodson for NFL defensive player of the year, then helped the Jets weather that storm. “REvis Island” left Jackson stranded, with an incredible pick on a pass intended that hit the Chargers main deep threat’s foot as both players fell to the ground. This helped in keeping the ball alive long enough for Revis to snatch it while lying down.

Sanchez then made the key throw of the day as he play actioned then rolled out right. FB Tony Richardson, according to Sanchez, was the primary target but was covered. Second year TE Dustin Keller who was sandwiched in the back of the end zone by two Charger defenders, t instinctively burrowed away from the defenders right corner pile on. Just at that moment Sanchez read Keller’s mind and delivered a hard low strike that Keller grabbed for the go ahead TD. The Jets, now up 10-7, were in the drivers seat as the Charger crowd sat stunned, contemplating yet another once promising year headed for disaster. The 2006 Charger team led by then QB Drew Brees were an NFL best 14-2 yet got bounced by the Pats 24-21 at home. That AFC divisional round loss to what on paper appeared to be an undermanned New England club, essentially ended head coach Marty Schottenheimer’s tenure. Now suddenly down 10-7, Charger fans faced history rearing its ugly head again.

Where was that high powered air attack that helped lead the Chargers to scoring no less than 20 points a game in 2009? It was working to a degree in the first half. Not in the second half though, after Jet defenders pleaded with Ryan at halftime to give up on zone coverage. The Jets then went man to man and the switch worked. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said during the week that the Jet secondary welcomed the chance to use press coverage on the Chargers tall wideouts at the line. By getting physical at the line, the Jets began to disrupt the timing of many Charger pass routes. All the while snuffing out screen play attempts by the leagues top screen pass offense. Attemtps to hit big gains on these plays by utilizing big play speedster RB Darren Sproles were rebuffed as the Jet front seven reacted well all day to the Bolts offensive line’s covert and latent movements into the flat . The Jets were playing with the lead and a bruising ground game in their hip pocket, knowing they were less than 15 minutes away from a rematch with the Colts.

After the Jets got a stop on the ensuing drive, the Ground and Pound took over. Rookie Shonne Greene ( 128 yards) began to impose himself on a Chargers defense that started well but began to wear down. Then the Jets broke it open. Greene , who broke a 49 yard run for a TD in Cincinnati last week in the Wildcard round, found a seem yet again on the left side. Greene then busted through and turned it on through the Charger secondary for a 53 yard TD run and a 17-7 Jet lead with just 7:17 left. The third round rookie out of Iowa has become a big factor in the Jet offense in these playoffs with two back to back 100 yard games.

The Chargers came right back after returning a poorly executed Jet squib kick to the Jet 45. The Bolts drive died however at the Jet 23, then Kaeding then missed his third FG of the day a 40 yarder with 4:38 to play. The Jets played it safe and went three and out as the Bolts got it back with under 4:00 left. The Chargers then cut the Jet lead to 17-14 with 2:14 left. A one yard sneak by Rivers helped overcome another dumb 15 yard penalty by the Chargers ( Vincent Jackson was hit unsportsmanlike on the drive for kicking Ryan’s red challenge flag thrown by the Jet head coach in order to review whether a tight catch by Jackson at the Jet 20 was done with both feet in bounds).

With only one timeout and the two minute warning Charger Coach Norv Turner then chose to make the risky decision of an onsides kick. Turner decided on the onsides instead of kicking the ball away, which may have forced the Jets , who were surely going to run on every down, to punt it back on 4th down if they were short. This scenario would have left the Chargers enough time for a last minute drive for a long game tying FG. Instead the high bouncing onsides kick fell into the hands of the recently resurgent Jets safety Kerry Rhodes. Rhodes, who prior to the season, was thought by some to become Ryan’s next version of Ed Reed, overcame a benching in week 12 for poor play leading up to it, and has been a man on the scene for Gang Green since.

The recovery left the Jets in safe four down territory, one first down away from a trip to Indy. Then it happened, THAT fourth and one with just over a minute to play. Again, had the Jets been in their own end, they would’ve certainly punted. Instead, a nation of lip readers watched Ryan say “let’s go for it.” Timeout was called. The Jets offense, on the Charger 29, briefly rested up for the big play as they saw no need to punt where an accidental touchback would gain them only nine yards of field position.

Ryan was going to put his faith into the hands of the NFL’s number one rushing offense. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer then inserted sure handed power runner Thomas Jones for Greene. The 31 year old vet, one of the leagues top rushers in 2009, followed FB Tony Richardson into the heart of a Jet offensive line sporting two pro bowlers in C Nick Mangold and G Alan Faneca. This against a tired Charger run defense, ranked just 20th against the run. Jones busted it through, delivering the game clinching four yard plunge that gave the Jets a first down. The Chargers with no timeouts, could only watch helplessly. The play sent the Jets packing for Indy while sending the

13-3 Chargers packing.

None of the CBS pre game experts which included among others, former Super Bowl winning coach Bill Cowher, gave the Jets a chance in San Diego. Some of the Chargers themselves apparently didn’t believe it could be done either . LB Bart Scott said afterwards that Charger players were chirping during pre game warm ups how the Jets didn’t deserve to be here. This Scott said, added to fuel to the fire of a Jet team that has played with heart all season. A team that has overcome it’s own inconsistency to survive long enough to allow the chance to mesh together all three phases of the game. A team with a like minded sense of purpose of going all the way that has grown and grown bigger for over a month now.

Many felt the Jets had no right obtaining a gift from the Colts then the Bengals in order to sneak into the playoffs, yet regardless the Jets are now gaining steam. Serious steam. Sanchez has figured out how to manage this run heavy offense without getting in the way by throwing the game away. The defense continues to play with a chip on it’s shoulder, taking pride in shutting every offense they face, down. The Jets players completely believe in their loud brash made for New York rookie head coach who drawn a line in the sand by saying essentially “don’t believe those 50-1 odds, the Super Bowl favorite is right here in Green and White.” In the bigger picture the franchise known for the term “Same Old Jets” is quickly beginning to reshape this image of failure into a vision of a “New Jets,” thanks to the their fearless leader, the cocky anti-Jet, Rex Ryan. The “New Jets” are club that plays with fight in its heart, and a no quit mentality. It’s a team that is showing it can come through in the clutch moments of a big game, on the road as well..

The 17-14 stunner in San Diego, the Jets biggest win in over 41 years, sets the stage for a much anticipated rematch with the 14-2 Colts. Indy were 20-3 winners over the also run heavy defensive minded Ravens on Saturday at home, in their divisional playoff battle. Only Peyton Manning and the 14-2 Colts stand in the way of the Jets first Super Bowl appearance since 1969. It’s important for any team, in this case the Jets, to relish these opportunities. Being in position to stand just 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl doesn’t come around so easily adn often, despite how the Jets top AFC East rival the Patriots have made things look over the past decade. Even when additional chances DO arise, big regular seasons that can help lead to a club earning itself a playoff bye week never guarantees anything. Just ask the Chargers.

A look back at the three keys to the Chargers:

Make SD’s offense one dimensional:

We said “we’ll steal a page out of Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s press conference on Thursday. To make the Chargers one dimensional would do wonders for a defense that is already locked in on the Air attack.” Bingo. SD had just 57 yards between LT and Sproles.

Braylon, Come on!

We said ” If Edwards can relax like his rookie QB has learned to do this month, we may have the X factor of the game right here in #17.”Well, Edwards was 2 for 41 yards in a game where Sanchez had just 100 yards passing. Perhaps Edwards stretched the field enough for Greene who sealed it with the long TD. A real deal breakout game is what we asked for. If it happens in Indy for Edwards it could make the Jets Super.

Withstand the early onslaught.

We asked Gang Green to keep it close after SD throws the big first punch. “What the Jets cant afford is a few big plays and mistakes hitting them hard early. ” The Jets did exactly that, managing to trail just 7-0 despite not being able to obtain a first down for the first 4 drives. That was HUGE. The Chargers inability to put the Jets away in the first half before the Jets were able to adjust, may be the reason why they’re going home and Jets are moving on.

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When the red hot San Diego Chargers, whom many predict to be Super Bowl bound, take the field Sunday to face the surging NY Jets, the 13-3 AFC West champs will look to unleash a high octane air attack as good as any in the NFL. To earn a berth in the AFC Championship game, the Bolts will have to do it against the Jets, who own leagues top defense and running attack. A contrast in styles will be clear from the onset as Gang Green looks to create their own tempo by pounding the ball on the ground with the running back combo of Thomas Jones and star on the rise rookie Shonn Greene. The Chargers will  air it out. Owners of the league’s 31st rushing attack, the Bolts are the league’s best screen pass team, using it instead of run plays which make their bottom feeder running ranking deceiving. Something has to give when these two clash

in the AFC Divisional playoffs this weekend. The one left standing will be just sixty minutes from the Super Bowl.

The Jets, winners of 6 of their last 7, bring a new found swagger on Defense that comes when you  realize that you own the leagues’ top cover cornerback in Darrelle Revis. Forget the fact that voters chose Green Bay’s Charles Woodson as NFL defensive player of the year.  Revis has shut down every top wideout the Jets have faced. He has single handedly helped to shut down one side of the field for a defense that leads the league in pass yards given up with a mere 153.0 yards per game. Now the Chargers, who are number one in receptions for 20 plus yards, love to throw it downfield. If WR Vincent Jackson, QB Phillip Rivers’ top deep threat, falls victim to Revis Island and a pass rush that is gaining steam with the help of coach Rex Ryan’s blitz schemes, the Chargers will be forced to matriculate the ball downfield with other quality big sized receivers such as Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee. This will give the Jets  chance to settle into the game.

Besides Jackson , the Bolts other major weapon in the passing game is star TE Antonio Gates. Gates,  the former 6′5 division one basketball standout poses a mismatch for every opponent because of his size, ability to get open, run after the catch, and hold onto the ball. He’s the best in the business at the position.. Gates will be guarded at times by FS Kerry Rhodes, who held Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez down in week 15 for much of a game that many mistakenly felt, after the 10-7 Jet loss, had ended the Jets season. Gates is  not only a safety valve, he’s a tight end who can stretch the field. His eight TD’s were second among tight end’s only to the Colts Dallas Clark.

The Jet front four combined with Ryan’s blitz packages have to pressure Rivers into rushing those seven step drops that with the proper pass protection, turn into big gains more often than any other team has enjoyed in football. 67 completions have gone for twenty plus yards for the Chargers in 2009. The Chargers are fifth in the NFL in pass plays that have covered more than forty yards.

As for a running attack that averages under four yards a carry, the Bolts RB tandem of Ladanian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles still present unique threats to the Jets. “LT” was the NFL’s premier back before a series of turf toe injuries began to slow him down a few years back. That ability to get to the second level of a defense and break it for big yardage, ala the Titans Chris Johnson,  is not there anymore. This season he’s rushed for just 730 yards at 3.3 yards per carry Not LT type numbers. However, he’s still a shifty red zone threat, having scored 12 TDs on the year. Darren Sproles is a Leon Washington type, who hides well behind his blockers before bursting for big gains. Sproles, like the injured WAshington, is a threat to score anytime he touches it.

If the Jets can prevent long plays on first and second down, and force Sproles and LT into modest gains, the Chargers will be left in third and long spots where some pressure combined with a press coverage that defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said that Jet cornerbacks were comfortable implementing (hint hint), could keep the Chargers from lighting up the scoreboard. The Jets have given up 20 plus points only four times in 2009 .The Chargers have scored 20 plus in EVERY game this year. Keeping the Chargers from running may be key in giving the Jets the ability to apply the heat on Rivers.

The Jets come into the contest now at 18-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. This down from the 50-1 odds they rolled into Cincinnati with. The spike in confidence coming out of Vegas is still light years away from coach Rex Ryan’s comment last week that the Jets ought to be favorites to win the whole thing. Whether Ryan’s boasts were to divert attention from his players, motivate them, or came out of a core belief that handing out an itinerary ending in a ticker tape parade could make it happen, one thing is for certain. These are not the “Same Old Jets”. Or the Jets many saw slump after starting out 3-0.

This Jets club NOW, is one where ball security , the primary reason for the club’s mid season struggles, is on the rise.  QB Mark Sanchez who threw 20 picks in 2009, has 0 int’s in the past 3 games.  RB Shonne Greene has as of late, eliminated fumbling issues that plagued him just as he was set to really take off weeks after Washington’s season ending injury out in Oakland.

Sanchez was flawless in Cincy throwing for a TD and coming up big on some key third down throws.  More importantly, the rookie provided much needed leadership in orchestrating the offense by maximizing it’s efficiency with a 12-15 day throwing. Greene rushed for 135 yards, fifteen yards short of Ryan’s predicition for him. This week Ryan has set his crystal ball sights on struggling WR Braylon Edwards. Edwards dropped his third long touchdown in the past five games last week. If the former Cleveland wideout can get back on track however, and turns into the big play killer that the Jets brought him here to be in October, the Jets may have an X factor who could change the story of Sunday’s battle.

The last time these two old AFL rivals met in the postseason back in 2005, Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s dad Marty,  was head coach of the Bolts. Rookie K Nate Kaeding’s last second 40 yard FG went wide right. This gave Jets K Doug Brien the chance to hit the 28 yard game winner with 5 seconds left in the first OT and allow the Jets a 20-17 win. For the Chargers, the gut wrenching first round loss after their 9-7 2005 campaign was followed by a 14-2 2006 season, earning them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Then Bill Belichick and Tom Brady came to town, as the Pats upset the Bolts 24-21.

This quick playoff exit for the elder Schottenheimer, the ninth of the snake bitten coach’s career, the second on three years in San Diego, paved the way for current coach Norv Turner. Turner seeks to do what Schottenheimer couldn’t do, and that’s return the Chargers to a second Super Bowl appearance. The first one coming in 1994,  which resulted in a 49-26 loss to the 49ers.

Rex Ryan became the Jets head coach off the heels of a 2008 collapse that saw Gang Green fall from 8-3 to 9-7. QB Brett Favre ended up in Minnesota, a place he wanted to land in from the start, after the Packers decided that Aaron Rodgers was their signal caller for the future and the present. Coach Eric Mangini was canned as well, not just because of the  club’s December slide but as a result of a secretive, uncharasmatic demeanor that owner Woody Johnson felt did not represent the personnel. Ryan certainly has been the polar opposite. Quotable, bombastic, even bordering at times on ridiculous, the son of former Super Bowl III Jets assistant and creator of Chicago’s 46 Defense in the mid 80’s Buddy Ryan, Rex has made the Jets believers in themselves. Trying to rid a franchise of it’s habits of self wallowing, and a penchant for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is a big job. One man can’t do it alone. Ryan has had help. However the rookie head coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator has created a culture of confidence and resiliency.

The Jets have had their share of struggles in 2009. Sanchez lost his way during the October swoon. The Atlanta loss  that prevented the Jets from being in the Wildcard drivers seat in week 15, was the third in which the number one defense in football couldn’t stop the opponent’s final drive. Nonetheless, the Jets perseverance coupled with a few late season breaks, have allowed the Jets to be where they are today. Headed to San Diego with a chance to get to the AFC championship for only the third time since the AFL NFL merger in 1970. For the first time since the Jets held a 10-0 lead in Denver back in 1999 before John Elway completed his own career ending quest for Super Bowl glory.

The Jets head into Sunday as eight point underdogs. Yet somehow you gotta know that Ryan is thriving in the role of  motivator  with a team that is listening to his “us against the world” locker room rants. The Jets themselves appear to be

relishing the role of proving the doubters wrong. Sunday in San Diego the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS get that chance once again. The stakes around here haven’t been higher in over a decade.

THREE KEYS TO THE CHARGERS:

Make SD’s offense one dimensional: We’ll steal a page out of Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s press conference on Thursday. To make the Chargers one dimensional would do wonders for a defense that is already locked in on the Air attack.

The Chargers CAN run despite what the stats will tell you. Yet if the Jets can keep LT and Sproles pinned down, the front seven can pin their ears back on third and long situations and look to create some plays of their own.

Braylon, Come on!! This week Rex Ryan predicted or was wishfully thinking out loud for a breakout day from the big play guy who can’t seem to catch the deep ball. He said sooner or later Edwards would put up three TD’s in a game. He then added “let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.” There’s no time for feeling sorry for yourself if you’re Edwards right now. Sanchez’s confidence is growing. Schotty is calling deep shots that have had potential to work. It’s up to Edwards to get over his slump and get going. How about a few early short throws to him for some confidence? If Edwards can relax like his rookie QB has learned to do this month, we may have the X factor of the game right here in #17.

Withstand the early onslaught. What the Jets cant afford is a few big plays and mistakes hitting them hard early. They came back from a 7-0 deficit last week vs the Bengals and certainly could do the same out West. A 21-0 deficit caused by quick Rivers strikes and  a special teams gaffe, well that would create a hole to big to crawl out of. The ground and pound has room for growth from Sanchez and Edwards should he get going. A big early Chargers lead HAS to be avoided at all costs. Stay in the game. Let it develop. With each passing moment, a close game will become a winnable one for the Jets.

Dear New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens:

Well, I guess this is it. After more than 33 years, they’re gonna start taking me down next month.

I can’t believe it, but I’ll soon be a parking lot for this shiny new Meadowlands stadium right next to me, over here.

Me, Giants Stadium. Ground broken on November 19, 1972, and opened on October 10, 1976, when my beloved New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys before a sellout crowd of 76,042 fans.

Thirty-three years may not seem like a long life to you guys, on the New York Jets or the Baltimore Ravens, I suppose.

After all, a lot of you younger players will still be playing after that age, and I hope all of you will live well beyond the 89 years that the great Wellington Mara — rest his soul, the man most responsible for having me built — spent on this earth.

Stadiums like me though, built in the 1970’s, don’t last nearly as long. I’ve lived my life, and I’ve accepted my fate.

Sure, I wish I were built a lot earlier, and lived for the eight-and-a-half decades that the old Yankee Stadium up in the Bronx lasted, or at least for the 44 years that Shea Stadium over in Queens, was around.

I won’t last as long as those stadiums, but I have no regrets.

I’ve hosted some great things and wonderful people here, and even some events I never thought I would.

College football. The Cosmos. Pele. The Pope. Men’s and women’s soccer world cups. The New Jersey Generals… You know, to this day, the last USFL game ever played was right here?

And, great concerts… my all-time attendance record? 84,472, just a few months ago, September 9, 2009, for a U2 concert. You shoulda been three, it was great!

Yup, all of that and much more at yours truly, Giants Stadium.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you though, that my proudest memories are of the NFL games.

My Giants won three Super Bowls while they played here! Two NFC Championship games, won by a combined score of 58-0, right on my field. So what if the second one was on that field of painted mud, as they called it.

The most NFL games ever played in one place? Guess where. You’re talking to the very venue itself.

LT revolutionized the game here, and I brought along Phil Simms, who I’m very proud to say still holds the record for having the most accurate passing day (22 of 25, for 88 percent) in Super Bowl history.

And, the sack record, first broken by a Jet, and then by a Giant.

Michael Strahan, from I-AA Texas Southern, getting the NFL’s all-time single season sack record here, even if Brett Favre fell down to gave it to him, breaking the record held by Mark Gastineau, main member of The New York Sack Exchange.

And Jets, don’t think I just forgot all about the Monday Night Miracle.

Haha, I remember everyone filing out of me to their cars with you guys trailing the Miami Dolphins 30-7 in the fourth quarter, on October 23, 2000 (incidentally, the 24th anniversary of my first college football game, which saw home state Rutgers trounce New York’s Columbia, 47-0, in 1976, for the Scarlet Knights’ 14th straight victory at the time).

Then, all of those Jets fans started coming back inside, as you turned the tables, outscoring the Dolphins by that same 30-7 margin in the fourth quarter, alone. And, I loved how you finished it! Big ol’ offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott, from Lake Ronkonkoma, a Giant for eight years, and then a Jet for six, catches the game-tying touchdown to force overtime. Ha, what a call! And, then you complete the comeback, winning 40-37, on overtime field goal. Just classic!

Hey, Ravens, I know the Jets already know this, but since you fellas have only been around since 1996 (after you left Cleveland), you may not.

Did you guys know that my Giants, yeah, the wonderful New York Football Giants, played in both Yankee and Shea Stadiums before coming here? And, my Jets came here from Shea, too.

I guess that’s why the New York name always stuck with the Giants and Jets. Well that, and the fact that the National Football League needed the biggest market of all. New York, of course.

Even though, I always thought “Jersey Giants” and “Jersey Jets” would not only be a lot more geographically accurate, but they also have a much better ring, don’t ya think?

I mean, you wouldn’t even need the “New” for New Jersey, just “Jersey.” After all, it’s not “North Carolina Panthers,” it’s just “Carolina Panthers.”

I’ll talk about them in a minute, because the way my Giants just crumbled against the Panthers in their last game here… there are just no words for that kind of disappointment.

But, I digress.

Listen… Jets, Ravens: the real reason I’m talking to you now is because I need you.

Yes, even you, Baltimore.

Never mind that you beat my Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. I’ll be honest, I can never forget, but I can forgive. Ah, what does it matter anyway, since I’ll be gone soon?

But, I’ll tell you what… as long as I’m still here, I’ll forgive all that if you beat the Colts in Indianapolis on Saturday night.

Yeah, I know. They’re the top seed, and they might have gone undefeated if Bill Polian hadn’t foolishly made them lay down, ironically, against my Jets. You never would have seen the Maras pull that kind of stuff, I’ll tell you that!

And, I know, Peyton Manning, who’s better? But, you’re a good team, Baltimore. Look at the way you jumped on the Patriots last weekend. And, you almost beat the Colts in November. I’m telling you, you can do this. Go into Indy and get a win!

Now, on to my Jets.

As for you guys, you’re my last hope, since my Giants, as I was saying earlier, incredibly, decided not to show up in that 41-9 disgrace against Carolina last month. I mean, come on, playoffs on the line, their last game here, and that’s how they go out? Ugh, I better get off of that topic. I could go on from now until they start hitting me with the wrecking ball in February.

So, back to what I was saying… Gang Green, I need you guys, too.

Especially if the Ravens win on Saturday night, you guys just have to pull through against the Chargers on Sunday.

And, why not? You saw what my fifth-seeded Giants did only two years ago around this time of the year, didn’t you?

They beat fourth-seeded Tampa Bay on the road, 24-14, to start that amazing run to their Super Bowl XLII title. And you? Also a five seed, same score in Cincinnati last week, against the fourth-seeded Bengals. Sounds familiar, no?

Okay, I admit, unlike the two previous Super Bowl titles, I didn’t have a lot to do with that last one, at first. We all know that Giants team was a road warrior, and they only went 3-5 at home that year. But, I might add, that run really started right here, with me, Giants Stadium, in the good ol’ Meadowlands.

Allow me to refresh your memory, since I love telling this story. They lost to the 16-0 New England Patriots (another bit of NFL history made right here, that night), but man did they show up to play and give the Pats a tough game!

It was the type of effort that gave my Big Blue boys the confidence they needed to win that game in Tampa, and then in Dallas (ha! that was so sweet, I’ve always hated the Cowboys the most). And then, Green Bay in the snow, and finally, ruining the Pats’ quest for a perfect season in Arizona.

And, what happened when it was all over? They came back from the desert and had the parade down the famed Canyon of Heroes, only to end up with a wonderful celebration that same day, right here in their home. Giants Stadium.

So, what do you say, boys?

Ravens? Jets?

One more postseason game here for old time’s sake?

But, hang on, lemme finish. This wouldn’t be just any final playoff game. No, this would be the perfect way for me to go out, because look at the way you both play.

Jets, as far as points and total yards allowed, you’re the top-ranked defense in the whole league! You’re not quite as good as my ’85 Giants who I sent to their Super Bowl XXV victory with their 17-0 NFC championship game blanking of the Redskins on January 11, 1987, with my swirling winds blowing all of that confetti all over the place.

But, you’re still damn good, defensively. And, trust me, I know, because I know your head coach, and what his defense did to my Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.

And, I know he’s still got great “Rex-pectations” (heh heh, I love saying that) for you guys.

Back to you, Ravens. I know you’re not quite the dominant defense of years past. Hey, we all get older, but you’re still right behind the Jets, ranked third in the league in both points and total yards allowed.

Both of you also run the ball extremely well.

Baltimore, you’re fifth in the NFL in rushing, led by of course, Ray Rice, from where else? Rutgers, right here in Jersey. And, look at your playoff win in New England last week. You ran 52 times for 234 yards and four touchdowns! Need I say more?

And my Jets, no one in the league runs it better than you! A league-topping 172 yards per game. So, last week in your wild-card win in Cincinnati? Right on the same pace, with 171 yards on 41 carries. As dependable as the Meadowlands wind howling in December and January. Outstanding!

Here’s another big reason you both have to win this weekend.

Not even for me, not even for yourselves, but for the hardcore followers of the game.

See, I know football fans, real football fans.

True football fans don’t want to see a 51-45 mockery of the game in a climate-controlled dome like the Packers and Cardinals played last week. Geez, with my Giants out of the playoffs, we’ll probably get the same thing this week with the two NFC games this weekend. The Cowboys and Vikings probably throwing it all over the place in the Metrodome, while the Cardinals get into another shootout, this time, with the Saints, in the Superdome.

Dome, shome. It  ain’t a real football home!

Serious football fans know that real football shouldn’t be played in places like that, least of all this time of year.

No, I know what the true football fan wants, and that’s the hard-nosed, hard-hitting brand of ball you guys both play, with terrific, aggressive defenses, and two great rushing games, on a cold, windy January Sunday, in a venue like mine.

The one and only Giants Stadium.

And, we also know those fans don’t want to see the favorites. They love underdogs making a magic carpet ride of a run like my 2008 Giants. So, who better than the two lowest seeds in the AFC to play for a trip to Super Bowl XLIV? The sixth-seeded Baltimore Ravens against the fifth-seeded New York Jets, in the AFC championship game, at Giants Stadium!

I have no delusions, trust me. I know how good the Colts and Chargers are, especially at home. I might add, that “home” for those teams are that fancy new Lucas Oil dome with a retractable roof in Indy, and beautiful, perfect, sunny San Diego. Gag me.

Yes, they’re both great teams. But, remember what my Giants did a couple years ago, and realize what you’re both very capable of because of the way you both play the game.

So, will you do it?

Jets? Ravens?

Will you each get one more win this weekend and send me out in grand style with one last real postseason game for the genuine football fans?

Signed,

Giants Stadium

p.s. Baltimore, I guess now would be good time to let you know that although I’ll be pulling for you on Saturday night, I can’t possibly be a gracious host should you play here next weekend against my Jets. If you and the Jets win this weekend, I first get my chance to forgive both you and Rex, for Super Bowl XXXV. But, after that, you know I have to go with Gang Green, because in a weird sort of way, my adopted sons, my Jets, would exact a small measure of New Jersey (okay, fine, New York) revenge on behalf of my favorite sons, my Giants, for what happened nine years ago. So, if an AFC title game here would come down to a late field goal one way or the other, you’ll excuse me if I have someone open my tunnel doors again to play those little tricks with the swirling winds that I’m famous for. I hope you understand. Take care of the Colts, and then I’ll see you –- and the Jets — next week!

The Jets are riding this playoff push on a wing and a prayer.  The right wing of turbulent and resilient rookie QB Mark Sanchez. And the prayers and preaching of head coach Rex Ryan, who needs the blessings of the football Gods to do the improbable these playoffs.

Oh. Don’t forget the mouth of The Jets boisterous, blunt and vocal coach, who after sneaking into the playoffs at 9-7, declared his wild-card Jets should be favored to win it all. Despite the roller coaster season, the Jets seem to be gelling at the right time. And their prayers are being answered.

Jets owner Woody Johnson, though deeply saddened by the sudden death of his daughter, couldn’t be happier about the progression of his rookie coach and rookie QB.

Johnson made it clear he wanted to inject some energy, excitement, confidence into a Jets franchise that had become vanilla, pedestrian and evasive to the media under the emotionless Eric Mangini.

By hiring two novices to lead his organization, Johnson also hoped for some back page burn in the local newspapers. NFL coverage in NY has been a Giants-fest the past decade. He also needed to mask the ridiculously priced tickets and PSL’s with a new enthusiasm about a new Jets team, with new leadership and moving in a new direction. Up.

Thanks to Johnson’s two main off season imports — the great pontificator and rebel rouser Ryan, and swagalicious, pretty-boy Sanchez, who seems as built for Broadway as any Jets QB since Joe Namath — the Jets are the only team getting headlines right now. Sanchez is slowly quieting his naysayers and looking like a future stud.

The comparisons to Namath, which seemed premature during the season, don’t seem as farfetched now. And we know what Namath did for NY. He single-handedly helped make pro football in NY a huge deal, by brashly guaranteeing and then pulling off one of the greatest upsets in history, leading his underdog AFL Jets to a victory over what everyone felt was a superior and unbeatable Colts team, led by the greatest pure passer in NFL history, Johnny Unitas.

Sanchez already came packaged with the superstar looks and attitude. The dark hair. The height. The million dollar smile. The fearless play. His confidence and the way you can obviously see the team believes in him, contributes to his burgeoning reputation as well.

Sanchez and Ryan are equal factors in the Jets surprising playoff run. The similarities between the two are obvious, and each man’s legacy will largely depend on the success of the other. Sanchez has had an up and down season. So has Ryan. Sanchez was drafted after just one season as a starter at USC. Rex, the son of Buddy, a former NFL coach and great defensive coordinator credited with inventing the vaunted 46 defense, never had a head coaching job before the Jets made him top dog.

Both came out the shoot this season like gangbusters, going 3-0 and showing veteran –like savvy. That was the worst possible thing that could have happened to them. The fans got spoiled. Then the Jets predictably hit the rough patch of the schedule, losing three in a row, culminated by Sanchez throwing five picks in an OT loss to Buffalo.

At the same time, Ryan seemed to be losing his team, even breaking down and crying in a press conference. All of a sudden the magic they seemed to have was fizzling. The reality of having a rookie head coach and quarterback was settling in. Sanchez got an early and first-hand view of the pressure and finicky attitudes of NY sports followers. The fans and media began screaming for backup Kellen Clemens to save the season. Ryan even took a shot at Sanchez, blasting him in the media for not being smart and playing recklessly. The coaching staff lost faith in the rooks decision-making as the season and interceptions progressed, and cut half of his playbook Ryan, who rarely holds his tongue, went so far as to concede any chance at the playoffs after a disheartening 10-7 loss to Atlanta dropped the team under .500 [6-7].  I’m sure the absence of leading offensive weapon Leon Johnson didn’t exactly add to Ryan’s confidence that his team could turn it around.

But just as it seemed the first year of the Ryan-Sanchez experience would end with more question marks than answers, the Jets won their last three games and made the postseason. What was supposed to be a symbolic playoff appearance and a step in the right direction for a new Jets team, has become much more after upsetting the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card game.  Now the Jets are showing more similarities to that 1969 team, than the choke artists they had been the last two decades.

The Jets boast the league’s No. 1 defense and rushing attack. While they may have been able to get away with limiting Sanchez’s touches during the season, for the Jets to go deeper in these playoffs, Sanchez’s arm will be the key. Sanchez has the tools to throw downfield, avoid defenders and create big plays.

I always had confidence that given a chance Sanchez could reign in his mistakes and make positive contributions throwing the ball. The Jets are not going to beat teams like the Colts and Chargers just running the ball. Sanchez, as he did last week in Cincy will have to throw. Throw deep. Throw accurate. And hopefully throw his team into The AFC Championship Game and possibly even…should I say it?  The Jets first Super Bowl appearance in over 40 years. Most veteran observers of football give the Jets no shot. Ryan and Sanchez think they can go all the way. What do they know any way? They are just rookies, living on a wing and a prayer.

The “Sanchise” Mark Sanchez was mistake free.  RB Shonne Greene also played a major role for the NY Jets on Saturday, as they upset the AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals in the “Jungle” 24-14. The two rookies helped lead the Jets into the second round  for a date with the 13-3 San Diego Chargers. Sanchez, (12-15 1TD), who had 20 interceptions on the year and looked shaky at times during 2009, was flawless in his decision making. Greene lived up to coach Rex Ryan’s pregame prediction of the 3rd pick having a big day by rushing for 135 yards and a big 39 yard score. The Jets came back from an early 7-0 deficit to slowly wear down the Bengals on both sides of the ball. Gang Green showed why it came into the contest both as the league’s number one rushing club and Defense. The win leaves the Jets now with the  Chargers, winners of eleven straight. They are high octane air power. The Jets philosophy is Ground and Pound, but growing. A contrast in styles .The winner will be 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl.

There are still those who think the NY Jets don’t belong with the elite that the NFL has to offer despite their Wildcard road win. Now the Jets will have their chance to prove those who felt the Jets were given a free pass into the playoffs.  Coach Rex Ryan, who has stated on more than one occassion that he doesn’t care how his team got in,  gave his players an itinerary whose culmination would take place at a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes. The rookie head coach was simply presenting the complete vision for a team that showed by their focused play in Cincy, that just making the playoffs is not the goal.

The Jets got down early on Saturday thanks to a big kick return by the Bengals Bernard Scott to start the game. The play left the Bengals on the Jet 35 where after a change of possesion that again gave them the ball to start inside the Jet 50. Former Jet Laverneus Coles later caught an 11 yard pass from Palmer to give the Bengals the early 7-0 lead.

The Jets would answer back thanks to a nifty play call by offensive coordintor Brian Schottenheimer. Schotty called for a conuter toss, a fake handoff right to FB Tony Richardson. The play instead was a pitch left to the big play Greene who found daylight behind 6 foot 7 310 pound 3rd year D’BRickshaw Ferguson.Ferguson sealed the edge as Greeene busted through to the second level of defenders. There were no defenders there however. Many of them bit on the run action to Richardson. Greene raced, then waltzed in for the tying score 7-7.

As the half wore on, it became clear that the Jet secondary was in complete control. Laverneus Coles, the former Jet, was the primary target for veteran QB Carson Palmer. With Chad Ochocinco being smothered on Revis Island, the Bengal pass attack was from the onset, containable. The former pass happy Bengal offense was now a run first offense. The club that lost Chris Henry to injury then to tragedy, had gone into the year having lost TJ Houshmanzadeh to free agency. Then Cincy’s two top  tight ends were lost for the season due to injury way back in the fall. Palmer’s accuracy was off all day. Throws were high, wobbly.Benson  had 169 yards on the day,  thanks to kicking some busted inside traps to the outside. As the gam ewore on could not do it alone.

This allowed the Jets to settle in after a shaky start made shakier due to Ryan finding out minutes before the coin flip that Punter Steve Weatherford would not be avaliable because of an irregular heartbeat. K Jay Feely took over and did a trmendous job filling in.

Sanchez then gave the Jets the lead, a lead they’d never relinquish. The TD came on a roll right. TE Dustin Keller (3-99yds 1 TD) dragged to the right afterlining up on the left side before the sanp. As Sanchez rolled, the QB’s first target underneath the linebackers was covered. Then Keller raised his hand, on the run, behind the linebackers, and away from a secondary that hadn’t seen him sneak free. Sanchez found Keller who caught the throw and raced towards the pilon. The second year TE fought off some would be Bengal defenders desperate to push him out of bounds, for the score and 14-7 Jet lead. Sanchez was sharp  with his limited chances all day. “He had the eye of the tiger today and he was ready to get out there and throw it around,” coach Rex Ryan said. “I see him getting better and better each day on the practice field. What a job he’s done. I think he’s tired of hearing he’s the weak link on this football team.”

The Jets had a chance in third to “break it open” with a twn point lead but two Jay Feely field goals were called back in a row, due to false starts. This forced the Jets out of field goal range as the furious Feely motioned to the sidelines for a punt.  The Jets got it back though and then went on an eight play 75 yard drive. The drive was capped off  by a  homas Jones (15-35 1TD) TD run from the 7 yard line to give the Jets a commanding 21-7 lead, late in the third quarter.

The Bengals would not exit without a fight. When Benson broke free for a long TD, it made the score 21-14 with over 11:00 remaining. Cedric Benson rushed for  169 yards on the day. He sat out the 37-0 Jet win the week before. Early on, Benson’s success had to have many wondering whether the strong start  was proof that the Bengals would be a different team in round two. Now however, with the Jets up seven, it was time to show the ability to close out a playoff game out on the road. As Ryan said during the week, one of his many brash quotes, this team was built for the playoffs. Well the Jets proved him right as the team marched down the field to tack on a huge Feely FG to make it 24-14. With 7:00 left the Jets got it back but played it safe. Real safe. Three runs and a short  punt gave the Bengals the ball close to the 50 with time to get a quick score and hope for the best.

Cincy drove into FG range but Shayne Graham, the dependable kicker that the Bengals even slapped a franchise tag on heading into 2009, missed his second chip shot of the day. Marivn Lewis later said that the missed FGs, especially the second, were crushing. The second, a 28 yarder, would have made it a one score game with 3:49 left. The Bengals had the two minute warning and all three timeouts still remaining. Instead the Jets again got it back and again chose to play it safe. Run, kill more clock, and punt. The Bengals got it back once more but by then it was hopeless. When Palmer was  finally sacked on fourth down by 10  year Jet veteran Sean Ellis, who has lived through his share of “Same Old Jets” disappointments, the celebration was on. The Jets, a team that few, including their coach, thought would even be here were moving on.

It was only a month ago that a horrifying 10-7 loss to Atlanta had seemingly closed the door on 2009. A loss that dropped the streaking Jets to 7-7 and left the dumbfounded  Ryan to mistakenly proclaim at the time “we’re out of the playoffs.” Well now the storyline has changed. Winners of six out of seven, the Jets are a red hot club whose confidence is growing behind the leadership of the outspoken Ryan, who continues to put positive world championship thoughts into the minds of his players. “This was a great team effort,” said Ryan, “We’re a good football team. If people don’t believe that, they soon will.”

Yes Network’s Mike Francesa had spoken earlier on Sunday about how fitting a rematch between the Jets and Colts would be in the following round. After all, it was the Colts who many feel rolled out the red carpet for the Jets to enter through into January. In week 16, the then undefeated Colts took out future hall of famer Peyton Manning and other key starters up just 15-10 late in the third quarter. The move was ordered by Colts brass to insure the safety of its stars for the postseason rather than chase the first perfect season since Miami did it in 1972. The move left many Colts fans and fans of other clubs in the AFC playoff hunt, disgusted afterwards. When Calvin Pace stripped backup QB Curtis Painter of the ball shortly after Manning exited, the road to the playoffs became a wide open possibility for the Jets. Miles away from the start of that day which had Jets playoff hopes sitting at a mathematical improbablility.

After the Baltimore Ravens layed it on the Pats on Sunday, in the second AFC Wildcard battle of the weekend (perhaps putting an end to New England’s decade long AFC East reign,) the Jets knew a date with the Colts and Peyton Manning would have to be put on ice, for now. The number two seeded Chargers and Phillip Rivers await the Jets instead. The AFC West champs can seemingly score at will, and now stand between the Jets and a date with the AFC Championship.

What a wild ride it’s been for the NY Jets in 2009. From 3-0 to 4-6 to 7-6 to needing to have prayers answered. Now the ride may be heating up  even more. This thanks to the Jets add more pieces to the puzzle on offense during this latest surge. Two weeks ago it was Brad Smith and the Wildcat in the big blowout win that sent the Jets into the playoffs.. This week it was Sanchez’s calm demeanor, coupled with Greene and Keller both busting out. Ryan boasted that the Jets will be a tough out for anyone right now. If the rookie QB out of USC can continue to grow his confidence and play mistake free while players like Greene become a bigger part of the equation, the Jets may truly be the tough out Rex was talking about.

WFAN”s Joe Beningo, a diehard Jet fan, says the Jets are now playing with “house money.” Even a loss couldn’t erase the fact that this year has been a successful step forward for a team led by many rookies including the coach. Beningo may be right but the Jets know that these chances don’t come often. In January it’s about seizing the moment. As hot as San Diego has been, and they’ve ebeen on fire, the Jets now find themselves hot as well. With the stakes higher than they’ve been for the Jets since 2005 when the Herm Edwards Jets beat the Chargers in OT in the Wildcard round ( only to fall dramatically to the Steelers in OT the following week). Once again, few will give the Jets a chance.  Others want more proof than just beating a sliding Bengals club, that the Jets truly belong in a class with the top teams in the league. One of those who believes the Jets CAN get it done now is Palmer. “They might have a chance to make a move, Their defense is that good.”

follow TJ Rosenthal on twitter @ thejetreport

A LOOK BACK ON THE THREE KEYS TO THE BENGALS:

EMOTIONS: The Jets had them. The Bengals were flat in the passing game so that had to take some wind out of their sails. Gang Green was not just happy to be there. They are thinking big and playing mistake free with fire. Like they have places to go, things to see.

STEP NOW ROOKIE , IT’S YOUR TIME TO SHINE: We said last week : “the Jets may in fact move it on the ground yet also need Sanchez to deliver some key third down throws…Here’s to hoping that Sanchez plays with that confidence he exuded  most notably Monday night in Miami, leading the Jets back twice in the second half. ” Mission accomplished. Sanchez porved to the Jet rport that he is a big game guy who can lead the Jets into the future. Limited throws yes, but playing cool, being in control, being a leader, count more than numbers. Nice job rookie.

X FACTORS:  We guessed wrong about Brad Smith and Kerry Rhodes. instead the X factors were the young trio of Sanchez, Greene and Keller. How about Feely stepping in and punting in a playoff game? A game ball goes to the kicker.

Who would’ve though a week ago that as the final Sunday of the NFL’s regular season approached, the Jets would be playing for the rights to make the playoffs, not the Giants. So many things had to fall right for Gang Green to regain control of their destiny. Those things DID fall right for one of the NFL’s habitually cursed franchises. Now all of a sudden the Jets take on a Cincinnati Bengals team that has little to play for with a home playoff game already coming the following week. Thus making the final game one with little to play for besides momentum and alot to lose in the way of injuries. The Bengal scenario is  much like  one the then undefeated Colts  faced. Indy’s unpopular decision to rest Peyton Manning and other key starters up just 15-10 with 5:38 left in the third quarter helped pave the way for the Jets to take back to the keys to the car.

Now it’s up to Gang Green to close the deal once and for all and earn the right to most likely face the same Bengal team a week later in Cincy.

The Giants got blown out last week in their farewell to a stadium that has been kind to them in it’s 33 year history. Three Giant Super Bowl teams were borne out of the purported hallowed burial ground of Jimmy Hoffa in this time. For the Jets, the Meadowlands has been home to so many crash landing endings that many Jet fans will be happy to see the team move next door in 2010. A chance at a fresh start with the opportunity to put their own stamp on things, will come shortly.

For now, the Jets hope to give themselves and their die hard fans one great memory in a stadium that has housed at least a few over the years.

The Monday night Miracle in 2000 with Jumbo Elliot’s TD catch capped off the greatest Monday night football comeback in history. Beating the Brett Favre led Packers on the last day of 2002 propelled the upstart Herman Edwards Jets into the playoffs. Their 41-0 dismantling of the Colts in the Wildcard was arguably the loudest Jets fans ever got in the Red and Blue seated stadium.

Of course there were nightmares. Too many to count. The bigger ones that come to mind are the day Dennis Byrd was partially paralyzed against the Chiefs in 1992. Who can forget the Dan Marino fake spike play in 1994 that left the then 6-5 Jets shocked? The wild loss sent them into a “same old Jets” Jet  tailspin, ending Pete Caroll’s tenure as head coach after just one season. This ushered in the Rick Kotite years of 1995 and 1996. Enough said.

Sunday night is about a lifetime of redemption for the franchise that, aside from Super Bowl III, seems to struggle most when the spotlight is the brightest. Although the Jets have fared well in “win or in ” games over the past decade, the stigma associated with monumental collapses contain ghosts that float close to the surface. Apparitions that seem ready to bring bad karma to Gang Green at any time.

This week has had its share of pre-game drama already. Chad Ochocinco and CB Darelle Revis have been going at it in a friendly fun way on twitter. Ochocinco has been boasting that Revis won’t be able to cover him. Don’t bet on it. Revis has covered all of the top receivers this year and has shut them all down. WR Braylon Edwards pulled a “Broadway” Joe guaranteeing the win saying that team is too focused and wants it too badly to lose.

Then there’s the issue of motivation. The Bengals can’t improve their playoff situation with a win. in fact they can only hurt it by adding any top player to the injury list in a game that has no ability to make their path to the Super Bowl any easier. Will coach Marvin Lewis let QB Carson Palmer and the oft injured RB Cedric Benson play for the duration? Backup QB  JT O Sullivan is a former starter with the 49ers, and should fare alot better than Curtis Painter did for the Colts last week, should the Bengals choose to keep Palmer on the sidelines. One or more of the AFC teams on the bubble between Miami, Houston and Pittsburgh will be watching Sunday night praying that the Bengals  go out and be competitive. The jury’s out as to how Lewis will play it.

If the Pats, who publicly claim Tom Brady and co. will be on the field (if you choose to believe Bill Belichick), beat the Texans at 1pm, the Bengals would own the 4th seed. This would be regardless of the outcome against the Jets. A Pats loss and the Bengals would move to No. 3 with a win but beating the Jets could force Cincy into facing division rival Baltimore or Pittsburgh in the opening round.

Many wonder if Cincy will tank just to win the right to take on rookie Mark Sanchez and his 26 interceptions, back to their place instead.

The stage is set. A stadium farewell. A win or else scenario. A national tv audience.

What a dramatic way to end what has been a roller coaster first season for coach Rex Ryan and the rookie Sanchez. 60 minutes away from the playoffs, the question is, can the Jets put it all together? It’s up to Gang Green now. They control their destiny. They are the owners of the chance to give Giants stadium one last glorious ride before it fades into the sunset. Before the Jets 2009 season fades into the sunset as well.

KEYS TO THE BENGALS:

Defense, It’s Time To Peak  For the Jets to keep the season going past Sunday and to make any sort of serious run in January , it’s going to have to be on the defense. The Defense , ranked 1st in the NFL in yards given up, must now grow into a turnover and sack machine. The foundation is there. The pressure has been solid all year. The interceptions have risen in the past five weeks. Now can the Jets D elevate into a unit that creates short fields and scores points. Sunday the Jets will need some help from the D as once again Sanchez will be asked to manage the offense, not carry it.

Shonn Greene: Can Greene develop here on the stretch drive as well? The fumble prone rookie has proven that he can be a big time aid to a run game already churning with RB Thomas Jones as long as he holds onto the rock. If Greene can come into his own, the template may be set for the rest of 2009. Jones, Greene, a few throws mixed in, and a stifling D.

Night Time is the Right Time: The nutty Jet fan base combined with the final game in Giants stadium,and a “Win and in” game” has to prove to be an energy force all its own. Fireman Ed, get your game face on, this one’s big. As big of a game as Gang Green has ever played in a stadium short on memories for the Jets. Alcohol sales have been banned for the game. The Meadowlands knows better than to lend Jet nation more fuel to a fire that may help carry the Jets over the edge and into the postseason.