TODAY’S NFL PLAYOFF GAMES : AFC: N.Y. JETS vs. CLEVELAND; NFC: WASHINGTON vs. CHICAGO : Ryan Starts Again as Jets Face Browns and Snow in Cleveland

The weathermen here, jokesters all, promised this week that it would be 35 and partly cloudy for today’s AFC divisional playoff game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets at Cleveland Stadium.

Of course, they never said 35 what. Would you believe 35 inches of snow?

Snow was falling Friday as the teams prepared for today’s game, setting up what could be an old-fashioned frozen-mud match on natural turf, complete with icicles, generic helmets--for the Browns at least--and perhaps a little frostbite.

Yes, a few Jets might have picked the wrong week to shave their heads.

Yet at this point, with their egos as fragile as egg shells, you get the feeling that the Jets would travel by dogsled to get to their next game. The Jets, of course, are the National Football League team with something to prove.

They took their share of grief for losing their last five regular-season games on their way to the playoffs.

As if that wasn’t enough, some people weren’t that impressed with last week’s wild-card win over the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-15.

Come on, they say, it was only the Chiefs.

Still, there’s something about an occasional win that can really fire up a playoff team.

“Emotionally, we’re much better off than in the last few weeks,” Jet Coach Joe Walton said this week.

The Jets are convinced that they have straightened out the mess that was their lives.

They are convinced that Pat Ryan, long-time relief quarterback, is their short-term playoff answer.

Ryan, the nine-year veteran, will make only his 15th start today in place of the benched and beleaguered Ken O’Brien.

Ryan stepped in last week and completed 16 of 23 passes for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns in the victory over Kansas City.

Ryan had been bothered this week by a stiff throwing arm, but he worked out late in the week and is said to be ready to go.

The Jets are also believers these days in running back Freeman McNeil, once known around the NFL for his fading finishes.

Last week, McNeil rushed for 135 yards against the Chiefs, marking his third straight week over the 100-yard rushing mark.

The Jets were also emotionally lifted by the semi-return of defensive end Mark Gastineau, who played last week after having been sidelined most of the season with a knee injury. He even had a sack against the Chiefs.

Gastineau isn’t anywhere near full strength, but just his being in uniform helps.

“Our practices and work habits have improved in intensity,” Jet linebacker Kevin McArthur said. “We’re naturally on an emotional high after being down for five weeks.”

Of course, that still doesn’t mean they’re going to beat the Browns, who had the AFC’s best record at 12-4.

Cleveland won its last five regular-season games and has had two weeks to rest and think about it.

Brown quarterback Bernie Kosar won’t thrill you with his style but he is capable of picking a defense apart. He threw just 10 interceptions all season.

Running back Kevin Mack’s second season wasn’t as good as his first, but he still led the team with 665 yards rushing and has recovered from a bruised shoulder that plagued him through most of the fall.

The real challenge, though, rests with the Brown defense, which slipped to 19th overall this season after having been in the top 10 the previous three seasons.

Not only must Cleveland stop McNeil, the Browns must contend with tall and talented Jet receivers Al Toon and Wesley Walker. The Browns, though, have the cornerbacks to do it in All-Pro Hanford Dixon and Frank Minniefield.

“Hopefully, our corners can shut down Toon and Walker so that we can concentrate on McNeil,” Brown nose tackle Bob Golic said.

Playoff Notes Brown center Mike Baab is listed as questionable for today’s game with a knee injury, but word here is that he will play. . . . The Browns have not won a playoff game since 1969, when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 38-14, for the NFL Eastern Conference championship. . . . How beat up has the Jet defense been this season? Well, not one player started at the same position for the entire 16-game schedule, and only two players, linebackers Bob Crable and Kyle Clifton, started all 16 games.