AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS / Preview

Jacksonville (12-5) at New York Jets (12-4)

9:30 a.m., Channel 2

* HEAD TO HEAD: The teams have split two games, with the Jaguars winning the last meeting, 21-17, at Jacksonville on Oct. 13, 1996, to drop the Jets to 0-7. Mark Brunell passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Jaguars, who were only 3-4 at that point but would eventually reach the AFC championship game before losing to the New England Patriots. The Jets’ Wayne Chrebet caught 12 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.

* SCOUTING THE JAGUARS: Brunell, who sat out the last three games of the regular season because of an ankle injury, struggled in his return last week while helping the Jaguars to a 25-10 wild-card victory over the Patriots. With the quarterback’s mobility limited--Coach Tom Coughlin didn’t make up his mind to play Brunell until three hours before kickoff--the Jaguars turned to rookie running back Fred Taylor, who responded by rushing for 162 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Jaguars limited the Patriots to 35 yards rushing, an average of 1.8 per carry, after giving up at least 110 in each of their previous 11 games. Said Patriot fullback Tony Carter: “They aren’t as good as we made them.”

* SCOUTING THE JETS: The Jets were the AFC’s best team in December, ending the season with a six-game winning streak to win their first division championship since 1969, the year before the AFL-NFL merger. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde, 12-1 as a starter, has been especially efficient, with a league-best 125.0 third-down passer rating that includes 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. “When he makes the smart play,” said Coach Bill Parcells, whose team’s 46% third-down conversion rate was the AFC’s best, “we have been successful.” Running back Curtis Martin gained 1,286 yards, the second-best rushing season in club history.

* NOW YOU KNOW: The Jets last won a playoff game on Dec. 28, 1986, when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-15, at East Rutherford, N.J.

* THEY SAID IT: Fullback Keith Byars, on the Jets’ surprising run to the AFC East title: “We proved a lot during the season. We’ve got confidence from the way we played. But we know we have to turn that confidence into production.”

* THE LINE: Jets by 8