Jets Break From Pack

Shortly after he was named starting quarterback of the struggling New York Jets, Chad Pennington stood at a team meeting and made a prediction that, at the time, seemed absurdly optimistic:

“We’re going to the playoffs.”

The Jets were 1-3 -- soon to be 1-4 -- and had been outscored in their losses by a combined 102-13, the most abysmal three-game stretch since 1962 when they were the New York Titans.

“The score was looking like a basketball game,” running back Curtis Martin recalled. “We were getting blown out. I believe we were the laughingstock of the whole league.”

No one’s laughing now. Not after the Jets won Sunday for the seventh time in nine games, clinching the AFC East title with their 42-17 victory over Green Bay, and Miami’s 27-24 overtime loss at New England.

In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent NFL history, the Jets are division champions for only the second time since the 1970 merger. They will play host to Indianapolis in a first-round playoff game Saturday.

“I can remember this room after our second game, against the Patriots, and after the third game [at Miami],” said Jet Coach Herman Edwards, addressing reporters from his press-room podium. “Someone said the season is over. But I wasn’t smart enough to know that, and the players weren’t dumb enough to listen. It shows you what perseverance gets for you when you believe in each other and just go out and try to win the game.”

But beating Green Bay wasn’t enough for the Jets to secure a playoff berth. They needed help from New England, which knocked off Miami earlier in the day. Had the Dolphins won, they would have clinched the division title. The Patriots, who had their playoff plans dashed when the Jets won, mounted a stirring comeback late in the fourth quarter to overcome an 11-point Miami lead.

The Jets watched part of that game in their locker room, but, true to their word, turned off the TVs an hour before their kickoff. Miami was up, 21-10, and seemed to have the game under control.

“[Guard Randy Thomas] walked down when we were all watching and kind of shut them off and said, ‘That’s it. It’s time to think about our game now,’ ” tight end Anthony Becht said.

Still, players couldn’t help but wonder what was going on at Foxboro. The fans were tuned in, either listening to radios or watching on TVs around the stadium, and they cheered loudly as the Patriots began to rally. Giants Stadium shook when New England kicker Adam Vinatieri made the winning field goal in overtime.

“When we heard the crowd cheering, the scores weren’t updated yet,” said Becht, referring to the out-of-town scores on the scoreboards. “As soon as they were finally updated, it just sent electricity through my body and I’m sure everybody else’s.”

The team-wide adrenaline surge was obvious. The Jets built leads of 7-0 and 14-3 in the first half, then scored the first three touchdowns of the second half to put the game out of reach.

It was a wild weekend at this stadium, where a day earlier the New York Giants secured a wild-card berth by beating Philadelphia, 10-7, in overtime. Less than a month ago, the Giants were 6-6 and rumors swirled that Coach Jim Fassel’s job was in jeopardy.

Fassel, suddenly revered again after four consecutive victories, was in the tunnel outside the Jet locker room before Sunday’s game. He shook hands with well-wishers and pleasantly agreed to pose for some group photos with Jet fans. But he didn’t stick around to watch Pennington throw four touchdown passes and upstage Packer quarterback Brett Favre, considered by many the league’s most valuable player.

“He kept his composure,” Edwards said of Pennington, who has seven touchdown passes and no interceptions in the last two games. “He didn’t try to overdo things, he didn’t try to compete with Brett Favre, he was just Chad Pennington. We talked about that all week -- all he needed to do was be Chad Pennington, and that’s good enough.”

Edwards even happily tolerated the traditional Gatorade shower, even though it came on a frigid night when the temperatures dipped into the low 30s.

“It was cold, but it was fun,” he said.

Since Pennington took over as starter, replacing a struggling Vinny Testaverde in Week 5, the Jets have gone 8-4. The Jets have gone to more of a two-back offense -- as opposed to the spread formations they ran with Testaverde -- and have gotten more out of Martin, who has been nursing a bad ankle all season.

New York’s defense is a big reason for the recent success too, and looks nothing like the porous unit that had six new starters and looked so sloppy early in the season.

“There was a stat put up on our bulletin board that we’ve been one of the top three defenses in the league in the last 10 games,” cornerback Ray Mickens said. “Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are right up there too.”

If one game marked the beginning of the turnaround, it was New York’s 44-13 shocker over San Diego on Nov. 3. The Chargers were one of the league’s best teams then. The Jets were 2-5.

Now, if the Chargers want to go to the Super Bowl -- which will be played on their home field -- they’ll have to buy tickets. As for the Jets, well, they have a different dream.

“It all started for us in San Diego,” running back Lamont Jordan said. “Hopefully, it ends there for us.”