WIN AND IN

In honor of the Jets' opponent this weekend at the Meadowlands, the slogan for the Jets this week is simple - "Just Win, Baby". If the Jets beat the Raiders on Sunday at 1pm, they clinch one of the more unlikely playoff berths of my lifetime.

And the Jets will win - I can't imagine a scenario where they lose to the Raiders. It's New Year's Eve, near New York City, so the Raiders will have other things on their minds - they'll mail this one in, and finish 2-14. For the Jets, it's all on the line. So I say, Jets, 27-3. Not even close, which would be uncharacteristic of the Jets' season.

I mentioned how unlikely this playoff berth would be. I talked about how early in the season I thought the Jets would be competitive, but I didn't think their possibly finishing at .500 would get them near the playoffs. Turns out, they're heading for 10-6, and that's going to be good enough. I started to think the Jets had a shot about midway through the season - remember when the Jets lost that heartbreaker to the Browns in Cleveland? I thought that would come back to haunt them, because instead of heading into their bye week at 5-3, they were 4-4. Then the Jets ripped off 5 wins in 7 games, and here we are.

I don't want to jump to conclusions, because these are still the Jets we're talking about, but if the Jets win on Sunday (which I think they will), how will they do in the playoffs? I really think they have a shot at doing some damage. Here's what will happen at the VERY LEAST: The Jets lose in their first game, and for all the young guys on the team, it's valuable playoff experience. But the core of the Jets have been to the playoffs before, especially Chad Pennington, and I think that's really important. They remember the hard lessons from two years ago, where a conservative game plan and an unreliable kicker did them in. I think Pennington will take control and lead the team to some playoff wins.

The road will be a tough one - most likely taking the Jets through Indianapolis and New England, and possibly a Baltimore or San Diego, but the Jets can beat all of those teams. I won't get into the playoffs too much right now, since first the Jets have to make it there, but I will say I can't wait. I think the Jets will do well. Hopefully I'll have the chance to do a Raiders wrap (I'm going to the game on Sunday), and a Playoff Preview sometime next week, somewhere in between the busy back-to-school week.

One last thing- here's the standings through 16 weeks in the johnnyjets League:

1. Cousin Eddie: 123
2. The Wife 114
2. Justin 114
4. johnnyjets 111
4. Dave in Brighton 111
6. Southern Bureau 94