This is where the Jets let it all hang out.
This is where they show their liberated side.
Today at Giants Stadium against the 2-12 Bills is when the Jets laugh in the face of their past late-season failures, scoff at their supposed December jinx, thrive under pressure and clinch a playoff berth with conviction.
Put simply, the 9-5 Jets can clinch their first playoff berth since 1998 and second since 1991 with a victory today.
A victory today, too, would set the Jets up for a showdown with the Raiders next Sunday in Oakland in a game that would decide the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff tournament.
A win in Oakland next Sunday, coupled with a win today, and the Jets will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs and then have at least one home game.
“Our players understand the situation they’re in,” Herman Edwards said. “They understand the sense of urgency and that some things can change for us drastically if we can win two games. We’re kind of where we want to be.
“We have to play with confidence, play relaxed and don’t put the pressure of everything that’s mounting on our heads.”
When we last left the Jets on the field, they were handling pressure with the kind of aplomb that has not always been evident with this franchise.
We last saw the Jets marching 76 yards down the RCA Dome field with no timeouts remaining and the game in the balance. Vinny Testaverde was heroic. Wayne Chrebet was magical. Curtis Martin was his usual MVP self.
And the defense, though it had been hit for a handful of big plays, closed out the Colts when it counted most.
We believe the victory over Indianapolis liberated the Jets to the point where there’s no way they come out tight considering the ramifications today.
Despite the natural tugging of human nature to do so, the Jets will not overlook the Bills, whom they defeated 42-36 earlier this season in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
“The biggest game is always the game before the big game,” Jets cornerback Ray Mickens said. “We know that Oakland can be a big game if we win this game. So this is the big game that a lot of people in the past have probably overlooked, like last year when we played Detroit [a 10-7 home loss in the second-to-last game of the season to make the Jets 9-6].
“It’s just something I remember,” Mickens continued, referring to the loss to the Lions. “You can’t count your chickens before they hatch. We’ve got [the Bills] whose record says we’re a better team, but you can’t go in there thinking they’re going to lay down because they have enough talent to beat us.
“This year, we’re not going to overlook this game. This is a big game. It’ll make the Oakland game that much more meaningful.”
Getting that coveted bye week and a home game in the playoffs is a carrot the Jets cannot afford not to snatch if they truly have their eyes on the Super Bowl. Most teams that get to and win the Super Bowl have done it as a No. 1 or 2 seed.
“We did [get to the AFC Championship game] back in ’98 and we felt like we were on top of the world,” Mickens said. “We’re in position to repeat that. This is the time of year when we have to play our best football. We’ve got to continue to win.”
Testaverde, too, warned of the danger of the Bills.
“This is what you play for, what you work so hard for,” he said, referring to the No. 2 seed and bye week. “In order to look at getting that first-round bye, though, we have to hold up our end of the bargain.”