Jets Keep Soaring

A bad bounce, an ill-advised penalty, maybe a field goal that clanks off an upright, and the team that was left for dead by its own coach will represent the AFC in Miami in Super Bowl XLIV.

The Jets are just 60 minutes -- and a fortuitous break -- away from the franchise's first trip to the Big Game in over 40 years.

Can the Jets beat the Colts straight up in Indianapolis with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line? No! But, then again, Gang Green wasn't going to beat the Chargers in San Diego.

In sports -- and life -- capitalizing on fortunate situations is key to moving forward.

Whether or not the Jets should have ever been in the playoffs is debatable. What's not up for discussion is that Rex Ryan's club took advantage of every handout that came its way.

All too often, teams get a gift only to let it slip right through their collective hands. This loud-mouth Jets squad seizes every bit of good fortune and makes the most of it.

The Jets would not have beaten the Colts had the teams matched-up in, say, Week 12 of the regular season. But the Jets took full advantage of Bill Polian's questionable philosophy to rest the starters in a meaningless game -- at least from Indy's viewpoint.

Next up was a back-to-back with Cincinnati. While the Bengals were a legitimate playoff team early in the season, Cincy hit a rough sport late in the season losing two of three -- albeit to good teams -- before facing the Jets.

Once again, the Jets took full advantage: First beating the Bengals to garner entry to the postseason, then winning the Wild Card Game in Ohio.

The Bengals weren't playing as well as they had while getting off to a 7-2 start. But the Jets didn't play down to the competition nor make a key blunder to lose the game.

Moving on to San Diego, once again, Gang Green played mistake free -- for the most part -- and let the Chargers stumble, bumble and kick the game away.

The Colts have the next opportunity to break the glass slipper of the only Cinderella left standing. And Indy has what to worry about: One misstep, a single errant throw and the Jets will take full advantage.

With the way things have been going for this charmed team, don't count 'em out.