If the Dolphins beat the Jets, then the only way the Patriots can get in is via the second wild-card spot - Indianapolis already has clinched one of the berths - and that would require Baltimore to lose at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jets are really the Patriots' best postseason hope because Jacksonville, which gave Indianapolis a game last Thursday, has nothing to play for as it finishes a disappointing season on the road.
So, the Patriots will have to take a break from the Border War and do the unimaginable - cheer for Eric Mangini and the Jets. Suddenly the Patriots and Jets are football frenemies. In this season of the unforeseen, even the Patriots couldn't have imagined that the latest plot twist has them having to pull for the Jets.
"No, never," said tight end Benjamin Watson with a hearty laugh inside the Reebok Store in Foxborough, where he was signing autographs. "Of all teams, right? We can control what we can control. If we'd have done better earlier we might not have been in this position, but we are where we are, and the only thing we can do now is try to win our last game. We win our last game and then see where the chips fall. If they're favorable, great. If not, we did the best we could with what we had."
Perhaps looking to avoid any conspiracy theories involving two teams who struggle to contain their contempt for each other and uphold the competitive integrity of the league, yesterday the NFL moved the time of the Jets-Dolphins game to 4:15 p.m. and did the same with the Ravens-Jaguars game, an unusual occurrence in that both games are on CBS, which carries the AFC, and both are being played on the East Coast.
