IF you hope to be a championship coach and championship quarterback and champion team, you don’t play scared of the other guys with the game on the line, even on the road, even against a formidable defense.

You don’t live in fear of a sack or an interception, and trust your struggling field goal kicker to boot you to the AFC championship game from 43 yards away.

There is so much to like about these Jets. They fight like crazy from start to finish. They are resilient. They are tough. They play hard for Herman Edwards.

But until Edwards changes his mentality in the biggest moments in the biggest games, he will never get the Jets to the next level.

Maybe everything will be different once Edwards gets himself a new offensive coordinator and once Chad Pennington gets himself a new arm after shoulder surgery. Maybe everything will be different if the Jets can get themselves a No. 1 receiver such as Plaxico Burress and throw Jerricho Cotchery into the fray and get themselves a pass-catching tight end.

In the meantime, Jet fans are left wondering whether there will ever be a reason to change the name of the building from Weeb Ewbank Hall to Herman Edwards Hall.

Doug Brien will forever be remembered by Jet fans the way Giant fans remember Scott Norwood. Norwood lost a Super Bowl for the Bills when he missed a 47-yard field goal wide right. Brien lost a chance to get to a Super Bowl for the Jets when he missed his 43-yarder wide left on the last play of regulation, after missing a 47-yarder off the crossbar two minutes earlier.

Brien is a professional. He is expected to make pressure-packed kicks from those distances. He is the goat.

But Edwards didn’t give him a better chance to be the hero.

First down at the Steeler 25, 56 seconds on the clock. Curtis Martin off left guard for no gain. LaMont Jordan, who needed the ball more than six times, for two yards. Pennington kneels for a one-yard loss. Brien misses the field goal. “They do a great job of creating negative-yardage plays,” Pennington said.

The Jets win the overtime coin toss. Pennington marches the Jets to the Steeler 41, where a holding penalty against Anthony Becht ruins the drive. Pennington is third-and-10 and here is the call: a pass in the right flat for Wayne Chrebet that is broken up by Clark Haggans. If ever there were a pass that summed up the Paul Hackett Era, it is this one. When you need 10 yards, you need to throw a 10-yard pass. This one would have gained two yards, if that much.

Pennington and Hackett took a couple of shots downfield against a suspect secondary, but most of the time when they did, it seemed like shots in the dark.

Rewind to the third quarter. Pennington, tied 10-10, has it at the Steeler 47 after roughing-the-passer against Joey Porter. On third-and-seven, Pennington tries a dink-and-dunk for Jerald Sowell. James Farrior spills him for a six-yard loss. Beautiful.

Late fourth quarter. Pennington, tied 17-17, marches to the Steeler 33. Martin (19-77) up the middle for four yards. Jordan off left guard for one yard. Pennington incomplete over the middle for Wayne Chrebet. “We knew that they were probably gonna bring some type of pressure, and we’re gonna try to get the first down, and if not, don’t take the sack,” Pennington said. “They did a good job of covering it, and it was just too fuzzy-looking, and I wasn’t gonna throw something over the middle late and lose the chance to kick the field goal.”

Big Ben Roethlisberger (2 INTs) tried to lose the game. “That’s all they damn do is run the ball,” Shaun Ellis said. Edwards and Pennington and Hackett and, ultimately, Brien, could not win it.

“As long as Coach Edwards is our coach and as long as we have character guys like we had this year in the locker room, we’re gonna punch through eventually,” Pennington said.

Somebody better tell Coach Edwards you gotta throw punches if you ever hope to punch through.

—

The Herm turns

The Jets have reached the playoffs in three of four seasons since Herman Edwards took over as head coach in 2001, but have never advanced past the second round. Here are the numbers:

Season W-L Playoffs

2001 10-6 0-1

2002* 9-7 1-1

2003 6-10 –

2004 10-6 1-1

TOTAL 35-29 2-3

* – won AFC East