Any time your team wins a playoff game you are going to be happy, but here are 20 other reasons why Jets fans should be smiling this week.
1. Watching Chad Ochocino cry on the shoulder of a teammate at end of the Jets’ win in Cincinnati.
2. The future is bright: Mark Sanchez, Shonn Greene and Dustin Keller all starred in the wild-card victory.
3. He will never admit it, but Mike Francesa’s ripping of the Jets’ late-season success looks more foolish with each passing day — and could really take a hit this Sunday.
4. Jets fans always enjoy watching Bill Belichick fail miserably like he and the Patriots did on Sunday against the Ravens. (Mike Vaccaro’s take on this.)
5. The Meadowlands is still open for business. If the Ravens and Jets prevail this weekend, Gang Green would be host of the AFC Championship.
6. Rex Ryan has now officially had a better rookie-coaching season than Eric Mangini did with the Jets. Which hopefully means he won’t be a one-trick pony like the Man-Genius turned out to be.
7. Though common sense says Ryan is crazy for proclaiming the Jets to be Super Bowl favorites, his players are buying into it and have that kind of confidence right now.
8. You would rather be in San Diego on Sunday than in Indianapolis on Saturday, for several reasons.
9. The Colts likely heard Ryan saying the Jets deserved more credit for beating undefeated Indianapolis in Week 16. And that would have been a nice extra piece of motivation for Peyton Manning and company to try to hammer Gang Green this time around.
10. The Chargers have had trouble this season with run-oriented teams: close victories over the Raiders (twice), Browns and Dolphins. The Jets play similar styles, but have more talent than all three of those teams.
11. The Bengals were edged 27-24 in San Diego in Week 15 — that can’t be bad news for the Jets, who outscored Cincinnati 61-14 over the past two weeks.
12. Before Sunday, the Jets’ previous postseason win came in San Diego: 20-17 in 2005. Good karma, if nothing else.
13. If the Ravens play as well in Indianapolis as they did in New England, Baltimore may have a chance to win Saturday night.
14. Though the Super Bowl remains the ultimate goal, this Jets season, with a rookie coach and quarterback, has to be considered a success win or lose on Sunday.
15. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is dialed in right now.
16. Has Sanchez gotten over the hump? The rookie sure seemed capable of doing more than simply not losing the game Saturday. And the Jets will need him to make plays against the Chargers.
17. Braylon Edwards catches better in warm weather? Nothing to prove this really, except that his best game with the Jets came in Miami.
18. David Harris’ ankle will be closer to 100 percent this weekend.
19. If the Jets give Jay Feely a chance, you feel confident he won’t pull a Doug Brien, No. 7 on the Jets’ worst of the decade list. Though I doubt any Jets fans need to be reminded.
20. Another week of entertaining Rex Ryan press conferences.
