Quietly, the Jets believe.

At 5-7, three games off the pace for an AFC wild-card playoff berth with four to play, the Jets realize the cynics are snickering. They are the same cynics who laughed away the Jets’ chances the previous two seasons while they advanced to the playoffs.

To those who believe the Jets have used up their supply of miraculous finishes the past two seasons, Ray Mickens offered these defiant words: “We ain’t dead. We’re still playing. We ain’t going to let it die.”

The Jets cornerback isn’t alone in the team’s suddenly revived locker room after their eye-opening 24-17 victory over the Titans on Monday night at Giants Stadium.

There is a quiet confidence gaining momentum that the Jets can “run the table,” winning their final four games, beginning Sunday at Buffalo.

Winning their final four games – at 5-7 Buffalo, against the 4-8 Steelers at home, then against the 10-2 Patriots at home, and finally in Miami against the 8-4 Dolphins – is not out of the question for the Jets, who will seek their third consecutive win Sunday.

Nor is getting help from around the AFC, the way they did when they won the AFC East (2002) and qualified as a wild card (2001) on the last day of those seasons.

This time, the Jets’ first mission – and only route to the postseason – is to win out.

Then, their only way to the playoffs is first to get out of the division in tie-breakers. To do that, the Jets need the Dolphins to lose two of their next three games entering the regular-season finale in Miami, which the Jets then have to win. That would leave the Jets tied with the Dolphins at 9-7, and the Jets would have a better divisional record.

Sprung from the AFC East, the Jets need Denver (7-5) and either Cincinnati or Baltimore (both 7-5) to lose at least two of their final four games. If the Jets at 9-7 are tied with the Broncos and either the Ravens or Bengals, or even the Texans (who are 5-7) or Titans (9-3), they would become the second wild-card based on a better AFC record than the rest.

The Jets would be 9-3 against the AFC, a better record than most of their competition and equal to the Titans, whom they have beaten.

So there is a sliver of hope, a glimmer of a chance.

“Winning a game like this gives us the confidence to win out our last four,” Curtis Martin said. “It’s almost as if the playoffs are dangling in front of us somewhere and we’re just focused on reaching it somehow, some way.”

Mickens said, “This proved that we can play with anybody. It reinforces what we’ve always known: That we’re a good team.”

If the Jets are, indeed, as good as they looked on Monday night, their performance, particularly on defense, begs the question: Where has this passion and consistent execution been all season?

Even Herman Edwards conceded yesterday that “You play a game like that and, yeah, you scratch your head.

“Playing with anxiety helps when you know you’re playing with a respirator and that’s all you’ve got, knowing when they cut the hose off it’s over,” Edwards said. “It’s been dark for about two months. Now there’s a little glimmer of light.”

Edwards was trumpeting the importance of Sunday’s game in Buffalo, saying, “This is probably the most important game we’re going to play all year in my mind. That’s what I’ll address to the team [today]. I just think we need to win this game.”

Edwards said he isn’t looking at the standings to figure out the scenarios. Instead, he’s looking at his players and seeing a group that, after 12 weeks of maddening, inconsistent football, finally believes.

“To be quite honest, I don’t look at the standings; I just know we have to win,” Edwards said. “This is why we have to beat Buffalo. It’s very important; very, very important. All you can control is what you do.”

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Reaching for the playoffs

The Jets still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs as the sixth (final) seed in the AFC.

For that to happen:

* The Jets must win their remaining four games, and

* The Dolphins, Broncos and either the Bengals or Ravens must finish with at least seven losses.

The Jets would hold a key tie-breaker advantage with a 9-3 record in the AFC.

Remaining schedules (Home games in CAPS)

JETS (5-7) (5-3 vs. AFC)

Sunday – at Bills (5-7)

Dec. 14 – STEELERS (4-8)

Dec. 20 – PATRIOTS (10-2)

Dec. 28 – at Dolphins (8-4)

DOLPHINS (8-4) (5-4 vs. AFC)

Sunday – at Patriots (10-2)

Dec. 15 – EAGLES (9-3)

Dec. 21 – at Bills (5-7)

Dec. 28 – JETS (5-7)

BRONCOS (7-5) (6-3 vs. AFC)

Sunday – CHIEFS (11-1)

Dec. 14 – BROWNS (4-8)

Dec. 21 – at Colts (9-3)

Dec. 28 – at Packers (7-5)

BENGALS (7-5) (6-4 vs. AFC)

Sunday – at Ravens (7-5)

Dec. 14 – 49ERS (5-7)

Dec. 21 – at Rams (9-3)

Dec. 28 – BROWNS (4-8)

RAVENS (7-5) (4-4 vs. AFC)

Sunday – BENGALS (7-5)

Dec. 14 – at Raiders (3-9)

Dec. 21 – at Browns (4-8)

Dec. 28 – STEELERS (4-8)

Note: If the Titans (9-3) and/or Texans (5-7) finish 9-7, the Jets would hold a tie-breaker edge by virtue of head-to-head victories over each.