ONE OF the major topics for today’s title games has been the seemingly extra-large spreads lavished on the Falcons and Jets.

But in the history of these conference championship games, the spreads have meant next to nothing. In 28 seasons since the merger – 56 games – the favorite has won the game but not covered only three times. The underdog has won 15 title games outright. So the bottom line is, if you like the Broncos and Vikings, lay the wood. If you like the underdogs to win, then go for that. It’s the middle ground that’s cost people money.

Of the 15 underdogs to win trips to the Super Bowl, the longest shot was the Chargers, who were getting 9 from the Steelers when linebacker Dennis Gibson batted down Neil O’Donnell’s pass in the end zone to eliminate the Steelers in January 1995. The second-longest shot was the Giants, who went into Candlestick Park in January 1991 as eight-point dogs to the threepeat-seeking Niners. Five Matt Bahr field goals later, Bill Parcells was on his way to Tampa. *

OF THE four remaining teams, the Jets are the only one whose spread record is as good as its overall mark. The Jets are 13-4 in both categories. The Broncos are 15-2 outright but 10-7 against the number. The Falcons are 15-2/11-5-1 and the Vikings are 16-1/12-4-1.

Including the last six games of the 1997 season, the Falcons are 20-3 with a spread mark of 15-6-2.

But even better than that is the Jets’ success as underdogs in the Parcells Regime. They are 12-1 against the spread when getting points, including 6-0 this season. And among those six, five were outright wins, the only loss coming in the opener in San Francisco. *TITLE game spread records: Jets 0-1, Parcells 3-0; Broncos 6-0, Mike Shanahan 1-0; Falcons 0-0, Dan Reeves 3-0; Vikings 2-2-1, Dennis Green 0-0.