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CINCINNATI -- The New York Jets are no fluke.

Cincinnati Bengals fans tried to justify away what happened in the season finale as the result of circumstances. The Bengals didn't need to win that game. The Bengals rested their players. The Bengals didn't want to show any of their cards heading into the playoffs.

Now they can show their cards to their caddies and their cruise captains because the Jets sent them on vacation for the next few months.

The Jets might've gotten lucky by slipping into the playoffs with a lot of outside help, but they showed they belonged by eliminating the AFC North champs 24-14 in Paul Brown Stadium.

Six days after the Jets shredded the Bengals at the Meadowlands, they did it again in Cincinnati.

The Jets outplayed them at almost every position. Behind an offensive line that boasts three Pro Bowlers, a trio of players with a combined four seasons of NFL experience led the way.

Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was impressive. He threw only three incomplete passes on 15 attempts for 182 yards and one touchdown.

Rookie running back Shonn Greene ran 21 times for 135 yards and a touchdown.

On each of those scores, second-year tight end Dustin Keller played a significant role. He caught Sanchez's bootleg toss and rumbled 45 yards into the end zone with a few Bengals on his back. He made the pivotal block to spring Greene on his 39-yard run.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was the lesser USC quarterback. He was 18-36 for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Factor in the sacks, and the Bengals finished with 111 net passing yards.

But Chad Ochocinco did catch a pass. Two, actually, for 28 yards. I'm sure Darrelle Revis will get over it.

AFC: Ravens-Patriots: Graham | Walker » Jets-Bengals: Graham | Walker
NFC: Cowboys-Eagles: Mosley » Packers-Cardinals: Sando | Seifert

Three nuggets of knowledge about Saturday's Jets-Bengals wild-card playoff game:

Darrelle Revis will eliminate Chad Ochocinco again. When the Bengals have the ball, the game will be 10 on 10. Revis, the lockdown cornerback and defensive player of the year candidate, was on Ochozilcho like static cling Sunday night. When the Bengals were trying to win in the first half, quarterback Carson Palmer threw to his top receiver four times without success. Ochocinco finished the game without a reception for the first time since opening day 2002. Revis made it look effortless.

Mark Sanchez or Brad Smith needs to loosen up Cincinnati's defense early. Readers of this blog know my stance on what happens to the Jets' chances to win once Sanchez starts throwing downfield. But the Jets still need to give the Bengals something to fear other than the run. The best ways to do that will be to venture a couple deep shots while the game still is scoreless or to hit a big play with receiver Brad Smith taking the snaps out of the pistol formation.

The Jets aren't Super Bowl favorites, but they're not first on anybody's playoff opponent wish list. Las Vegas installed the Jets as 50-to-1 long shots. Jets coach Rex Ryan responded by declaring his team not only should be held in higher regard, but also should be the favorites because of their No. 1 rushing attack and No. 1 defense. While I don't agree with Ryan, I'm closer to taking his side than I am the oddsmakers in my former hometown. The Jets have a scary ability to neutralize, especially if the game is being played outdoors.

Saturday's playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals will be a grudge rematch for New York Jets linebacker David Harris.

The leading tackler of the NFL's top defense has a few reasons to return from a sprained right ankle and make his presence felt. Harris, who practiced Thursday for the first time since getting hurt, claimed the injury was caused by an illegal block.

Harris was hurt while trying to blitz in the second quarter. Bengals running back Brian Leonard dove at Harris' legs. Tight end Daniel Coats was lined up in the backfield and knocked Harris backward, causing his leg to roll under Leonard.

"I got high-lowed, which means I was being blocked and the fullback came in and chopped me real low," Harris said. "I thought it was an illegal hit. Obviously, they didn’t call a penalty on it. It put me out, but hopefully I'll be back Saturday."

Harris said the Jets sent a copy of the play to the league for review.

"It puts you in an awkward and dangerous position when you get high-lowed like that," Harris said. "I don't think it was a fair shot."

Harris also would like to meet (read: collide with) Bengals running back Cedric Benson as quickly as possible.

Benson, who was deactivated Sunday night, stated earlier this week he didn't know who Harris was when asked by a reporter how the Jets' defense would change if Harris couldn't play.

"I'm only the leading tackler on the No. 1 defense," Harris chuckled. "It's just hard to not know who I am.

"If I play, I’m sure I’ll introduce myself early in the game to him."

Scour the New York Jets' depth chart and you'll find Brad Smith tucked away as a backup receiver.

He's not easy to spot there. On the field, however, he could be anywhere.

As if the Cincinnati Bengals didn't have enough of a migraine, trying to pull off a 38-point swing in the six days between getting slobberknocked at the Meadowlands and Saturday's rematch with the Jets in the first round of the playoffs, they'll have to dedicate a nice chunk of their short week to solving a new problem.

Where will Smith be, and what will he do when we spot him?

In a must-win game for the Jets on Sunday night, Smith shocked the Bengals. He lined up at quarterback, his position at the University of Missouri, and took off like a whippet -- four times for a career-high 92 yards and a touchdown.

Smith darted 57 yards out of the shotgun to set up a 1-yard Thomas Jones touchdown run on the opening drive and kept an option around the right end for a 32-yard touchdown in the second quarter. A week earlier, he returned a kickoff 106 yards to help the Jets beat the Indianapolis Colts and remain alive for the postseason.

When the Jets couldn't have been more desperate for victories, Smith might have been the MVP each game.

"He can run. He can throw. He can catch. He plays special teams. He can tackle," Jones said. "He is, to me, one of the best all-purpose guys in the league. I think he's very underrated.

"With a guy like Brad Smith in the game, it keeps the defense off balance. They're not sure of what he is going to do."

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Three things to know about Saturday's Jets at Bengals wild-card playoff game:

1. The Jets can't afford to feel like they've arrived. Now that the Jets have qualified for the playoffs, they need to understand their season hasn't been made. I recall the scene in the visiting locker room at the Meadowlands a year ago, when the Dolphins won the AFC East title on the final day. The Dolphins carried on as though the mission had been accomplished and glowed with those championship ball caps atop their heads. Then they got destroyed a week later by the wild-card Ravens. The Jets need to remember that making the playoffs doesn't prove much. They must maintain their edge if they want to reach the second round.

2. The Jets must keep Mark Sanchez on the periphery. Head coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have regulated their rookie quarterback by limiting his number and types of his throws (i.e. the chance for giveaways). In each of Sanchez's past five victories, his number of attempts has been in the teens and his yardage never topped 153. On Sunday night, he completed 8 of 16 attempts for 63 yards. If the Jets' dominant run game can boost the offense to the point Sanchez doesn't have to throw downfield, then they'll have a great chance.

3. What transpired Sunday night should resonate in Cincy. The Jets shouldn't assume the Bengals will be apprehensive about the rematch, but over the next six days the AFC North champs are going to have to come up with ways to pull off a 38-point swing. Even if we consider only the time Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was in the game and throwing to Chad Ochocinco and apparently trying to win the game before halftime, the Bengals will need to get 27 points better. That sounds like an awful lot.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The hecklers already can be heard openly mocking the absurdity of it all.

The New York Jets are in the playoffs?

That's right. They backed in.

But had the Jets not qualified for the postseason, ridicule would've been louder. The team with the NFL's best defense and top rushing offense should be a lock for the playoffs, and anything less would warrant gobs of negative criticism.

So it can't be both.

Either the Jets deserved to get into the playoffs, or they didn't.

The Jets need to make no apologies for what they've accomplished.

Happenstance, destiny, whatever you want to label it, they pulled it off Sunday night with a resounding 37-0 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at the Meadowlands.

The Jets (9-7), with a bombastic rookie head coach and a capricious rookie quarterback, made the bracket. They'll face the host Bengals again, this time at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Paul Brown Stadium.

"When you look at the body of work, you see that we can do some special things," Jets fullback Tony Richardson said. "Most teams that do have the No. 1 defense and the No. 1 rushing attack and play great on special teams generally do make the playoffs.

"No matter how we got in, and people might always want to put an asterisk by it, we just have to get ready to work next week."

And that's the real punch line. The Jets will convene this week not to clean out their lockers like 20 other NFL teams will, but to get ready for another game.

It took an outrageous sequence of fortuitous events for the Jets to get in. AccuScore pegged the Jets' chances of breaking into the playoffs at 11.6 percent entering their Week 16 game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. But the Jets took a third-quarter lead in Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Colts pulled Peyton Manning.

Voila, a Jets victory.

But that wasn't nearly enough to swing the door so wide open that all the Jets needed to do in their regular-season finale was beat an opponent that already had clinched the AFC North and could rest its players.

Also in Week 16, the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars all lost. Everything that could have gone right for the Jets most improbably did.

"We definitely got some good breaks," Jets kicker Jay Feely said. "Unfortunately, we had some breaks go against us earlier in the season, or else we could've been in a much better situation.

"But this is a team that has a lot of character. We never lost faith in ourselves. This locker room was never -- in any way -- fractured at all. That's one of the reasons we were able to stay together when we lost critical games."

Feely would know. The Jets seemed to have bottomed out with a heartbreaking Week 15 home defeat to the Atlanta Falcons. The field-goal unit butchered three field goal attempts and the defense gave up a last-second fourth-and-goal touchdown to lose 10-7.

After the game, Jets coach Rex Ryan suffered a bout of premature elimination, declaring his team mathematically out from the playoff race.

"So when you get a couple breaks, you've got to be thankful for them," Feely said. "Now that we're in the playoffs, I think we’ve got as good of a chance as anybody to go all the way."

Teams don't have to be elite to get into the playoffs. The Arizona Cardinals were dismissed as undeserving a year ago, when they won the NFC West at 9-7. Then they went to the Super Bowl and came darn close to winning the whole thing.

"To get to the Super Bowl, it's all about hitting your stride at the right time," said outside linebacker Calvin Pace, who signed with the Jets last year after five seasons with the Cardinals. "Now, whether or not we're doing that, I don't know. We're playing well. But it's about finishing the season well in December.

"If you can get some momentum, man, anything can happen. ... If we can continue to stick to our formula, the sky's the limit."

Without star nose tackle Kris Jenkins, the Jets' defense finished atop the league in several categories. They allowed only 252.3 yards a game, 32.1 yards fewer than the next stingiest team. They gave up an average of 15.5 first downs a game and a league-low 163.9 passing yards a game. The Bengals had zero net passing yards Sunday night.

The Dallas Cowboys edged out the Jets in average scoring defense by one-tenth of a point.

The Jets' run game has been relentless behind Thomas Jones. The Jets amassed 257 rushing yards on the Bengals, giving them an average of 172.3 for the season.

The lone variable to the Jets' yo-yoing success has been greenhorn quarterback Mark Sanchez.

The Jets have figured out a way to marginalize him within their run-dominated offense. Sanchez completed 8 of 16 attempts for 63 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions Sunday night. In the second half, he had one pass for 9 yards.

Still, the Jets rolled up 37 points. The Bengals (10-6) scratched running back Cedric Benson and pulled several key players for the second half, but that final score will give the Bengals something to think about for the rematch.

"I think it's very tough to regroup after you got physically manhandled like that," Feely said. "When you have three plays in the first quarter and a half and we physically dominated them, it's very hard to regroup.

"They're a good team, and they've done a great job all year of overcoming adversity through all the tough times that they've had, so I'm sure they'll regroup and it'll be a great game. But we definitely sent a message."

The Jets validated themselves, not just Sunday night, but throughout the season.

They'll be the only team in the postseason with a rookie quarterback, but the fact they were able to overcome that liability shows they're an opponent to be reckoned with.

"All that matters is that we are in the postseason," right tackle Damien Woody said. "You earn everything you get in this league. Nothing is given to you."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Sure, the New York Jets got a few breaks along the way.

But when it mattered most, they showed up large.

The Jets, with the postseason on the line in the final game at Giants Stadium, dusted the Cincinnati Bengals 37-0 on Sunday night.

The clubs will meet again in Cincinnati in six days, and the Jets gave them plenty to think about -- even though the Bengals scratched running back Cedric Benson and benched many of their best players in the second half.

Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was removed from the equation. He was limited to quick passes when necessary and finished 8-of-16 for 63 yards and zero touchdowns. But the most important stat for the rookie was zero turnovers.

Sanchez was credited with a touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery in the second quarter, but that was changed to a run instead.

The Jets had more than three times the rushing yards as the Bengals. Thomas Jones ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns, but receiver Brad Smith did the most damage on the ground. Smith ran four times for 92 yards and a touchdown on direct-snap plays.

Sunday night was the second shutout for the NFL's top-rated defense. The Jets held the Bengals to 72 rushing yards and zero passing yards. Not a typo there. Zero passing yards.

The NFL has announced the dates and kickoff times for next weekend's wild-card round.

Unless the Cincinnati Bengals outscore the New York Jets by 31 points over the final 13 minutes of Sunday night's game, they will hold a rematch in Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens at 1 p.m. Sunday.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Chad Johnson is out of the game.

You got it. Chad Johnson. Not Chad Ochocinco. Not anymore.

Ochocinco declared before the game he would change his name back to Chad Johnson if New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis shut him out Sunday night.

In the press box at Giants Stadium, it was announced Ochocinco has been removed from the game with a left knee injury and will not return.

If that's a fact, then a get out the name-changing documents.

Carson Palmer targeted his top receiver four times, but they couldn't connect.

Johnson, it is.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Cincinnati Bengals are doing a wonderful job of resting their offensive starters.

The New York Jets have put together a domineering performance so far in Sunday night's must-win game. The Jets are well on their way to closing out Giants Stadium with a victory and clinching a wild-card berth, leading the Bengals 27-0 at halftime.

You'd barely be able to tell by looking at the box score, but Bengals coach Marvin Lewis supposedly did intend to win. The Bengals could have seized the AFC's No. 3 seed, but the stats of their offensive players are barely better than had they not put on a uniform.

But the Jets kept the ball for 24:50 in the first half, leaving the Bengals with 5:10. The Bengals managed one first down, and that was from a Jets penalty.

The Jets, meanwhile, were juggernauts. They've outgained the Bengals 250-7. Stop and stare at that number for a few seconds. That's just not right, people.

Jets receiver Brad Smith has rushed three times for 91 yards and a touchdown out of direct-snap formations.

What's been most impressive is that the Jets receivers are catching the ball. The same can't be said for Carson Palmer. He has a solitary completion on 11 tries, zero yards and one interception.

Bengals fans better hope it's not cold next week because Palmer's receivers haven't been able to hang onto it.

Chad Ochocino, who was talking big all week about his matchup with Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, has zero receptions even though Palmer has gone to him several times. Ochocinco said before the game he would revert to Chad Johnson if Revis shut him out.

"If Revis shuts me down, I will change my name back to Johnson," Ochocinco said. "That’s how confident I am. It’s not happening."

Oh, it's happening.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With the second quarter a mere 91 seconds old at the Meadowlands, here are a few facts to consider about the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets.

The Jets have kept the ball for 15:25.

The Bengals have run three offensive plays, elapsing 66 seconds.

The Jets are outgaining the Bengals, 141 yards to 1.

The Jets converted their first seven third downs before failing the first time.

The Jets are winning, 10-0.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- One of the New York Jets' keys to beating the Cincinnati Bengals is to keep the ball out of Mark Sanchez's hands as much as possible.

The more the rookie from Southern California has to throw in a single-digit wind chill, the more trouble the Jets will be in. And the safest way for the Jets to do steer clear of that situation is to play from ahead.

On Sunday night's opening drive, the Jets took a lead thanks to a play that not only kept Sanchez from throwing it, but also touching it.

Receiver and former college quarterback Brad Smith too a direct snap, made a couple cuts and dashed 57 yards to the Bengals' 1-yard line.

A play later, Thomas Jones plowed into the end zone to cap a seven-play, 72-yard possession.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Cincinnati Bengals are going to rest at least one key starter Sunday night against the New York Jets.

The Bengals have scratched running back Cedric Benson and named rookie Bernard Scott the starter. The Bengals also have Larry Johnson. Benson rushed for 1,251 yards and six touchdowns this year and is a candidate for NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Cincinnati Bengals

• Quarterback JORDAN Palmer (third QB). I repeat, Jordan Palmer
• Running back Cedric Benson
• Fullback Fui Vakapuna
• Tight end J.P. Foschi
• Center Jonathan Luigs
• Defensive end Robert Geathers
• Defensive tackle Domata Peko
• Safety Chris Crocker

New York Jets

• Quarterback Erik Ainge (third QB)
• Quarterback Kevin O'Connell
• Running back Chauncey Washington
• Receiver David Clowney
• Guard Matt Slauson
• Linebacker Kenwin Cummings
• Linebacker Marques Murrell
• Cornerback Donald Strickland

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A tad brisk here at the Meadowlands.

About 80 minutes before kickoff for the regular-season finale between the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets, and the temperature already is below 20 degrees, with a wind chill in the low single digits.

No snow in the forecast, but I imagine some nasal hairs will be frozen for the final game in Giants Stadium.

They don't get any bigger than this one in the regular season. If the Jets win, they make the playoffs. If they lose, they get to pack up their lockers Monday and take their family to the beach.

Still no sign as to what the Bengals will do in regard to resting their starters. The New England Patriots lost earlier, giving the game a little more meaning for the Bengals, who would become the No. 3 seed with a victory over the Jets.

We still don't know how much the New England Patriots will rest their best players Sunday against the Houston Texans.

But they are going to sit a few of them. Among the players Bill Belichick has deactivated are running backs Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney and defensive linemen Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren.

I will be watching this game and the other two 1 p.m. AFC East kickoffs from my command central on the 10th floor of the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott before heading over the Meadowlands for the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets.

ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss is on the scene in Houston to share his observations throughout the day.