The New York Jets had everyone in doubt.

After their time in the spotlight on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” everyone thought the Jets were the team to beat in the NFL. But as great television shows do, they convince you to believe just about anything. And as the season wore on, most of us began to question the Jets place amongst the NFL’s elite. Mark Sanchez didn’t look like an elite quarterback, the defense was solid, but not great and Shaun Greene wasn’t the monster tailback we thought he would be. A 45-3 thrashing at the hands of the New England Patriots on December 6th made the J-E-T-S look pedestrian against the NFL’s top teams. So it was no surprise that when they walked into New England’s home, nobody—except the Jets—were confident New York’s other team could take down the rolling Pats.

Boy, did they prove us wrong.

After a week of jaw jacking, the Jets proved they are everything we thought they should have been as they did just what everyone expected of them before the season started. Mark Sanchez matured, the defense made the superhuman Tom Brady look like a mere mortal and the Jets upended the Pats en route to a 28-21 victory. They did everything right as they topped the #1 seeded team.

But can they do it again?

Next week, the Jets have to deal with those rowdy Steelers. It’s certainly no gimme game as the Jets are certain to have their hands full. And should they get past the Steelers, they will be facing either the red hot Packers or the dominant defense of the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl.

It’s no cakewalk for Rex Ryan and his Jets, but perhaps they’ve made us into believers again as they looked marvelous against the Patriots. The victory against the #1 seed makes them one with which to contest. Yes, the Steelers bucked the Ravens in an exceptional performance on Saturday, but many NFL fans may be rooting for the Jets come next week when the two teams throwdown.

It’s hard to go against a team who had the whole world watching before the season started. It was Super Bowl or bust at the beginning of the season—can they pull it off?

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