Somewhere there’s a smart gambler who’s gotten rich on the Jets this year. A pattern that has been unfolding all season became crystal clear in the Jets 26–13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings yesterday. The Jets are a mediocre team, but they’re a gutsy, resourceful one whose coach, Eric Mangini, always seems to find a way to pull the team back on track after a disaster. That’s what the Jets 13–31 loss to Buffalo last week was: A disaster, a total flop against an inferior team in front of the home crowd.

There was no reason to expect the Jets to go up to Minnesota and do anything but cave. The Vikings were playing for a possible wild card spot, and however inconsistent they had been throughout the season, were no worse than the Jets. (The Vikes went into the game underscoring their opponents by 10 points while the Jets had been outscored by their foes by 15 points.) New York started off poorly, allowing a first possession sack and a Pennington fumble to turn into a cheap touchdown for Minnesota, but that was it for the Vikings: The Jets scored the next 26 points and had the game put away by halftime. It was the fifth time this season the Jets lost a game and rebounded the following week with a victory. And the third time they have pulled that trick on the road.

Let’s bring this into focus. In those five losses, the Jets were outscored 43 to 126, including two shutouts. In the five games after those defeats, at precisely the times you would most have expected the Jets to be down and out, they have rebounded to outscore their opponents 117–75. If this team ever gets any real talent, it’s going to be terrifying.

The Vikings went into the game with the NFL’s best rushing defense, allowing a ridiculous 2.7 yards a run and just 54 yards a game. The Jets did no better than anyone else trying to move the ball on the ground against Minnesota, with Cedric Houston and Leon Washington combining for only 58 yards in 24 tries. It made no difference at all to the effectiveness of the Jets’ offense, because, like nearly all the clichés spouted by TV analysts, rushing in pro football is a secondary concern. Inexplicably after his horrendous performance against Buffalo, Chad Pennington had his best game of the season, 339 yards (200 of them to Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, his ace wideouts) on 39 passes, leading the Jets to 23 unanswered points before halftime, producing points on five consecutive possessions and showing the Vikings how little it mattered that he was unsupported by a running game.

The real unsung heroes of the Jets playoff chances are the starting defensive squad that since giving up 41 points against Jacksonville on October 8 has held eight of nine opponents to 24 points or less and six opponents to 17 or less. Every week it seems to be a different player who has an outstanding game; yesterday it was linebacker Victor Hobson, who had eight of the team’s 37 tackles and picked up a sack. If the Jets could pick up just one free agent superstar over the winter, the defense could be a monster next year.

New York, simply, had no right to be as good as they were against Minnesota, especially after having looked so bad so recently. Somehow, without a superstar, they are on the verge of gouging their way back into the wild card picture. If the Jets beat 6–8 Miami on Christmas night, they get what could be a terrific present: A chance to make the playoffs by beating the pathetic Raiders at the Meadowlands.

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According to the intricacies of the NFL’s Byzantine playoff system, the Giants, despite losing to the Eagles, 36–22 — their fifth loss over the last six games — still have a shot at the postseason. I can’t help but believe that Giants’ fans aren’t secretly hoping that their team doesn’t make it: They know in their heart of hearts that it is possible for the Giants to look even worse than they did in losing 23–0 Carolina in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Eli Manning, once again throwing off the wrong foot on nearly all of his passes from the pocket, wasn’t doing too badly until he was flushed away from his blockers and forced to roll to his left with 2:57 left in the game. Blitzing Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown made the play of the game for Philadelphia by tipping the ball at the point of release, and linebacker Trent Cole ran it in from 19 yards out, putting the game away for the Eagles. Despite Eli’s maddeningly awkward mechanics, his passing overall was the brightest aspect of the Giants game. Though he’s getting hammered right now on the Internet and talk radio shows, he was 28 of 40 on the day for 280 yards; the interception by Cole was really the result of poor blocking and made his performance seem a lot worse than it was.

What really lost this game for the Giants was a complete failure of the defense, time and again, to come up with a big play in key situations. Troy Aikman, who has developed into a surprisingly honest commentator, nailed it with four minutes left to play and the Giants leading 22–21. Jeff Garcia had driven the Eagles to a first down New York’s 19-yard line, after which Aikman offered this judgment: “If you were the New York Giants and you’re hoping to go to the playoffs, this is where you need your defense to step up and make a big play.” Bingo. On the next play, Reggie Brown whizzed right down the right side line past Sam Madison to grab the go-ahead touchdown.

Essentially, that was the game, and, realistically, the Giants season. I think the hungry New Orleans Saints are going to eat them alive on Christmas Eve, and even if they don’t, the Giants would find a way to lose the game just as they found away to lose this one.

Mr. Barra is the author of “The Last Coach: A Life of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant.”