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Jets get free pass to playoffs

It's aggravating looking at the NFL playoff schedule and not seeing the Pittsburgh Steelers on it.

The team's defense of their Super Bowl championship ended without a trip to the postseason.

The Steelers got their ninth win Sunday, beating the Miami Dolphins 30-24, but they didn't get the help they needed to make a title run.

Now, they get to watch the New York Jets in the playoffs.

I have nothing against the Jets or their fans, but the Jets don't strike me as a playoff team.

It's not bitter energy falsely directed at the Jets because the Steelers didn't get the help they needed to get in.

In fact, a team that loses to the Browns, Chiefs and Raiders in the same season shouldn't be considered playoff material, either.

No, my beef is with the way the Jets "earned" their trip to the NFL's postseason tournament.

To set up their Week 17 showdown with the Bengals, the Jets beat the previously unbeaten Indianapolis Colts. The only problem was the Colts sat their starters, including Peyton Manning, practically gift-wrapping the win for New York.

On Sunday night, the Jets got another gift, the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals played like the Bungles. Actually, they were like the Bungles' junior varsity team.

Carson Palmer went 1-for-11 passing for zero yards. The team couldn't even break the century mark in yardage.

It was a mismatch. Advantage, Jets.

It didn't sit well with the Houston Texans, who needed a Bengals win to make the playoffs.

"I'm disappointed in the way Cincinnati played. I thought there were good odds they might be able to win it, but they left their game at home," Texans owner Bob McNair said.

Congratulation, Jets, you made it.

Now do something with it.
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