The opening minutes of the Jets' playoff run were the stuff of nightmares, and the special-teams unit was largely responsible.

A few minutes after the Jets learned that punter Steve Weatherford would miss the wild-card game against Cincinnati, Bengals rookie Bernard Scott returned the opening kickoff 56 yards.

Somehow, though, that was the end of the misery. Placekicker Jay Feely's punting got them through the Bengals win, and Mike Westhoff's group has been dominant since, keeping the ball away from dynamic Chargers return man Darren Sproles and keeping their two opponents penned in deep, which has allowed for big plays on offense with a short field and on defense.

"In the Chargers game, Weatherford punts and we pin them down at the 4," said James Ihedigbo, who forced a fumble on a kickoff in the fourth quarter last Sunday. "They're trying to force something, [Jim] Leonhard gets the pick, we score a touchdown. [If] we don't do our jobs, the defense can't do what they've been doing. That's how we look at it."

This deep into the postseason, every play is magnified. And it's not just Weatherford or Feely but the relatively anonymous gunners and kick-coverage guys such as Ihedigbo, Wallace Wright, Marquice Cole and Eric Smith, who have allowed only 27 total punt-return yards and an average of 22.2 kick-return yards in the two playoff games.

The punt coverage has been outstanding, especially considering that Feely had to punt in Cincinnati. Only four of the Jets' 15 punts have been returned.

"Mike's whole thing lately has been, 'Let's take the returner out of it and let our defense win games for us,' " said Weatherford, who is feeling fine after missing the Bengals game with a rapid heartbeat and punting eight times in San Diego. "Sproles is a scary dude, and he didn't do anything against us. The whole operation has been smooth - [long-snapper James] Dearth's snaps have been great, I've been punting well, the coverage has been awesome. We've been letting the defense do what it can do."

That wasn't the case for the entire season, of course. Ted Ginn Jr. had 100- and 101-yard kick returns for touchdowns in the third quarter of Miami's 30-25 win at Giants Stadium on Nov. 1, shining the light on the Jets' special-teams group - which is never a good thing. "I'd never seen anything like that," Wright said.

On Sunday in Indianapolis, the Colts won't present a challenge like Sproles - Feely quick-kicked one of his kickoffs and kicked away from Sproles the other three times to minimize his impact - but Chad Simpson did take one kickoff back for a touchdown this season.

So, too, did Brad Smith, and he did it against the Colts in the Week 16 game that saved the Jets' season. And no substitutes were in for the Colts on coverage then.

The Jets also have benefited from the mistakes of their opponents' special teams. Opposing kickers Shayne Graham and Nate Kaeding have gone 0-for-5 on field-goal attempts.

"It's crazy, right?" said Bryan Thomas, who plays on the defensive line for field-goal attempts. "It'd be nice if they keep that up."

That's out of the Jets' control. What's been in their control is how they've kept a long field for playoff opponents on punts and kicks, and no one's been doing it better.

"Our thing is, when we're out there, we go, '1-2-3 playmakers!' " Ihedigbo said. "There's another saying: Pressure busts pipes. We've been putting pressure on other guys, trying to make a play, something to set our offense or defense up. That's how we have to be."

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