After beating the wounded Colts, can the Jets press their bet and win this coming Sunday against a Patriots team has a better quarterback, is better coach, is rested and almost never loses at home?

The answer probably lies somewhere in the netherworld between what-are-you-smoking? and maybe. The Jets will be pinning their hopes on the combination of good defense and bravado, although the D wasn’t much in evidence last month when the team met in the regular season, and the 45-3 beatdown forced the Jets to dial down the trash talk a bit.

The Jets can take comfort in the fact that they have played New England to a 2-2 draw in games this season and last, but location matters -- NY’s two wins came at the Meadowlands, while in games in New England, the Patriots have shown little mercy. Last year New England picked off Mark Sanchez four times in a 31-14 thumping.

New York’s chances also could be intertwined with the weather. Sanchez is a warm-weather California kid, while the Patriots are nearly invincible when the temperatures plummet and the snow is falling in Foxboro. But even if Sanchez doesn’t freak out, the Jets defense will still have to deal with a Patriots offense that rarely turns over the ball and a future Hall of Fame quarterback who has 36 TDs passes and only four interceptions this season.

IN PITTSBURGH, the Ravens and Steelers play what is in essence the tie-breaker after battling through two field goal games this season. Baltimore’s easy victory over Kansas City helped blunt one of Pittsburgh’s biggest advantages -- sitting last week courtesy of winning the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

Neither team was able to gain much separation in the two games played this season, but Baltimore has shown over the years -- and in Pittsburgh earlier this year -- that they know how to win on the road in the playoffs. But Pittsburgh will not make the mistakes that Kansas City did, and the Steeler defense gave up fewer points than any team in the league this season.