Last meeting: The Jets won at Indianapolis a little more than a month ago, after Colts coach Caldwell pulled his key players in the third quarter. Though Indy had a chance at an undefeated season, Caldwell decided to rest stars such as Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne for the impending playoff run.
Series record: Colts lead 40-26 in regular-season meetings, but the Jets have won the two postseason games.
About the Jets: Brash coach Rex Ryan was amazed (insulted?) that his team, at 50-1, was the longest longshot to win the Super Bowl at the beginning of these playoffs. New York's current odds are 7-1 ... The Jets are just the third fifth-seeded team to reach a conference final since 1997. The 2005 Panthers lost to Seattle and the 2007 Giants won the Super Bowl ... Veteran linebacker Bart Scott pulled Shonn Greene aside for a midseason pep talk after the rookie running back became discouraged by his lack of reps. "You're going to be fresh when our bodies are breaking down," Scott told him. "He's fresher [now] than the opponents on every play and he's tough to tackle" ... Greene has run for 135 and 128 yards, respectively, in the Jets' playoff wins at Cincinnati and at San Diego.
About the Colts: Manning's next step toward joining the all-time legendary quarterbacks is winning at least one more Super Bowl title. Manning is a relatively young 33 years old and coming off one of his best seasons. He would have set a career high for passing yards if he played regularly down the stretch ... The Colts have struggled all year to run the ball and had only 42 yards rushing last week against the Ravens. Primary running back Joseph Addai's season high is 79 yards ... Both defensive ends - Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis - are Pro Bowlers and Freeney has four sacks in four career games against the Jets.
