NFL

Holmes claims he was ‘scapegoat’ for Jets’ loss in finale

CORTLAND — Seven months later, Santonio Holmes still isn’t happy about being benched in last season’s finale in Miami.

The mercurial wide receiver thinks he was a “scapegoat” for the Jets’ failure to win the game and make the playoffs. He finished the game without a catch and on the bench.

“It was the end, it was the playoffs on the line and your best receiver doesn’t get but two passes thrown his way in 60 minutes of football,” Holmes said on ESPN 98.7 FM after yesterday’s practice. “That’s just hard to understand and cope with when you want everything just as bad as everybody else does and it just doesn’t even happen.

“Nobody has the answers for it … but the scapegoat is the answer. And that’s what happened.”

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Holmes also attempted to explain how the media, who he said recently needs to “support the team,” divided the locker room last season.

“When I got traded here to New York … I wanted the same thing that I had in Pittsburgh from this team,” Holmes said. “I didn’t mean to overly aggressively go and attack … the guys [who are respected here]. But what we had in Pittsburgh was a net family, guys who stuck together, who believed in one other. No matter what was said in the media, it never affected nobody in our locker room, no matter who said what.

“But coming here, and now understanding how the New York media works, and the players in the locker room not believing or understanding that it can only drive these guys to be successful or it can break you. And we were caught in the crossfire.”

After Holmes and Mark Sanchez ended the season at odds in last year’s loss in Miami, the two looked very good together during yesterday’s practice, when they hooked up on several completions. Holmes talked about how he and Sanchez improved their relationship during the offseason.

“Just looking each other in the eye and trusting the plan that’s in front of us,” he said. “We both signed extensions to be here with New York for the next five plus years, and we’re both excited.’’

He also seems to have plenty of faith in new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano. Holmes went out of his way to praise Sparano on several occasions during the interview, and also seemed to take a few shots at his predecessor, Brian Schottenheimer, in the process.

“He’s more of a coach,” Holmes said of Sparano. “He knows how to coach the team as opposed to being an offensive coordinator. I think coaching each one of those positions up to being the best guys that we can provide for this team is what we needed and what we didn’t have last year.”

tbontemps@nypost.com