NFL

NO RAIN MAN: BRETT LOOKS ALL WET

WE are led to believe that it rained all night on both quarterbacks and both teams, but the Subway Super Bowl talk derailed in a hurry yesterday because the old gunslinger showed up as Wett Favre, and virtually all of his teammates resembled the Same Old Wets.

Wett Favre and the Wets couldn’t handle prosperity, and they sure couldn’t handle the young gunslinger, Jay Cutler. They were outcoached and outplayed, the quarterback missing passes and the defense missing tackles all over the place. Bring on the Giants? Uh, no. Not today.

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Thomas Jones (16-138 rushing, 2 TDs, 2-21 receiving) tried to carry the Wets, but there were times when both Favre and Eric Mangini failed to offer enough help. Favre’s quarterback rating at the half was 39.1, which he improved to 60.9, but he threw a momentum-changing interception and could not make the big throw when his team needed it most.

Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had Favre throw unsuccessfully on back-to-back third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 plays from the Denver 46 early in the third quarter rather than have Jones gash that marshmallow run defense. Favre, class act that he is, loyal soldier that he is, refused to second-guess them.

But when Broncos 34, Jets 17 ended, oh how Favre yearned for winter in Green Bay.

“I’d rather play in snow,” Favre said. “I’ve played in colder. It was just windy enough, and it was a steady rain the whole night. There were numerous passes that I felt like I easily would have made, or made it a much more accurate pass, but the conditions got the better of me, I think, tonight.”

They didn’t get the better of Cutler (27-43, 357 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who completed 13 passes for a ridiculous 149 yards to his tight ends, Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham.

“It was tough conditions,” Favre said. “Be easy to write off our lack of production for the conditions, but that won’t look too good, considering they did produce. He was the better man tonight.”

Conspiracy theorists suspecting foul play from Broncos defenders falling like injured flies to slow/disrupt Favre’s no huddle/shotgun were silent when the old gunslinger, down 17-14, took a shot downfield for Laveranues Coles (two catches, two yards). From high in the press box, you could hear that overthrown duck quacking, and Dre Bly intercepted. It wasn’t long before it was 24-14.

“It was a double go,” Favre said. “We had Dustin [Keller] on the outside to the right, hopin’ maybe to get a mismatch with Dustin outside. They actually played zone, one of the few times that they played zone in that down and distance. And so, playin’ zone, I knew the corner would be far off of Dustin. I was looking off the safety the whole time. Up to that play, he’d been leaning a lot towards LC’s side, and just looked him off and just took a shot, tried to give LC a jumpable, catchable ball.”

Mangini – disgusted that the Wets hadn’t practiced well enough and therefore regressed – defended the third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 strategy.

“I felt good about those plays,” he said.

He shouldn’t feel too good about Brad Smith taking the shotgun snap and attempting a pitch to Jerricho Cotchery, who bobbled it, and covered it with his body – until Wesley Woodyard popped it loose so that Vernon Fox could pick it up and score the 23-yard touchdown that made it 7-0.

Referring to the Broncos, Mangini said: “It didn’t feel like it affected their ballhandling.”

It nevertheless makes no sense tempting the fates. The bigger crime is having his team show up all wet after those “defining victories” in Foxborough and Nashville.

“I don’t think we coached very well,” Mangini said.

Favre didn’t think success had spoiled the Jets.

“I think it’s a wakeup call,” Favre said.

He made one last attempt to bring his team back, with a honey of a deep ball down the right sidelines for Cotchery, fourth-and-3 from the Denver 39 with 12 minutes left, but Cotchery let it slip through his hands on his way down. Favre held his helmet in his hands.

“I think we were first going into this game, I think we’re still first,” Favre said.

Bring on the 49ers!

steve.serby@nypost.com