Bart Scott couldn’t watch.
The Jets’ season was hanging in slow motion like one of those NFL Films clips with venerable narrator John Facenda’s baritone voice providing the deliberate description of the action.
“I had my eyes closed,’’ Scott said. “I was praying. I swear to God. That was our season.’’
Plaxico Burress saved that season with an acrobatic, one-handed, cherry-picked catch of Mark Sanchez’s third-and-11 pass just after the two-minute warning with the Jets trailing the Bills 24-21.
PHOTOS: JETS BEAT BILLS, 28-24
By the time Burress, who was double-covered on the play, tumbled to the turf with possession of the ball — and the Jets’ tenuous playoff hopes — it went for an 18-yard gain along the left sideline and gave the Jets a first down at the Buffalo 18-yard line.
If Burress had not come down with the catch, the Jets would have been faced with a desperate 54-yard field goal attempt to tie the game.
Instead, two plays after Burress’ catch, Sanchez connected with Santonio Holmes on a 16-yard touchdown with 1:01 remaining to secure the Jets’ scintillating 28-24 win at MetLife Stadium.
Holmes caught the game-winning TD, but Burress’s catch allowed the Jets to win the game, boosting their record to 6-5 and keeping their playoff chances intact with five regular-season games remaining.
“It saved our season,’’ linebacker Calvin Pace said of Burress’ catch. “Somebody had to make a play for us and he got the job done.’’
Cornerback Darrelle Revis was watching the play on the large end-zone video screen and said Burress looked like “Inspector Gadget’’ while stretching his 6-foot-5 frame to its utmost limit.
“It was crazy,’’ Revis said. “He’s already 6-5 and then he has those ‘Go-Go-Gadget’ arms. It was a crazy catch, one of the best catches I’ve seen.’’
The Bills were on a heavy blitz on the play and, Burress said, Sanchez “just looked at me and gave me the signal’’ before the snap.
“I didn’t think he was going to throw it, but he did,’’ Burress said.
Burress said he told the players in the huddle, “This drive defines our team, defines our offense,” at the start of that final series.
“I don’t know how many receivers in the league are going to make that catch; the way he went up, one-handed. … It was a ridiculous catch,’’ Rex Ryan said.
“I don’t know if words do it justice,’’ Sanchez said. “It was a big-time catch in a crucial situation and it gave us the chance to take the lead.’’
But, did it save the Jets’ season?
“We’ll see,” Sanchez said.