NFL

Jets defeat unbeaten Colts; playoffs one win away

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s official now: The football gods are determined to deliver the Jets safely into the playoffs.

How else can you explain the unfathomable litany of events that have unfolded to leave the Jets with this unthinkably delicious scenario: Win and they’re in.”We feel like it’s got to be meant to be with all the breaks we’ve caught the last few weeks,” Jets safety Jim Leonhard said.

By virtue of yesterday’s bizarre 29-15 victory over the previously-undefeated Colts, a win over the Bengals Sunday in the final NFL game at Giants Stadium will give the Jets their first playoff berth since 2006.

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Give the Jets credit for defeating the Colts to catapult themselves so tantalizingly close to those elusive playoffs and, in the process, ending the Colts’ dream of going undefeated, as well as their NFL-record 23-game regular-season winning streak.

But consider the surreal subplots surrounding the event.

* Before the Jets trotted onto Lucas Oil Field to play the Colts, every scenario they needed to unfold for them to have control of their playoff destiny came to unimaginable fruition.

All of the dominoes were painted green — the Dolphins lost to the Texans, the Jaguars lost to the Patriots and the Ravens lost to the Steelers.

* The Colts, who entered the game with a 14-0 record and seemingly chasing history, replaced Peyton Manning with rookie backup Curtis Painter, who’d never played an NFL down, with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter while clinging to a 15-10 lead.

From there, the Jets would outscore the Colts 19-0 en route to victory and have now set up the win-and-they’re-in scenario.

“This is all we wanted, and now that we have it there couldn’t possibly be anything worse than not taking advantage of it next week,” Jets linebacker Calvin Pace said.

The Jets made no apologies for their win despite the Colts’ odd decision to pull Manning and his two top targets, receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark, from a close game.

“We can only compete against whoever’s on the field,” said Rex Ryan, who had kiddingly read a Santa wish list during the week calling for Manning and the other Colts stars not to play.

“It was a close game, 15-10, and I thought they wanted to take their guys out with a bigger lead, 30-10 or something out of reach because I thought they were trying to chase after history to be undefeated,” Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “Obviously, they didn’t do that.”

The move by Colts head coach Jim Caldwell infuriated Colts fans, who booed vociferously every time Painter came onto the field.

“We shocked the world, man,” Jets receiver Wallace Wright crowed. “They were 14-0 and now they’re 14-1.”

Here’s how they did it:

* The Jets’ defense held Manning to 15 points in the first 40 minutes of the game and were able to get more aggressive against Painter. Pace had a sack of Painter and a forced fumble that was recovered by Marques Douglas in the end zone that gave the Jets an 18-15 lead they would never relinquish.

* Brad Smith’s 106-yard kickoff return, the longest play in franchise history, ignited the Jets to start the second half, giving them a 10-9 lead.

* Once Manning and Co. were lifted, the Jets ran the ball 24 times and passed only six times. That led to 168 rushing yards in the second half. Thomas Jones rushed for 105 yards and a TD and Shonn Greene ran for 95 yards.

Manning was clearly irked to be pulled and forced to watch his team’s undefeated streak shattered, but he stopped short of criticizing the decision, saying, “Until any player in here is the head coach, as a player you follow orders and you follow them with your heart.”

The Jets completely dominated the game after Manning was pulled.

Now it’s all on the Jets. They no longer need help from anybody but themselves, setting the stage for yet another fascinating chapter in their roller-coaster history waiting to unfold on Sunday.

“To have an opportunity like this, we have to take advantage of it,” Leonhard said. “It’s all we can ask for. We’ve got a shot.”

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com