EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Revenge is sweet, particularly when it brings you a playoff berth and a division title.

The Seattle Seahawks can get all three Sunday if they beat the New York Jets. Seattle (9-6) wins the AFC West with a victory, regardless of what Kansas City does at home against Oakland. The Seahawks would be making their first trip to the playoffs since 1988, ending the longest draught in the NFL.

And, perhaps just as fulfilling, they can avenge one of the most egregious calls made by NFL officials last season _ a blown call at the goal line in the dying seconds that awarded Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde a game-winning touchdown. New York won 32-31 at Giants Stadium on Dec. 6, 1998, severely damaging Seattle's postseason chances.

"It wasn't a touchdown," linebacker Darrin Smith said. "I remember that the most. It drove me crazy because we saw our playoff hopes go down the drain. We realistically had a chance. It was very disappointing for us. And the fact that he was so far away from the end zone really hurt.

"Everybody on the field saw it and we were happy and jumping up and down, because we stopped him. And you saw the referee throw his hands up and I'm like, 'You've got to be joking.' It wasn't close."

Replays showed Smith was correct, but there was no instant replay in use to help officials back then. The blown call went a long way toward its reinstitution by the league for this season, particularly after NFL officiating director Jerry Seeman told the Seahawks the call was incorrect.

"I remember a touchdown," Jets center Kevin Mawae, a former Seahawk, said with a wide smile. "That's all that matters. Everything besides that doesn't matter."

Mawae ran into Seahawks quarterback Jon Kitna during the offseason and took some ribbing about the touchdown.

"Kitna told me I owed him some playoff money," Mawae said. "Those guys know they missed an opportunity, and the league felt they had to do something about it, and now we have instant replay -- and that doesn't work, either."

When this game was set in the schedule last spring, it was projected as a key step in the Jets' Super Bowl run. Coming off a 12-4 season and a trip to the AFC title game, they were an AFC favorite.

But injuries, particularly Testaverde going down in the season opener with a torn Achilles' tendon, wrecked their year. The Jets are 7-8, but they've won six of the last eight and are one of the league's hottest teams.

The Seahawks are not. They had command of the division with an 8-2 mark, then slumped badly. A 23-14 victory over the Chiefs got them on track, but Sunday's game still is critical.

"I way prefer it this way," guard Brian Habib said. "I think teams sometimes tend to lose their edge when they clinch maybe two weeks before the season ends and then have a week off afterward."

While the Seahawks know they can't be concentrating entirely on making up for last year, they can get some motivation from such a poor call. Not as much as the prospect of getting into the Super Bowl chase, but some.

"That hurt pretty bad last year,' safety Darryl Williams said. "I think we have to look at it the same way this week as last week. This is another playoff week, basically. We can't lose any games right now. If we lose again, we're out."

SEATTLE Season schedule and results

NY JETS Season schedule and results

September 12 Detroit L 20-28 September 19 @Chicago W 14-13 September 26 @Pittsburgh W 29-10 October 3 Oakland W 22-21 October 17 @San Diego L 10-13 October 24 Buffalo W 26-16 November 1 @Green Bay W 27-7 November 7 Cincinnati W 37-20 November 14 Denver W 20-17 November 21 @Kansas City W 31-19 November 28 Tampa Bay L 3-16 December 5 @Oakland L 21-30 December 12 San Diego L 16-19 December 19 @Denver L 30-36 December 26 Kansas City W 23-14 January 2 @NY Jets 1:00pm ET

September 12 New England L 28-30 September 19 @Buffalo L 3-17 September 26 Washington L 20-27 October 3 @Denver W 21-13 October 11 Jacksonville L 6-16 October 17 Indianapolis L 13-16 October 24 @Oakland L 23-24 November 7 Arizona W 12-7 November 15 @New England W 24-17 November 21 Buffalo W 17-7 November 28 @Indianapolis L 6-13 December 5 @NY Giants L 28-41 December 12 Miami W 28-20 December 19 @Dallas W 22-21 December 27 @Miami W 38-31 January 2 Seattle 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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