The AFC's leading passer in 1998, when he turned around his career, Testaverde's 13th NFL season ended abruptly in Sunday's opener against New England.

	Vinny Testaverde remains upbeat despite his season-ending injury.

He ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second quarter, and the sight of him pounding the artificial turf at Giants Stadium silenced the sellout crowd.

The sight of Testaverde, considered invincible by many teammates, being carted off was a shock to his teammates and their Super Bowl aspirations.

"I was never in pain until I reached the locker room," Testaverde said Monday as he sat on a podium with his left leg bandaged almost up to the knee following surgery. "It was knowing that my season was over, and it was just frustrating for me.

"I will stay positive about it and continue to support my teammates and try to fulfill our expectations and goals for this team."

That means working with Rick Mirer, who joined the team three weeks ago. It means encouraging Mirer, an underachiever just as Testaverde was before joining the Jets.

"I will try and help Rick as much as possible, talk to him about my situation last year and what it was like and how to go about it," said Testaverde, 12-1 as a starter in replacing ineffective Glenn Foley in 1998, when the Jets went to the conference title game.

"I think there is a lot of good tips Rick can take from me and what I experienced last year. I think that will be beneficial for our team."

But not having Testaverde on the field can't be of benefit -- unless Mirer stages a similar turnaround. Testaverde became a leader on the field and in the locker room, as well as an inspiration because of his perseverance.

"We have a lot of faith in Rick," said Keyshawn Johnson, who had a spectacular day catching passes from Testaverde, Mirer and Tom Tupa, making eight receptions for 194 yards and a touchdown in the 30-28 loss. "It's similar to the situation with Vinny last year. You have to continue to look at the whole situation.

"At first, you say, 'Oh God, it's Vinny.' But then you have to let it go; it comes with the territory."

On Sunday, in addition to Testaverde, the Jets lost running back-kick returner Leon Johnson for the year with torn knee ligaments. Johnson will have surgery after the swelling in his knee goes down, in about 2 to 3 weeks. He was placed on the injured list Monday, along with Testaverde. Jason Ferguson has knee and ankle injuries, and the starting nose tackle is listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Buffalo. Tight end Eric Green is also listed as questionable with a pinched nerve in his back.

"You are certainly disappointed, but you just have to move forward and try to do what you can do," said Parcells, whose players missed a total of 29 man games last year; already the Jets have far surpassed that number. "Right now this is a pretty difficult set of circumstances for us.

"I don't know if anybody is in this boat yet, but in the last eight days we potentially lost four starters and, in Leon, a guy who is highly productive offensively. We have lost quite a bit of firepower there."

Testaverde visited with his teammates Monday and delivered a message:

"What I am telling them is I am playing through them."

They'd much prefer he be playing with them.