From the very outset of the game the mind-set of the opposing players on the field was as different as "shirts" and "skins."

In the case of the New York Jets, led across the white-lined grid this season by "Vinny from Elmont," it was as if they'd overheard Coach Bill Parcells mid-week interview, when he talked of certain teams reaching a "turning point" where their individual members begin to believe, en masse, "Hey, we can do this."

Over on the other sideline, on the other hand, last Sunday night, stood Dan Marino, the Miami Dolphin's quarterback, who entered the game with the media serving as his own, personal amen corner.

If one were to believe the announcers on ESPN, which broadcast the game, Marino, "the future Hall-of Famer," would surely "find a way to pull out a victory."

What they neglected to recognize was the marked difference between the two quarterbacks involved in the contest. Where Vinny Testaverde, the Sewanhaka High School graduate, remained relatively cool despite the 70-plus degree south Florida night and a wild fourth quarter, Marino appeared to lose his composure from the very first failed Dolphin pass play in the first quarter.

Until the Jets walked out of Pro Player Stadium Sunday night, their 21-16 victory and a play-off berth secured, the Dolphins had been 6-0 at home this year.

Rattled by the gutsy play of the Jets, both offensively and defensively, Marino repeatedly made mistakes.

"It's not whether you win or lose," it's said on every playground in America.

"It's how... " Well, you know the rest.

And in that respect, this game, the biggest of the year to date for the New York Jets, was an object lesson about the nature of success and the pursuit of that success.

In winning a game defined by a series of wild, fourth quarter turnovers --the kind of events that test not just a player's mettle, but his stamina and temper as well -- the Jets players made that hard to define leap from winners to role models.

Last week at Jets camp, just days before boarding their chartered jet for Miami, a number of the team's players weighed that mantle.

"Obviously, being a role model is not what you're thinking about when you are on the field," said tight end Fred Baxter before Wednesday's practice.

"I mean, we have other things to think about during a game," he smiled.

"That said, though, as a player, I think you are conscious, at certain times, that the way you conduct yourself and go about your business can have an effect on the people who watch you play.

"In that respect, it's not just about the wins, but about going about your job, as a job. To me, that's the best example that you can set for a young person, because it applies in so many ways. For instance, you hope, it inspires them not just to take something like football seriously, but also to go about their business at school too," Baxter said.

"When it comes to this role model stuff, if you concede that it exists," back-up quarterback Ray Lucas agreed, "it's not what we're doing -- winning -- that's important, but the way that we're doing it. I mean, to me, if there's a lesson in this team for anybody outside of it, it's that working as hard as you can at something you love pays off."

If Vinny Testaverde is the team's field marshal it's still head coach Bill Parcells, victor in two Super Bowls in three appearances, who sets the overall tone for the team and calls the plays.

Last week, as his players and the New York press grew ever more confident about the prospects in Miami -- after all, the team had already put down the Dolphins once this season -- Parcells adopted a business-as-usual manner at his first press briefing of the week.

"When you start [out] each year, you try to start it with a certain philosophy, and then you have to kind of adapt to the changing circumstances that exist with your team," Parcells said at one point, describing the diverging paths the Dolphins and the Jets had taken to their mid-December showdown.

"That's what's happened with Miami, that's what happened with us, and happens with all teams. We started a certain way and we altered just a little bit as well.

"That's part of what the season itself dictates, [what] a better awareness of your players dictates, and then, sometimes... injuries force you to change things a little bit. As the year goes on there is an evolution that takes place with every team."

While Parcells' players concede that the evolution of the team is real -- the sheer presence of Testaverde in the starting quarterback slot is proof positive of that -- they also insist that days "at the office" have become more intense of late.

"Hey, we've still got some crucial games ahead of us," running back Leon Johnson said. "So I think, in training, we've begun to focus a lot more. We have to be able to take care of business right now so that when the time comes, we're not worrying and waiting on people to lose. It's in our hands right now."

"My approach [to preparing the team for games in December] doesn't really change, but perhaps one's attention to detail does," Parcells said.

"You just start going over and over and over stuff. You just want to make sure you give your team the best chance to win, that's all.

"In practice, maybe you give a little more thought to exactly how you want to practice, and how it's going.

"Like, tonight, after practice, I'll really think pretty hard about what I want to do tomorrow... based on what happened today. I mean, I do that all the time, but... I think I might do it even more so this time of year.

"At the same time, if I see something out there that I don't like, that we're having a problem with, then we'll just throw it out... instead of giving it too many more days to see if we can make it work. We do that quite a bit."

Throughout the week preceding the Miami game, Jets players, and Parcells in particular, were peppered with questions about the various components of the team they were about to face; questions of the "But aren't you worried about... " variety that seemed to imply that the team could likely find itself on the short end of the scoreboard.

"I'm not in awe of talent," Parcells said, attempting to put such questions to rest. "You're going to have to deal with that -- you know you're going to [be facing] people who perform at a high level -- but it's not my job to look at them in amazement.

"It's my job to try to contend with them. So you try to do what you think you can do to contend with them -- and not to spend too much time fantasizing about their ability."

As was made clear from the Miami game, this is an attitude that Parcells has very successfully drummed into his team.

Testaverde, for instance, threw 17 completed passes in 29 attempts for 232 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Chrebet. In the third quarter, it was a 35-yard pass to Kyle Brady that set up a nine yard run by Curtis Martin for a second touchdown.

It was the fourth quarter, however, that truly showed what this team can do.

The wild and woolly final stanza of the game began with Victor Green intercepting a Marino pass and barreling 87 yards down the field with it.

That stunning interception was nullified, though, when Testaverde's fade pass to Keyshawn Johnson was grabbed by Miami's Terrel Buckley, who then ran 61 yards the other way.

"When that happened," Parcells said, "I thought we were in trouble."

As the rental car commercial says, "not exactly."

Amazingly, neither of those plays resulted in a score.

But then, another topsy-turvy play, a fumble by Curtis Martin, gave the Dolphins back the ball with 2:25 left and 66 yards to cover.

That's when defensive tackle Ernie Logan stepped forward to sack Marino, separating the quarterback from the ball in the process.

Two bounces later, it found its way into linebacker Chad Cascadden's hands. He then scurried the 23 yards between himself and the goal line and sealed the victory.

"This gets us in the tournament," Parcells said. "But we don't have time to think about it too long. Maybe an hour."

Again, the work ethic, and according oneself in a way that inspires respect in others, came into play.

"You just can't expect things to continue to happen," Parcells said. "The way this works is, you try to play well this week, and then, with what you've got -- bearing in mind the possibility of injuries and other factors -- you try to play well again.

"The division title is the main thing. If we lose [the next two], then [the Miami win is not going to matter], because we won't take the division.

"I'll tell you this, though, if we can win this thing, we will have earned it."

Given the play-off atmosphere that now surrounds the team -- during the open locker room period each day, when the press gets to interview players, reporters now out-number Jets by more than six to one -- the players themselves have remained remarkably composed.

"There's been, honestly, a lot of controversy over the whole role model thing over the last couple of years... whether, as an athlete, you are one or not," said Kyle Brady. "But I think, no matter what sport you're in, if the spotlight is on you, it's an inescapable part of the job.

"Personally, I like that tag. I like to be a person that a young person feels they can come and talk to, and I like having the opportunity to tell them where I've been.

"I think, often-times, there's this perception that we're kind of unreachable, so I think one of the main things I try to stress with young people is that despite my profession, I'm just a regular guy.

"In school, I had a lot of problems, so many in fact that I didn't think I was going to get to go to college, and I ended up here. So if I can help a kid in a similar situation by my example, I'm very happy."

"I think talking about being a role model, when you're in sports, is a tricky thing because it always sounds like you're being egotistical," Leon Johnson said.

"But in saying, 'Yeah, I can see people thinking of me as a role model,' I'm not saying, 'Aren't I so great.'

"To me, I think what's inspiring is probably not our individual play, but that we're working together to fulfill a dream and accomplish things that individually, we may not have thought possible.."

"As a player, I really try and just concentrate on one game at a time," Elmont's Testaverde said. "And right now, what we're experiencing, this is what you work for and play for, these kinds of games with these kinds of implications.

"As far as being a role model goes, I really don't think about it too much," the quarterback continued. "I have two young kids at home and I try to be a good influence on them. And, you know, if I know I'm doing that, then I feel I can be an influence to other kids.

"But I really don't try to act a certain way or different way in order to be a role model. I just try to be a good father, and if I'm doing that, then everything else just falls into place," Testaverde said.