NFL’S CIRCUS IS ALL HOT AIR
Jets could’ve known way to San Jose
BRANDON MARSHALL believes if the Jets had only beaten the Bills in Week 17, he could easily have been playing in the Super Bowl rather than watching it. “I definitely believe that,” Marshall said in a phone interview on Monday. “I think we all know that the team that finishes strong is the team that has the chance. It's about the type of ball you play at the end of November and throughout December, early January. I felt like what was happening with our team was magical. We started putting it together.”
The Jets were red-hot and on a five-game winning streak heading into their final game against the Bills, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention. But instead of taking care of business, Gang Green slipped against their old coach and they couldn't hold on to the wild card berth they hoped for after a 22-17 loss in Buffalo. “That last game, we didn't win it. And we'll never be able to go back and explore that,” Marshall said. “Those days are over. At the end of the day...we're at home and we'll be watching the Super Bowl. Or not.”
The Jets, who finished 10-6, may not have been a dominant team but they certainly blew an opportunity to get to the Super Bowl. The scariest team in the relatively weak AFC heading into the playoffs appeared to be New England -- who the Jets just beat in December. “I think that our defense is one of the best. I think that what our offense started to do at the end of the year was pretty good,” Marshall said. “Sometimes it felt like we were unstoppable. I felt like the only was we would be stopped was if we shoot ourselves in the foot. So with that, I felt really good about our chances if we had got in.”
Instead, Marshall has had to turn to next year for his Super Bowl hopes. He said he thinks it's a realistic ambition for the Jets to be a part of Super Bowl 51 in Houston, but acknowledged that that's not an uncommon belief for any football player. “Absolutely,” Marshall said when asked if the Jets could be in the Super Bowl next year. “We're weird, man. Players are weird. Every team, it doesn't matter who you are, if you're the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, the Patriots, the Oakland Raiders, the Denver Broncos, every year you think it's your year.”
Though the Jets' wideout isn't playing in Super Bowl 50, he is on hand in San Francisco. The outspoken wide receiver, who appears regularly on Showtime's “Inside the NFL” during the season, is expanding his media experience by working with AUDIENCE Sports, a TV channel on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse, during Super Bowl week. Marshall will be acting as a field reporter and social media correspondent for their @AudienceSports Twitter account.