Bowles: Not doing job would’ve been unthinkable

Todd Bowles erupted into a hearty laugh. He can look back at last year’s health scare fondly now.

But there was nothing funny about the Jets coach finding himself in the hospital the day before his team was set to meet the Patriots in New England last year.

Bowles was suffering from a kidney stone and gall bladder attack. There was fear he had suffered a heart attack. He didn’t travel with the team and instead met them in Foxborough, Mass., coaching on the sideline after there was speculation he could miss the game on Christmas Eve.

“It was tough but it helped me get to where I am right now from a health standpoint, so it’s good,” Bowles said Friday, after the Jets’ final practice be- fore Sunday’s first-place AFC East showdown against the rival Patriots at MetLife Stadium. “I got healthier. Simple things. Eating better, working out. The normal stuff.”

Bowles could easily have skipped the game. The Jets were 4-10, and predictably got stomped, 41-3, by the eventual Super Bowl champions.

“It’s my job. I’m not going to let my team down,” Bowles said, when asked why he opted to coach the game. “It was tough doing a lot of things that weekend, but you get through it and you move on.”

Defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson (toe, shoulder) and running back Bilal Powell (calf ) are questionable and will be game-time decisions Sunday, according to Bowles. Neither practiced this week, but the Jets coach wasn’t ruling them out of the game yet.

“We’ll work them out before the game and see how they look,” he said. “It’s 50/50, seeing how they feel. We have two days.”

The Jets will get back defensive lineman Kony Ealy (shoulder) and running back Matt Forte (knee, toe), both of whom missed the previous game against the Browns and practiced fully Friday for the first time this week. If Powell can’t go as expected, the veteran Forte will split time in the backfield with rookie Elijah McGuire.

“It’s good just in case Powell doesn’t play, but it’s always good to have Matt out there,” Bowles said.

Ealy would get extra snaps if Wilkerson doesn’t play. So would Ed Stinson and Mike Pennel.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (left shoulder) practiced fully for the first time this week Friday and will play.