The Giants fought harder for home field advantage Sunday than the Jets did for a chance to get into the playoffs.

By now you’ve seen the highlights: Brandon Jacobs rumbling two yards up the middle in overtime for the game-winning score.  That touchdown was not only his third on the night, but it secured Giants Stadium its first playoff game since 2000.

Meanwhile, New York’s other team, the Jets, fell to 0-4 on the West Coast this season, and now face a must-win situation at home Sunday against the first-place Miami Dolphins.

Let’s begin there: The Jets have to beat the Dolphins — they knocked them off in Week 1, 20-14 — to move into a tie atop the AFC East.  Holding the advantage, the Jets then must pray that New England (at Buffalo) or Baltimore (vs. Jacksonville) loses.  If either of those combinations happen, the Jets will see their first postseason action in two years.

A lot of the fault for the Jets’ recent woes falls on Brett Favre.  The last four weeks he’s thrown more interceptions (6) than touchdowns (1) and has a completion percentage floating just above 50 percent.

Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks featured snow, frigid temps and slick field conditions.  Favre has made a career out of those games, but that one might have been his last.  The future Hall of Famer won’t say whether he’ll return for a 19th season, but you’d have to think otherwise.  His passes are falling short and his performance is hurting more than helping.  Favre is one of the toughest competitors on the field come game day, but it’s getting harder for him each week.  (Interesting scenario: Favre retiring and the Jets inking Matt Cassel to an eight-year deal at $8-10 million a season.)

But, let’s not solely put the blame on Favre.  There were several drops against the Seahawks, including Laveranues Coles’ that could have saved the game, and a number of bad calls by head coach Eric Mangini.  The Jets should have gone for it on fourth-and-inches and should have tried for a field goal instead of punting in the fourth quarter.

This week’s game against Miami features two major storylines: Playoff hopes on the line and Chad Pennington’s return to the Garden State.  The Dolphins have won four straight and are going to be a tough matchup.  Meanwhile, any loses by the Ravens and Patriots would be upsets, meaning, the Jets’ playoff chances are slim.

New York’s other team, however, is in charge in the NFC.  For two weeks the Giants have picked up a few doubters thanks to the Plaxico Burress situation.  But when it comes down to it, the Giants won Sunday night the same way they captured last year’s Super Bowl title: running the football.

If you turned off last night’s game against Carolina at the half you would have thought Big Blue looked black and blue.  DeAngelo Williams had three early trips to the end zone and the Panthers’ defense was outperforming the Giants on that side of the ball.  But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

Coming out of the half, Eli Manning started things off by hitting tight end Kevin Boss for a four-yard score.  After that it was all Derrick Ward and Jacobs.  Ward rumbled for a career-best 215 yards and set up Jacobs’ trio of scores with big runs.  Having both of those backs healthy for the playoffs — thank you first-round bye — will make the Giants even tougher to face.

If anything New York gained more than just home field advantage with the 34-28 win; they also picked up a return of confidence.  The Burress situation has clouded the headlines and two losses after the shooting hasn’t helped.  If anything, Sunday’s win showed they can beat good teams — the Panthers are the second-best team in the NFC.  The two teams could meet up again, on the same field, in the conference championship game.

Barring any last-week changes, the Giants will face the winner of the Arizona Cardinals/Atlanta Falcons game.  New York beat Arizona on Nov. 23, and the Cardinals have been struggling since capturing the NFC West title.  The Falcons, meanwhile, are one of the NFL’s hottest– and most surprising – teams.

The last time the Giants held home field advantage throughout the playoffs, they lost in the Super Bowl.  The last time they appeared in the Super Bowl, they missed the following year.  One down, one to go.

The playoffs begin on January 3.  We know the Giants will be there.  The Jets still have a lot of work to do.