When the New York Jets and Brett Favre opened the season by beating the Dolphins, few people thought the final game of the season would be Miami's chance for retribution and then some.

The Dolphins, 1-15 a year ago, visit the Meadowlands needing only to beat the Jets to win the AFC East and finish the season 11-5. Even more ironic: Miami's quarterback is Chad Pennington, dumped by the Jets to make room for Favre.

The Jets are favored by three, a strange line considering how they've been playing since they handed Tennessee its first loss: three losses in four games, and the one victory handed them by Buffalo and J.P. Losman, who was immediately demoted to third-string quarterback.

That plays into the Dolphins' "no respect" theme.

"I think teams said, 'They're winning some close games, but they're the same Dolphins. ... It's just a fluke,' " cornerback Andre Goodman said. "We did go 1-15. You don't come back from 1-15 and gain respect just because you have a new coaching staff and Bill Parcells is in the front office. And it's OK that teams view us this way."

It's unlikely the Jets think that way. Nor do the Patriots, who won the division title the five previous seasons but are out of the playoffs unless the Jets win and they beat Buffalo, or New England wins and Baltimore loses to Jacksonville.

But the Jets' nosedive isn't the only reason to like the Dolphins, who are unlikely to be fazed by Giants Stadium weather. Hey, they played the coldest game in their history last week in Kansas City and came back to win, 38-31. And Pennington, of course, spent eight seasons with the Jets and probably knows the wind directions better than Favre, who has just one TD pass and six interceptions in the last four games.

Beyond that, go with Tony Sparano and his staff over Eric Mangini and his — Mangini has made some very strange decisions lately, including several in last week's loss in Seattle. ... DOLPHINS, 24-17.

DENVER (PLUS 8 1/2) AT SAN DIEGO

Ed Hochuli, who handed the Broncos the first game, is not the referee for this one. More important, the Chargers finally seem to have found their game. ... CHARGERS, 41-30.

DETROIT (PLUS 9) AT GREEN BAY

Last chance for the Lions to win. We gave them a shot last week. Not again. ... PACKERS, 31-13.

DALLAS (PLUS 1 1/2) AT PHILADELPHIA

The Eagles would be in much better shape if they hadn't blown last week's game in Washington. Now they'd love to knock out the hated Cowboys, perhaps even get into the playoffs in the process. ... EAGLES, 16-10.

CHICAGO (PLUS 1 1/2) AT HOUSTON

The Bears will be watching the Vikings on the scoreboard. Won't matter: Texans are good at home. ... TEXANS, 24-21.

N.Y. GIANTS (PLUS 6 1/2) AT MINNESOTA

The line is based on the Vikings needing the game. Tom Coughlin insists he will play most of his starters, as he did against the Patriots last season, but why did the Giants trot out backup QB David Carr to meet the media this week? ... VIKINGS, 24-10.

TENNESSEE (MINUS 3) AT INDIANAPOLIS

The oddsmakers finally figured out that when the Colts have clinched, Jim Sorgi rather than Peyton Manning will play most of the game. ... TITANS, 21-10.

NEW ENGLAND (MINUS 6 1/2) AT BUFFALO

The Patriots could finish 11-5 and still miss the playoffs. ... PATRIOTS, 24-9.

CAROLINA (MINUS 3) AT NEW ORLEANS

No NFC South team has beaten a division rival on the road. But the Panthers need this one. ... PANTHERS, 31-20.

ST. LOUIS (PLUS 15) AT ATLANTA

The Falcons will be happy to "settle" for their wild card. ... FALCONS, 37-10.

JACKSONVILLE (PLUS 12 1/2) AT BALTIMORE

For the second straight week, a team wraps up a playoff spot by beating the Jags. ... RAVENS, 27-10.

OAKLAND (PLUS 13) AT TAMPA BAY

The Bucs will win, but their recent stumbles may have done them in. ... BUCS, 21-5.

CLEVELAND (PLUS 10) AT PITTSBURGH

How hard will the Steelers play? ... STEELERS, 17-12.

SEATTLE (PLUS 6) AT ARIZONA

The plunging Cardinals have won the West by default but would like a winning season. ... CARDINALS, 30-20.

WASHINGTON (PLUS 3) AT SAN FRANCISCO

If Mike Singletary and Shaun Hill had started earlier ... 49ERS, 20-13.

KANSAS CITY (PLUS 3) AT CINCINNATI

The Chiefs even can find ways to lose to the Bengals. ... BENGALS, 13-12.

LAST WEEK: 4-12 (spread); 8-6 (straight up).

SEASON: 113-121-6 (spread); 148-89-1(straight up).