The Giants didn't have a great regular season, but at least they beat NE and came very close to beating the Packers. They showed signs of being able to play good football. The Pats didn't beat a team with a winning record all year, but they went 13-3. That is very different than not beating a team with a winning record and going 8-8. I personally feel that the Pats did have an easy road to the Super Bowl, but they put themselves in that position by winning the division at 13-3. The Jets never showed signs of being able to play good football. They got embarrassed by the good teams they played and got beat by several average teams. Their season did not come down to 1 or 2 plays. They struggled all year. I know you are confident things would have been different had the Cruz play not happened, but the Jets whole season says otherwise.
we didn't show too many signs, I don't think we would have made a run had we made it but I think if we beat the Giants we would have made the playoffs. There's not a sane person alive who thought the Giants coming off that humiliating home loss to Washington would go on to win the SB. things change quickly in this league.