When told of the blackjack reference by his coach, Favre laughed.

“I used to always take hits on 16,” he said. “Believe it or not, I’m not a gambler. I know it sounds crazy. I would sit at the table and everyone gets up because, ’That guy takes hits on everything.’ Believe me, I’m well aware of what’s expected of me, how important it is to take care of the ball.”

On the last of his three interceptions in a 28-24 win against Kansas City on Sunday, Favre was backpedaling when he tossed a ball out to Chansi Stuckey in tight coverage. Brandon Flowers picked it off and went 91 yards for a go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

“With Brett, he has to know when to just throw it away, just get rid of it,” Mangini said. “Sometimes, there’s nothing there and that’s OK. Throw it away.”

Still, Favre was at his best when it counted, leading the Jets downfield for the winning touchdown with a minute left.

“I know statistically speaking, you turn the ball over more than your opponents, you lose,” he said. “Well, that’s two times in three weeks we’ve won. Now, can you make a living doing that? Every coach, every statistician would tell you no, and I don’t plan on doing that.”

Favre and the Jets (4-3) will have a tough task this weekend at Buffalo (5-2), where they could potentially give themselves a share of the AFC East lead with a victory.

“I think it would do a lot for us from a team standpoint, really, just that to me, a feeling that a team has, like, ’Oh, OK, we could be pretty good,”’ Favre said. “That means more than anything. And, right now, I think we’re getting close to that point where we see that we can overcome mistakes and still win.”

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