And to hear his ex-teammates talk, they won’t be happy if they lose to him. But Pennington’s success would be the silver lining in a dark cloud season.

“It couldn't happen to a better guy,” says Jets safety Kerry Rhodes. “He’s a real warrior. I’ve had a lot of respect for him ever since I got here (in 2005). He has gone down there and changed that franchise. He has been playing great ball.”

Says tight end Chris Baker, “I'm happy for him. He deserves it. He works extremely hard and he’s a pro. How could you not root for a guy like that? He’s a good guy.”

And he’s outplayed Favre this season. Look at the numbers.

Favre’s thrown 21 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Pennington’s thrown 17 and 7. Both men have completed 67 percent of their passes, but Pennington’s yards per attempt (7.7) is a full yard higher than Favre’s. Pennington’s thrown for 213 more yards on 36 fewer attempts. Favre’s taken 30 sacks behind an offensive line dotted with first-round picks. Pennington’s taken 23 behind an offensive line of retreads. Kinda puts the lie to all those Favre fans who claimed Favre did more with less for all those years in Green Bay.

And who’s going to the Pro Bowl? Favre, not Pennington.

From last January’s dream-ending pick in the NFC Championship, to his teary-eyed retirement in the spring, to his awkward attempt at a forced re-entry into Green Bay, through his trade to the Jets that seems poised to be a punch line, 2008 hasn’t been awesome for Favre.

And while Sunday’s game means plenty to him, it doesn’t mean near as much to him as it does to a guy like Pennington. Two weeks ago, Favre fatalistically discussed the Jets downward trending season.

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“I’m a firm believer in (playing these final) three weeks (hard) and if that's not good enough, I can go home. Yes, I’ll be upset, but I can go home with my head held high and say, ‘We did all we could do,’ ” Favre says. “I care about what’s happening in the next three weeks. I care about what’s happening this week. Three months from now, who cares? A year from now, who cares?’ (The conversation) is going to be about next year. It’s going to be about the draft. It’s going to be about this, it’s going to be about that. Ten years from now, it’s not going to matter. There’s no sense in hitting the panic button. You hit the panic button when it’s over. If we’re not good enough, so be it.”

Anyone out there think that thought occurred to Chad Pennington even once this season?

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