VICTOR VINNY; JETS' TESTAVERDE HAVING A CAREER YEAR.

Byline: Barry Wilner Associated Press 

Try this for a triple dose of success for oft-beleaguered Vinny Testaverde: a playoff berth, a Pro Bowl spot and the top ranking among AFC passers. All three are within reach for the New York Jets quarterback who almost had to go begging for a job this season.

Testaverde is having a phenomenal season. He's 9-1 as a starter, the only loss by one point. He is ranked just barely behind John Elway in the AFC passing ratings. He isn't exactly a shoo-in for the Pro Bowl in a conference also featuring Mark Brunell and Doug Flutie, but he's likely to secure his second trip to the All-Star game.

How did it all come together for the 1986 Heisman Trophy winner whose 11 previous seasons were mostly mediocre? Testaverde made one foray into the playoffs, in 1994 with Cleveland, and got to the Pro Bowl two years ago with Baltimore. Otherwise, the resume isn't impressive.

``Vinny showed a lot of guts,'' veteran fullback Keith Byars said. ``People have been trying to dog him all season long, saying he is on a roll, but it's going to end one of these days. That's not so. Vinny showed he is for real.''

Testaverde certainly hopes so. He's had enough of the other side of the NFL, where your team is out of contention by November and you're in a survival mode the rest of the season.

``This is what you work toward,'' Testaverde said of Sunday night's game at Miami, with both teams tied for the AFC East lead at 9-4. ``It's what you put all that work in for, the opportunity to be successful.

``All of those wins to this point won't mean much if we don't win this one.''

Testaverde was the man most responsible for last weekend's 32-31 victory over Seattle - along with head linesman Earnie Frantz, of course. Testaverde threw a career-high 63 times, completing 42 - second most in NFL history - for 418 yards and two touchdowns. And he won the game with a diving 5-yard quarterback sneak in the dying seconds, on which replays indicated he never got into the end zone.

Frantz, however, immediately signaled a touchdown.

Even before such heroics, Testaverde had proven himself this year. He replaced the injured Glenn Foley in Week 3 and beat Indianapolis. He also led the Jets past the Dolphins to even their record after Foley started the season 0-2.

Foley returned for the fifth game and the Jets stunk it up in a 30-10 loss at St. Louis. So coach Bill Parcells turned back to Testaverde and it has paid off.

Testaverde has completed 61.7 percent of his throws for 2,661 yards, with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has a 101.3 rating, barely behind the 101.5 by Elway.

``I'm learning more about him,'' said Parcells, who's had some excellent quarterbacks in Phil Simms and Drew Bledsoe. ``He understands the game pretty well, and he also has got some thoughts on things and that is good.''

Parcells was more impressed with Testaverde's work against Carolina last week than in what many might consider his signature game against Seattle. He was the model of efficiency against the Panthers, going 16 for 21 for 255 yards and two touchdowns as the Jets scored 48 points, their most since 1986.

``When you're going like that, you want everything to go perfectly,'' Parcells said. ``Vinny played very well, hardly made any mistakes.

``But we called a couple plays in the red zone that are TDs, but he goes to the wrong side. It's not a mistake, but we've got a TD on the other side and he goes the wrong way.

``When you look at that, almost every decision he made was perfect, almost every throw was very good, but the two he didn't make you get mad at him about, because your expectations are so high.''

Testaverde loves to hear that. For so many years after his early failures with the dismal Buccaneers, he was chastised more than cheered. Now, there are cheers and praise - and who knows what else in the very near future?

``This season has been one that not anyone expected to go the way it is, especially in my position,'' he said. ``It's something of a magical season.''

TAKING OFF

Vinny Testaverede is having arguably the finest season of his career. Here's how his 1998 statistics compare to his season bests from 1988 to 1997:

Stat 1998 '88-97

Completions 211 325

Attempts 342 549

Pct. 61.7 61.5

Yards 2,661 4,177

Yds per attempt 7.78 7.81

Interceptions 5 9

TDs 22 33

Rating 101.3 88.7

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) no caption (Vinny Testaverde)

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

(2) Testaverde

BOX: TAKING OFF (see text)