They executed a lot better than the Jets? offense, and covered a lot more ground, too.

While the Seahawks? ground crew did its best to uncover the markers in 5-yard intervals, nobody could find the Jets? team that beat both New England and Tennessee on the road last month and at that point, seemed like a lock for the AFC playoffs at 8-3.

But with three losses in their last four games, including a devastating 13-3 defeat to Seattle at Qwest Field on Sunday, the Jets (9-6) have ceded control of their playoff destiny.

The Jets now need help to reach the playoffs, even if they beat Miami (10-5) on Sunday in a game that will be played at 1 p.m. or 4:15 p.m, but will not be the Sunday night contest. If the Dolphins lose to the Jets, either New England and Baltimore would have to lose for the Jets to qualify for the playoffs. New York would win the AFC East if New England (10-5) loses at Buffalo (7-8), or qualify as a wild card if Baltimore loses to visiting Jacksonville (5-10).

Of course, at this juncture, expecting the Jets to recapture their November form might be the most remote possibility of all.

Brett Favre, who produced three straight games with passer ratings of 100 or better last month, hasn?t been better than 61.4 in the last four games. He had a rating of 48.7 against the Seahawks (4-11), as he completed 18 of 31 passes for 187 yards with two interceptions as the Jets had 265 yards of offense. Over the last four games, he has one touchdown pass and six interceptions.

Afterward, Favre had no answers for what happened, just as he had few on the field.

"Three points, obviously, is not good enough," said Favre, who drove the Jets to the Seattle 2 on their first possession, but never got them into the red zone again. "We were just never able to get it going."

That?s nothing new for the Jets on the West Coast, where they were 0-4 this season against teams that are a combined 21-39. But while the iconic quarterback is the focal point, he wasn?t the only problem Sunday.

What was once an almost-impenetrable run defense allowed 116 yards on 29 carries to Maurice Morris, although it was a 2-yard loss by Morris that might have been his biggest play. Calvin Pace, who made the tackle, was called for a 15-yard face-mask penalty, placing the Seahawks at the Jets? 22. That led to the only touchdown, Seneca Wallace?s well-placed 2-yard fade to tight end John Carlson, giving Seattle a 7-3 lead with 31 seconds left in the first half.

The Jets also had no sacks against a Seattle offensive line that, because of injuries, had five starters who didn?t begin the season in that capacity.

Wallace "did a good job of getting rid of the ball," linebacker David Bowens explained. "And they kept their blocking schemes simple."

Trailing 10-3, the Jets saw their last hope slither through Laveranues Coles? hands on a deep ball on fourth down late in the fourth quarter, as Kelly Jennings knocked it loose.

"I don?t care how well you?re moving it between the two goal lines," Favre said, "but the bottom line is getting it into the end zone. ... We knew what was at stake. We didn?t take advantage of it."

"Lack of effort" isn?t the problem, Coles said. "It?s just execution. We?re not executing. ... There?s no such thing as a shoo-in [for the playoffs]. The situation we?re in now says that."

That was the toughest thing for the Jets to comprehend.

"We don?t have anybody to blame but ourselves," right tackle Damien Woody said. "I don?t know that collapse is the right word. But I just know we didn?t finish the deal. ... It was all right there in front of us, but we didn?t close the book on this thing."

And because of that, Sunday could be the final chapter of a once-promising season.

ROOT for the Bills and Jags

The Jets no longer control their destiny in the AFC playoff race:

* If they lose to or tie Miami on Sunday, they will be eliminated from playoff contention, no matter what anyone else does.

* If they beat Miami, they would win the AFC East if New England loses to Buffalo.

* If they beat Miami, they would qualify as a wild card if Baltimore loses to Jacksonville.

* If the Jets beat Miami but the Patriots and Ravens both win, the Jets will be eliminated.

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com