History has a funny way of repeating itself.

For the New York Jets, that could be music to Rex Ryan's ears.

Saturday's showdown in Cincinnati marks the 26th anniversary of a playoff matchup between these two teams, when in a strike-shortened season the Jets, led by quarterback Richard Todd's 20-for-28 and 269 yards, upset the Bengals in Riverfront Stadium by the score of 44-17.

The Jets rolled into Cincinnati clear underdogs with a regular season 6-3 record, along with the challenge of having to play on the road in frigid weather at the river in the Queen City of Ohio.

The Bengals (7-2), then led by quarterback Ken Anderson, found themselves squarely in control with a 14-3 lead early in the first half, only to see the Jets change the momentum on a Derrick Gaffney touchdown reception on a Freeman McNeil option pass. 

The Jets would strike again on a four-yard pass from Todd to Wesley Walker to take the lead for good at 17-14.

The Jets would extend the lead to 30-17 on a McNeil run of 20 yards and a game-crushing 98-yard interception return of Anderson by Darrol Ray, which pushed the margin to 20 points at 37-17.

The Jets would end the scoring with a one-yard run by Dwayne Crutchfield and end a decisive pounding of the Bengals, 44-17.

The win was impressive in that these were the defending AFC Champions who a year earlier were one Joe Montana drive from being crowned Super Bowl Champions when they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 26-21 at Detroit's Pontiac Stadium.

The normally reliable Anderson was 26-for-35 for 354 yards with two touchdowns and three bad interceptions. The Jets were able to keep Cris Collinsworth out of the end zone, although he grabbed seven balls for 120 yards, including a 53-yard reception.

Jet icon Wesley Walker had his finest postseason performance, as he caught eight passes for 145 yards and one touchdown, while Freeman McNeil rushed for an incredible 202 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown.

The Jets simply did whatever they pleased offensively on that very cold afternoon, as they accumulated 517 total yards with 27 first downs while not giving up a single sack of Richard Todd.

On the flip side, the Bengals had four turnovers while Anderson was dumped four times by the New York Sack Exchange in what must be regarded as the most complete and dominating road playoff victory in franchise history.

The Jets limited the Bengals to just 62 yards on the ground, while the Jets totaled 234 on 34 carries and two touchdowns.

If the New York Jets are seeking something within their own history, something that spells motivation and fate for this franchise, this lopsided 44-17 win on the road 26 years ago is more than enough evidence for me that the football gods are looking down on this most improbable of teams in the most opportunistic of situations!

The Jets would move on to Los Angeles, where they would meet the Raiders on Jan. 15, 1983 and defeat them in the Coliseum 17-14, only to be shut out the following week in the Orange Bowl 14-0 in the AFC Championship by A.J. Duhe and the Miami Dolphins.

So is it fate that the Jets would face the Bengals once again in the playoffs 26 years to the day? Is it fate a team once 4-6 would finish 9-7 and become the one team nobody wants to face in these peculiar AFC playoffs?