“As Nick Folk’s 32-yard field goal sailed through the uprights and the final seconds ticked off the clock, coach Rex Ryan pumped his fist, stuck out his tongue and screamed with glee. One year after seeing his team’s unlikely playoff run stopped by the Colts just short of the Super Bowl, Ryan and the Jets took revenge in dramatic fashion at Lucas Oil Stadium.

It wasn’t the AFC Championship Game like it was the last time these teams met here, but the Jets’ 17-16 victory over the Colts in a wild-card round matchup was the first step in what Ryan has promised will be a road that goes all the way to Dallas in February.

With Peyton Manning now dispatched, Tom Brady and the Patriots will be the Jets’ next opponent in a divisional-round game Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

“Big-time players make big-time plays in the big situations,” Ryan said afterward. Then he smiled. “Man, it feels good to get a win,” he said.”