10/16 — Punter Steve Weatherford needed only 6 yards to get the first-down on a first-quarter fake punt that led to the Jets' first touchdown at Miami, but why stop there?

“I thought he was just going to go out of bounds after he got the first but he just kept going,” said Brad Smith, who also converted his own fake-punt run in the second quarter. “He can move. He was a track guy in college and stuff so you know he can run."

“I still have a little giddyup,” said Weatherford. “I’m getting old but I can still get in done.”

With the 26-yard sprint Weatherford stayed a perfect 4-for-4 in his career on fake punt conversions.

But it was special teams coach Mike Westhoff’s decision to defer kicking and fake twice to keep the Jets offense on the field for two scoring drives.

“Believe it or not," Westhoff said this week, "there was another one we wish we had gotten.”

The Jets' specialists retained the option to try more fakes as they prepared to face a Bills ST unit that by one popular measure has ranked in the NFL's top five the last five seasons.

“We’ll leave it open and hope they prepare for it and take some time out of their practice,” said Smith. “It’s something that we feel good running against anything if we feel that we’re in a position where we need to get a first down.”

On the second fake, facing fourth-and-3 at the 'Fins 40, James Dearth snapped the ball directly to Smith, the upback, who then spun away from two defenders to get the needed yardage and then some in moving the ball to the 28.

“They got a little penetration and were able to get in the backfield and I made a play to get off the first guy and after that it was kind of just go get it,” said Smith. “I didn’t want to leave us short. I wanted to give our offense a chance to put some points on the board.”

Jason Taylor and other members of Miami's base defense were out on the field rather than ST personnel. The Jets did the same thing on their side of the ball.

“That was half our punt team and half our offensive line,” said Westhoff. “We left our offensive line on the field. Everybody looks the same if you look peripherally. Then all of a sudden you go 'Whoa, wait a minute. That’s D’Brickashaw [Ferguson]. What are these guys doing in here?' ”

A few plays later Jay Feely booted a 40-yard field goal to even things up for the moment, 10-10.

To get back on the winning track, the Jets' special teams are going to have to keep performing as they have all season.

“I think special teams has been a big part of us winning those three games early in the year,” said Weatherford. “I hope we can continue to do what we’re doing, Jay’s kicking the ball great and James is snapping it well.”

But Sunday's game at the Meadowlands may present the toughest conditions to kick the ball yet with the possibility of cold, rain and wind. Weatherford, who experienced similar winters playing at the University of Illinois, got a taste of what to expect while practicing in the wind and rain on Thursday at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, with the temperature struggling to reach the 40s.

“Nothing fun about it, it’s like kicking a brick when you’re standing out there for an hour and then finally you get to kick,” he said. “That’s part of the mystique up here. It’s a tough-nosed football team. … It’s just something where you have to be better than the other guy."

*Special Teams Saturday.