Postseason. Adulation. Vindication. All could be on the line Sunday, if Jay Feely lines up for a game-winning field goal, with a chance to knock out the team that kicked him out in August.

So what will his oldest of four children, 8-year-old Lexi, be pulling for?

Short. Wide right. Wide left. Maybe a block.

"They're rooting for the Dolphins," Feely said of his kids. "Lexi told me that yesterday. Just because they want me home."

He has been home for a night or two every week this season, including this one, when he spent Christmas Eve in South Florida before returning to prepare for the game against his old team Sunday ...

When a miss could make the Dolphins' season.

"I'm excited about it," Feely said. "I'd love to get a game-winner. That's the exact circumstances you want."

That isn't the exact circumstance a Dolphin fan would want. But Feely's unexpected opportunity is just another surreal subplot in a game plump with them. This game is such a rare gift that it makes you wonder why any NFL team is playing anything other than an acrimonious intradivisional matchup to close its season.

This has everything. Playoff implications. A referendum on offseason strategy -- the Jets spent lavishly, the Dolphins judiciously. The possible retirement of a legend ( Brett Favre). Two revenge stories, one central ( Chad Pennington), one peripheral (Feely). A coach ( Eric Mangini) under pressure.

And that's just the start.

Consider that the one time the Dolphins tried to splurge last summer, Calvin Pace (seven sacks, 12 tackles for losses) took the Jets' slightly bigger cash prize instead. Or that, when the Dolphins' secondary was struggling earlier this season, Bill Parcells recruited cornerback Ty Law, but the South Florida resident chose to play for a "contender" and signed with the Jets. Or that the last time Parcells inherited a 1-15 team and made it a winner, he was coaching the Jets, and his offensive coordinator was Dan Henning, now with the Dolphins.

Consider that the Jets' current offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, was one of the four finalists for the Dolphins' head coaching job in 2007. He declined a second interview. Could he shed any light on why? "Not really," the 35-year-old said Friday, smiling.

Consider that the Jets' special teams coach is cancer survivor Mike Westhoff, who spent 15 seasons with the Dolphins through 2001. And before he re-joined the Jets, he spent a training camp day in Davie as a guest of his friend Parcells.

"We sat and talked for a while out at practice," Feely said.

Feely wasn't at many more Dolphins practices. The new regime cut him Aug. 15, choosing rookie Dan Carpenter from Montana. Feely then lost a one-day kicking competition in Kansas City and was unemployed when Mike Nugent injured a thigh muscle on the opening kickoff against the Dolphins in the season opener. So the Jets signed Feely. He started 8 of 11, but has made 15 of 16 field-goal attempts as his groin injury has healed, and Nugent hasn't gotten the job back. Even so, it is tough to second-guess the Dolphins' decision, when the younger, cheaper Carpenter has made 20 of 24.

Feely has "loved" playing for Westhoff, appreciating his honesty and marveling at his acumen. And yes, he has marveled at the Dolphins' turnaround, acknowledging that he is "really surprised," even though "I thought Tony would do a real good job as a head coach. You could just tell by his demeanor."

Feely said "a lot of the credit goes to Chad," recalling the quarterback's first day of practice, when a ball hit Ted Ginn Jr. in the head on a fly pattern -- players were surprised to see a quarterback throwing so accurately. Feely has stayed in touch with a few Dolphins, even needling Will Allen with a text after the cornerback's first touchdown.

Can he share some advice with Carpenter, who has never kicked in the swirling Meadowlands winds, while Feely is a veteran of 30-plus games there? He laughed.

"Hard-learned lessons," Feely said. "Hopefully, we can conjure up the gusts that it's known for."

Lexi Feely wouldn't mind some, just before Dad's kick for the win.

Ethan J. Skolnick can be reached at eskolnick@SunSentinel.com

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