There is no hiding how devastating the season-ending loss of Vinny Testaverde (ruptured Achilles) was for a team that headed into this eventual 30-28 loss to New England thinking that the Super Bowl was a realistic goal.

So why try to hide it?

Everyone from Bill Parcells to Eric Green to Rick Mirer sputtered out the predictable cliches of moving on, circling the wagons and picking each other up.

Then there is Johnson, the blunt and gifted wide receiver who after a dazzling afternoon (eight catches, career-high 194 yards) couldn't mask what is probably a blow from which his team cannot recover.

Oh, he tried to keep his composure, even as the sheer magnitude of the day couldn't help but sink his spirits.

Asked if losing the man who is widely regarded as the team's most indispensable player was a "worst nightmare," Johnson said, "Pretty much. I never dreamed in a million years we would lose our starting quarterback the first game of the season. Right now, I don't know what the hell to say."

Then he thought about it some more and didn't like what was going through his mind. How could he, on an afternoon in which he was unexpectedly catching passes from punter Tom Tupa and chronically underachieving Rick Mirer instead of the stalwart Testaverde, who was coming off an MVP-esque season?

"What can you do, you can't do anything," said Johnson, growing increasingly agitated. "You can't do (expletive). We're (expletive) throwing interceptions. (BLEEP)."

Apparently, Johnson is under the impression that actions speak louder than words. Because after his f-bomb, he slammed his fist into the wooden podium he was speaking at and stormed out the door, nearly walking on media members as he exited stage right.

From the hall just outside the interview room, Johnson's last audible words were, "(Bleep) the quarterback."

In other words, the Jets are (bleeped) without the quarterback who threw for a team-record 29 TDs a year ago. That is the cold, hard truth of the matter.

And that is the often harsh reality of the NFL. A Super Bowl dream can be dashed in the blink of an eye. Or in Testaverde's case, an Achilles' that virtually blew up on a non-contact play late in the first half, the Jets trailing 10-7 at the time.

The play that likely will be looked back on as the one that ultimately ruined the team's championship hopes developed innocently enough. Curtis Martin fumbled and then Testaverde started in pursuit of the pigskin. As he started to walk forward, he fell to the turf, writhing in pain.

"It was non-contact," Parcells said. "That's life in the big city. It's a humbling game that can turn on you very quickly. God is playing sometimes."

On Sunday, God must have been on New England's side. Drew Bledsoe -- 21 for 30, 340 yards -- tore apart the Jets' secondary most of the day, though maybe not to the degree of Testaverde's Achilles'.

But even as the Jets suffered more bad fortune -- Leon Johnson (torn MCL) also was lost for the year -- they wouldn't quit. Tupa, who played significant time as a backup quarterback earlier in his career, kept his team in the game with what would have to be considered a commendable performance given the circumstance.

Actually, the Jets even went in front at 28-27 with 9:34 left as Bryan Cox picked off an errant Bledsoe pass and returned it 27 yards for his first career TD.

You can have all the heart you want.

Bill Parcells and the Jets are in for a long season without QB Vinny Testaverde.(AP)

Without a competent quarterback, you will usually lose. And that's what happened as a pass from Mirer -- who was drafted second in the '93 Draft behind Bledsoe -- was deflected by Ty Law and picked off by Chris Slade on a play that ultimately set up New England's game-winning 23-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with three seconds left.

A win would have been heroic. But if nothing else, the Jets were dealt a fairly telling look at what their life is going to look like without Testaverde.

"With 15 games left, we're going to have to figure out a way to approach this," said Parcells, never one to indulge in self pity.

In fact, the Tuna was downright insulted that a scribe asked him how grim things suddenly looked for his 0-1 team.

"Get out of here," bellowed the Big Tuna. "You think I'm going to put the white flag up? I'm not doing that."

That's because he gets paid not to. A future Hall of Fame coach doesn't make his legacy giving in to injuries. But he also doesn't win Super Bowls with Mirer, Tupa and Ray Lucas behind center.

Losing standout receiver Wayne Chrebet for nearly two months is one thing. Losing Testaverde is quite another

"We lost an MVP-type player," surmised veteran offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott. "Vinny is such a focal part of this team. He's the captain."

So as Parcells walked by his wounded captain before getting set to return to the field for the second half, he couldn't think of much to say. The damage had already been done.

"I just said, 'Tough luck,'" Parcells recounted.

And that pretty much sums up an Opening day of disastrous proportions for the Jets.