EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Kris Jenkins huddled with his New York Jets teammates in a meeting room earlier this week and tried to figure out what’s gone so wrong.
After all, it was only a few weeks ago that fans were entertaining fantasies of the Jets playing in their first Super Bowl in 40 years. Two disappointing losses have effectively quelled those thoughts for now.
“We know what we have to do and we’re confident that we know what it is that we’ve been having some troubles with these past couple of weeks,” Jenkins said. “I think we will get that problem corrected this week.”
That’s not so much a guarantee as it is an improved outlook after dreary performances against Denver and San Francisco. The Jets (8-5) are tied with Miami and New England atop the AFC East, with struggling Buffalo (6-7) coming to the Meadowlands on Sunday.
re going to approach it that way.”
New York still holds tiebreakers over the Dolphins and Patriots, and would make the playoffs for the second time under Eric Mangini if it wins all three remaining games.
“We know it’s going to be tough down the stretch because teams are gunning for us now,” Rhodes said.
Buffalo knows the feeling. The Bills started the season 5-1 and were being hailed as the team to beat in the AFC East. Dick Jauron now finds himself on the hot seat after the Bills have lost six of seven and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the ninth straight season – the longest drought in franchise history.
“They didn’t get lackadaisical and think we’re going to the playoffs no matter what,” quarterback J.P. Losman said. “This is the way it shook out this year and it is disappointing.”
Even owner Ralph Wilson has chimed in, saying the Bills’ biggest problem is that they lack talent.
“He’s been around football for a long time, so obviously, he’s seen talent and he knows when we have it and when we’re lacking it,” defensive end Chris Kelsay said. “So, you have to respect him and his opinions.”
as failed to score a touchdown in a little more than 129 minutes, and the running game has been underutilized in the red zone.
“It’s not just last week,” Losman said. “It has been a couple weeks that this has been going on, a couple weeks where we have left a lot of plays out there. Whether we statistically had more than we did last week, either way, we are leaving a lot of plays out there. As players, you have to look at yourself and say what can I do to make this better?”
It might be tough to get it all fixed this week against the Jets’ 3-4 defense, a scheme Buffalo has struggled against all season.
“We’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot every time we’ve played a 3-4,” running back Fred Jackson said. “We’ve missed some blocks or we missed some holes as running backs. That’s something we have to stop doing is shooting ourselves in the foot and we just have to go out and make some plays work.”
Although New York has also had its share of problems the past few weeks, the defense has shown it can be dominant, especially against the running game. The Jets are ranked fourth against the run and have allowed just one 100-yard rusher.
“There’s no confidence lost,” defensive end Shaun Ellis said. “We know what we’re doing wrong. We know how teams are attacking us. We have to get all of that corrected and get ready for this push.”
ainst the pass, ranking 31st while allowing eight quarterbacks to throw for 250 or more yards.
“When you’re winning, there’s probably those small things that you can do better and they get overlooked,” Rhodes said. “But when you lose, they’re going to get magnified. As a group, there’s not radical changes to be made.”
Despite Brett Favre having no touchdowns in his last nine quarters, he still leads the AFC with a 68.4 completion percentage. Also, Thomas Jones leads the AFC with 1,144 yards rushing and 66 first downs. So a Buffalo defense that has done little in generating sacks or turnovers might be the perfect remedy to what has been ailing the Jets’ offense.
“We control our own destiny,” Favre said. “If we’re not good enough these next three weeks and we just get outplayed, we get outplayed. That’s something we can’t control, but that remains to be seen. I think we’re a pretty good football team.”
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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park, N.Y., contributed to this report.
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