This time, Jets better right ship

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

The Jets and Patriots were tied atop the AFC East, awaiting a head-to-head matchup that would offer a definitive judgment about which team deserved to be in control of the division. But the Patriots routed their longtime rivals and took a decisive step forward, thanks to another transcendent performance from Tom Brady and an equally impressive effort by New England's defense.

Sound familiar?

Sounds like Sunday night's 37-16 rout at MetLife Stadium, where the Jets were thoroughly outclassed by a Patriots team coming off two straight losses and dealing with a rash of defensive injuries, right?

Well, yes. But the Jets' 45-3 embarrassment last December should serve as a painful reminder of the perilous state they find themselves in. And if they don't take a lesson from history, the Jets might see the residual effect of Sunday night's loss snowball into a late-season mess that will put them on the outside looking in come playoff time.

Go back to last year's game for a minute. The Jets and Patriots were 9-2, and expectations were intense. But the Jets were beaten so badly that Rex Ryan buried the game ball near the team's practice field. Then the Jets lost the following week at home against the mediocre Dolphins.

After a potentially season-saving win the next week in Pittsburgh, the Jets lost the following week in Chicago and clinched a playoff spot only after Jacksonville lost to the Redskins in overtime.

A hangover from that loss to the Patriots? Absolutely. And if the Jets aren't careful, they might not be as lucky in 2011 as they were last year. With the Patriots in control of the division and facing six of seven opponents with losing records to finish the regular season, the Jets can't afford to lose three of four the way they did late last season.

At 5-4 and looking up at the Patriots, and with plenty of competition for the two AFC wild-card spots, the Jets need to get their act together immediately. It starts Thursday night in Denver, where they hope for a quick turnaround against the resurgent Broncos.

"The hangover effect happened in the past here, so we have to control it," cornerback Darrelle Revis said. "We have to make sure it doesn't happen again because this next game and the next six games after that, we can decide what we want to do and where we want to go in the playoff hunt."

The Jets certainly are in the thick of the wild-card race. They're only a game out of first place, and there's no telling what happens in the final two months of the season. Ryan termed the Jets' chances of winning the division "doubtful," especially with two losses to the Patriots. But this is a league in which the unexpected is routine. Injuries. Upset losses. There's still way too much time left to anoint anyone a divisional champion.

But none of it will matter if the Jets allow Sunday night's blowout loss to linger.

"We have no choice. We have to get over it," Ryan said. "But I'm not going to deny the fact that [Sunday] was a huge game. Obviously, it was emotional for both teams."

Particularly for Ryan, who was overheard swearing at a fan who had yelled, "Hey Rex, Belichick's better than you!" as the Jets left the field trailing 13-9 at halftime. That likely will result in a hefty fine from the NFL.

But the financial penalty will pale in comparison to Ryan's angst if he sees his team lose its way after this woeful performance.

The Jets were beaten at every turn by a rejuvenated Patriots team, same as last December in Foxboro. Now the idea is to turn the page more quickly than last year, lest the Jets go into another tailspin that damages -- perhaps irrevocably -- any chance to see the Patriots again in January.