Humbled Jets must bounce back in a hurry

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- They're trying to scrape themselves off the canvas, searching for a quick way to re-energize their deflated egos.

The Jets' psyche is a bit fragile after that 37-16 pummeling by the Patriots Sunday night. Their AFC East title hopes probably were wiped away, because they're a game behind New England with seven left. Beating the Jets (5-4) twice gives the Patriots (6-3) the tiebreaker, and New England faces only one more team that currently has a winning record, the Bills.

So there was a noticeable hangover with the Jets Monday, and they know they'll have to snap out of it quickly with a date with the Broncos in Denver only two days away.

"Everybody is kind of still thinking about what happened last night," Darrelle Revis said with a sigh. "But as far as trying to turn it around as fast as we can, that's what guys have been trying to do and trying to focus on Denver."

Still, a disappointing vibe was discernible.

"It's not good," center Nick Mangold said. "But there's still plenty of football left to play. We're excited about the opportunity to get out there Thursday night and right the wrongs."

There are an awful lot of wrongs to right, though.

It started with Nick Folk's hooked 24-yard field-goal try on the Jets' opening drive. The Jets gave up five sacks -- Andre Carter had 41/2 of them -- and even dynamic returner Joe McKnight muffed a punt.

Don't forget about that timeout Mark Sanchez burned with 1:24 left in the first half and about 18 seconds left on the play clock, a move Rex Ryan at the time called the "stupidest thing in football history." Ryan took the blame Monday, blaming the mistake on miscommunication.

Sanchez also threw a pick-six, one of three turnovers the Patriots cashed into 17 points in the second half.

"It wasn't that we were pressing," Ryan said. "I know we were excited about this opportunity. It's hard to describe. I don't know why we made those mistakes. We had the wrong personnel grouping . . . and we're trying to cover three guys in a cover zero with two guys. That doesn't work well. We made too many mistakes."

Ryan isn't optimistic about the Jets' division title hopes. "I still think it's doubtful," he said. "I look at New England as an excellent team. They're a game ahead of us. They might as well be two games ahead of us. I look at it realistically."

So the Jets probably will start turning their attention to the wild-card chase, and Antonio Cromartie remains confident.

"Yeah, we are still a playoff team," the cornerback said. "We still have a chance to be in the playoffs. We've just got to go out every single week and do what we are supposed to do."

But what they really were supposed to do was knock off the Patriots and have a legitimate chance to win their first division crown since 2002.

"We have seven more games left," Revis said. "If we would have won this game, would it put us where we needed to be? Yeah. But we've got to focus on these next seven games and finishing the season out strong."

Moreno out for season. The Broncos lost RB Knowshon Moreno to a season-ending ACL injury. Willis McGahee (hamstring) is expected to play.