Jets' mood goes from downcast to upbeat
Mark Sanchez leaves the field following the game against the San Diego Chargers at MetLife Stadium. (Oct. 23, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- There's a decidedly different vibe floating around the Jets these days, a polar-opposite perspective to what they were experiencing just two weeks ago in the midst of their skid.
"You felt a sense of desperation," Rex Ryan said Monday, "like 'God, we need to win.' "
But now the Jets (4-3) are feeling giddy about themselves after Sunday's victory over the Chargers, their second consecutive triumph on the heels of a three-game losing streak. They head into this week's bye with a renewed sense of confidence after the way they handled San Diego, a win that has Ryan believing they still can be a championship-caliber team.
"If we play like that, we are going to be a tough team to beat," he said. "There is no doubt."
The Jets put it all together against the Chargers, riding Plaxico Burress' three touchdown receptions and rattling off 17 unanswered points to pull out a 27-21 victory. They ran for a season-high 162 yards and Shonn Greene churned out 112 yards, also a season high. They also did well in what had been a problematic area, going 8-for-13 on third-down conversions.
They also blanked the Chargers in the second half, holding them to 117 yards.
"We know we have the pieces," right guard Brandon Moore said, "and when we stick to our identity and play smart football and lean on guys and play good defense the way they played yesterday -- especially in the second half -- we know we can compete with a lot of teams in this league.
"So it's a matter of us not beating ourselves and sticking to what we know works for us."
That's the formula they'll need to rely on once they report back Sunday. The Jets have games against AFC East rivals Buffalo and New England in successive weeks, and they know those two could go a long way toward determining if they're a playoff team.
"It's big -- division games, you can't lose too many of those," safety Jim Leonhard said. "We've unfortunately lost [one] early, lost a bunch of AFC games. So it's going to be big. We need these first couple. We need to get our minds and bodies back here during this bye week and come back for the grind.
"We're excited. We've got a lot of confidence going into this bye and we need to come back with that same confidence."
