Ryan thinks Jets will rebound from blowout

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Outcoached, outplayed, sloppy, humiliating, and plain old bad. Rex Ryan wasn't at a loss for adjectives describing Monday night's 45-3 rout by the Patriots.

"It was the game of the year," Ryan said Tuesday at the Jets' practice facility. "The NFL deserved a better game than that, but we weren't up to the task."

Despite his displeasure, there was at least one adjective that the subdued Ryan would not use to describe the 9-3 Jets: finished. Moments after calling the nationally televised game the "worst defeat of [his] coaching career," Ryan maintained that the team remains a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

"Everything we talked about is still attainable," he said. "We have a quarter of a season left, so we're far from pressing the panic button . . . Did we play terrible? Absolutely. Was it the worst performance I've ever been around? Yup, it sure was . . . But it's just one game."

That being said, the Jets took a literal as well as a psychological beating at the hands of their AFC East rivals. The Jets' roughed-up secondary - which suffered another blow when James Ihedigbo went down in the third quarter with an ankle injury - allowed 326 passing yards and four TDs. Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions, two in the red zone.

Ryan said the key to the Jets' playoff hopes would be not to let the loss overwhelm them. He pointed to the 1985 Bears, who lost "as big, or even bigger than this" to Miami and went on to win the Super Bowl with Ryan's father, Buddy, as their defensive coordinator.

Rex didn't remember that game too clearly, because although it was a shock, it was far more competitive than Monday's. The Dolphins beat Chicago, 38-24, also on a Monday night in early December; it was the Bears' only loss of the season.

"Everyone still talks about it," Ryan said. "The funny thing is, I hope history repeats itself. The goal of the Chicago Bears was to win a Super Bowl. That's our goal. Whether people like it or not, I really don't care."

First, though, on Sunday the Jets will have to beat Miami, which at 6-6 is on the verge of irrelevancy.

"If we go out and win our four games, we'll see what happens," Ryan said. "But we better start by beating Miami, who is going to give us everything they've got. They're coming into here with slim playoff chances. They've got to beat us, it's as simple as that.

"We're going to get their best shot."

There are lingering questions about how the Jets do against better teams. They are 1-3 against opponents with a winning record, splitting with the Patriots (10-2) and losing to the Ravens and Packers (both 8-4).

"Clearly, we've got to do a better job," Ryan said. "There's a reason we lost three games. We lost to three good football teams."

Still, Ryan stressed that the Jets, despite their many late-game comebacks and fortunate breaks, can thrive during postseason.

"As long as I've been in the league, they always say win the games you're supposed to win, and split with the good teams," Ryan said.

"We've got to earn the right to get there, but we know what the playoffs are about. The same scenario happened last year. We beat [the Patriots] in Week 2, they smoked us at their place, yet we went further than they did in the playoffs."