Braylon Edwards learned something about winning games in watching the Sunday night contest featuring the Jets' Week 11 opponent — the Patriots — against the Colts.
"You have a questionable call," Edwards said, "but those two teams don't beat themselves. You have to beat those teams. You have to take it to them for four quarters and come out with the win.
"They're not going to fumble balls. They're not going to throw interceptions. They're not going to let special teams beat them. Those guys, you have to go up and beat them."
In their last two games the Jets have committed those costly errors forcing them to fall behind — two lost fumbles, two interceptions, two kickoff-returns TDs allowed. They keep putting themselves in difficult situations.
Take the Jacksonville game: The first play from scrimmage Mark Sanchez underthrows a ball intended for WR Jerricho Cotchery and it's picked off by CB Rashean Mathis. With the early momentum, the Jags run down the field on five plays for 55 yards and take the lead on the road..
"We're giving guys a chance," No. 17 said. "We're spotting guys points and then at the end we're trying to play from behind. This is the National Football League. That's pretty hard to do."
The Jets then allowed two more touchdowns in the second quarter and faced a 21-13 deficit heading into the second half.
"It's just inconsistency. It's very, very nerve-wracking to know what you have," said Edwards. "The biggest thing for us is we're actually a good team and we know it. But we don't always show that."
New York's AFC representative committed two third-quarter turnovers that the Jags were unable to capitalize on. It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Green & White put two brilliant drives together.
The first: a 14-play, 60-yarder that ended in a Jay Feely FG to put them behind 21-16 and take 7:12 off the clock. The second: a 16-play, 77-yard drive that ended in a Thomas Jones dive-over-the-pile TD, giving the Jets the lead 22-21, lasting 7:37 and leaving 5:04 on the clock.
"If we would do what we're doing at the end of games, we're, I don't want to say phenomenal, that's a strong word, but we're pretty darn good at the end of games," Edwards said. "Why is it that we can't come out that way?"
The five minutes proved to be too much time left and the Jags were able to run the clock out and Josh Scobee kicked the heartbreaking chip-shot field goal to win the game.
"It's a frustrating thing because normally we finish those games," said head coach Rex Ryan. "I've been used to finishing when I'm on defense."
The situation of the Jets beating the Jaguars and heading to Foxboro to tie the Patriots for the AFC East lead now doesn't exist. But the Pats' Sunday night loss puts them at 6-3 and keeps them in reach of the Jets, two games behind.
"For them to lose that game, it helped us out but we have to capitalize," said Edwards. "It's nothing if we don't capitalize this coming Sunday."
"We still believe in ourselves. We still know what we have in this locker room. There's not a lot that believe in us outside of this locker room but that really doesn't matter. As long as we continue to believe in ourselves I think we can put something together and come out of it this week."
