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Jets looking to avoid trap against Rams

Nov 4, 2008 - 7:42 PM St. Louis (2-6) at NY Jets (5-3), 1:00 pm EST

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New York Jets reached the midpoint of the season in a three-way tie with Buffalo and New England for first place in the AFC East, but they've been too inconsistent to be considered a legitimate playoff team.

The Jets, who are coming off an impressive 26-17 win in Buffalo last week, could change that Sunday when they host the St Louis Rams.

With the Patriots looming in Foxborough next Thursday, Sunday's contest shapes up as a classic trap game for the Jets, who suffered a 16-13 overtime loss at Oakland in a similar game in Week Seven.

Still, New York is 4-1 in its last five games and a victory over the Rams would give the Jets (5-3) their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Coach Eric Mangini called last week's win the most complete game the Jets have played all season.

"We had a complete effort, finished the game and played complementary football," he said. "That's what we need to do consistently to win, and it's a tough division and we face tough teams every week. That's what I'm looking for each time we go out."

The Jets have been striving to find an identity. Quarterback Brett Favre gets the most attention, but the strength of the team may be its defense - particularly against the run.

Kris Jenkins, a 6-4, 360-pound nose tackle, leads a unit that boasts the NFL's fourth-best run defense, yielding only 76 yards per game. Jenkins had five tackles, including two sacks, in last week's win.

The Jets held the Bills to just 30 yards rushing, although top Buffalo running back Marshawn Lynch missed a portion of the game with flu-like symptoms.

The Jets' defense could get a break this week as the status of St.Louis running back Steven Jackson is uncertain.

Jackson carried only seven times for 17 yards in last week's 34-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals while playing with a right thigh injury that caused him to miss the Rams' game against New England two weeks ago.

St. Louis interim coach Jim Haslett said Jackson will not play against the Jets unless he has a strong week of practice.

"Steven's got to give us a full day's work this week," Haslett said. "We can't go into the game not knowing whether he can play or not. So we just decided that we're going to make sure that he can actually go in practice, and not just jog through."

Jackson wasn't the only St. Louis running back playing hurt last week. Antonio Pittman suffered a hamstring injury on his first carry. He stayed in the game but finished with just 12 yards on 10 carries.

The Rams (2-6) created some excitement by winning their first two games under Haslett, but now they have dropped their last two to likely end their playoff hopes. St. Louis is three games behind Arizona in the NFC West.