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Jets hope to take flight against Seahawks

Dec 16, 2008 - 4:15 PM NY Jets (9-5) at Seattle (3-11), 4:05 pm EST

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Trips to the West Coast have been nightmarish for the New York Jets this season.

The Jets make their final cross country flight of the regular season Sunday when they visit the Seattle Seahawks.

Locked in a three-way tie with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots atop the AFC East, New York needs a better result against the Seahawks than its three visits to California, which has produced losses to San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco - all teams with losing records.

Based on that, the Jets can take little solace in the Seahawks' 3-11 mark - particularly after struggling to eke out a 31-27 home victory over the reeling Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

New York appeared headed for a loss until the Bills inexplicably attempted a pass while trying to run out the clock. Shaun Ellis scooped up an ensuing fumble and returned it 11 yards for a score with 1:54 remaining to steal an improbable victory.

"I consider it a win. When you look back on it, I think we're 9-5 and it doesn't have an asterisk beside it," Jets quarterback Brett Favre said. "It's kind of like in baseball, when you get a little 'Punch and Judy' right over the first baseman's head, the box score doesn't say 'Punch and Judy,' it says single.

"A win's a win. Once again, it doesn't matter how you win them. All I know is this team is 9-5 and we're still in first place."

Despite playing poorly against the Bills and having lost its previous two games, New York can claim the AFC East title by winning its final two games.

Favre has been among the reasons for the Jets' struggles in the past three games, throwing one TD pass and four interceptions while failing to amass a quarterback rating above 61.4.

Running back Thomas Jones, however, continued his stellar season, rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Bills. He set three team records in the game: 15 touchdowns overall, 13 rushing and eight straight games with a score.

"The guy has played outstanding," Favre said. "He is just steady. He shows up every day at practice and does the same thing every day. He plays that way every week. That's quite a tandem, with Thomas and Leon (Washington). It has been a lot of fun to play with them."

The Seahawks snapped a six-game losing streak, scoring 10 points in the final three minutes to squeeze out a 23-20 victory over the St. Louis Rams last weekend.

Seneca Wallace threw a 45-yard pass to Deion Branch with 44 seconds to play, setting up Olindo Mare's 27-yard field goal as time expired.

Despite its woeful record, Seattle had the Patriots on the ropes two weeks ago before New England scored in the final three minutes for a 24-21 victory.