Posted by Nick St. Denis
Think the New York Jets don't talk playoffs in the locker room?
Think again.
The Jets won a critical game Sunday, ousting the Buffalo Bills in improving to 6-5 while dropping Buffalo to 5-6. The victory kept New York's playoff hopes alive and all but eliminated the Bills from postseason contention.
Jets coach Rex Ryan gave the message when addressing the team after the game.
"That's one team that we were competing with, right?" Ryan told the team in the locker room after the game. "To make the playoffs, and all that. They're in our rear-view mirror. And we don't have to apologize for anything with that."
Ryan, whose postgame locker room speech was posted on NewYorkJets.com, praised his offensive line.
"The protection we had, might have been the best protection we've had in a long, long time," Ryan told the team. "(Mark) Sanchez, hell of a job. O-line, we challenge everybody last night, there's no question about it, way to respond. That's how we protect the quarterback. We ran the ball all over the place."
Ryan had some reservations, specifically with the defense's performance and a muffed punt return by Antonio Cromartie. Still, the coach was confident, as always.
"We've got to tighten some things up on D, and guys, we can't turn the ball over on (special) teams, man. How many times we got to talk about it?" Ryan told the team. "But we overcame it, didn't we? Don't let anybody rob us of our dreams. Everything will work out. We stay together, we stay the course, and we get a little better each week."
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