"What do you see happening in here?"

"We're winning," said the amicable Woody, a former Lion who, before signing with Detroit, won two Super Bowls with the Patriots in 2001 and 2003. "It's not that hard [to figure out], we're winning."

Woody laughed, knowing the question implied a big-picture response.

"I know what you mean," he said. "It's chemistry. That's all I can attribute it to. Guys ... we have a bunch of good guys in this locker room and guys have been working extremely hard, concentrating on the things that we had to do."

The "chemistry" equation can be overstated at times, but consider something that came out of the other locker room, one housing a team that, though disappointed, still had an AFC-best 10-1 record. Titans running back LenDale White, having played sparingly against the Jets, responded in what seemed a me-first manner to a question about what went into the 21-point loss and any possible lingering effects.

"I have been over it," White said, according to the Tennessean. "It is a game, so what? You would like to win it, but it is one game, so what? I only played three plays, so I really couldn't tell you what happened. I don't really know. I didn't really care."

Hard to imagine something like that coming out of this year's Jets locker room.

When exactly did the chemistry Woody spoke of come together in sparking this five-game winning streak that has elevated the Jets into being discussed as a Super Bowl contender?

Back-to-back games Oct. 19 in Oakland and Oct. 26 against the Chiefs might provide an answer.

After the 16-13 overtime loss to an imploding Raiders team, veteran linebacker David Bowens, in the quiet of the Jets' locker room, called the disappointing afternoon "a wake-up call."

"It was a wake-up call and what happened was we said we have to stop the self-inflicted wounds," Bowens said after Sunday's game in Tennessee. "Penalties, turnovers, turnovers for six, things like that. And what everyone did was point to themselves and say, what can I do to make this team better? What can I do to make my position better? And everyone's approached it that way."

The fruits of that, however, weren't immediately apparent.

Seven days after the Oakland embarrassment came, perhaps, an even worse performance against the woeful Chiefs. But when Kansas City coach Herm Edwards went conservative and gave Brett Favre a chance to beat his team in the final minutes, the 39-year-old quarterback did, resulting in a 28-24 victory.

But many players, though pleased to win, steered away from "a win is a win" conjecture.

"Unacceptable," several said of the performance afterward.

Players knew there was more talent in the room than their past two games had shown and though there was some frustration, veterans - especially Favre and nose tackle Kris Jenkins - kept on with a consistent message: it's going to come together and when it does, look out.

The Jets now have positioned themselves for something not even their most optimistic fans could have envisioned, even after the Favre trade.

So there has to be some kind of letdown, right?

Not necessarily.

Bowens said after Sunday's game that though confidence was at its most fervent after the thrilling victory in Foxborough, when the Jets returned to work, that accomplishment had been filed away.

"We do a good job of putting wins behind us," Bowens said. "It could have been real easy to have a letdown after that emotional win last week [against the Patriots], but we had a couple days off, reported back last Wednesday and that stuff was behind us; we didn't talk about it anymore."

So as the buzz builds around the Jets and talk of an all New York Super Bowl swirls, players likely will come back today thinking only about the Broncos.

"It says we're 8-3," Favre said Sunday when asked what kind of statement the Jets had made with the victories over the Patriots and Titans. "That's way better than probably a lot of people gave us a chance to be. What that means for the future remains to be seen."

Looks like it's going to be quite a ride finding out.

Storylines

A quick look at the top stories this week

Avoiding the letdown

The Jets had impressive road victories over the Patriots and Titans just 10 days apart. Sunday's 34-13 dismantling of previously unbeaten Tennessee was so thorough, in some eyes the Jets went right to the front of the line, or near the front, of AFC title contenders. Losing to a Broncos team that lost, 31-10, at home to the Raiders on Sunday couldn't puncture the balloon, but certainly let some air from it.

It's a pass, it's a pass

Denver coach Mike Shanahan is one of the best offensive coaches in the league, a specialist at attacking the opposition's weaknesses. All season for the Jets, that has been defending the pass and Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler can sling it all over the field. Though the Broncos have been decent running the ball - the Broncos average 109.5 rushing yards per game - it wouldn't be surprising to see Shanahan come out five-wide and stay that way.

The clock game

The Jets won time of possession, 40:30 to 19:30, against the Titans because their offensive line protected Brett Favre - allowing the short passing game to flourish - and opened holes for Thomas Jones (96 yards) and Leon Washington (82 yards). The Broncos are 27th in the league against the run (144.5 ypg) with a much less imposing and capable front four than the Titans, meaning there should be no reason the Jets can't put together a few more clock-eating drives that would keep Cutler off the field.

Statlines

The Jets have scored on their first possession six straight games and have been a strong first-quarter team all season.

MOST FIRST-QUARTER POINTS SCORED

Atlanta 88

Jets 78

Giants 78

Chicago 75

Indianapolis 71

BEST FIRST-QUARTER

SCORING DIFFERENTIAL

Atlanta +64

Giants +49

Jets +45

Indianapolis +39

Chicago +31

Courtesy: Elias

Sunday

Broncos at Jets

4:15 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN (1050)

WABC (770) WRCN (103.9)