Harris, who was injured against Kansas City and missed the Jets' win over Buffalo, has a team-leading 52 tackles. David Bowens started in his place at Buffalo and had four tackles, including a sack. Bowens will start again Sunday for the Jets (5-3) against St. Louis (2-6).

Bowens, an excellent pass rusher, isn't quite as good in space as Harris so teams may try to exploit him in coverage, particularly on screens. But St. Louis might not be able to do that because the Rams are so decimated at running back. It's possible they will start Kenneth Darby, signed off the Falcons' practice squad last month, if Steven Jackson (thigh) is unable to play.

--NT Kris Jenkins received the award for AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his outstanding game at Buffalo, in which he had two sacks and pressured Trent Edwards into throwing an interception that became a 92-yard touchdown for Abram Elam.

Jenkins said the honor "is not something that you think you're going to get from a nose tackle position, so I appreciate it, but still it's like a part of me is in the back of my mind (saying), 'you've got to shake that off real quick because you might not see this ever again, so enjoy it for a second (and) breathe.'"

Jenkins was happy that Illinois Senator Barack Obama won the election and will be the first African-American president in U.S. history.

"I really enjoyed being able to be alive and see history being made during my generation," Jenkins said. "The thing that a lot of people have always stuck on with this election is race and to me it didn't matter. I really just wanted to see the best candidate be elected and the thing is, I think that the best candidate in this election happened to be black or mixed or whatever you want to say, but I think that he's a great man. I think he really kept his cool in a really tough situation and I think as a country that's what we need."

--Rookie LB Vernon Gholston confirmed that he visited with Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor last week for some advice. "He's a great guy," Gholston said, adding, "We left it open" for another potential meeting.

Gholston, the sixth overall pick from Ohio State, has seen most of his action on special teams. His transition from a 4-3 defensive end in college to a 3-4 linebacker in the NFL hasn't been easy, and he still is looking for his first pro sack.

Gholston said that Taylor told him about "his rookie year and his development as a player," and reassured Gholston that he's on the right track.

BY THE NUMBERS: 29 -- Sacks recorded by the Jets through eight games, tying the amount they had in all of the 2007 season.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We got the big win that we wanted last week to prove that we can get it done and that we do belong, but we still have a long way to go this season." -- FS Kerry Rhodes.