It wasn't just what the Jets did on the field yesterday; it was how they left the field. There was no limp, no stagger, no grimace and definitely no doubt.

"After this," veteran cornerback Ty Law said, "we should look at ourselves as a great team."

Well, at the very least, we should look at the Jets as we would any team in the AFC with big dreams. The Jets are on that level. The Jets are in that mix.

They strutted away from LP Field knowing they belong. They know they can win anywhere. They know they can go anywhere. They know this, and now, after the last few weeks, everyone else knows this, too.

They're 8-3 with two signature wins behind them and a soft schedule ahead. Their quarterback is on target and so is their coach. They might not be the best team in New York, but outside the city limits, can you really tell the Jets apart from the Patriots or the Titans, who both learned the hard way that the Jets mean business?

The Jets didn't beat the last unbeaten team in Football yesterday by squeaking by, or kicking a last-minute field goal, or getting the right call, or being lucky. Nothing like that.

The Jets didn't win on a fluke. The Jets issued a 34-13 smackdown. They beat the Titans at their game, in their place, and if those aren't impressive enough credentials to declare the Jets serious contenders, what else can they possibly do?

True, we don't really know where the Jets are headed. We do know where they've been. They went to New England and won in overtime. Yes, the Patriots were hobbled. Yes, the Patriots didn't have Tom Brady. And now that you're done listing the excuses, legitimate as they may be, also understand that yes, the game was an important one.

It was the defending AFC champs. It was Bill Belichick. It was a team that had its foot on the Jets' neck the entire decade. It was for the outright division lead. It was huge - for the Jets, anyway.

Then came yesterday, against the 10-0 Titans, who admittedly were a bigger threat to the Jets than to the 1972 Dolphins. Still, the Titans made their record by playing physical Football. They punch people in the mouth. Their very formidable defensive line, for example, starts Fat Albert, Herman Munster and Lurch, on loan from the Addams Family.

And yet the Jets pushed them around the field, kept their fingerprints off Brett Favre, opened holes for Thomas Jones, kept the ball moving. The offensive line provided the kind of protection usually reserved for presidents.

And the Jets' game plan was solid. Eric Mangini emphasized a short passing game, which helped keep the Titans from pressuring Favre and also helped spring the running game and swallow up generous portions of the game clock. Jeff Fisher may be the best coach without a Super Bowl win, but in terms of preparation, he was clearly out-clipboarded by Mangini.

When Favre plays under control and the Jets limit mistakes, they have enough talent to compete and win. The franchise hasn't felt this confident since Vinny Testaverde was the quarterback and Bill Parcells the coach. Once again, those very important roles appear to be in capable hands, based on the last two games.

"We want to be taken seriously," nose tackle Kris Jenkins said.

So the Jets, winners of seven of their last eight, are shoving their way into the playoff picture, and maybe even the championship picture. Next up are the Broncos, 49ers, Bills, Seahawks and Dolphins, with three of those five at home. Everything looks and feels right for them. "This puts us in a good position," Favre said.

They're not an incredible team, but then, with the aura removed from the Titans, nobody else in the AFC is, either. It's possible that the Jets, after winning in New England and Tennessee, might need to play in one or both places come January. Been there, done that.

"We're never going to start thinking that we're the 'it' team," Jenkins said. "We don't know what the future brings. You gotta prove yourself every week in this league."

All the Jets can do is keep winning, and doing it impressively enough to at least convince us that it's a toss-up between them and the other team in town.

As you know, there's only one way to decide that issue.