Jets say losing won't create fractures in locker room

The Jets say they are sticking together despite a 1-4 start and a season that could be heading off the rails with games against Denver and New England in a five-day span beginning Sunday.

"I think the guys are going to come back to work Wednesday and are going to continue to move forward against a good Denver team coming in," veteran linebacker Calvin Pace said on Monday, a day after the Jets' 31-0 loss in San Diego. "We know we have to step our game way up or we're going to get embarrassed again."

Asked how the Jets will avoid starting to point fingers at each other, as has happened in the past, Pace said: "Don't listen to you guys [media] . . . At this point in time, only the people in the locker room matters. The media, the fans, they're not contributing to what's going on right now. We've got to fix this. I know we will. This is just about getting back to the basics and focusing on the task moving forward."

One thing the Jets agreed on Monday was they didn't play well in any phase of the game on Sunday. The usually boastful team was humbled.

"Obviously, we sit here disappointed," center Nick Mangold said. "We need to get back and get to work and clean up our mistakes. I think that comes from top down, all three phases. That's a performance that none of us can be proud of."

The Jets know they will have to play well on Sunday to beat Peyton Manning and the defending AFC champion Broncos. Tom Brady and the Patriots, who host the Jets on Oct. 16, were struggling before a big win on Sunday night against the Bengals.

The Jets may not be able to out-talent those teams, but they are trying not to have their locker room unravel as they stare a 1-6 start in the face.

"I think the biggest thing is communication," Mangold said. "When guys have issues or when things come up, you get in trouble when you don't talk about them as a team. I think the locker room that we have, the way that we've built this camaraderie here, we know that we can talk about things. If something pops up or some guy's got an issue here or there, we can talk it out. We don't have to talk just amongst little groups or anything like that. It's a team effort here.

"I think our guys realize that, especially the older guys, and realize the only way out of this is to put your head down and keep grinding, keep working and we need to instill that on our young group of guys."