The Jets' 34-31 overtime victory over New England earned them more than sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

It apparently earned them a few days off.

Not only did coach Eric Mangini give his players Saturday and Sunday off, but he threw in Monday and Tuesday, too.

"It's good to be able to get away for the weekend," Mangini said Monday. He was the only one made available to the media.

"We gave the players and coaches some time off. One of the benefits of playing on Thursday night, (after) the quick series of preparation for us to get ready to play the game, (is that) you do get a chance after the game, to get away for a little bit. It gives us a chance to recover from some of the bumps and bruises that we have up until this point, then start on the next week of preparation."

Mangini indicated that he structured it almost like a miniature bye week. The Jets will resume their regular schedule Tuesday, with coaches working on the game plan for Sunday's contest at unbeaten Tennessee before the players come in Wednesday.

"I really like the chance to get the guys away from the building for a little bit," the coach added, "to get off their feet, relax and do all the things that they typically do during a bye weekend. Over the last couple of years, our byes have come later rather than earlier. This was a bit different for us this year. It's nice to have this time."

If the Jets (7-3) were playing Detroit on Sunday, Mangini would be able to wax poetic over how good the winless Lions are, so talking up an unbeaten team was a snap.

"They're good in all three phases," Mangini said of the Titans. "They have the ability to rush the passer with their down linemen. They can bring combinations of blitzes if they want to do that. They play man coverage. They play zone coverage. They play some combination coverages, half man, half zone. It's varied from that perspective. They do a nice job of stopping the run with eight in the box, (and) seven in the box.

"Offensively," Mangini added, Tennessee has a "nice balance between run and pass. They can hurt you deep. They can throw a screen pass that goes for a long way. It's a balance on (special) teams. It's a lot of the same. They are well-coached, disciplined, in good shape, talented and perform at a high level."

Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins has five touchdown passes and one interception over the last two games.

"He's been very effective at managing the game and the offense," Mangini said.

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