The last time the Jets faced the Patriots, Rex Ryan predicted a win.
This time? Crickets.
The usually brash Jets head coach toned it down yesterday, perhaps out of fear of motivating Bill Belichick and Co., who come to MetLife Stadium on Thursday night.
“Anything we do, we’re behind where we have to be,” Ryan said. “We can only focus on ourselves and just find a way to punch out. We earned where we are, and we just have to find a way to punch our way out. That’s it. I’m not even worried about tweaking New England or anybody else. It’s to the point where we have to focus on us.”
The Jets improved to 4-6 after Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Rams, keeping their season alive for at least four more days. A loss to the Patriots would put them in the precarious position of having to win their final five games in order to even have a chance of making the playoffs.
“We know who’s coming up next on Thanksgiving Day,” linebacker Calvin Pace said after Sunday’s game. “We had to handle this one and give ourselves a chance. It’s hard to look to the future when so much is stacked against us. We’re going to go out swinging.”
Perhaps Ryan toned down his act this week because he knows how desperate his team is. The Jets are three games behind the Patriots in the division and two games behind the wild-card leaders — the Colts and Steelers.
Ryan said he will not tell his players to avoid throwing any verbal jabs at the Patriots before Thursday.
“We’re just trying to punch our way out,” Ryan said, “so I don’t know how much of that there will be, but it’s not something I’ll bring up to the team.”
The Jets got their first win in 35 days Sunday. Now they will try to win two in a row for the first time since last December.
“We put ourselves in this spot,” Ryan said. “Without question [the sense of desperation], it’s there. Again, it’s not a panic thing, it’s just the fact that we just have to be focused and tight, and whatever the next challenge is, to face it head on. That’s what we’ll do.”
That next challenge is a familiar one. The Patriots enter this game having won four games in a row, a streak that started with their 29-26 overtime win over the Jets last month. The Patriots look like they’re hitting their usual late-season stride. They put up 59 points against the Colts on Sunday and have scored more than 35 points in each of their last three games.
“We know them,” Pace said. “They know us. I’ll say this until I’m not in the league anymore: You have to beat New England because they’re not going to beat themselves. We’ve just got to limit our mental mistakes and our turnovers. We’ve got a good chance if we do that.”
Both the Steelers and Colts lost Sunday, keeping the Jets within striking distance of the playoffs. The Jets are 10th in the AFC, meaning they’ll have to pass four teams to get into the postseason tournament.
In Ryan’s first year as head coach in 2009 the Jets were 4-6 before making a run to the playoffs. Ryan said the Jets are not worrying about the playoffs yet, just their next opponent.
“Right now, we have so much work to do,” Ryan said. “All we can do is focus on ourselves. We’re not getting into that now. We know we have to get better.”
brian.costello@nypost.com