Tom E. Curran • E-mail

The noise on the Jets' plane Sunday evening was deafening.

“I’m sorry,” Kris Jenkins shouted over the din. “We’re just having a little raffle here and Eric Barton won.”

To the victors go the raffles. And the happy plane rides home. After a 34-13 crunching of the previously perfect Tennessee Titans, Gang Green was giddy.

“We introduced ourselves to the people out there when we beat New England,” Jets guard Damien Woody said. “Now they’ll get to know a little bit more about us. Each game just gets bigger and bigger now.”

The Jets shook up the AFC just a little bit, rocking the Titans in their own stadium. The win was New York’s fifth straight and moves their record to 8-3 as they maintained a one-game edge on New England in the AFC East.

And while the guy who was brought in to help the Jets over the top — Brett Favre — played pretty well against the Titans, it was the Jets defense that turned the tables on the previously impregnable Titans.

It wasn't close, either. The Jets never trailed. When they took a 20-3 lead late in the third quarter, they had significant advantages in nearly every area.

• First downs: Jets 20, Titans 5.
• Total yards: Jets 282, Titans 99.
• QB comparison: Favre 195 yards, Kerry Collins 54.

The Jets also held a three-to-one edge in time of possession.

Video   Jets shock Titans Nov. 23: Head coach Eric Mangini and the Jets tell Bob Neumeier say their win over the Titans was a huge step for the program.

“We’re putting it together,” Woody said. “We’re starting to know who we are and what we’re about and we’re play with a lot of confidence.”

Which they should be considering the ridiculous numbers they’ve been putting up since their third game. Since Week 3, New York's point totals are 29, 56, 26, 13, 28, 26, 47, 34 and 34. The 13 came in a “what was that??” loss to the Raiders.

The Jets' defense hasn’t generally matched their offense a lot of weeks. Against New England, New York led 24-6 in the second quarter, then was outscored 25-7 heading into overtime before they escaped with the win. But Sunday, they made Collins look like the journeyman quarterback that he is.

Collins finished the game with decent fantasy numbers (21 for 39 for 243 passing yards, with a touchdown) but when the game hung in the balance, New York held Collins and the Tennessee passing game in check. At the break, Collins was 7 for 21 for 54 yards. The passing numbers were rolled up against a Jets defense intent on keeping plays in front of it and letting time bleed away.

Video   Jets end Titans' run Nov. 24: Brett Favre talks about beating the Titans, while Jeff Fisher and Kerry Collins discuss where the Titans go from here.

And while the bouquets and hosannas will no doubt be lobbed at Favre’s feet this week after a 25-for-32, two-touchdown, one-pick performance, he kept Tennessee in the game in the first half with two strip-sack fumbles (one recovered by the Titans) and an interception. It was the New York ground attack (Thomas Jones ran for 96 yards and Leon Washington picked up 82) that opens some eyes because — as a rule — folks don’t run on Tennessee.

“Everybody talks about them but we wanted to show we’re a good offensive line,” said Woody, who — along with former Steelers guard Alan Faneca — came over to New York as a free agent. “We’re not a bunch of stiffs out there, we have a pretty good group of guys up front and we can play with anybody.”

That the Jets did it against a Titans team that welcomed back defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch makes it even more impressive. And the Titans didn’t love that.