FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Last week, Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said the team's primary goal entering next season should be to win the AFC East.
The Patriots, of course, will have something to say about that. New England has won the division every season since 2001, with the exception of 2002 (Jets) and 2008 (Dolphins). And quarterback Tom Brady was limited to one game in 2008 by a knee injury.
The Jets on Sunday closed their second straight season at 5-11 by losing 26-6 to the Patriots -- a year after they fell 41-3 in New England. But Jets outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins doesn't believe the Jets are all that far away from the Patriots.
"Shoot, it's not actually far at all," he said of the gap between these teams. "We've just got to capitalize on opportunities we've got and not make mistakes. If we didn't have some penalties we had [Sunday], the score might be a little different. The gap is not big at all. We just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot.
"I mean, hell, last year was a totally different game than it was this year statistically. People can say that [the gap is large between the Jets and Patriots]. I don't agree with that. I know we can compete with these guys. In the first game [this season], it was a hell of a lot closer game. I don't feel like the gap is big at all."
(The Jets on Sunday had nine penalties for 84 yards. They were penalty prone all year.)
The Jets are 2-12 against the Patriots since beating them in a divisional round playoff game in Foxborough after the 2010 season. Since that day, the Jets are 0-7 in Foxborough. The past two years, the Jets lost by five and seven points at home against the Patriots, and then got smacked in the road half of the season series.
Jets rookie safety Jamal Adams is onboard with the "why not us?" attitude about toppling the Patriots in the AFC East. He said the Jets are "very close" to being a consistent winner.
"I know it," he said. "The Patriots, they weren't always the Patriots. They started somewhere. Matter of fact, my Pops played with them, and they went 0-16. It starts somewhere. Everybody goes through this phase. We're just going to bounce back and get ready for next year."
(Adams' father, George, played running back for the Patriots from 1990-91. They went 1-15 in 1990. They have never finished 0-16.)
To a man, Jets players insist they see progress and reasons for optimism coming out of this season, despite a second consecutive 5-11 finish.
"Because we weren't supposed to do anything," Jenkins said. "We were supposed to be the terrible team. Everyone said we were tanking. We came out and fought with every team this year. This team is a hell of a lot different than last year. We feel like we're headed in the right direction. Last year, there was a little turmoil. You can easily tell it's different than last year."
Yes, the Jets this season were a younger, made-over, and more functional team, in terms of chemistry, than last year's veteran-filled, dysfunctional bunch.
But can the Jets continue their rebuild (with loads of salary cap space in 2018) and actually deliver some results under coach Todd Bowles next season?
"I definitely think our No. 1 goal, first and foremost, should be win the AFC East," Kearse said. "That takes care of a lot of things that we want to accomplish. Plus, nobody [else] has won the division has won the division in -- what? -- he past eight years or so. I'm not with that."
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Kearse pays little mind to the Jets' huge margins of defeat in New England over the past two seasons. (The fact that the Jets had to play overmatched quarterback Bryce Petty on Sunday didn't help their chances at all.)
"I just got here, so that's all irrelevant," he said. "I don't care what the score margin was. A lot of guys weren't here. We've got a young team. We've got some growing up to do."
Said Adams: "We're moving forward and we're gaining some leverage. Nothing is annoying about this season. Everything is a process. We took strides this season."
Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.