12/24 — This was another one of those games for Jerricho Cotchery — in several senses of the phrase.

Cotchery had one of those fine statistical receiving lines that he is becoming known for: eight catches, 152 yards and the Jets' only touchdown against the Titans today. And that led to another fine — no, make that grand — distinction. Cotchery cleared 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career.

"Personally, I didn't set any statistical goals," Cotchery said softly in the hushed surroundings of the LP Field visitors' locker room. "I just wanted to do better than I did last year, take it up another level. I think for the most part I've done that this year. But I still have a lot of things I have to work on."

That's because Cotchery's game and the Jets' 10-6 loss to the Titans were both microcosms of the Jets' season: close but no cigar, or in the words of CBS analyst Randy Cross, "a season of almosts."

"We're working hard, we're going out there fighting," Cotchery said. "But we keep coming up short. That's part of the game. We just have to get better."

There were variations on that theme all around the room.

"Yeah, it is," safety Kerry Rhodes had to agree. "It's a broken record."

"It's not a gag order," guard Brandon Moore said suggested that's why he wasn't in a talkative mood. "I don't know what else to say."

LB David Bowens was asked what most of the Jets' dozen losses this season had in common. "The common denominator is we keep losing these games ourselves," he said, "with penalties and turnovers."

The defense held the Titans to 273 yards, got two takeaways and rendered QB Vince Young fairly harmless ... yet still gave up third-down conversions on seven of 14 opportunities and had no three-and-out drives as LenDale White pounded away effectively.

And the offense had several nice drives and Chad Pennington, starting in his old Tennessee home, went 26-for-32 for an 81.3 percent accuracy that he bettered only once in his career ... but Pennington was sacked six times, threw two interceptions, one in the end zone, and generated only six points.

"They have a great defense," TE Chris Baker said, "but we had a pretty good plan going in and we have good skill players. We expected to score points. It's just tough when your quarterback can't stand in there."

Actually, Pennington was remarkably upbeat about his line even though, because of injuries and roster situations, he at times was playing behind a first-time NFL starter (LG Will Montgomery), two players making their NFL debuts (Robert Turner at LG, Clint Oldenburg at RT) and a rare OL participant (Wade Smith at RG).

"I could not imagine my first NFL start being against Albert Haynesworth," Pennington said of Montgomery's assignment vs. the Titans' Pro Bowl DT. "We were trying to slow them down, get their big guys tired by making a lot of substitutions. I thought we were pretty effective at times."

However, someone forgot to get the memo to fellow Pro Bowl Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, who had a game-high 11 tackles and three sacks.,

Which brings up one more dark moment for the Jets. When Moore was nailed for unsportsmanlike conduct for dropping Vanden Bosch out of bounds at the end of Cotchery's 41-yard catch-and-run to the Tennessee 26 in the third quarter, it was because Moore had Cotchery's back.

"I didn't go over to hit him, actually," Moore said. "I went over to let him know I didn't like what he did when he was hitting Jerricho out of bounds."

"We look out for each other," Cotchery said. "I appreciate what he was trying to do."

The daytime Emmy voters may also appreciate what Vanden Bosch did when they award him Best Dramatic Fall in Drawing a Penalty. KVB knew Moore was in the vicinity because the two had engaged as Cotchery was moving downfield and no doubt knew it was Moore who bumped him from behind on the sideline,

"I thought he did a pretty good job of acting," Moore said.

Unfortunately, the Jets aren't acting. They're trying their darnedest and the results are three wins, 12 losses, and one last chance to head into an off-season of healing and improvement when they take on their old coach, Herm Edwards, and his equally struggling Chiefs at home next Sunday.