Jim Leonhard is just like most New York Jets fans.

He sneaks an occasional peek at the remaining schedule, does some quick math in his head and analyzes his team's playoff chances.

"It's just human nature," the Jets safety said Monday. "You're going to kind of look ahead and see the situations that can unfold. The biggest thing is we need to win. If we lose a game, we really put ourselves in a bad position."

After a convincing 26-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday and a few other teams losing, the Jets (7-6) are still in the middle of the AFC playoff mix. They've won three straight games, the defense has been dominant, and they might even get injured quarterback Mark Sanchez back this week after Kellen Clemens filled in adequately against the Buccaneers.

"We just wanted to get back to the basics, play good defense, stop the run, run the football and complete some passes along the way," defensive end Shaun Ellis said. "I think when we started doing that and we cut down on the turnovers and created turnovers on defense, it was a winning formula for us."

Still, New York knows it needs to win each of its last three games to have a realistic shot at the postseason.

"They know how I feel," coach Rex Ryan said. "Our official stance is it's improbable right now."

What about the "unofficial" stance?

"All I've got to say is it's improbable," Ryan said of the playoff possibilities. "That's the way everybody will approach it right now. Our stance is we believe we're going to win every game. That's the way it's been since Day 1."

Even if the Jets beat Atlanta, undefeated Indianapolis and Cincinnati, they still could miss out because of tiebreakers after some frustrating losses to Miami and Jacksonville earlier this season.

"You always look back and reflect on those games," Leonhard said. "Now that they are a few weeks behind us, you realize the hole that it put us in, one, and how we've approached the last few weeks, how we'll approach the next three weeks, is do-or-die.

"It's playoff atmosphere around here for us."

New York has certainly played that way the last few games, with solid wins over Carolina, Buffalo and Tampa Bay. Those opponents might not exactly be elite teams, but instead of falling flat, New York has turned it up a notch.

"I think we're motivated and have put ourselves in a better situation so that we can start talking again about the playoff race and the things we can do," left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson said.