Rex Ryan sees a lot of his own team in the Cincinnati Bengals.
A tough running offense? Check. A solid offensive line? Check. A stifling defense? Yep, check there, too.
"We're mirror images of each other, so it's going to be an old-fashioned, knockdown, dragout," the New York Jets coach said Thursday. "This is going to be a man-on-man type challenge."
The Jets are ranked No. 1 in the NFL in overall rushing, and have relied on the run more than any team in the league with their 550 attempts. They expect to stick to that game plan against the Bengals on Sunday night, despite the fact Cincinnati has the NFL's No. 2 defense against the run.
"Watching those guys on film, they play together and they don't ever miss tackles, that's the big thing," fullback Tony Richardson said. "They have a great scheme and what happens is they shut down teams' run and teams are forced to throw the football."
The Bengals are without playmaking rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga for the rest of the season with a broken ankle, but they have allowed just 87.7 yards rushing per game. Only two players - Cleveland's Jerome Harrison and Kansas City's Jamaal Charles - have rushed for 100 yards against them.
"For us, we need to stay patient and keep running," Richardson said, "and realize we might get 1 yard here, 3 yards there or a negative run, but we've got to continue to stay the course."
After all, that approach has gotten the Jets (8-7) to this point, where they'll make the playoffs for the first time since 2006 with a win.
BRONCOS:: WR Brandon Marshall sat out practice with a strained right hamstring he suffered Wednesday. Coach Josh McDaniels said he wasn't sure how serious the injury was or if Marshall would be able to return to practice Friday.
RAIDERS:: Three players were fined a total of $40,000 for their actions in Sunday's penalty-filled game against the Browns. TE Tony Stewart got hit with the biggest amount, being docked $25,000 for "making intentional physical contact with a game official." DE Richard Seymour was fined $10,000 for striking an opponent after the play was over, and CB Stanford Routt was docked $5,000 for head-butting an opponent after the play.
