Tennessee squares off with Indianapolis on Sunday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Tennessee Titans have no time to worry about a missed opportunity. Thanks to the NFL schedule, they must immediately prepare for Sunday’s AFC South showdown with Indianapolis.

Beating the Colts (9-3) would give the Titans (9-3) a one-game lead with three remaining as they try to win the division for a second consecutive year. They also would take a big step toward hosting a playoff game.

But if they had beaten the New York Jets on Monday night, the Titans could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory and some help on Sunday.

With their 24-17 victory, the Jets prevented the Titans from clinching anything this week – and may have taken away their best chance at a first-round bye. New England (10-2), which handed the Titans their last loss on Oct. 5, now has the edge for the AFC’s No. 2 seed.

The Titans are trying to think positively.

“It falls right back in our lap again,” running back Eddie George said. “(The loss) is something to be discouraged about. But the future, next week, we can control that, and that is what the beauty of it is.”

The Jets also exposed some problems the Titans disguised during a stretch where they won eight of nine games.

Steve McNair, the league’s top-rated passer, had compensated for an offense with the NFL’s worst rushing average.

George averaged 4.1 yards a carry Monday night, but the Titans couldn’t open a hole for him to reach the end zone from the Jets 3 in the fourth quarter. McNair, who played despite a strained right calf, threw three straight incomplete passes to turn the ball over with 5:21 left.

McNair said his leg didn’t bother him, and neither did the Jets. But he didn’t run either, even faking a draw play once and getting intercepted when he could have run on third-and-9.

“We didn’t execute as well as we should,” McNair said.

The Titans have slipped from scoring 30 or more points in six straight games. Against the Jets, they failed to score more than 25 points for only the third time this season, and the NFL’s best team at controlling the clock couldn’t play keep-away either.

“We have to learn from this and quickly put it behind us, because we have a big game next week,” George said.

And for a defense that ranks 30th against the pass, it’s against another top quarterback, Peyton Manning. End Jevon Kearse (ankle) should be back after missing two games, but the Titans lost starting middle linebacker Rocky Calmus (broken right leg) for three to five weeks.

The Titans also didn’t have cornerback Andre Dyson (ankle) for most of the game in New York, and Chad Pennington picked them apart for a passer rating of 101.3.

“Every game we’ve lost has been to a good quarterback: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Chad Pennington,” cornerback Samari Rolle said. “When we play marquee guys, we just don’t get it done.”

Coach Jeff Fisher has defended his defense, saying most of the yards were allowed as they protected big leads in their six-game winning streak.

Safety Lance Schulters, who was beaten on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Swayne in the third quarter, said the Titans must improve quickly or face an early exit in the playoffs.

“I don’t know if we’re fooling ourselves thinking we’re good on defense, because right now we ain’t,” Schulters said. “We beat mediocre teams with below-average quarterbacks. Until we beat a team with a good quarterback and we all play well, we’re going to be out the door quick,” he said.

For a team thinking Super Bowl, that would be far short of the only goal.

AP-ES-12-02-03 1840EST