ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – Eric Moulds needs only to look to the New York Jets to figure out what his Buffalo Bills are missing: confidence.

For two AFC East rivals that appear to have so much in common – 5-7 records, dimming playoff hopes and dashed expectations – confidence is the one significant difference the Bills’ leading receiver notices.

“You look at those guys,” Moulds said, referring to the Jets’ drive and composure during last week’s 24-17 upset victory over Tennessee. “They played with confidence, not letting them come into their house and push them around.”

That’s not been the case with the Bills, who have lost two straight at home and have more questions than answers even after last week’s 24-7 win over the New York Giants.

“Yeah, we made strides last week,” Moulds said. “But we haven’t done it on a consistent basis. Now, (the Jets) are making those strides, guys making big plays.”

He almost sounded envious of the team Buffalo faces Sunday.

“A little bit,” Moulds acknowledged.

The Jets are suddenly surging while the Bills still are searching, both having taken different routes in preparing for a game where pride, more than playoffs, are on the line.

New York has won three of its last four, revived by the return of quarterback Chad Pennington, who missed the first six games with a broken wrist.

“He brings a certain aura to us, there’s no doubt about that,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said. “The players kind of feed into his energy and, you’re right, they have a different swagger.”

It’s apparent in how the Jets are finding ways to win close ones.

There was New York’s 27-24 overtime win at Oakland, in which Pennington rallied the team from an 11-point halftime deficit. And then there was a 13-10 win over Jacksonville, which Pennington sealed with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss with 26 seconds remaining.

With Pennington starting, the Jets are averaging 11 more points and are 3-2 in games decided by seven points or less, while they went 1-3 in such games with Vinny Testaverde as starter.

And the Jets continue to rally behind a perpetually enthusiastic Edwards, who has built a reputation as one of the league’s best motivators.

“He’s everything you want your head coach to be,” Jets cornerback Ray Mickens said. “He never gives up on us and, in return, we never give up on him.”

That’s apparent to Bills tackle Sam Adams.

“I think teams take on the identity of their coach,” Adams said. “And their coach isn’t a quitter.”

The Bills aren’t quitting either, but, in comparison, they are a shell of the team that opened the season with two decisive victories before unraveling by losing seven of last 10.

And not even last weekend’s win, which ended a four-game losing streak, appears to have fully lifted the cloud of disappointment that hangs over a team that began the year with playoff aspirations.

In Buffalo, the players are guarded, tired of answering questions about their sputtering offense, their all-but-dashed playoff hopes and the future of coach Gregg Williams, who’s in the final year of a three-year contract.

As receiver Josh Reed said when asked if the team is still playing for its coach: “You can’t ask me a question like that. That’ll be starting stuff. We’re just going to go out there and have fun.”

The overall feeling of despair was evident in quarterback Drew Bledsoe’s comments, which came even in victory last weekend.

“I think there’s a general sense of frustration, because I feel like we’ve underachieved this year,” Bledsoe said.

Injuries haven’t helped.

Moulds has been limited, missing three of Buffalo’s last seven games bothered by a partially torn groin. Leading rusher Travis Henry is playing with torn rib cartilage and a hairline fracture above his right ankle. Starting left tackle Jonas Jennings is out for the rest of the season and starting right guard Mike Pucillo is doubtful with a turf toe.

Then there’s Bledsoe, who’s still experiencing aftereffects from blows the head in consecutive weeks, the latest one forcing him to miss the final 19 minutes of last weekend’s game.

“You can’t make excuses,” Moulds said. “Guys have to make plays.”

AP-ES-12-04-03 1445EST