ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — For someone who's been around the NFL a while, Brett Favre isn't too proud to acknowledge when he's made a mistake.

So when Buffalo's Jabari Greer returned Favre's 300th career interception for a touchdown to cut the New York Jets' lead to six points early in the fourth quarter, the quarterback knew he had put his team in a tough position for the second straight week.

"I was nervous as hell, to be honest with you," Favre said. "I'm thinking, 'Boy, this ain't good.'"

The thing Favre's proven over his 18-year career is he's also very good at making up for miscues. In putting together what he referred to as "a statement drive," Favre responded by marching the Jets on a 14-play, 65-yard drive that ate up nearly nine minutes and led to Jay Feely's 31-yard field goal that secured a 26-17 win Sunday.

"It was gut-check time," he said. "That drive was one of the most important drives for us offensively all year."

The drive put the finishing touches on a sturdy outing by the Jets' defense, which generated three turnovers, five sacks and limited Buffalo to 30 yards rushing. Safety Abram Elam scored on a 92-yard interception return that came during a first-half stretch in which the Bills held possession for 15 minutes, but came away with no points.

Add it up and the AFC East race is a whole lot tighter.

By winning for the fourth time in five games, the Jets (5-3) moved into a tie with Buffalo and remain a win ahead of Miami (4-4), which is proving to be no pushover.

Suddenly, it's the Bills who are fading. Buffalo, coming off a 25-16 loss at Miami, has lost three of four and squandered whatever momentum it had generated from a 4-0 start.

Things don't get any easier for the Bills, who conclude a three-game stretch against division rivals by traveling to play New England next weekend, an opponent Buffalo hasn't defeated in nine straight meetings and 14 of the past 15.

"Losing the last two games is hard. There's nowhere to hide," Greer said. "No matter what we've done before, having that two-game losing streak, the taste in your mouth can easily become something if that's not corrected. It can change the whole mind-set of the season."

At least the Bills' defense held up for the most part. The Bills, instead, were undone by another sloppy offensive performance.

Trent Edwards finished 24-of-35 for 289 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and a lost fumble, which led directly to the Jets scoring 10 points.

"For the most part, we're kind of beating ourselves," Edwards said. "The only finger I'm pointing is at myself."

That's quite a departure for the second-year starter, who looked poised and confident in leading Buffalo to three consecutive fourth-quarter comeback victories earlier this season. After committing four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) in his first five games, Edwards has committed five (three interceptions and two fumbles) and allowed a safety in his past two.

Rookie tight end Derek Fine scored his first career touchdown on a 9-yard catch. Otherwise, Buffalo's past 13 possessions, dating to the fourth quarter at Miami, have ended with three interceptions, three fumbles, a touchdown, safety, downs, punt, field goal, missed field goal and a kneel-down at the end of a half.

For the Jets, Thomas Jones scored on a 7-yard run and Feely hit four of five field-goal attempts.

"We found out about ourselves today," Jets receiver Laveranues Coles said. "It feels good to get a win, to get back into the mix."

Notes: Favre earned his first win at Ralph Wilson Stadium after going 0-3 in his previous three visits with Green Bay. That leaves 10 places Favre has yet to win, including Texas Stadium, where he's 0-6.. ... Bills right guard Jason Whittle, filling in for injured starter Brad Butler, was hurt and didn't return in the fourth quarter. Coach Dick Jauron declined to discuss the nature of the injury. Whittle had strained his left quadriceps last weekend. ... Bills PK Rian Lindell's 53-yard field goal was his 133rd with Buffalo, moving him into a tie with Scott Norwood for second on the team list, 101 behind Steve Christie.