EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Right about now, the momentum from last season's success should have been replaced by the impetus from a championship run for the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.

Both teams could expect that, by the first week in November, they'd be positioning themselves near the top of their divisions, not staring up from the netherworld.

On Sunday, two of the NFL's biggest disappointments face off at the Meadowlands.

"We're nowhere near where we expected to be and I guess neither are they," Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn said. "We're both looking to turn things around."

That's hardly what the Jets, AFC title game losers last January, were expecting. But from the final exhibition game, when receiver Wayne Chrebet broke his foot, through the season opener, when they lost quarterback Vinny Testaverde for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon, little has gone right for New York (1-6).

"We know we can play and we are a good team," Glenn said, ignoring the Jets' inability to hold late leads, or do much offensively. "It's easy to come back and play after the bye, because we know we can win.

"It's different when you have a history of losing and then you keep losing now. But we won here the last two years. We'll keep pressing on. We're 1-6 now, but we can't worry about that."

What the Jets can worry about is a penchant to fold in critical situations. In four of their defeats, they led in the final quarter, and they blew a 17-point lead at Oakland two weeks ago.

The Cardinals (2-5) would like to know what it feels like to have a big lead. They've been involved in a couple of routs, but were on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

And like the Jets, injuries have played a significant role. Star defensive tackle Eric Swann returned two weeks ago and isn't in midseason form. His line partner, Mark Smith, held out and now is gone with a knee injury. So is defensive end Andre Wadsworth.

Jake Plummer is out with a broken thumb, leaving the quarterbacking to Dave Brown. That could be good, since Brown spent the first six years of his career playing at Giants Stadium. It also could be bad because he has some terrible memories from the way he was treated by Giants fans.

"You can't have people pounding on you for two to three years without it affecting you," coach Vince Tobin said. "I am sure he is looking forward to going back to New York, and I just hope he doesn't press and lets the game come to him."

Brown claimed that won't be a problem. He's already faced his former team in the stadium, which "put the demons behind me."

Arizona thought much of the NFC East would be behind it at this point of the season. Instead, the Cardinals will need a remarkable second-half surge to get back to the playoffs. That disappoints Tobin and surprises Jets coach Bill Parcells.

"I think obviously both teams are very disappointed at where we are in this season," Tobin said. "Certainly we were anticipating coming in that both records would be much better. These are two football teams still trying to salvage the season. I don't think the Jets have given up on anything and I know we have not."

Parcells, who loaded up his team for a Super Bowl run this year -- many observers believed it would be his last season, but now think he will be back in 2000 -- is perplexed at where the Jets and Cardinals are.

"I kind of thought the Cardinals were, obviously, on the way up," he said. "They gave Minnesota a pretty good game after beating Dallas in the playoffs. They looked to be back on track, but it just shows you a couple things can happen and it can alter what goes on very quickly."

ARIZONA Season schedule and results

NY JETS Season schedule and results

September 12 @Philadelphia W 25-24 September 19 @Miami L 16-19 September 27 San Francisco L 10-24 October 3 @Dallas L 7-35 October 10 NY Giants W 14-3 October 17 Washington L 10-24 October 31 New England L 3-27 November 7 @NY Jets 1:00pm ET November 14 Detroit 4:15pm ET November 21 Dallas 4:15pm ET November 28 @NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 5 Philadelphia 4:05pm ET December 12 @Washington 1:00pm ET December 19 Buffalo 8:20pm ET December 26 @Atlanta 1:00pm ET January 2 @Green Bay 1:00pm ET

September 12 New England L 28-30 September 19 @Buffalo L 3-17 September 26 Washington L 20-27 October 3 @Denver W 21-13 October 11 Jacksonville L 6-16 October 17 Indianapolis L 13-16 October 24 @Oakland L 23-24 November 7 Arizona 1:00pm ET November 15 @New England 9:00pm ET November 21 Buffalo 1:00pm ET November 28 @Indianapolis 4:15pm ET December 5 @NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 12 Miami 4:05pm ET December 19 @Dallas 4:15pm ET December 27 @Miami 9:00pm ET January 2 Seattle 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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