ST. LOUIS -- By beating up on the helpless St. Louis Rams, the New York Jets gave us a question to ponder: Was it the start of a turnaround or just a postmortem spasm -- you know, a muscle twitch by a cold corpse?

The latter seems more likely, but the answer will be known by the time your turkey is digested on Thanksgiving night. The Jets bought themselves at least four more days of season with their 27-13 victory Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome, creating at least a little drama for their holiday rematch with the New England Patriots.

To their credit, the Jets didn't make any "We're back!" proclamations. Because they're not back. They're a 4-6 football team -- "a long way out," Rex Ryan said after his first win in 35 days. "We have to keep slugging it out and find a way to get out of it, punch our way out."

Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez took advantage of a rare opportunity to smile this season. AP Photo/Tom Gannam

Better that than being a punch line, which is what they would've been if they had lost to the Rams and former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

The Jets avoided that debacle with a solid, all-around performance -- well, except for a couple of special teams hiccups -- and you could feel a palpable sense of relief in the locker room. It wasn't because of what they accomplished; it was because of what they avoided.

After a tumultuous week that included the "Terrible" Tim Tebow controversy, public comments by an angry Woody Johnson and a private meeting with Johnson and his football brass, the Jets were on the edge of a cliff -- a "desperate" team, Ryan said Friday.

No coach wants to get summoned to a meeting with the owner, even an owner who spends a lot of time around the team anyway, so you can bet there was a lot of tension within the organization. A three-game losing streak feels like forever in the NFL.

"It was a positive thing," Ryan said of the pow-wow. "It was more about, 'How can we improve?' That was the tone of the meeting. Obviously, we know how the passion Woody has -- and we all have. We know he's not happy. Nobody is happy when you're 3-6."

Embattled general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who chatted with a couple of reporters as he left the locker room, smiled publicly for the first time in more than a month. He said the 45-minute sitdown with Johnson, which included Ryan and all three coordinators, was "a productive meeting." He credited the victory to Ryan and his leadership.

Tannenbaum was hoarse, and you know it didn't get that way from his infamous radio interview Friday. His voice sounded like the Jets' season before Sunday -- fading.