Last modified: Friday, November 14, 2008 2:32 AM EST Jets fans in New York state of mind BY JULIET PENNINGTON FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE FOXBORO - The hype leading up to Thursday night's matchup between the AFC East divisional leaders was apparent as fans streamed into Gillette Stadium. "You're going down and going home crying!" taunted one Patriots fan, who was wearing a red, white and blue afro wig and a No. 81 Randy Moss jersey. "Ty Law or no Ty Law - you're going to L-O-S-E . lose, lose lose!" The two New York Jets fans to whom the comments were directed just laughed, with one saying that if the Jets do lose, "at least we'll lose honestly and not be cheaters like the Patriots." The exciting game, which saw the Jets with an 18-point lead in the second quarter, went into overtime, with the Jets winning 34-31. While much has been made of the AFC rivals, who prior to Thursday night's game each held 6-3 records, the pre-game ribbing between fans was generally good natured. A light drizzle greeted fans as they arrived for the 8:15 p.m. game, but it let up shortly before kickoff and held off for the remainder of the more than three-hour matchup. "I was in the CBS Scene sports bar before the game and I have to say, the Patriots fans couldn't have been nicer," said Wayne Ozzi, 55, who drove five hours from his home in Staten Island to attend Thursday night's game. Ozzi, a Jets season ticket holder, called the game crucial, as it will determine who holds first place in the AFC East conference. "I think we can win," said Ozzi, whose nephew, Michael DeVito, is a defensive end for the Jets. "We beat the Rams decidedly last week and we can do that again tonight." Because of the proximity to New York, the game was attended by a good number of Jets fans, many of whom sported green and white jerseys, Jets caps and other Gang Green paraphernalia. "It was raining the whole way up, but it's clearing up now and it's not too cold," said Jarvis Ramsey, 34, an industrial engineer from Long Island. "It took about five hours, which isn't too bad - especially since we're going to be celebrating a victory on the ride home tonight." Ricardo Domenech, 39, an operations manager at a computer company from New Britain, Conn., agreed that the Jets would emerge with a one-game lead in the divisional race. "Look, we've got Favre and now we've got Ty Law," said the father of three. "We're a better team and we don't have to cheat." Patriots' fans begged to differ, saying they were confident that the Patriots, coming off a 20-10 victory over former AFC East first-place rival Buffalo Bills, have what it takes to win. "We're missing key players and we're still winning," said Paul Scholtes, 56, a lumber company controller from North Attleboro. "We've got the Belichick factor, Cassel's getting better all the time we've won five out of the six games against the Jets and they're playing an away game. I think it will be close, but we'll win." Scholtes projected a 21-17 Patriots victory. Steven Astrove, 49, a real estate investor from Wellesley and a Patriots season ticket holder since 1987, said the Patriots will win because they're "a better coached and more disciplined team than the Jets." His daughter, Erica, 17, agreed with her dad, but added that "beating Brett Favre is our biggest challenge." Pam Dockx, 45, a nurse from Norfolk, predicted the nationally televised game would be close, with the Patriots winning by seven points. "With all of the players we lost and all of the injuries to our running backs it's going to be close," said Dockx, a mother of two. "We're going to win though." Both Patriots and Jets fans agreed that the rivalry between the two teams, often referred to by the media as a "border war," was heightened with the signing by the Jets earlier this week of former Patriots' cornerback Ty Law. "Sure, that added fuel to the fire," Ramsey said. "But the rivalry was already there, especially with the two head coaches hating each other's guts." Eric Mangini, the Jets head coach, was the Patriots former defensive coordinator under Patriots' head coach Bill Belichik.