"The Jets thought so highly of Thomas Jones that when he left last season to sign as a free agent with the Chiefs, they took out a full-page ad in The Kansas City Star thanking him for his "three great seasons."

Jones had the best season of his 12-year NFL career with the Jets in 2009, right before he signed with the Chiefs. He rushed for career highs of 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns that season.

Jones plays against the Jets on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., for the first time since leaving.

"The thing is, this organization and myself included, I thought the world of Thomas," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "We all did, and we all do. But not this week. This week we have to put it on him. He's going to try to put it on us."

Jones needs 12 rushing yards Sunday to pass Tiki Barber, a collegiate teammate at Virginia, and Eddie George to become the NFL's 22nd all-time leading rusher. Jones stands at 10,438 yards.

"That'd be really special for me, especially playing with Tiki in college and watching him in the pros, kind of growing up admiring him, from Virginia and playing with him at Virginia," Jones said, "Coming back to New York and hopefully being able to (pass Barber) there, that's something special.""