The Jets’ season was headed in the wrong direction after a red hot September. In the previous eight weeks, the team had only managed one win (against the Raiders) in the last seven games. Cliche aside, the Jets had a must-win game on Sunday with the Panthers in town.
A less educated fan might believe that the matchup with the Panthers was an easy one. However, Carolina came into the game having gone 4-3 in their past seven. That included a game in which they were beating the Saints by 11 at halftime before being outscored 24-3 in the second half. The Panthers rely on lockdown pass defense to go with their strong rushing attack. Like the Jets, Carolina ranks in the top five in both pass defense and rushing.
Facing their doppleganger, the Jets managed to come out on top. Mark Sanchez limited his mistakes and managed the game admirably. He outdueled Jake Delhomme, who threw four picks including two to Darrelle Revis. On one of his picks, Revis snatched a lucky bounce off of Steve Smith’s foot and took it the distance for a score (video below).
Thomas Jones had a workman-like effort with 25 carries for 75 yards and added three catches for 11 yards. Dustin Keller was the Jets’ leading receiver with four catches for 68 yards. Even though he was benched, Kerry Rhodes chipped in with two interceptions. The safety was used mostly in dime packages.
In an effort to avoid rookie mistakes, Rex Ryan instituted a color-coded system to let Sanchez know when he should be conservative or aggressive. The plan seemed to work out since the rookie only had four incompletions and one interception. Unsurprisingly, New York reverted to a more basic passing attack and Sanchez targeted wide receivers only six times in the game.
Before their trouncing of the Raiders, the Jets had indicated that they’d limit the playbook for Sanchez. It’s worth noting that the Jets are 3-2 when Sanchez attempts under 25 passes and 2-4 when he has over 25 attempts. Additionally, Sanchez had a 76.5 completion percentage which is the best of his career. It was his second game where he completed more than 60% of his passes. Sanchez also surpassed the 60% completion mark when he beat the Patriots earlier in the season. Both Carolina and New England are ranked in the top 5 in pass defense. Clearly, the Jets need to stick to the simple stuff with Sanchez.
