The Breakdown: Week 1, Mark Sanchez & 3rd Down

It is difficult to pinpoint just one positive aspect of Sunday’s 24-7 Jets win over the Houston Texans.

There was a defense that blitzed and an offensive line that provided ample protection.

Positives were aplenty but the one obvious area, the one obvious person that Jets fans and fans across the country tuned in to see on Sunday was Mark Sanchez.
 
Sanchez had an encouraging debut for a franchise that is thirsting for a star QB.

The first aspect of Sanchez’s debut that stood out is the intangibles; his moxie. The Jets have not seen a leader this exciting, this enthusiastic, since the early days of Chad Pennington. Brett Favre flashed moments of it last season, but Sanchez was there all day, even running out to his teammates’ defense.

The quarterback is the easiest position to find a leader in and Sanchez shows all the signs of being that guy.

But Sanchez wasn’t just all flash; he shined in his play. He finished the day 18-for-31 with 272 yards passing, one TD, and one INT. That interception was his only real big mistake of the day. But for a rookie, one mistake is acceptable, even if it did lead to seven Texans points.

The Monday morning highlights have shown Sanchez’s 30-yard touchdown connection with a wide-open Chansi Stuckey. It was impressive but more noteworthy to me are the following Sanchez third-down passes.

3rd-and-10, 6:31 left in first quarter—Sanchez hits Stuckey on a quick, short pass. The credit for this conversion is mostly on Stuckey and his yards after catch. Conversion No. 1

3rd-and-10, 5:33 left in first quarter—A great fake by Sanchez to Leon Washington, draws attention off Dustin Keller, who he hits on a short pass to the other side. Again, Keller does a lot on the play to get past the markers but Sanchez puts him in position. Conversion No. 2

3rd-and-9, 6:22 left in second quarter—Sanchez hangs in the pocket, moves away from pressure and fires a rocket to Stuckey, well past the sticks. Conversion No. 3

3rd-and-10, 3:27 left in second quarter—In the shotgun with two backs beside him, Sanchez drops back and he sees an open Stuckey streaking towards the endzone. He put the ball right where it had to be, but Houston let Stuckey go free. Touchdown Jets. Conversion No. 4

3rd-and-2, 11:33 left in third quarter—Sanchez rolls right and hits Jerricho Cotchery right at the first down spot before Cotchery runs for more yards. Conversion No. 5

3rd-and-3, 11:14 left in fourth quarter—This one impresses me most. It’s the drive following the interception return for a touchdown, yet Sanchez is not shaken. He is completely poised and throws a perfect pass to Dustin Keller in stride. You could not ask for anything more than that from a rookie quarterback in his first game. Conversion No. 6

In the most pressure-packed situations, Sanchez was at his finest. Converting third downs are paramount in the NFL. Successful teams do it and keep drives alive.

Mark Sanchez has played one game and in it he showed a propensity for this. That is one of the biggest positives Jets fans can take away from this game. The guy who has the Hollywood star power was a shining star on the field in the crucial situations. If he keeps this up, the Jets could go places, and sooner than many may have thought.