Jets vs. Ravens: 3 Things We Learned from New York After 34-17 Loss

The New York Jets couldn't get anything going offensively against the Baltimore Ravens. In losing 34-17, the Jets were unable to overcome four turnovers from quarterback Mark Sanchez.

The Ravens defense hounded an outmanned Jets offensive line and harassed Sanchez into an absolutely horrible game.

While the offense looked wretched all night, the defense turned themselves around and played well after a rough game against the Oakland Raiders in Week 3.

Let's take a look at what we've learned about the Jets as they head into a showdown with their AFC East rival New England Patriots next week.

The Offensive Line Is Struggling and Needs Nick Mangold Back

This game showed that the work-in-progress Jets offensive line is hamstrung without veteran center Nick Mangold.

A botched snap and a missed block led to Ravens touchdowns early in the game and put the Jets in catch-up mode before Baltimore fans even had a chance to settle into their seats.

The probable return of Mangold for the Jets game in Foxborough against the Patriots next week will mean that the Jets offense will have a key piece back. With Mangold back in the fold, the offensive line will improve, especially with their pass blocking.

Even with Mangold, however, the offensive line is still not a good group at this point. Sanchez was constantly under pressure tonight. In addition, the line couldn't open up any holes for Ladainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene.

The offensive line has to get some kind of consistency for the Jets to make a solid push to the playoffs this season. 

There Is No Need To Worry About the Jets Defense

The Jets defense was able to pull it together after a rough outing against the Raiders last week.

They limited Ravens QB Joe Flacco to 10 completions on 31 attempts and picked him off once. Their tough pass defense would have most likely won the game for them, had the offense not coughed it up so often.

Calvin Pace played tough up front, and the linebackers swarmed nicely all night.

The one bit of niggling criticism for the defense is that Ravens running backs Ricky Williams and Ray Rice were able to make some hay on the ground in the second half. They need to tighten up against the run (especially on the left side of their defense) so that they can stop the Patriots' potent offense next week. 

Mark Sanchez MUST Protect the Football Better

Mark Sanchez is not a premier quarterback. As such, he needs to be an effective game manager who protects the football. I'm not saying that he won't become a top-tier quarterback, but at this point in his career, he needs to be smarter with the football to give his team a chance to win.

In addition, Sanchez hasn't had enough time to get the ball to his wide receivers who are trying to stretch the field. Both Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress have the speed and athletic ability to make plays down the field, but the O-line isn't giving him enough time to get the ball to those guys. Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer need to call more slant patterns and dump-offs to avoid the rush. Using Dustin Keller over the middle more effectively might help as well.

Also, the running game needs to gain traction so that Sanchez can get the play-action pass back into his repertoire. Again, this problem is traced back to the inexperienced offensive line. The Ravens have a fantastic defense and they played well against the Jets, but if Shonn Green and LT can't get it going, the Jets will continue to struggle this season.

The Jets sit at .500 right now. Despite a rough night in Baltimore, the Jets can even themselves up with the Patriots (both teams would have a 3-2 record) if they can win there next week.

They need to protect the ball better and give Sanchez more time to get off a pass. If the Jets can do that, they could pull it together against a suspect Patriots secondary and get the victory to position themselves nicely in the AFC East.