Jets vs. Ravens: Defense Still the Story as Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco Struggle

Don't let the final score fool you: Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco still have a ways to go before they can be considered consistently competent quarterbacks.

Defense once again ruled the day in the Baltimore Ravens' 34-17 win over the New York Jets.

The Ravens' defense, in particular, was a fantasy football owner's dream on Sunday night, holding the Jets' offense to 150 yards and three points while scoring three touchdowns of its own—the first two on sacks turned into fumble recoveries by Jameel McClain and Jarret Johnson and the third on an interception taken 73 yards to the house by Lardarius Webb.

Rex Ryan's unit wasn't too shabby, either. Gang Green gave up only 267 total yards and 13 points, forced three turnovers and had a pick-six of its own, courtesy of linebacker David Harris.

In all, the two teams combined for 51 points, with but one offensive touchdown—a three-yard run by Ray Rice—mixed in. The four defensive touchdowns in the game tied the NFL record, while the five returns for scores, including Joe McKnight's 107-yard kickoff return, set a new single-game mark.

As much reason as there is to celebrate the dominance displayed by both defenses, this game was anything but comforting for either team's offensive prospects going forward, especially with regard to their young quarterbacks.

Granted, Sanchez and Flacco could hardly have been expected to play as well as Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers did in Week 1. Sanchez had the added difficulty of handling the Ravens' relentless pass-rush without Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold while Flacco floundered while throwing against one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL.

Both were sacked twice, both connected on less than a third of their passes and both threw an interception. Terrible numbers to be sure, but nothing that should come as too much of a shock given the circumstances.

That being said, neither of these teams can hope to take the next step toward Super Bowl contention without getting better production and leadership under center.

Unless, of course, their defenses keep playing as well as they did against each other, which isn't exactly a preposterous proposition.

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