Jets vs. Dolphins: Mark Sanchez Jumps the Gun by Declaring Jets Back on Track

While the New York Jets were able to stop a three-game losing streak with a 24-6 victory over the winless Miami Dolphins on Monday night, they still have a long way to go in order to prove they are a playoff-caliber team.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez would disagree with that sentiment, though, as he declared the team to be "back on track" following the win, according to Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com.

The end result of an 18-point triumph may look good on paper, but the Jets were far from impressive for much of the game. The offense was anemic in the first half in going three and out on a number of occasions, and the Jets were very lucky not to go down 21-0 early.

Miami's weak offense was unable to punch the ball into the end zone and was forced to settle for two short field goals as well as a pick-six from Darelle Revis after clearly interfering with Brandon Marshall. While the Jets deserve credit for holding up at the goal line, a stronger team probably would have scored three touchdowns.

Furthermore, the run defense continued to be an issue as Reggie Bush broke a couple long runs in the first half. That weakness was masked late in the game, however, because overmatched quarterback Matt Moore had to pass to get the Dolphins back in the game.

This allowed New York to bolster its sack totals and give the illusion that it had a dominant game. Truth be told, the Jets could have beaten the Dolphins by 100 points and it wouldn't have proven that they were back on track because Miami is simply an awful team.

New York's offense was far too futile against a bad team and the defense really lucked out as Marshall dropped a couple of potential touchdowns. If the Jets bring that type of effort against even an adequate team, they'll be blown out of the water.

With all of that said, though, the Jets will have an opportunity to prove that they are indeed back on track this weekend when they host the 4-1 San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are an enigmatic team in their own right, but they have tons of talent on both sides of the ball.

If the Jets can put in a full 60-minute effort and upend San Diego, then there might be some validity to the "back on track" talk. Until then, though, I still consider the Jets to be a struggling team that is very much in need of a signature win to prove itself as a contender.