Rex Ryan Couldn't Stop the Worst Quarterback in the NFL

Don’t get me wrong.

I am officially on the Tim Tebow bandwagon, and I’m enjoying the mythos for the same reasons that some people hate it. Never mind that Tebow plays with a stellar young defense and a head coach that understands how to play with a quarterback that can’t throw an NFL pass. The Broncos are watchable now, and it’s entirely because of No. 15 under center.

But Rex Ryan blew it.

The Jets head coach watched his defense give up 95 yards in a Broncos march to the end zone, culminating with a 20-yard scamper from Tebow after eluding Ryan’s full-house blitz. Yes, Ryan sent his entire defense. Tebow broke containment, and that was that. It’s worth noting that Tebow went 3-for-5 passing on that final drive, compared to 6-for-15 in the rest of that game.

“Our playoffs start next week,” Ryan told the press after the game, doing his best to look forward and not dwell on his own failure. “We’re not perfect by any stretch, but we’re a lot better than this. And we all know it. Every man in that locker room knows it, and I know it.”

Ryan’s boisterous attitude and profane outbursts won him a lot of media attention when he took over the Jets in 2009. Those attributes won him a lot of fans, too. But after two straight appearances in the AFC title game, his team appears to be regressing.

Ryan’s own quarterback, Mark Sanchez, is now under fire for not being more Tebow-ish. While the Broncos seem to have rallied around their struggling signal-caller, Sanchez is being called out in the press. “He's the guy we've got to ride and die with for the rest of the season,” Holmes told the New York Post. “He has to step it up.”

And as the Tebow bandwagon installs another row of seats, the Jets will have three extra days to wonder why they couldn’t stop a quarterback who barely threw for 100 yards last night. A playoff team has to win those games, even on the road, and even on a short week. Rex Ryan has made a name for himself while running his mouth toward anyone who would listen. Perhaps this weekend Ryan should quiet down, take a knee and collect his thoughts.