BILLS 28
Sanchez had arguably the best game of his entire professional career. He completed 19 of 27 for 266 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Most importantly, Sanchez completed 70 percent of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 123.4, his best start ever.
The Jets and Sanchez came into this game with plenty of doubters, which was understandable. Sanchez led a beleaguered Jets offense throughout the 2011 season; moreover, the Jets hadn't scored a single touchdown in the pre-season this year. There was ample reason for people to question whether Sanchez was the Jets franchise quarterback. While Sanchez will not quiet all of the questions about his abilities after this performance, he gave the Jets a glimpse of what he can be if he can mature into a top professional quarterback.
At the onset of the game, it looked like the story of the day would be Same-Old-Sanchez as the quarterback tried desperately to throw a pass while on the run, only to have it picked off by Jeff Cumberland.
Fortunately for the Jets, the turning point of the game came quickly when Darrelle Revis stepped in front of a pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick and picked it off, giving the Jets the ball.
From this point, Sanchez took care of business. While out of the shotgun, he hit Jeremy Kerley for 21 yards down the sideline to get the ball to the Bills 37 yard line. Six plays later, Sanchez found Kerley in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown.
Sanchez's precision would continue on the Jets next drive. Out of the shotgun again, Sanchez hit Dustin Keller for seven yards and Santonio Holmes for nine. Two plays later, Sanchez found rookie reciever Stephen Hill, who beat his man in single coverage, and hit him with the deep ball, a 33 yard touchdown to give Gang Green a stunning 14-0 lead. At this point, Sanchez had completed six straight passes from late in the first quarter into the second quarter.
After a Buffalo three-and-out, Kerley once again made his presence felt, taking the punt back 68 yards for a touchdown, leaving MetLife Stadium in bedlam as New York extended its lead to 21-0.
The Bills offense shot themselves in the foot all afternoon, turning the ball over four times, three of which came in the first half and led to 17 Jets points.
With New York now leading 27-7, Fitzpatrick was picked off by Antonio Cromartie who went coast to coast for a touchdown to open up the second half.
Fitzpatrick was given a huge contract by the Bills in the middle of last season, and once again, he proved that he is a turnover machine. He threw 23 interceptions last year and has already thrown three this season. If Buffalo fans are not questioning their front office's decision-making with regard to the quarterback right now, I don't know when they will.
As for Sanchez and the Jets, the key to their success was the shotgun formation. The Jets had Sanchez play out of the shotgun on 15 plays during the course of the game, and it allowed Sanchez to quickly throw the football without any worry about pressure upfront. In the past, when the Jets had Sanchez play under center, they had him do a quick three-step drop in the pocket and quick release, instead of the conventional seven step drop; this strategy proved to be a huge problem for him last year. The adjustment was a huge success this time around.
The Jets also spread the Bills out, featuring a number of four and five wide receiver sets, which baffled the Bills secondary. With the quick passes, Buffalo was rocked back on its heels, allowing Sanchez to find open receivers all over the field.
Case in point: Sanchez found a wide open Kerley in the middle of the field for a 27 yard gain after he dropped back in the shotgun. Two plays later, a quick two-step drop back by Sanchez and a decisive release to Hill, who was pulling toward the sideline, resulted in Sanchez's third touchdown of the day, making it 41-7, New York.
Kudos also goes to the Jets offensive line which did a fantastic job in neutralizing defensive end Mario Williams, who became invisible the entire day.
The one concern for the Jets is the running game. While Shonn Greene ran for 94 yards, he averaged 3.5 yards a carry and never got any steam going in the running attack. The fact that Sanchez was able to have a huge day despite the lack of a running game was both a testament to himself, the Jets pass protection, and the poor play of the Bills.
As for Tim Tebow,and what is a story without mentioning his name, he was putrid. In the dozen plays that Tebow saw during the game, he did nothing. He ran for only 11 yards on five carries, and the Bills defense stuffed him up every time the guy touched the football. If this is the plan Rex Ryan and Tony Sparano have for Tebow, it was a total waste of time. Tebow is taking plays away from an offense that was clicking on all cylinders, and his presence is looking like a wasted roster spot.
If we can credit Tebow with anything, it is the fact that he has lit a fire under Sanchez to step up his game this season.
While it is easy to say that Sanchez has arrived and matured, let's cool our jets; no pun intended. Sanchez has to show that he can play at this high level consistently over the course of a very long season. He will go up against a ferocious defense in three of his next four games: at Pittsburgh, versus San Francisco, and versus Houston.
So, Sunday's efforts against Buffalo could be the high water mark of the season, unless Sanchez continues to wow us.
If I were a betting man, I would wager the law of averages that Sanchez and the Jets return to normal next week in the Steel City. Then again, nobody thought they would even put up 20 points on Buffalo, let alone 48.
Sundry notations: The Jets staged a nice halftime ceremony for Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin, who had his number 28 retired. Joe Namath and Don Maynard were on hand for the event. Meanqhile, owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum were booed by the fans.
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