Sanchez shines as Jets beat Patriots 28-14

Heading into Sunday noone knew what to expect from the New York Jets as they took on the rival New England Patriots.  Could the Jets find a way to move the ball on offense and stay competitive with the Pats? Could the team eliminate costly turnovers and stupid penalties in order to find a way to beat New England?  Well the answer was a resounding yes as Gang Green put on a very impressive performance to beat the Patriots 28-14.

Here are some notes from the game.

1) Sanchez shines- Quarterback Mark Sanchez had probably his best game as a pro going 21/30 for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns. (The 21 completions and 3 tds were career highs for Mark)

2) Huge game for Keller- As mentioned in my preview, the Jets needed to get tight end Dustin Keller more involved in the passing game.  Well on Sunday Keller exploded for 7 catches, 115 yards and a touchdown.

3) Secondary shines without Revis- All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury leaving the responsibility of covering Randy Moss to Antonio Cromartie.  Well Cromartie along with Kyle Wilson and the rest of the Jets secondary played an excellent second half stifling the Patriots passing attack.  Wes Welker, who many feared would have a huge game, ended up with 6 catches for 38 yards and a touchdown.

4) Jets overcame injury issues- While the Darrelle Revis injury captured most of the attention, Gang Green had several other players banged up during the game.  Nick Mangold, Jason Taylor, Brad Smith, and Eric Smith all had to leave the game at some point due to injuries.

5) Running game returns- The Jets running game, which was stagnant against the Ravens, came back with a bang as LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 76 yards, and Shonn Greene contributed with 52.  Tomlinson continues to show off explosive moves and a tenacious running style.

6) Taylor earns his stripes- Jason Taylor, the former Dolphin that Jets fans love to hate, had another great game for Gang Green. Taylor had a huge sack and forced fumble that sealed the game for the Jets.

In the end it was a solid performance by the entire Jets team.  The coaching staff was very aggressive on both sides of the ball and the team responded to it.  Next up for the Jets is the Miami Dolphins, which will be another intense battle between division rivals.

Tyson Rauch

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