Mark Sanchez has been a liability for the Jets, and he’s going to be in for a whole lot of blame if they miss the playoffs. But Sanchez says he’s not worried about that, because he doesn’t think the Jets will miss the playoffs.
“Guys are excited to play,” Sanchez said when asked today about the mood inside the Jets’ locker room. “We know that even still, as poorly as we’ve played these past couple weeks, we have a real shot at the playoffs.”
The Jets do have a shot at the playoffs, but it’s not a great shot. At 5-5, even Rex Ryan has conceded that they’re not catching the Patriots in the AFC East. And with the AFC North looking like it could easily send three teams to the playoffs, a wild card is going to be tough for the Jets, too.
If the Jets run the table they probably will make the playoffs, however, and Sanchez sounds confident that he can spark that kind of late-season turnaround.
“I need to play much better than I’m playing and take care of the football and put us in the right positions, put us in the right runs, be accurate with the football and make the right reads. A lot of it is on me, and I’ll improve and this team will improve,” Sanchez said. “I mean, I’m exhausting my resources here, I’m studying my butt off.”
Ultimately, Sanchez knows he’s under pressure, but he says he embraces the pressure.
“It’s playing quarterback in New York,” Sanchez said. “It’s great when you’re winning, it’s tough when you’re losing. So we just have to go win.”