Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez came into Sunday’s game hoping to make people forget about his Thanksgiving collision with guard Brandon Moore’s rear end.
He’s done that, but not the way he might have hoped. Sanchez has been intercepted twice in the first quarter, leading to loud boos from a Meadowlands crowd that might be chanting for Greg McElroy before too much longer. Sanchez was picked on his first pass of the game and then again on the third possession after the team moved the ball well. Their second possession ended with a Nick Folk field goal off the upright.
Kerry Rhodes had both picks for the Cardinals, which adds to the hurt since he was exiled from the Jets by Rex Ryan after the 2009 season. Ryan called Rhodes a “selfish-ass guy” in his book and said Rhodes lacked the proper work ethic.
The score is 0-0, however, because Ryan Lindley hasn’t been any better than Sanchez. The Cardinals went on fourth-and-one in Jets territory after the first pick, but Beanie Wells got stoned in the backfield to end the drive without points.
It is not shaping up to be a pretty afternoon of football in New Jersey.
UPDATE 1:53 p.m. ET: It’s a hat trick. Sanchez was picked on a great play by Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson. The Cardinals gave it back on an interception by LaRon Landry. Ryan Lindley has as many completions to the Cardinals as Sanchez.