The Mark Sanchez era as the Jets’ starting quarterback might have come to an end at the Meadowlands on Sunday.
Sanchez was benched in the third quarter of the game and watched Greg McElroy lead the team to a touchdown on his first drive to give the Jets a 7-6 lead. Coach Rex Ryan was pretty succinct in the postgame press conference when asked about his decision.
“I thought I needed to make a change,” Ryan said.
Some might say he needed to make it earlier, but there’s no doubt that it was the right call on Sunday. Sanchez threw three interceptions in the first half and wasn’t moving the team at all in the second half before getting pulled. Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Ryan and Sanchez had a private conversation at the quarterback’s locker after the game with Ryan’s arm around Sanchez. Sanchez said it “just wasn’t my day” and it wouldn’t be surprising if he doesn’t get another day to try for a different result.
Ryan was noncommittal about who would start at quarterback against the Jaguars next week, but said that he was “comfortable” with McElroy as the team’s quarterback. Given how poorly Sanchez played today and how poorly he’s played all season, the guess is that McElroy gets the nod next week. Tim Tebow would be another choice, but the Jets haven’t shown much interest in going that route this season.