For two and a half quarters it was the same old Jets’ story: punchless offense (at quarterback in particular) saved by a strong defense, while impatient fans voiced their displeasure.
But mid-way through the third quarter, with the Jets trailing 3–0, that all changed.
In a nearly unprecedented move for Rex Ryan, the coach pulled the incumbent Mark Sanchez for former seventh-round pick Greg McElroy—much to the roaring delight of the more than 79,000 in attendance—propelling the Jets (5–7) to an ugly 7–6 win over Arizona (4–8) Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford.
Sanchez had been the first-string quarterback for the Jets since the beginning of his rookie season in 2009.
“At that time I thought I needed to make a change, and that’s why I made it,” said Ryan, according to the team’s website. “Mark’s a great competitor, but he understood that it was my call.”
The long-embattled Sanchez, who entered the game 30th out of 34 qualifiers with a quarterback rating of 75.6, started the Jets off with an interception on their first play from scrimmage, and the game continued downhill from there for him. Sanchez would add two more picks and was just 10/21 for 97 yards while being booed continually, as the Jets continued to scuffle on offense, before Ryan mercifully lifted him for the third-string McElroy with 4:48 left in the third.
The game changed from there.
