Sanchez a lot more comfortable than in '09

DENVER – In the midst of an enlightening postgame news conference in which New York Jets second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes) discussed his first fourth-quarter comeback, a cell phone belonging to a cameraman standing in the back of the room rang.

Sanchez finished his answer and joked lightly, "You can answer that now."

Then, after a perfect comedic pause, Sanchez said with just the right amount of sarcasm so as to be funny without being derisive, "Rookie."

On Sunday, Sanchez and the Jets answered the call in a manner he never could have imagined last season. A year ago, the synapses in Sanchez's brain would have been firing with so many bits of information that it all would have been a blur leading to a bad outcome. Instead of a 24-20 win over the Denver Broncos in an ugly game, Sanchez said he would have been explaining a brutal loss – one that would have likely included an interception or an ill-advised scramble that ended in a fumble.

Worse, there would have been this feeling that the whole situation was about to crash.

Sanchez and the Jets beat Denver in a game that featured a host of questionable penalties and many turnovers. This was anything but artistic and coach Rex Ryan was the first to admit so as he walked through the tunnel from the field to the locker room.

"We'll take it, we don't care," Ryan said, simultaneously smiling and shaking his head at his team's good fortune and 5-1 start.

This game featured the first two interceptions of the season for Sanchez, not to mention a lost fumble by Santonio Holmes(notes) deep in Denver territory. Although Sanchez converted two third downs on the game-winning drive, he didn't make any awe-inspiring throws at the end. His biggest play was an incomplete pass that produced a pass interference call.

But perhaps the most important thing for the Jets is that Sanchez kept this game from getting away from him.

"Last year, I would have just kept nose-diving. This year, I'm pulling the thing back up and trying to pull the nose up," he said, putting his hands out as if he was a pilot trying to control a jet rather than a Jets team. "I'm just real happy we stole a win [Sunday]."

Indeed, New York stole this one. The 46-yard pass interference call on fourth-and-6 (Renaldo Hill(notes) clearly grabbed Holmes' facemask) set up the game-winning touchdown by veteran running back LaDainian Tomlinson(notes).

While Sanchez didn't complete the pass, he did put the Jets in position to make it happen. Again, this is in stark contrast to a year ago, when Sanchez often operated in these situations as if his uniform was on fire.

Then again, as the son of a fireman, Sanchez should have learned a few things about the capacity for calm in such situations. In some respects, he is learning at a rapid pace after starting only 16 games at USC. On Sunday, Sanchez shook off the earlier mistakes and the pressure of the moment.

The Hill-Holmes collision set up the Jets' go-ahead score.
(Ron Chenoy/US Presswire)

On the key play to Holmes, Sanchez did that by recognizing where the rush was coming from, stepping up and away from a defender on his blindside and then buying enough time to let Holmes set up Hill. Holmes was an "alert" on the play, a secondary option after primary receiver Dustin Keller(notes) was covered.

"I don't think that Mark Sanchez would have made that throw last year," Ryan said. "I truly don't think he would have. He probably would have thrown underneath to try to make it. But he had the presence of mind to say: 'I've got one-on-one coverage out there. I'm going to throw it to a great football player who's down in the end zone and either [Holmes] is going to catch it or they're going to have to foul him.' He launched it up there and that's exactly what happened.

"I was really proud that he made that decision."

Sanchez showcased a combination of guts and smarts. You don't get where the Jets want to go this season without plenty of both. That's what allows teams to overcome games like this, where the officiating was ticky-tack and ridiculous.

The Jets had five calls go against them that were, at best, strange. There were two offensive pass interference penalties, one defensive pass interference, a personal foul and an illegal contact call that New York is sure to complain long and hard about to the league. The Jets were so upset throughout the game that general manager Mike Tannenbaum pounded his fist against the table several times in the press box. Secondary coach Dennis Thurman, who played nine years as a defensive back in the NFL and has coached in college or professionally for 21 years, was flabbergasted after the game.

When asked what pass interference is supposed to be, Thurman threw his arms up and said: "I don't know. You'll have to go ask some people in another locker room that question." Thurman was referring to the officials' locker room.

But as Sanchez correctly pointed out after the game, you have to play through bad calls. You have to overcome that kind of stuff.

"You look at teams that go to the Super Bowl, that have long playoff runs, they get through games like this. New Orleans had games like this last year," said Sanchez, who completed 17 of 30 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown. "Trust me, I hope we don't have another one like this, but at least we know we can get through it."