Sanchez's throw makes up for rough night

INDIANAPOLIS – How do you grow from a jittery, anxiety-drenched mess to a guy who looks like you've been doing this in the playoffs for years? How do you go from making what might be the worst read of your young career, a play that could haunt you, to throwing a deep fade with the game on the line?

Simply put, you are New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes), the guy who keeps being quietly defiant in the face of apparent failure. By now, Sanchez has been doing this for awhile. Before he even got to the NFL, Sanchez was ripped by former college coach Pete Carroll for going pro too early.

Last season, he was ripped for his constant erratic play. At the end of the first half of the playoff opener Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, Sanchez again looked like that guy who was about to be ripped. His ridiculously bad decision and high, wild throw turned at least a sure field goal into an interception and left the Indianapolis Colts with a touchdown lead.

That throw, along with another four or five other errant tosses, set an improbable stage for the Jets' 17-16 comeback win that vaulted them into the second round of the playoffs at New England after kicker Nick Folk(notes) hit a 32-yard field goal.

By all rights, this script was backward. It was supposed to be seasoned veteran Peyton Manning(notes) leading the comeback, setting up great kicker Adam Vinatieri(notes) for the game winner. Well, that happened, actually. With 53 seconds left, Vinatieri nailed a 50-yarder for a two-point lead. Even after a 47-yard kickoff return by Antonio Cromartie(notes) that gave New York the ball at its own 46-yard line, a Jets win still seemed unlikely.

This was, after all, Sanchez who was going to have to get the Jets the rest of the way for a field goal. This was the guy who completed nine of 19 passes for 84 yards and that ugly interception in the first half.

"I didn't have my best night," Sanchez said. "That was obvious in the first half."

It was obvious in the most crucial moment of the first half. On a third-and-10 play from the Indianapolis 19, Sanchez dropped to throw. He had tight end Dustin Keller(notes) open on a crossing route from right to left, but failed to find Keller early in the route. As the play kept going, Sanchez danced and danced, seeming to grow edgier by the moment. Finally, he saw Keller and unleashed …

Only the ball cleared Keller by at least a couple of feet and was snatched by Colts cornerback Justin Tryon(notes). At that moment, Sanchez looked very much like a boy among men.

"It's one of those plays that you hope he can just let go of and he did," Keller said. "But yeah, that can hurt a guy's confidence. But this year, Mark has done a really good job of managing that and picking himself back up. Last year, we might have all said something to him to try and pick him up, but we didn't have to tonight."

In the second half, Sanchez settled down a bit, completing six of nine prior to the final drive. Still, none of the plays was extraordinary. Nice throws that helped set up two touchdowns, but no signature play. No touchstone moment that players go back to again and again for confidence.

That was still to come.

On first down after Cromartie's big return, Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards(notes) on a slant for 9 yards on a play that withstood review. On second down, he hit Santonio Holmes(notes) on a throw to the far left for 14. After a 2-yard run by LaDainian Tomlinson(notes), the Jets were at the Indy 32, in range for a 50-yard attempt by Folk. Given that Folk had made only five of 11 from beyond 40 yards this season, this was at best a coin-flip proposition.

That's when Edwards and Sanchez put the game on their shoulders rather than on Folk's iffy foot. The result was a play that may one day go down as one of Sanchez's best, an 18-yard fade pass to Edwards, who hauled the ball in along the right sideline and got his feet down.

Edwards makes the big grab in front of Lacey.
(The Star-Ledger/US Presswire)

It was Edwards who actually called the play, but it was Sanchez who correctly read the man coverage, throwing the ball into the back of Colts cornerback Jacob Lacey(notes), allowing Edwards to stop as Lacey went running past.

"I said, 'You gotta give me another shot,' " said Edwards, who was unable to catch up with a deep throw by Sanchez on the previous possession. "He did. Pretty much a perfect pass."

Said Sanchez: "It's a 'got to have it' situation. We practice them all the time. There are a few plays for every quarterback in their playbook – for Peyton Manning I'm sure there are a million more – but for me there's a select few plays that I really feel good about. You kind of have those in your toolbox. You go to it in a time of need. We needed it. I knew I could have made the throw last year. I don't know if I could have made that call last year."

Last year? How about in the first half? To expect Sanchez to complete all three of those critical throws for 38 yards after his LaLooshian first half would be absurd. While Sanchez hit four or five nice throws in the first half, he had just as many that were so far off target that you wondered if he was headed for flameout rather than franchise status.

"It just shows his resolve," said veteran backup quarterback Mark Brunell(notes), who has played with the likes of Brett Favre(notes) and Drew Brees(notes) during his 18 years in the NFL. "He came in here at half and he was composed. He knew he had played poorly and he said to us [the other quarterbacks], 'I'm going to play better,' and he did it. It was two different halves. He's growing up."

At just the right time.