This game sums up the New York Jets’ season.  The offense couldn’t get going, the defense struggled, and overall they looked sloppy.

Mark Sanchez failed to complete 50 percent of his passes and threw a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.  He added a lost fumble finishing the season with a total of 27 turnovers, 18 interceptions and 9 fumbles.

New York came into this game with questions all throughout the organization and the outcome of this game probably wasn’t going to affect many decisions one way or another.  With this 28-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills the Jets ended the season at 6-10 and it’s the first time finishing under .500 with coach Rex Ryan.

The organization has announced that offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and general manager Mike Tannenbaum will not be back with the team next season.  This is just the beginning.  A number of changes needed to be made for this team to get back to their winning ways.

The Jets need to decide what they want to do at quarterback.  Do they keep Sanchez and ride out his contract or will they part ways and give the starting job to Greg McElroy?

A number of guys on the defensive side are set to be free agents, so New York will also have to deal with that.

It’s going to be an interesting and busy offseason, well it always is.  The Jets need to go into rebuilding mode.  It may take a little time to develop into a title contender, but that’s how the game works.

Well it looks like Greg McElroy’s stint as the starting quarterback lasted one whole week.  The New York Jets announced McElroy suffered a concussion against the San Diego Chargers and Mark Sanchez will replace him for the season finale against the Buffalo Bills.

Once again Tim Tebow has been passed over.  Coach Rex Ryan must really not have any faith in him because with the season basically over he still refuses to give him a start.

This game is for pride.  Whenever you play a division rival you want to beat them.  Neither of these teams are going anywhere this season and are definitely disappointed in the way things turned out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to go out strong.

Two Jets, Antonio Cromartie and LaRon Landry, found out this week they’re making a trip to the Pro Bowl even though the defense has not lived up to its potential.  That’s not taking anything away from these two guys.  They both had great seasons and definitely deserve the honor.

It’s going to come down to how the offense plays this week though.  Sanchez needs to do a good job of holding on to the ball and doing what is asked of him.  The Bills’ defense is last in the league in rushing yards so you can expect the Jets to run the ball early and often.

This entire season has been a circus for the New York Jets.  They’re nowhere near where they expected to be and it really can’t be blamed on one specific thing.  This final game may not mean much in the standings but these guys are professionals and competitors so you can expect them to put up one last fight.

Final Score: Jets 24  Bills 17

Greg McElroy’s first career start did not go the way he had hoped.  The young quarterback had just three more completions than sacks.

The New York Jets’ offensive line could not handle the San Diego Chargers’ defense in a 27-17 loss.  In order for an offense to be successful it needs an effective offensive line and on Sunday the Jets’ unit was anything but that.

When given time McElroy was able to make some solid throws completing 14 of 24 passes for 185 yards with an interception, but it was extremely rare that he had time to sit in the pocket.  The Chargers sacked him eleven times and forced him to fumble it away late in the fourth quarter.

New York’s run game could never get going either.  They ran the wildcat a number of times, but instead of Tim Tebow leading the attack it was wide receiver Jeremy Kerley.  Kerley rushed the ball once for two yards and connected with Clyde Gates for a 42-yard completion.  Shonn Greene chipped in with two touchdowns on the ground along with 38 yards on 14 carries, but aside from that there wasn’t much excitement for the Jets offensively.

This was special teams coach Mike Westhoff’s final home game of his career and following the Jets’ first possession the team allowed Michael Spurlock to return Robert Malone’s punt for 63 yards into the end zone.  It was a sign that this was going to be a long day.

The Jets’ defense did a pretty good job of preventing big plays from Philip Rivers.  The veteran completed 11 of his 22 passes for 165 yards and was able to connect with his receivers for two touchdowns.

After being eliminated from playoff contention last week the Jets did not look hungry on Sunday.  They seemed deflated and rightfully so, but at the same time these guys are professionals and are paid to play the game.  Nothing is guaranteed in this league, so they need to go out there and play like their jobs depend on it because in reality that may very well be the case.

It’s safe to say this has not been one of the calmer weeks of the season.  It started with a loss Monday night and the dominoes have continued to fall.

After head coach Rex Ryan announced Greg McElroy will make his first career start the New York Jets’ quarterback drama was taken to another level.  Mark Sanchez clearly was not happy about being benched and Tim Tebow finally showed some frustration.

It’s now come out that the Jets are seeking possible trade options for Sanchez, but it’s going to be hard to convince a team to take on his huge contract.  New York will also most likely part ways with Tebow after this season, which makes you wonder why they even traded for him in the first place.

This week they’ll play host to a San Diego Chargers team that has had an equally disappointing season.  At 5-9 San Diego is far from where they thought they would be and head coach Norv Turner looks like he may be on the way out.

Philip Rivers has always been a fighter so you can expect him to put it all on the line for his coach.  Statistically Rivers hasn’t had a terrible season, but the running game has been almost nonexistent.  Ryan Mathews was placed on injured reserve this week, so Ronnie Brown and Jackie Battle will try to produce something on the ground.

It’s finally time to see what Greg McElroy can do.  The spotlight is nothing new to him; he won a national championship at the University of Alabama, so he can handle pressure.  Now he has to prove he belongs in the NFL.

Final Score: Jets 24  Chargers 17

The New York Jets’ playoff hopes may be finished, but at least they’ll be able to see what the future may look like.

The Jets knew coming into last night’s game that they needed to win their final three games in order to have a chance at making the playoffs.  The 4-9 Tennessee Titans had only pride to play for but they did enough to end New York’s season by winning 14-10.

It’s tough to pinpoint one specific thing that went wrong.  The Jets as a whole just looked flat, from top to bottom.  They were fighting for their lives and played uninspiring football the entire game.

Mark Sanchez was reckless and proved once again that he isn’t the leader the Jets thought he would be.  The quarterback threw four interceptions, including one late in the game when the Jets were deep in Titans’ territory.  Somehow New York was able to get the ball back with under a minute remaining on the Tennessee 25-yard line after Brett Kern’s 19-yard punt.  On the first play Nick Mangold snapped the ball low, Sanchez was unable to hold on to it, and the Titans recovered.  That play pretty much sums up Sanchez’s NFL career.

Now with the Jets officially out of playoff contention Rex Ryan has announced Greg McElroy will start next week against the San Diego Chargers.  At this point they have nothing to lose and they’ll finally be able to see what the second-year player can do when he’s given a start.

This was a tough way to go out, but at the same time in a way New York was put out of their misery.

When the NFL was putting together the schedule during the offseason I bet they didn’t think this week’s Monday night matchup would showcase two sub-.500 teams.

The New York Jets have won two in a row to put them at 6-7, while the Tennessee Titans have lost their last three and come into this game with a 4-9 record.

The Jets are by no means out of the playoff chase, but they need help.  That help begins with the guys in their own locker room.  They need to win out and then the rest is out of their hands.

There’s no reason for the Jets to get fancy this week.  They stuck to what they do best last Sunday and it worked out for them.  The offense needs to establish a running game early and continue to pound it the rest of the way.  Tennessee ranks 24th in run defense so if they give Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell enough carries they should be able to give this offense a spark.

The Titans also like to run the ball, but star running back Chris Johnson has been up and down the entire season.  At any moment he can break one out for a huge gain, so the Jets’ defense needs to do a great job of containing Johnson by not allowing him to get outside.

Jake Locker is a young quarterback who is prone to making mistakes.  The key is to get pressure on him and force him to make poor decisions.  If New York makes Locker beat them they should be in a good position to win.

Now, of course, in order to win they need solid play out of their own quarterback.  Mark Sanchez has to play mistake free football.  The Jets will most likely minimize the amount of times he throws it, so when he is called upon to sling the ball Sanchez needs to keep it simple and make the correct reads.  Easier said than done.

This is another winnable game for New York, they just need to go out and perform.  No more talking.  Just get it done.

Final Score:  Jets 16  Titans 10

It may not have been the prettiest game, but the New York Jets figured out a way to get the win.

After scoring zero points in the first half for the second straight week the Jets came out in the second half with a plan and stuck to it.  That plan was to run, run and run some more.

Both of New York’s running backs got into the end zone on their way to a 17-10 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Shonn Greene carried the ball 20 times for 77 yards and Powell chipped in with 78 yards on 19 rushes.

Even though Mark Sanchez had a mediocre day, Rex Ryan decided to stick with him the entire game.  The quarterback completed 12 of 19 passes for 111 yards, but lost a fumble in the first half which resulted in a Jacksonville field goal.

The Jaguars may not have one of the better offenses in the NFL, but the Jets’ defense looked great all day.  They were flying around the field and made big plays when it counted.  Chad Henne was constantly under pressure and as a result was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, one to Bart Scott and another to Ellis Lankster which sealed the deal for the Jets.

New York went back to their bread and butter, rushing the ball and playing tough defense, and it worked out for them.  At 6-7 they’re only a game out of the second wild card spot and have a favorable remaining schedule.  It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

So last week was just a tease.  Head Coach Rex Ryan announced earlier this week that he’s sticking with Mark Sanchez as his starting quarterback.

At 5-7 he feels Sanchez gives the New York Jets the best chance to win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  While the Jaguars rank 28th in pass defense, which will help Sanchez, it was third-stringer Greg McElroy who led the Jets to a win last week.  That was McElroy’s first professional action and he actually put a spark in the offense, so why not stick with him?

Does Ryan really believe Sanchez gives them the best chance to win?  Or does he feel this team is a sinking ship and if they’re going down he wants to go down with his guy?  I’m not jumping to conclusions here, but it’s something to think about.

This is a very winnable game for New York.  The Jaguars are 2-10 and to go along with their struggling pass defense they’re also ranked 31st against the run.  Shonn Greene passed the century mark last week and if he’s given enough carries there is no reason he shouldn’t be able to do it again.

Jacksonville’s offense has shown glimpses of light throughout the season, but are banged up in the backfield right now.  Their top three backs, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jalen Parmele and Rashad Jennings, are all out with injuries leaving the majority of the carries to Montell Owens.  The fullback had a career-high seven carries last week and is a tough player.

Chad Henne is very familiar with the Jets from his Miami days.  He’s 3-1 against New York and has been efficient behind center ever since taking over the starting job.

The Jets are a long shot for the playoffs and if this game gets ugly early it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ryan make a quarterback switch again.  They might as well see what they have in McElroy because they already know what they have in Sanchez.

Final Score:  Jets 13 Jaguars 9

A new era may be upon us.

Midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s game head coach Rex Ryan made a decision that many thought should’ve been done weeks ago.  He pulled Mark Sanchez.

With the New York Jets down 3-0 Greg McElroy stepped into the game.  On his first possession he led New York on a 10-play drive resulting in the game’s only touchdown.  McElroy connected with Jeff Cumberland on a one yard toss and the Jets never gave back the lead, winning by a score of 7-6 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The decision to bring in McElroy was a direct result of how Sanchez was playing.  The starter threw three interceptions in the first half and failed the move the ball on the Jets’ first three drives of the second half.

Once the second-year quarterback came in there was a completely different feel to the game.  With 7:55 left in the game the Jets got the ball back and it was clear they wanted to run out the clock and that’s exactly what they did.  Shonn Greene led the way, but McElroy made a big third-down throw to Jeremy Kerley that continued the drive.  Greene had a solid outing finishing with 104 yards on 24 carries.

For the approximately 22 minutes that the Jets’ defense was on the field they took care of business.  They gave up a total of 137 yards and never allowed the rookie quarterback Ryan Lindley to get comfortable in the pocket.  LaRon Landry had New York’s lone takeaway when he intercepted a Lindley pass.

Who knows what direction the Jets will go down in regards to their quarterback, but Greg McElroy proved he can play.  We may have seen a changing of the guard in New York.

After last week’s debacle the New York Jets’ defense should have a much easier time with the Arizona Cardinals.  The Jets gave up 49 points to the Patriots, granted the defense wasn’t on the field for two touchdowns, but it’s hard to imagine them getting any worse.

Under center for Arizona will be rookie Ryan Lindley who started his first NFL game last week.  The sixth-round pick threw four interceptions and finished with a 17.6 quarterback rating against the St. Louis Rams.

The return of running back Beanie Wells should be of more concern to the Jets.  Although he’s nowhere near a top tier back Wells is capable of shedding tackles and breaking loose.

The Jets’ offense needs to help the defense though.  New York has to sustain drives and chew up some clock in order to take pressure off their defense.  It’s been a struggle, particularly in the past few games, to get points on the board.

My father once told me “you can only win if you have more points than your opponent.”  Yes, it is blatantly obvious, but sometimes it’s the simple advice that is most valuable.   Regardless, the Jets should be willing to take any help they can get right now.  Whether it’s Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow at quarterback New York needs to figure out a way to move the ball and give the fans something to cheer about.

The Jets have lost four of their last five and are in desperate need of a win; not because they mathematically still have a shot at making the playoffs or because their head coach may or may not be on the hot seat, but because football is a game of pride and when people doubt you that’s when the true fighters rise up.  At 4-7 the New York Jets organization needs to take a look in the mirror and figure out who they are and what they want to be.

Final:  Jets 17  Cardinals 14