If the Jets are a phenomenal pass D, and a strong team running and stopping the run, why are they a team that very nearly missed the playoffs instead of a juggernaut?
190 for 367 (51.8%), 2,557 yards, 14 TDs, 21 INTs, 63.1 QB Rating, 4.35 ANY/A
Oh.
That is Mark Sanchez's passing line for weeks 1-15, plus his two playoff games (15 games total since he missed one game with a knee injury).
After the jump is the Jets passing performances (with Sanchez at QB) vs the opponents average.
(Red text is worse than opponent average, green is better, black is about average)
| Opponent | Comp | Att | Comp% | Yards | Y/A | TD | INT | Rating | ANY/A |
| Texans | 18 | 31 | 58.1 | 272 | 8.8 | 1 | 1 | 84.3 | 7.97 |
| Patriots | 14 | 22 | 63.6 | 163 | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 101.1 | 6.54 |
| Titans | 17 | 30 | 56.7 | 171 | 5.7 | 2 | 1 | 81.4 | 4.27 |
| Saints | 14 | 27 | 51.9 | 138 | 5.1 | 0 | 3 | 27 | -0.74 |
| Dolphins | 12 | 24 | 50.0 | 172 | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 87.5 | 7.68 |
| Bills | 10 | 29 | 34.5 | 119 | 4.1 | 0 | 5 | 8.3 | -4.16 |
| Raiders | 9 | 16 | 56.3 | 143 | 8.9 | 1 | 0 | 107.0 | 8.88 |
| Dolphins | 20 | 35 | 57.1 | 265 | 7.6 | 2 | 0 | 100.3 | 7.86 |
| Jaguars | 16 | 30 | 53.3 | 212 | 7.1 | 1 | 2 | 59.3 | 4.73 |
| Patriots | 8 | 21 | 38.1 | 136 | 6.5 | 1 | 4 | 37.1 | -1.65 |
| Panthers | 13 | 17 | 76.5 | 154 | 9.1 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 4.95 |
| Bills | 7 | 15 | 46.7 | 104 | 6.9 | 1 | 0 | 92.1 | 6.24 |
| Falcons | 18 | 32 | 56.3 | 226 | 7.1 | 1 | 3 | 49.7 | 2.94 |
| Bengals | 12 | 15 | 80.0 | 182 | 12.1 | 1 | 0 | 139.4 | 13.47 |
| Chargers | 12 | 23 | 52.2 | 100 | 4.3 | 1 | 1 | 60.1 | 2.83 |
Observations
- Holy tape effect Batman! Sanchez debuted with a excellent 7.97 ANY/A against the Texans week 1, and each of the next 3 weeks his ANY/A dropped at an accelerating rate until he hit negative ANY/A week 4 against the Saints.
- Sanchez had 3 of 15 games where he actually cost his team yardage per dropback and another 3 in which he gained less yards per attempt than the Jets season average on the ground (a no-no for a passing game due to it's increased boom-bust ratio vs the run)
- Completion% and Yardage were consistently below average. Passing is not the main driver of their offense and their inability to consistently complete passes is a big reason
- They fairs better in overall metrics thanks to a higher than usual Yards/Att (a strong run game probably helps open things up downfield) and because they gave up relatively few sacks of Sanchez.
The Jets don't lean heavily on their passing game to move the ball, when they do they are inconsistent and turnover prone