The Jets Long Nightmare is Over

After the Jets’ loss to the Titans on Monday night, what’s left? Can Rex Ryan return as head coach, and can Mark Sanchez possibly continue to start at quarterback for this team? Can the GM keep his job? Only one thing is certain, and the Jets fans should be thankful for it: they will not have to watch their team get murdered in the playoffs.

After the Jets’ embarrassing 14-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Monday, they fall to 6-8, a record that is somehow much better than the football they have played this season. Mark Sanchez threw four interceptions in the game, and per ESPN’s Stats and Information, The Titans defense caught twice as many passes (4) as the Jets receivers (2) on Mark Sanchez throws that traveled 15 or more yards downfield. Sanchez had a total QBR of 6.8 in this game, his ninth career game under 7.0 and fourth this season.

“We knew coming into the game they were going to pound the ball, and we knew when they put the ball in the air, we were going to have opportunities to make plays,” Titans cornerback Jason McCourty said. “… The last few games it just seemed like they were pounding the ball, pounding the ball on the ground. They came out and threw the ball a few more times than we expected. We were able to make some plays on the ball in the air, and that gave us a chance.”

You know you’re in bad shape when even the opposing defensive backs are surprised your team’s crap quarterback is throwing the ball so much. In a season chock full of horrendous Jets losses, the stink bomb against the Titans was the cherry on top of the worst sundae ever.

“Obviously, it’s a devastating loss, out of the playoffs, and it hurts beyond belief,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “I think the thing that really hurts the most is we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves.” More accurately, they have no one to blame but Mark Sanchez; he turned the ball over five times in the game. If you’re keeping track at home, Sanchez has turned the ball over 24 times this season and a staggering 50 times in the last two seasons combined. I mean, what more is there to see? The Jets foolishly gave Sanchez a massive contract extension in the offseason, but they have no choice but to look elsewhere for quarterback help this upcoming offseason. It would be franchise suicide to continue throwing Sanchez on the field, though it is unclear if the primary orchestrators of the franchise, head coach Rex Ryan and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum, will even be with the team at this point next year.

Unfortunately for Ryan, he tied his fate to Sanchez’s very early on, insisting again and again that Sanchez was “their guy.” Well, if Sanchez is still “his guy,” they’ll find themselves both without a life preserver very soon. Mostly, however, Jets fans should be relieved that they don’t have to watch their dismal team in the playoffs. Instead they get yet another offseason to lick their wounds and ponder what might have been if they had anyone, literally anyone else, starting at quarterback for their team.