First of all, it is not even clear whether Sanchez injured himself on that 3rd and 6 run. Besides, all QB scrambles are not created equal.

Sanchez was trying to get a first down and his competitive fire pushed him to make a play that the situation dictated. You cannot control that with rules.

If he were scrambling on first or second down than Ryan’s logic would make sense but you do not want to rob an athlete of his competitive instincts. That will only lead to confusion when he is confronted with similar situations in the future.

Sanchez was right to dive head-first. He would have never made the first down without it.

Just like he has done with protecting the football, Ryan should pinpoint which situations require a slide and which ones do not. That way there will be no doubt and he will not compromise his quarterback’s instincts on the field.

Before his injury, Sanchez managed the game fairly well. He overthrew a wide-open Jerricho Cotchery in the end zone but also made some nice throws too.

He threw a dart to Cotchery on a skinny post for 45-yards which set up the Jets only touchdown. Sanchez made a perfect throw on the play and hit his receiver in stride.

Two plays later, he did a nice job of avoiding the rush. He slid to his left and threw against his body to Braylon Edwards who bulled his way in to the end zone from 13-yards out.

To his credit, Sanchez did not take any risks with the football and had no turnovers as a result. He took a few sacks and threw the ball away when he needed to but these are smarter moves than carelessly trying to make plays.

Sanchez would not need many big plays in this game. His offensive line took care of matters and dominated the Bills’ front to the tune of 249 rushing yards.

With 318 yards in the first match-up, they accumulated 567 yards on the ground versus Buffalo this year.

All three backs got into the action as even Tony Richardson had a couple of big runs. His two rushes went for 19 and 17 yards.

Shonn Greene continued to impress with a 5.4-yard average on the night off 11 runs. Greene presses the hole well and bursts through it with authority. He is a lot for a defense to deal with and already looks like an every-down back.

The Jets’ offensive line gets a game ball. They physically dominated the Bills’ defensive front. If the Jets were getting more consistent play from the quarterback position, they would have had two more touchdowns.

The Bills’ defense flows quickly to the ball and could not handle the Jets’ stretch play. Thomas Jones made some nice cutbacks off these plays and burned Buffalo’s over-pursuing front.

Good job by Brian Schottenheimer in knowing the Bills’ tendencies from last game. Analyst Matt Millen got it right when he said, “the Jets are running the crap out of the football here tonight”.

Braylon Edwards had an up and down night and is a difficult player to get a read on. Coming in to this game he had been underwhelming.

He was outstanding in his first game but has disappeared for long stretches since. His drop on what would have been an 85-yard touchdown pass was a difficult over-the- shoulder catch but he has to make that play!

Number one receivers do not drop balls and he has already had too many with the Jets. Part of his struggles is likely due to some still-developing chemistry between he and Sanchez but he has also shown a lack of effort and toughness.

He pulled up on a third down route that would have given the Jets a first down inside Buffalo’s twenty. He has also given up on balls and does not appear to be a guy who will fight defenders in traffic.

He is difficult to figure out. He has the brutal drop to start the game then makes a circus catch by the sideline on a high pass to deliver a critical first down. He also made key downfield blocks to spring a couple of big runs.

It is hard to know which Braylon Edwards will show up on a given play. As a pending free agent, the Jets need to see more consistency from him before they pony up with a contract extension.

Defensively for the Jets, the Darrelle Revis show was on full display.

I have singled Revis out on a weekly basis as a key for the defense and he has delivered every time. Terrell Owens and Ryan Fitzpatrick had been making some big plays the last few weeks but that came to an end when #24 showed up.

In another dominating performance, Revis held Owens to 3 catches for 31 yards. There can be no doubt; Revis is the premiere shutdown cornerback in the NFL right now.

He is the closest thing to an automatic player that the Jets have. Week after week he shuts down the opposition’s best receiver and gives his teammates the freedom to focus on other playmakers.

Revis is a consensus All-Pro. The only question now is, will he be named the Defensive Player of the Year?

Revis made a great play on an under thrown ball on the Bills’ last drive and came up with a game-ending interception. He finished with five passes defensed and four tackles but those stats do not tell the full story of his dominance.

He does such an outstanding job of preparation that he knows exactly how his opponent will attack him. Revis reads receivers’ routes extremely well and tracks the ball as though he had eyes in the back of his head.

Darrelle Revis is already the team’s MVP even if he has an average finish down the stretch. The scary thing about this guy is that he will get better.

The rest of the defense played well too. It held Buffalo’s offense to one touchdown and 1-11 on third down.

The Bills’ 36 second half yards were the fewest the franchise had gained since 1991. Wow!

Although the Jets’ defense played well, we must keep it in perspective. This was not exactly the 2007 Patriots here.

Buffalo is playing with a second string quarterback and has been ravaged by injuries along their offensive line. The Jets are supposed to dominate an offense like this.

However, this is the same Bills’ team that beat the Jets in week 6 so we will take the win. Beating lesser teams is something the Jets have not mastered so any progress in this area is important.

The Jets’ pass rush pressured Fitzpatrick all game. They sacked him three times and hit him 8 others.

But most of that pressure came courtesy of the Jets’ secondary. Aside from the 38-yard catch he allowed to Lee Evans on the game’s third play, Lito Sheppard actually played well.

Rex Ryan used him in a lot more bump-and run coverage and he responded. Sheppard has to play physical to be successful and he did so against Evans, allowing him just that one catch on the night.

But Sheppard dropped an easy interception that he could have taken the distance. Although he played a good game overall, it seems apparent that he is not the answer as the Jets’ #2 corner.

He lacks the necessary foot speed, grabs receivers entirely too much and has made few plays on the ball. His release, and a search for his replacement, is all but a certainty after the season.

The Jets’ defense did a stellar job of shutting down the Bills’ running game and allowed starter Fred Jackson a mere 2.4 yards per carry. The Jets’ D was so good on first and second down that Buffalo had regular third and long scenarios. In fact, 75% of Buffalo’s third downs were for 7-yards or more.

David Harris and Bart Scott set the tempo yet again with 11 and 9 tackles respectively and Harris’ strip of Fitzpatrick in the second quarter set up a 49-yard Jay Feely field goal.
Harris leads the team with 5.5 sacks and 105 tackles and has distinguished himself as one of the team’s biggest playmakers.

His tomahawk on Fitpatrick was a textbook strip and provided an emotional lift to the entire team. Despite still flying under the radar among the league’s elite inside linebackers, Harris is critical to this defense and forms its nucleus along with Revis.

Shaun Ellis had another fine game and came up with a huge sack to start Buffalo’s final drive. That play immediately took the wind out of the Bills’ sails and made it difficult for them to generate any momentum.

Ellis finished with two sacks, 4 tackles (two for loss) and two hits on the quarterback. As the longest tenured Jet, he still has plenty in the tank and had another solid game, frequently getting penetration into the opponent’s backfield.

With last night’s win, the Jets regained some measure of respectability. At 6-6 they are still in the hunt although their chances for a playoff berth are slim.

Next up are the lowly Buccaneers who, at 1-10, are going through a dramatic rebuilding process. Winning on the road is never easy but Tampa Bay will be a welcome sight for the Jets.

The status of Sanchez’ injury is key. After seeing a glimpse of Kellen Clemens, Sanchez still gives the Jets the best chance to win.