Mark Sanchez Leads Jets Late-Game Comeback Against Texans

By Sharmaine Jones

Yesterday (November 21), Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets made Sunday night football a day to remember. It took all of 49 seconds for Sanchez and the Jets to go from the brink of defeat to victors and stay atop of the AFC division.

Image : Getty Images

The Jets had a 23-7 lead in the fourth quarter against the Texas Texans but the next 12 minutes of game-play would prove it isn't over until the horn sounds and the clock reads zero. The Texans ran off 20 straight points including a 38 yard field goal, Matt Schaub's 43-yard touchdown pass to Joel Dreesen, a 1-yard touchdown run by Arian Foster then a 22 yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining in the game. The score was now 23-27 in favor of the visiting Texans.

Everyone in Meadowlands Stadium was in shock and began heading towards the exits. But then, Mark Sanchez strapped on his helmet and walked onto the field with remarkable poise. It was time to get focused:

“I'm just singing to myself, just thinking, just trying to get my mind off of everything, relax and know the situation," he said.

Apparently the singing helped because Sanchez was in the zone. His first target: LaDainian Tomlinson. Sanchez scrambled and hit Tomlinson for a 5-yard pass and the running back ran out of bounds. Next was a 19-yard pass to Tomlinson over the middle. With no time-outs remaining, Sanchez spiked the ball on the next huddle to stop the clock at 24 seconds. Sanchez zeroed in and hit his next target: a 42 yard pass to Braylon Edwards who was pushed out of bounds 6 yards away from the touchdown line. At this point, we were on the edge of our seats and the crowd was going crazy! A field goal wouldn't cut it so the weight of an embarrassing loss was on the shoulders of the Jets sophomore quarterback. And just like that, shotgun play from Sanchez to Santonio Holmes for a touchdown with only 10 seconds remaining – final score 27-30!

Sanchez realized the effects that this type of game can have on fans, “We're cutting it awfully close," Sanchez said. "I don't think anybody has any finger nails left if they're a Jets fan"  but as long as he continues to play at this extraordinary level, we'll deal with the mild cardiac arrests. Behind Sanchez's leadership (15 touchdowns, 2306 total passing yards, 82.8 quarterback rating) the Jets are 8-2 with one of the best records in the NFL and are first place in the AFC. Last year as a rookie Sanchez lead “Gang Green” to the AFC championship game, will this season result in a Super Bowl appearance?

What did you think of Sanchez's late game heroics? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags AFC, Football, LaDainian Tomlinson, Mark Sanchez, New York Jets, NFL, Santonio Holmes, Texas Texans