Sunday, coach Rex Ryan got a little reminder of why he and general manager Mike Tannenbaum made the 2009 draft decisions that they made.
The New York Jets' third-year quarterback-running back duo of Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene teamed up to blow out the Kansas City Chiefs, 37-10, and keep their season on track.
Sanchez tossed two touchdowns and ran for two more, and Greene picked up 129 yards rushing and a touchdown to go along with 58 receiving yards on three catches.
In winning its third straight game, New York improved to 8-5.
"The running game was phenomenal," Sanchez told the media after the game. "It set up a lot. in our passing game, we were pretty efficient and I still left some completions out there that could have helped us late in the game, but we got off to a fast start and that’s important. Rex likes to see that from the offense and it definitely does give the team a boost, so that’s good."
LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes were each on the receiving end of a Sanchez scoring strike. Tomlinson added 50 receiving yards of his own on only two catches.
New York worked the screen game with a lot of success, countering the Chiefs' pressure with quick passes and getting the offensive linemen outside.
"I thought we did a tremendous job in the screen game, (center) Nick Mangold in particular," Ryan said. "I told Nick the bad thing is that we know how fast you are now, so we expect you to start leading those sprints. He blocked a guy all the way to the end zone, which was impressive. I love the way he's finishing people now."
Sanchez has 21 passing touchdowns and five rushing scores to go along with his 11 interceptions. Greene has found the end zone six times this year, scoring four touchdowns in the last two games.
The Jets travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles (5-8) next weekend.
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