For one, it seems like being a rookie in the playoffs is a no longer much of a liability for an NFL team.
Many analysts like myself said that Mark Sanchez would struggle in his first NFL playoff game, but that was anything but the case. He not only played great, but also significantly outperformed the Bengals' Carson Palmer.
Sanchez went 12-15 for 182 yards and a touchdown, and could have added one more TD to his stat line if not for a ball that went through the grasp of the perennially shaky-handed Braylon Edwards (Browns fans must have had a fun time watching that play).
Of course, Sanchez's receiving core performed much better than Palmer's, as Jerricho Cotchery made two great catches near the sideline.
He also did not have to throw against a shutdown corner like Darrelle Revis (he stayed away from Bengals standout corner Leon Hall if I'm not forgetting a play or two here or there) or deal with a superb pass rush like Palmer had faced from Bart Scott and co.
However, in the end Sanchez hit his receivers with accurate strikes when they were open and displayed steady footwork, whereas Palmer's footwork was consistently shaky, and thus resulted in passes that were either too high, too low or too far behind his receivers.
Palmer's subpar performance (18-36 for 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception-granted one that wasn't solely his fault) and the poor play of Cincinnati's defense canceled out a great performance from running back Cedric Benson, who consistently displayed great vision and made the right cuts throughout the game on his way to 169 yards rushing on 21 carries.
Two easy field goals missed by kicker Shayne Graham didn't help the Bengals either, though it is not the reason for their loss.
The Bengals didn't get many breaks in this game and couldn't make a play here or there to continue a couple of drives and keep Graham off the field, while the Jets were able to overcome their one bad break (punter Steve Weatherford being injured-kicker Jay Feely did a decent job punting for him).
Cincinnati squandered a great kick return by Bernard Scott at the game's outset thanks to a Laveranues Coles fumble and proceeded to lose their two challenges in the first quarter thanks to bad decisions by head coach Marvin Lewis. That followed an interception that was thrown by Palmer in the second half but at least partially the result of a lack of execution by Chad Ochocinco.
Meanwhile the Jets committed no turnovers and weren't rattled after a penalty erased a field goal by Feely and another one thereafter forced them to punt.
Sanchez made the plays that he needed to make, their running game was productive produced big plays, and they exploited the Bengals' inability to cover Jets tight end Dustin Keller with two big plays, one on a deep crossing route which resulted in a 45-yard touchdown, and the other on a simple drag route in the flats which resulted in a 43-yard gain and put the Jets in field goal territory.
The Bengals' lack of pass-catching playmakers was evident in this game, and while they still had a chance to win late in the game, it definitely would have been hard for them to move down the field if Graham's field goal had been made with just under four minutes to go.
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