Jets Q&A: With Leonhard out, Cro muffs punt

Why was Antonio Cromartie back fielding that third-quarter punt he muffed, rather than Jim Leonhard?

Rex Ryan said Leonhard got the wind knocked out of him a few plays earlier while making a tackle. So with Mike Westhoff having very little confidence in Joe McKnight after his fumble on a punt return against the Broncos, the Jets went with Cromartie. "He was a little sore," Cromartie said. "So I was like, 'If you're sore, I'll go back there.' He was like, 'Go ahead.' "

What was Cromartie's explanation for not handling the punt?

"I got too far underneath it," the cornerback said. "I went up for the fair catch, I felt like I was going to catch it. And for us, it's all about field position. So I didn't want the ball to bounce on the ground and have it bounce for another 15, 20 yards. Now you are looking at us at the 20 to almost the 15-yard line. So I felt like it was field position. I tried to get up underneath the ball and got too far underneath it, it came and hit the top of my shoulder pad and it bounced out. It's always something Rex is harping on. That's our fifth turnover on special teams and I'm the cause of two of them."

Speaking of Cromartie, what happened on former Jet Brad Smith's 36-yard TD catch on the next play?

"I went up and put my hands up and actually got my hands on it and just punched it out," Cromartie said. "The ball just hung in the air and I actually fell down to the ground. As I'm falling down to the ground, I can see him going back up and get the ball. So I was just trying to get up as quick as possible. I was laughing. I had to. I had to laugh that off because I was like, 'How in the hell did he catch the ball?' I said, 'Only Brad and only [Tim] Tebow.' "

Was Smith trying to catch it or was he playing defense?

"On the pass, Cromartie was in great position," Smith said. "I tried to use a double move on him and he stayed back. [Ryan] Fitzpatrick put it up and I was actually reaching to knock it down. Somehow the ball was tipped and I saw it floating."

What did Aaron Maybin think about his two sacks against his former team, the first multi-sack outing of his career?

"It means a lot," the linebacker said. "Obviously, this game is one that we needed. So we all felt like we need to step our games up in order to make sure that this was a game that we played our caliber of football. So for me to go out and have a pretty good game, it feels good. It's awesome.

"After the last time we played Buffalo, people asked me is this the best feeling you could have? The only thing that could have made it better was for me to go out and get a couple of sacks, and for me to have a bigger role in that win. So it feels good, just for how far I've come from last year to this year, and everything that's transpired between then, I'm just grateful."

Trailing by three points with less than two minutes left, why did the Jets run the quarterback sneak that resulted in a first down at the Buffalo 18?

Because they wanted to guard against a replay review of Plaxico Burress' circus catch for 18 yards on the third-and-11 play that preceded it. Mark Sanchez ran for 2 yards, then found Santonio Holmes for the winning 16-yard touchdown. "We were just being careful, making sure they didn't get a chance to replay it," Sanchez said. "It looked like an awesome catch to me, but I'm also 20-plus yards away, so we wanted to be sure and not lose that opportunity."

Any notable injuries?

Defensive tackle Mike DeVito left the game in the third quarter and never returned after injuring his right knee on a third-down completion to C.J. Spiller that went for minus-3 yards. "I'm not real sure," Ryan said about the severity of the injury.