Sanchez can't get 'em in end zone

As a measure of just how bad things had gotten for Mark Sanchez during a desultory performance against the Dolphins yesterday, consider this: Late in the third quarter, he was performing so miserably that coach Rex Ryan considered replacing him with Mark Brunell.

Brunell is the Jets' 40-year-old backup quarterback. He has thrown all of 31 passes in the last four seasons combined, and only one pass in mop-up duty this year.

As it turned out, Ryan decided not to make the move, figuring Sanchez still was the team's best alternative despite his mounting troubles. But the coach's confidence was not rewarded. Sanchez failed to get the Jets into the end zone in a 10-6 loss to the Dolphins that suddenly has the Jets reeling - and their fans wondering if they'll make the playoffs.

Sanchez's final stat line: 17-for-44 for 216 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, six sacks, four fumbles (one lost) and a miserable rating of 45.3. And the downward trend for the Jets' second-year quarterback is even more disturbing. Consider: In his first four games this season, Sanchez threw eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions. In his last nine, he has eight touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. And a whole bunch of questions.

Let's start with the one about the near-benching.

"I thought about it, and I said, 'He's not the only one to blame,' " Ryan said. "If I thought that was the case, we would have yanked him."

The mere fact that Ryan even contemplated the move spoke to Sanchez's continued struggles. On the heels of a brutal performance last Monday night in a 45-3 loss to the Patriots in which he threw three interceptions, Sanchez couldn't do much better against a mediocre Dolphins team that is barely clinging to playoff contention at 7-6.

"Rex and I have a good relationship and I'm not worried about getting pulled or anything," said Sanchez, whose team was 6-for-21 on third downs, a conversion rate of 29 percent. "I'm glad he left me in. I think he feels I give us the best chance to win. But when I play like I did today, I'm sure it's frustrating to watch."

It is.

That's now nine straight quarters without a single touchdown for Sanchez's offense. OK, he did throw what should have been a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the second quarter, but the ball inexplicably was dropped by the former Super Bowl MVP.

Still . . .

"For every drop, there were probably three or four poorly thrown balls," Sanchez said. "That falls on the quarterback, and I have a lot of work to do. I'll be the one to fix it."

But can he really fix it to the point that the Jets' offense is functional enough to compete? No easy answers here; with upcoming road games against Pittsburgh and Chicago, there's no guarantee Sanchez can solve two defenses that usually force a quarterback to make difficult throws because they're so good against the run.

"The good news is this is fixable," Sanchez said. "The bad news is we've got some good teams to play. It's a good challenge. It's a good test for me early in my career. We'll see how we do."

My, my, how dramatically things have changed. Only a week ago, things looked so promising. At 9-2 and headed for a showdown in New England against the 9-2 Patriots, there was talk of a divisional title and home-field advantage in next month's playoffs.

But after losing two games by a combined score of 55-9, the Jets now are faced with the reality that even a playoff berth no longer is assured. And if they lose to the Steelers and Bears, that regular-season finale at home against the Bills looks as though it could be win and you're in . . . or else lose and you're out.

"We can easily play our way out of it if we don't play well," Sanchez said.

But he doesn't think that will happen.

"Our team's too positive," he said. "We're a tough group. I know these guys in . I know how they'll respond to me and my energy."

But there isn't much time to respond. Just three games left to turn things around . . . or not.