Sanchez's health key to playoff run

Mark Sanchez was sitting alone in front of his locker Sunday, stripped to the waist, when he began rotating his right arm in a wide, slow arc.

This was after he had completed 24 passes for 269 yards against the Bears, and after he told reporters he was sore but otherwise downplayed the seriousness of his shoulder problem.

His face told a more ominous story as he lowered his arm. He winced.

Maybe it will mean nothing by wild-card weekend, after he likely sits out against the Bills. And he did show plenty of zip on his fastball at Soldier Field on Sunday despite the soreness. But the fact is his health already looms as a key playoff story line.

The Jets and their quarterback have come a long way from Week 1, when coaches resumed the 2009 game plan of merely trying to prevent Sanchez from losing games. That night he totaled a season-low 10 completions in a season-low 21 attempts for a season-low 74 yards in a 10-9 loss to the Ravens.

Since then, Sanchez has grown and the defense has regressed compared to last season, a reality that was clear through the lake-effect snow in Chicago.

It also was clear afterward, as seconds after learning the Jets had backed into the playoffs, coach Rex Ryan said he probably will rest Sanchez in Week 17 - although he backtracked on that somewhat yesterday. Ryan also said he definitely needs to find an answer to the defense's problems.

"It is a huge, huge deal that we have to get fixed," he said. "Obviously, we are not going anywhere if we can't play better defense than that.

"It is my bread and butter. I believe we'll get better. It starts next week."

Fair enough. But it's also fair to say Sanchez has improved to the point that the Jets don't have to be great on defense to win, only better than they were against the Bears - and, obviously, against the Patriots.

Sanchez looked good for most of Sunday, finishing the first half 13-for-15 for 156 yards, with one of the misses a drop in the end zone by Dustin Keller.

Then he showed leadership and perspective when it was over.

First he verbally flogged himself for the interception that clinched the victory for Chicago. "That can't happen," he said.

Then he worked the locker room, pulling over several players for private conversations. What were they talking about? I don't know, but Sanchez looked serious, and teammates listened intently.

Those are good signs for a 24-year-old quarterback in his second season who is 2-for-2 making the playoffs. And who no longer can use Ryan's formerly feared defense as a crutch.

To clarify: It would be silly to suggest a healthy Sanchez is a playoff sure thing. Far from it.

But in a season in which the Jets generally have gone as the quarterback has, and in which their pass rush has evaporated and their secondary has looked confused at times, he might be their best hope.

Not that Sanchez is quite ready to look at it that way.

"We're all going to have to do it at the same time if we're going to make a run like we did last year," he said. "We know we're a tough matchup for some people.

"We have great wideouts. We have great offensive linemen. When the defense is on, they are on, and there's no stopping them. You can't throw it anywhere, or you can't run anywhere."

Note the interesting choice of words: "When the defense is on."

Remember when that was a given?