Jets Q&A: Why didn't they pass more?

New England entered Sunday's action with the NFL's worst-ranked pass defense, allowing 368 yards per game. So why didn't the Jets, who threw 26 passes for 166 yards, game- plan more to throw the ball at the Patriots' porous secondary?

"I think we wanted to establish the run today," quarterback Mark Sanchez said. "I thought we did that in spurts. I thought our run game was pretty effective, especially on first down. I thought we gained a lot of yards on first down, put us in a couple of third-and-manageables early, and we just need to convert on those. We just didn't convert when we needed to.

"So I really did like the game plan. I thought we had some throws that were there. We got down in the red zone and took advantage of being in scoring position.

"I liked the game plan. So I'm not worried about throwing it or not throwing it."

At least the Jets finally got their running game going, rushing for 97 yards and a touchdown. Any particular reason why they were effective?

"Yeah, we really worked hard on it," left guard Matt Slauson said. "We were happy to see the running game go. We need to keep on improving so that we can win games like these. We're close."

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Did Shonn Greene say anything about getting back on track with his 83 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts?

Greene gave all the credit to his offensive line giving him a few holes to run through. "They did a great job today, every last one of them," he said. "They are the reason we were able to do what we did today."

Nick Mangold seemed to fare all right after missing the previous two games with a high ankle sprain. How did he think he played against Vince Wilfork?

"I thought I did pretty well," Mangold said. "I wasn't going to get out there if I wasn't going to be able to do everything I wanted to. So it worked out well."

Rex Ryan had called Jamaal Westerman his DPR -- Designated Pass Rusher -- in the preseason, and the linebacker stepped in with two sacks to fill the void left by Bryan Thomas going on injured reserve with an Achilles injury. That had to feel good for Westerman, no?

"At the time, it felt great. But at the end of the game, it didn't feel as good as it did at the time," Westerman said. "You lose a game and I know everybody feels the same way."

It appeared as if Sanchez hit his right arm on defensive end Andre Carter early in the fourth quarter. Is he OK?

"I just got dinged up a little bit," Sanchez said. "It ended up being fine. It just kind of hurt for a series or two. But it's fine."