Sanchez, Jets set some great screens

No one was going to mistake Mark Sanchez for Daryle Lamonica, the Oakland Raiders' "Mad Bomber'' of yesteryear. Sanchez was more like the "Mild Dinker,'' completing one screen pass after another to his running backs and mixing in short routes to his tight ends Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

He completed only three passes to his wide receivers for a total of 22 yards and didn't complete any of his four second-half pass attempts. But Sanchez still wound up throwing for 181 yards and two touchdowns and running for another two touchdowns to lead a 37-10 victory over Kansas City and extend the Jets' winning streak to three games.

Unlike the boos that greeted him in the previous home game against Buffalo, Sanchez received an ovation this time. "That's the last thing on my mind,'' a businesslike Sanchez said when asked about the applause meter. "We're just trying to win games.''

Known as a player who often is at his best at the end of close games, Sanchez lately has looked like the capable leader the Jets need as they near the end of a close race for a wild-card playoff berth. He welcomed that analogy.

"It's important, and pressure either brings out the best or the worst in players,'' Sanchez said. "I think that's a tribute to our front office and Rex [Ryan] drafting guys and acquiring guys on this team that know how to finish, that know how to be competitive when it really counts, especially when you're in a wild-card race like this.''

Sanchez heaped praise on the impact of a running game that produced 159 rushing yards. More importantly, he acknowledged that the passing game was little more than an extension of the running game, and he seemed fine with that. With the Chiefs' defense packing the box at the line of scrimmage, the Jets tore them apart in the first half with screen plays.

A dump-off to running back Shonn Greene that went 36 yards set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to wideout Santonio Holmes, and then a 31-yard screen pass to Tomlinson set up a 7-yard TD run by Greene. Just before halftime, Sanchez threw a middle screen to Tomlinson that went for a 19-yard TD and a 28-3 lead.

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"[The Chiefs] rush the passer very well, and some of that misdirection stuff can get those guys if you have the right timing. And we did,'' Sanchez said. "The offensive linemen got out in the screen game, the running backs had great phasing, and you just have to get the ball to them. They're like long handoffs.''

Screens help the running backs get past the defensive line. "It allows us to get into space and get out of the box and allows us to deal with corners and safeties and linebackers,'' Tomlinson explained. "We have to win that matchup.

"Our coach did a great job of calling specific screens that hurt this team. We gave them different looks that kind of kept them off-balance. They weren't quite sure if it was a screen or not.''