OFFENSE
Mark Sanchez (19-29, 170 yards) protected the ball very well and was sharper with his accuracy. Braylon Edwards (8-100) made some terrific clutch catches. RBs Shonn Greene (12-40) and LaDainian Tomlinson (11-49) grinded out some tough rushing yards. B
DEFENSE
Two defensive stands to preserve the victory at the end were huge. One was climaxed by a Jason Taylor safety. The second was ended when CB Marquice Cole tipped away a Ben Roethlisberger pass in the end zone on the final play of the game. CB Drew Coleman had a monster game with two sacks, two forced fumbles and 10 tackles. The Jets DBs did give up 264 passing yards and the defense didn’t handle the Steelers’ no-huddle offense well early. B
SPECIAL TEAMS
Brad Smith returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. K Nick Folk kicked field goals of 25 and 34 yards. P Steve Weatherford (36.8 gross, 35.8-yard net) had a strong game. A
COACHING
Rex Ryan’s motivational Saturday night speech was rousing and had the players excited. Brilliant game called by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, particularly on the Sanchez bootleg TD on fourth-and-1. Defensive plan was more bend-but-don’t-break than usual, because blitzes were ineffective. Only complaint was poor clock management at the end of the first half. A-