ON THE MARK: Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez serves food last night to needy families in Far Rockaway affected by Hurricane Sandy. (Dennis Clark)
Mark Sanchez was last seen on Thanksgiving night throwing an interception, running the wrong way on a handoff and colliding with his teammate’s backside causing a fumble in the Jets’ embarrassing 49-19 loss to the Patriots. But despite the fact his 4-7 Jets are tied for last place in the AFC East and would need a miracle to make the playoffs, Sanchez said the Jets’ season is far from over.
“We feel great. We love our chances. We’ve got a special group. We’ll keep fighting and trying to win some games here,” Sanchez said yesterday while outside of PS 215 in Far Rockaway, helping City Harvest donate food to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The Jets have five games remaining — all against losing teams. On Sunday, they host the 4-7 Cardinals, who have lost seven straight, followed by road games at Jacksonville (2-9) and Tennessee (4-7), before a home game with San Diego (4-7) and a visit to Buffalo (4-7) to end the regular season, so running the table and finishing with a 9-7 record is not impossible.
“We’ll do our best,” Sanchez said. “We’re just taking it one game at a time.”
The Jets did not practice yesterday, but Sanchez kept busy in the gym and the film room before heading to PS 215.
“This was the perfect opportunity with the day off here to get in, get my workout in, watch some film, prepare for [practice today] and do something important in the community and keep some perspective,” he said.
Sanchez was 26-for-36 with 301 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the Thanksgiving loss to forget. He went down in YouTube fame when he collided with teammate Brandon Moore’s backside causing a fumble that the Patriots returned for a touchdown during their 35-point outburst in the second quarter.
The Jets have not been mathematically eliminated, although they face a tough task. And with the world’s most famous backup, Tim Tebow, dealing with a rib injury, Sanchez’s job appears to be safe for yet another week. But he was more focused on the hurricane victims than his team’s troubles.
“The most important thing was to make sure people had a hot meal,” he said. “At times like this with Thanksgiving and the holidays, especially after the tragedy of Sandy, we’re just doing our best to give back, just to be here for these youngsters. Make sure that people know you’re thinking about them, and they mean a lot to us.”