Sunday

The Daily Mark Sanchez to Canton Watch: What a run!

It’s a run that will be talked about plenty in New York this week and it will be brought up a lot down the road when Mark Sanchez’s career wraps up and he gets ready to head into Canton. The 14-yard, helmet-first, hit-me-I-dare-you dash by the Jets’ rookie quarterback stands as the first eye-opening highlight of the kid’s career.

He did it on a day he made history by becoming the first rookie NFL quarterback to start 3-0. The Jets beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17 to remain in first place in the AFC East.

On a 3rd-and-10 with 9:49 to go in the first quarter, Sanchez took off from the pocket, sprinting to his left and away from the Titans’ all-out blitz. He deftly switched the football into his left hand to keep it away from attacking defensive backs and hurtled toward the end zone. Rather than slide like a wuss, Sanchez showed he’s not a pretty boy like Tony Romo. Kid’s got serious guts. Wearing a throwback green jersey, Sanchez made like a spartan. He lowered his head and met Tennessee safety Michael Griffin at the goal line. Griffin stopped him, but didn’t wrap up the QB. Sanchez showed his sticktoitiveness when he kept his feet moving, preventing his knee from touching the ground. He spun off Griffin’s tackle and stretched the ball naked over the goal line. It was batted out of his hand, but the officials ruled the ball had already broken the plane. It was Sanchez’s first TD of his career and one that’ll be remembered by Jets fans for as long as Broadway cuts through Manhattan and Fireman Ed can raise an arm to don his helmet.

“That felt pretty good,” Sanchez later said about the run. “That was a big-time hit on the goal line … I hadn’t had a rushing touchdown probably since high school, at least a long rushing touchdown, and 14 is long for me.”

No doubt, The Sanchise will earn another nickname this week: Superman.

With him operating out of a no-huddle offense to start the game, the Jets took a 14-0 lead. He hit five of six passes during the drive that he capped with his scintillating run, the longest TD rush by a Jets QB since Richard Todd ran one in from 16 yards in 1980.

Sanchez finished 17-for-30 for 171 yards and two TDs thrown as he kept the Titans winless.

*The DMSTCW forecasts Mark Sanchez will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2030 after an 18-year career during which he will accumulate: 111,186 passing yards (he was born on November 11, 1986); 6 Super Bowl championships (to go along with his uniform number); $1 billion in endorsements (including several deals involving teeth-whitening products); 11,550 panties (same numbers as the zip code of the Jets’ headquarters in Hempstead, New York, which incidentally, will be renamed Sanchezstead upon his retirement); enough pats on the behind from Fireman Ed to make him feel uncomfortable; and 1 kiss from Suzy Kolber (willingly given).

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