We heard the name Tim Tebow a lot this week and it was very bad for a Jets team that can never get out of its own way when it comes to their celebrated backup quarterback.
We barely heard the name Tim Tebow at all on Sunday and it was very good for a Jets team that got a win they really needed at the end of another trying spell under controversies of their own creation. That the win came by the relatively easy score of 27-13 was even better.
That it came because of an efficient and effective offensive attack was the best news of all. The Jets played their strongest offensive game in more than a month, with their 290 total yards failing to represent the way they were able to control the game by running the ball in the second half.
Shonn Greene had 64 yards, Bilal Powell ran for the first two touchdowns of his career and the Jets played the kind of offense they've long imagined playing and rarely acchieved in reality. All the running helped keep pressure off Mark Sanchez. After three first half sacks, Sanchez responded with 15 completions in 20 tries for 178 yards and a touchdown.
It may have helped that the Jets abandoned Tebow altogether after two first-half snaps in place of Sanchez until going to him on a third down up 14 in the fourth. Those who argue that the quarterback shuffle gets in the way of rhythm got some grist for their mill on Sunday when Tebow lost six yards and the Jets had to punt.
Those anonymous Jets that think Tebow's terrible likely got a chuckle when he tried and failed to convert a fake punt in the second quarter. Tebow, who had three successful fakes earlier this season, tried a flip pass to Lex Hilliard even though the Rams kept their regular defense in the game and it flopped predictably.
The Jets got the ball back quickly, though. Muhammad Wilkerson stripped Sam Bradford, who looked a lot like the maligned quarterback across the way for much of the day, and Bart Scott recovered to set up a Sanchez-to-Chaz Schilens touchdown pass.
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St. Louis turned the ball over three times overall and the Jets defense did a good job of keeping the Rams from breaking any big plays. The run defense could have been better, but it's hard to complain given everything else that's gone down this year.
While it's important not to make too much of a win that doesn't really change where the Jets stand at the moment, it's also important to remember that winning is much better than losing. And, as the Jets will find out, life's a lot better in the week after a win than it is after a third straight loss.
Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.
