What gave it away for me was his audible to get to Braylon Edwards the ball that set up the winning kick on the final drive.
Sanchez was given a running play but he went with his gut in putting the ball down the field.
Some will say that is a cavalier but as Sanchez said in his post-game press conference He knew he could make that throw last year but he wasn't sure he could make that call. This year he is confident enough to make both.
I am not the biggest fan of the New York Daily News' Mike Lupica but he saying a lot of great things about Sanchez...
"Power wins," Bill Parcells said one time, after his Giants pushed the Bills around in a Super Bowl.
But when the kid had to make one throw, when it was all on the line for him in the last minute of a game his team needed to keep playing, after throwing high all night, he got one to Braylon Edwards on the sideline and Edwards came down with it and then Nick Folk kicked a field goal and it was 17-16 for the Jets in Indy.
Sanchez had effectively played a season and a half as a starter at USC when the Jets drafted him. Now he has two NFL regular seasons in the books, four playoff games, one AFC title game. Sometimes you forget just how young Sanchez really is, mostly because he has come this far this fast.Now he has won three road playoff games in his career. Now his team has gotten one off Peyton Manning's Colts in Indianapolis. It wasn't always pretty for Sanchez. Not even close. He looked bad in the first half. He handed the ball off for most of the second half, especially on the 87-yard, 17-play, 10-minute drive that changed the game.
Of course the New York media will turn on you on a dime but right now Sanchez is living the dream!
It hasn't always been pretty.
There were time when the Jets O-line couldn't stop air but they did a stellar job last night. Sanchez made a lot of overthrows last night but when he needed to hit one he did.
For the most part Pete Carroll was wrong in his assessment of Sanchez's decision to come to the league.
Lets hope Mark Sanchez continues to prove Carroll wrong....