Mark Sanchez will remain Jets starting QB for now

Mark Sanchez will be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, said Rex Ryan after the team’s 24-17 loss to the Houston Texans.

Ryan said there was “no question” the fourth-year quarterback would maintain the starting role, despite a less-than-stellar performance. Sanchez’s 14-for-31, one-touchdown, two-interception performance lowered his completion percentage, which had already been the league worst, to 48.4 percent on the season. The head coach praised his quarterback’s effort in the loss:

“Last night, I thought he played pretty good,” Ryan said of Sanchez. “I thought he was accurate with the football. We had three drops. Obviously, one of them was a drop (by Jeff Cumberland) that led to an interception.”

There’s been plentiful talk of replacing Sanchez with backup Tim Tebow, whose two college national championships at Florida and improbable string of victories last season with the Denver Broncos contribute to his cult status, but Tebow’s career completion percentage is even lower at 47.3 percent. Tebow was 0-for-1 in the game with a deep ball dropped by receiver Jason Hill and ran for a first down as part of the punt team.

Sanchez’s poor numbers weren’t entirely his fault -- there was the drop leading to the pick by Cumberland, and four tipped passes were as much on an offensive line that struggled to contain Houston’s front four as they were on Sanchez. But while he made some impressive throws, his stats will allow speculation about his job security to continue.