Mark Sanchez remains Jets starting quarterback in Week 14

The move to McElroy instantly kicked up a quarterback controversy, with reports indicating that Jets owner Woody Johnson preferred the former Alabama QB. Sanchez has struggled mightily as the starter, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in an offense that has scored more than 20 points just twice this season. But with four games to go, it appears that McElroy is back to the third option -- so long as Tebow is healthy.

The move comes as somewhat of a surprise to many considering just how bad Sanchez was last weekend. He threw three interceptions and easily could have tossed a couple more, while not producing a single point. Once McElroy came in, the team gathered itself and scored a touchdown, the winning points of a 7-6 contest.

It’s been a rough year by any measure for the Jets’ signal-caller. Sanchez has completed only 55 percent of his passes and has thrown more interceptions (13) than touchdowns (12).

Sanchez has been the starter for the past four seasons and Tebow was acquired in the offseason to back up Sanchez, play sparingly in packages designed for him, and cause every media member to speculate when he would play. The situation got more intriguing on Sunday when Sanchez was benched after throwing three interceptions, only to see the second-year McElroy out of Alabama lead the Jets on a touchdown drive to give them their only a 7-6 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Sanchez would be benched due to his play, as he was on Sunday, while Tebow is still questionable to play with a pair of broken ribs.

“I’m comfortable and confident in all three QBs... I’ll make that decision as the week goes on,” Ryan said according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

Sanchez completed 10 of 21 passes, throwing for 97 yards and three interceptions before being removed from the game. Tebow was not available to replace Sanchez because he was on the Jets’ inactive list for the game with an injury.

The presence of Tebow on the roster along with McElroy and Sanchez clouds the picture even more. Tebow was inactive this week as he recovered from two fractured ribs.

McElroy finished Sunday’s game 5-for-7 with 29 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled once.

2011’s seventh round pick, McElroy has no regular season experience at the NFL level. This preseason, he played in two games, completing an impressive 69.6% of his passes, throwing for one touchdown en route to a 99.7 preseason quarterback rating. Judging by the cheers from fans in New York, it looks like they’re ready for a change ... any change.