It may be time for the Jets to bench Mark Sanchez

The San Francisco 49ers are a good football team, but that's no excuse for laying a goose egg on offense.

That's exactly what the New York Jets did earlier today when they were whipped in every phase of the game by the 49ers, losing by a score of 34-0.

There's two big story lines in this game for the Jets. Their defense was awful once again this week. It's difficult to fix a defense once the season has begun, especially when you're missing your best defensive player for the rest of the season.

On the other side of the ball, however, there's a potential solution sitting on the bench, and it may be time to let him take over.

I'm speaking, of course, of Tim Tebow. Mark Sanchez was terrible today, completing just 13 of 29 passes for 103 yards and an interception. Even with such a terrible performance, Tebow only ran the ball twice and threw it once.

The reason that Rex Ryan has been very hesitant to bench Sanchez during a game is simple. Once Sanchez is benched, there's no going back.

We all know that Tim Tebow is a very unique player both on the field and in the media. Considering Sanchez's struggles, Ryan would have a riot on his hands if he benched Sanchez and brought him back as the starting quarterback the following week.

Still, I have to believe that Rex Ryan is being pushed closer and closer to making the decision to pull Sanchez. With Tebow, the Jets' passing attack wouldn't get any better, but they would be adding a running option on every play.

It'll be interesting to see how Rex Ryan handles the media frenzy that will ensue following today's embarrassing loss. Regardless, Mark Sanchez's time as an NFL starter may be getting shorter by the day.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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