10. The Trade up. The New York Jets trade up to select USC Quarterback Mark Sanchez, thus ushering in a new offensive era for the team. In the process, they gave up relative chump change to the Cleveland Browns. The deal was another steal for Mike "the trader" Tannenbaum and gave the New York Jets the franchise quarterback they've been waiting for.
9. The Hiring. Right out of the gates you knew that the New York Jets had a character when the boisterous Rex Ryan refused to "kiss Bill Belichick's rings". Between Ryan and Sanchez, the franchise signaled that they were rebuilding the offense and creating a defensive force to be reckoned with.
8. First win of the regime. T-Rex and Sanchez trounce the Houston Texans by the score of 24-7 on Sep. 13, 2009. The New York Jets defense allowed zero points, the Texans only scored on an interception. The win signaled the arrival of the new regime.
7. Brad Smith returns kickoff for touchdown against Indianopolis Colts, giving Gang Green the lead and keeping their playoff hopes alive just long enough until Peyton Manning hit the bench. They went on to win the game against Indy's Curtis Painter and well, you know the rest.
6. Brad Smith gets credit here again, this time for his 32 yard touchdown run against Cincy on Jan 3, 2010. The run put the boys in green up by a score of 17-0, and all but locked up a playoff berth.
5. Thomas Jones runs for 109 yards against the Buffalo Bills on December 3, 2009, leading the New York Jets to victory and keeping them in playoff contention, despite the loss of QB Mark Sanchez to injury.
4. The victory lap. New York Jets players and coaches run around the Meadowlands saluting and interacting with fans following the Jan 3 win against the Bengals that earned them a playoff spot. An off the field moment that showed us just how different Ryan's team is, comapred to Mangini's.
3. In week 2, the New York Jets defeat New England at home for the first time in years. They were led by a tremendous defensive effort that kept the Patriots out of the endzone all day.
2. Mark Sanchez connects with Dustin Keller for a 45 yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter, giving the New York Jets the momentum they needed to beat the Bengals on the road in a wild card playoff match up.
1. New York Jets defense stymies the aerial assault of Phillip Rivers and the San Deigo Chargers in a round 2 playoff match up. Darelle Revis and Jim Leonhard pitch in with interceptions that will ultimately take them all the way to Indianapolis for a rematch in the conference championships - a rematch which will ultimately be the team's demise... but only for now. The Colts will be seeing more of the New York Jets in years to come.
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