Update BelowSince last offseason, it seems like Jets fans have just been waiting for the other shoe to drop and starting quarterback Mark Sanchez to be replaced in the lineup. But everyone expected that Tim Tebow would be the one to take over—instead, third string quarterback Greg McElroy got the nod in the third quarter of today's home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Has the Greg McElroy era begun, or is this just another butt fumble in the road for Sanchez?

Regardless, the team has to get out of this game with a win first. The Cardinals were up 3-0 approaching the 4th quarter when Sanchez got yanked. They might be winning by a lot more if it wasn't for the Jets' excellent defense. Sanchez was awful for most of the game, misreading coverage and throwing THREE interceptions (including one on his first throw of the game!). Sanchez left the game with a miserable 21.4 quarterback rating.

With Tebow injured with cracked ribs, McElroy was placed on the game day roster for the first time this season—and this marks his NFL debut. So far, McElroy's only impact on the team has been some comments he made during the offseason about the bad vibes in the Jets locker room: "It's definitely not a fun place to be, I can assure you," he told an Alabama radio station. "It’s the first time I've ever been around extremely selfish individuals, and I think that’s maybe the nature of the NFL."

But there ya go: with 14:55 left in the game, McElroy just threw his first Jets touchdown ever, to give the Jets a 7-3 lead. Certainly, the crowd sounds more pumped than they have in weeks. We'll see how the rest of the 4th quarter goes, and update when the game is over.

Update: Well, if this is the start of the McElroy era, at least it began with a win: the Jets prevailed in a 7-6 win over the Cardinals today, fueled by third string backup McElroy. He ended up only getting four drives, but he led them down the field in two of the. And they could've scored on the last drive, but instead chose to spike the ball and run out the clock. The Jets were aided by the fact the Cardinals had almost no offense, and could not make the most of several Jets turnovers.

Next week, the Jets (5-7)—who are still holding on to very unlikely, but still statistically possible playoff hopes—play another struggling team, the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10), in a very winnable game. The biggest question is who will be starting the game at quarterback.