Mark Sanchez has thrown 69 interceptions during his Jets career, including five in one game and four in two others.
Friday night, it looked like the Sanchez whom Jets fans have come to know and loathe when he threw an interception to Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah on a screen pass. Ansah ran 14 yards into the end zone for the score, and you could hear the Sanchez doubters moaning from the Hamptons to High Point.
But Sanchez actually showed some progress after that. Yes, he had one more near-interception, but he put together a touchdown drive on his third and final series of the night and was able to walk out of Ford Field feeling good despite the preseason-opening 26-17 loss.
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LOOKING UP: Mark Sanchez shook off an early pick-six to turn in a decent performance in the Jets' preseason opener.
Too many times in Sanchez's past, one interception becomes two or two become three. By the end of last season, he looked like a quarterback with no confidence. But he showed some poise, and that should not be lost in the uproar over the pick-six.
"It's just not the way you want to start," Sanchez said. "At the end of the day, you can't dwell on it. You have to step up and make the next couple passes, you have to move on. You can't let them see you sweat and just shake it off, move on, stay positive and hustle into the huddle. Need to run the next play as soon as possible and get it out of your head."
Sanchez was able to do that. He connected with tight end Jeff Cumberland for a 26-yard touchdown, and credited new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. The two seem to have a chemistry that never existed last year between Sanchez and Tony Sparano. Mornhinweg has emphasized cutting down on turnovers to Sanchez, who has a league-high 52 over the last two seasons.
By the end of last year, you almost knew if one turnover came from Sanchez, more would follow. On Thanksgiving, he had an interception and the buttfumble against the Patriots. He threw three interceptions against the Cardinals a week later. Then came the five-turnover mess against the Titans that caused him to lose the starting job. Sanchez had four games with multiple interceptions last year, with two coming in the final month of the season.
Sanchez said putting a bad play behind him is something he's getting better at.
"I mean there is no time to dwell on it," Sanchez said. "It is upsetting, you have to talk about it with the coach. Marty is good about that too. He says, 'Hey, what happened? Let's talk about it, let's get to the bottom of it.' It never happens again, let's move on. We need to get this drive going and get these guys pumped up."
Coach Rex Ryan was talking to his defense when Sanchez threw the pick Friday, but felt good about Sanchez coming back to lead the touchdown drive.
"I think, obviously, the interception, I never saw it, I just caught the tail end of it, when the kid was running in for a touchdown," Ryan said. "Obviously, we can't have that. But yeah, he made some nice throws, he made some throws under pressure, which was good to see. We could have done without the pressure, but the fact that he stood in there, made some nice throws, and then led our team down the field, scored a touchdown — I think that was encouraging about Sanchez."
brian.costello@nypost.com
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