Colts at Jets Preview: Jets owner Woody Johnson says Tebow will be with team through 2014…

COLTS (2-2) AT JETS (2-2)

By Football Night in America’s Elliott Kalb

The last time these two teams met, the Jets defeated the Colts 17-16 on a last-second 32-yard field goal in Indy on Wild Card Weekend in January 2011 in what turned out to be Peyton Manning’s final game with the Colts.

The Colts travel to MetLife Stadium after an emotional win vs. the Packers last week.  In a game dedicated to Chuck Pagano, the Colts rallied from a 21-3 deficit for a dramatic 30-27 win.  After the win, owner Jim Irsay delivered the game ball to Pagano in the hospital.

After the Jets, the Colts schedule goes as follows: vs. the Browns (0-5), at Tennessee (1-4), vs. Miami (2-3), then at Jacksonville (1-4).

Andrew Luck threw for 362 yards, three touchdowns (one rush), with one interception in the comeback win over the Packers.  Since throwing three picks in his NFL debut, Luck has six TD passes and just two interceptions.

Luck and Cam Newton are the only rookies in NFL history to throw for at least 300 yards in three of their first four starts.

Reggie Wayne, who was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after catching 13 passes for a career-high 212 yards and a TD last Sunday, leads the NFL averaging 125.6 receiving yards per game this season.

Wayne will be going up against Antonio Cromartie who is coming off an excellent game vs. the Texans’ Andre Johnson.  Cromartie had an interception while limiting Johnson to just one reception for 15 yards on 6 targets.

Despite their surprising start, injuries are mounting for the Colts.  Defensive end Robert Mathis will likely miss the next two or three games after spraining his knee in Sunday’s game.  Dwight Freeney returned to the lineup Sunday but is still dealing with a high ankle sprain.   And Indy lost running back Donald Brown for at least two or three weeks after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his knee.

Vick Ballard, the Colts fifth-round pick out of Mississippi, will start in place of the injured Brown.  Ballard has rushed for just 42 yards on 21 carries this season.  He’ll be going against a Jets defense that is allowing 172.4 rushing yards per game this season, 31^st in the NFL just ahead of the Saints (172.8).

Rex Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the Ravens in 2008 when Chuck Pagano was the defensive backs coach.  Ryan said of Pagano Wednesday: “I’m going to miss him this week…He’s going to get through this.  He’s just such a tough guy.  He’s got inner strength…”

Since scoring 48 points in their Week One win over the Bills, the Jets have struggled, scoring just 50 points in the last four games.

Since completing over 70% (19 of 27) of his passes in Week One, Mark Sanchez has completed just 43.9% (58-132) of his pass attempts over the last four games.

Number 6 Sanchez is averaging 6.6 yards per attempt with 6 TD passes and 6 INT with a QB rating of 66.6…those are some demonic figures…would that make Tim Tebow a potential savior of the Jets season?  Sanchez is last in the NFL among qualifying quarterbacks, completing 48.4% of his passes this season.  In case you’re wondering, Tebow completed 46.5% of his passes in 2011.

As if Sanchez’s confidence wasn’t shaken enough, owner Woody Johnson said this week that Tebow would be with the Jets through 2014, the remainder of his rookie contract.

If the Jets could run the ball, it could ease the pressure on Sanchez.  But they are 30^th in the NFL, averaging 3.2 yards per attempt and have just one rushing touchdown in 2012.