That was pretty much the way the Jets drew up their defense before the season started. They got a good push from their pass rush, run defense that held Maurice Jones-Drew in check, and typical shutdown coverage from Darrelle Revis that forced Luke McCown to look elsewhere — mostly to Jets’ defensive backs. Of course, McCown appeared blessed with a rare combination of awful judgment and stunning inaccuracy, often throwing in the general direction of but nowhere actually close to receivers in double coverage. The Jets made four interceptions and dropped a host of others en route to the 32-3 victory.

Brian Schottenheimer and the Jets’ offense continued running on most first downs, a frustrating pattern until you consider this: By my count Mark Sanchez was 6-of-8 for 74 yards and a touchdown while throwing on first down, success obviously aided by the Jaguars’ efforts to stop the run. And one of Sanchez’s two incomplete first-down pass flew over the head of a wide-open Plaxico Burress in the end zone, a failure in execution but neither in judgment nor play-calling.

Sanchez threw a couple of interceptions, one marked by a great defensive play, the other by a poor pass into traffic.

But the big issue looming for the Jets’ offense involves the health of center Nick Mangold, who left the game late in the first quarter with an ankle injury. Mangold’s replacement, rookie Colin Baxter, looked downright awful. Not only did he twice botch the snap counts, he got pushed around by Jacksonville’s defensive linemen and missed multiple blocks that led to broken plays.

It was Baxter’s first NFL game, so it’s reasonable to hope he will improve once he adjusts to the speed at the new level. But subbing in a replacement-level center for one of the game’s best will hamper the Jets’ ground game and ability to employ complex blocking schemes. Baxter only appeared competent in straightforward pass-blocking assignments. If Mangold is out for any extended period of time, the combination of Baxter and tackle Wayne Hunter will turn the offensive line, one of the Jets’ preseason strengths, into a weak spot.