The line has protected Mark Sanchez. It has helped to revive the rushing offense, which has averaged 130.7 yards over the last three games, all victories. A fourth straight win, on Sunday night against the Patriots, would shift the balance of power in a division — and possibly a conference — that the Jets urgently, desperately, want to win.

“He’s really irreplaceable,” tight end Dustin Keller said of Mangold. “You can get a guy in there and coach him up as much as you want, but you can’t replace all the knowledge and the time that he’s put in with these guys.”…

The improved rushing game has forced opposing defenses to at least consider moving up a linebacker or a safety to guard against the run. It also sets up more play-action opportunities, one of Sanchez’s strengths. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Sanchez completed 11 of 12 play-action passes Sunday against Buffalo for 125 yards and a touchdown, the 8-yarder to Santonio Holmes that extended their third-quarter lead to 20-3.

– Ben Shpigel, N.Y. Times.

Good feature in the Times on Nick Mangold, loaded up with stats showing the way the Jets have turned it around since their center returned. Some of it is probably coincidence — the Jets offense happening to gel later in the season, sample size, facing poor defenses, all that — but some of it is definitely Mangold.

The difference between Mangold and Collin Baxter is so great that it changes everything about the way the Jets’ offense can operate: They can move the ball on the ground, which forces teams to pay more attention to their run game, allowing their receivers more space in coverage — especially on play-action passes. Good offense breeds good offense. It’s why it’s always easier to call plays after big gains.