Mike Preston has been with The Baltimore Sun since 1983. Prior to becoming a columnist in 2000, he covered the Ravens for four years. More …

Edward Lee has been with The Baltimore Sun since 1995 and began covering the Ravens just prior to the 2006 season. More …

Jeff Zrebiec has been with The Sun since 2000 and covered the Orioles from 2005 through 2011. He is a 2001 graduate of Loyola University in Baltimore. More …

Read More: Jim Leonhard (S – NYJ), Mark Sanchez (QB – NYJ), New York Jets

Safety Jim Leonhard took offense to the way the New York Jets crowd treated his teammate Mark Sanchez on Sunday. The quarterback was booed during pregame introductions, and Leonhard told WFAN the bad reception irked him.

“I think we have a great crowd,” Leonhard said during a weekly radio visit with WFAN 660. “I think probably for one of the first times, I was kind of disappointed. Our starting quarterback gets booed in introductions. … That’s frustrating when … as players, you kind of turn to each other and say, ‘You know what? I guess we’re in this one today by ourselves. We can’t rely on the crowd to give us that energy because it’s already started off on a bad note.’

“So I will say that this past weekend was really the first time that I’ve been kind of frustrated going into a game, which is bad.” …

“We’re all frustrated. It’s not just you guys,” Leonhard said. “The players are frustrated as well. The coaches are frustrated. The only way we can right some of these wrongs is by going out and winning games. We just want that crowd to have our back, which we know they do. But (if) they’re not going to give us the benefit of the doubt sometimes, we got to go out there and prove it week in and week out at home as well.”

Sanchez did his part to make the boos go away, throwing for four touchdowns as New York escaped with a pivotal 28-24 win.

– For more New York Jets coverage, visit our team page, or our blog Gang Green Nation.  

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“I’ve said it for three years now: I don’t care if I’m known as the luckiest coach in the league,” Ryan said Monday. “That’s great. As long as we win, that’s fine with me.”

New York (6-5) kept pace in the AFC playoff race with the win that snapped a two-game skid, but the Jets realize they need to be a lot better if they intend to make it to the postseason for the third straight year. They entered the game against the Bills with many players saying they needed to win all six of their final games to reach the playoffs.

The Jets got the first one, but it was hardly convincing — especially when Ryan Fitzpatrick was driving the Bills down the field in the closing seconds.

“It was scary,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said with a laugh.

It was a victory that was filled with lots of juicy story lines including Johnson mocking Burress by pretending he was shot during a touchdown celebration, Mark Sanchez having another mediocre performance despite setting a career high with four TD passes and Burress coming up with a one-handed grab for a first down that saved the Jets’ season, at least for now.

There was also the Jets’ defense appearing as if it was about to have another late-game collapse. But this time, the Jets survived three close calls. A wide-open Johnson dropped a pass in the middle of the field that might have gone for a touchdown. Fitzpatrick misfired on a pass to Johnson a few seconds later, zipping the ball just behind the receiver in the end zone. Johnson was open again on the last play of the game, but Fitzpatrick’s throw was way over his head.

“It wasn’t real pretty,” Ryan said, “but we’ll take it.”

Many expected the Jets to win easily, considering the Bills had several starters sidelined with injuries and New York has played its best under Ryan in desperate situations. Instead, it was a nail-biter that left the Jets and their fans drained.

Few players showed up in the locker room during media availability Monday, and those who did weren’t exactly celebrating.

“I think there’s still room to push our team,” Revis said.

The win also had some in the media far from convinced that this is a playoff-caliber team, saying that it could easily be 5-6 without a little bit of luck.

“It is funny how if we make a mistake, we’re horrible and it’s, ‘Oh, they’re terrible,’” Ryan said. “That could be bad luck there, too. But if we make a play, it’s, ‘Oh, we’re just lucky.’ So, maybe it’s the green (team colors). I don’t know. I hope karma is with us. I hope we continue to be lucky, and we’ll take that.

“The old saying, ‘I’d rather be lucky than good.’ I’d rather be both, and I think we are.”

But there were moments, particularly early, when it appeared Sanchez could be headed to the bench because of poor throws, bad decisions and the offense just being ineffective. Despite taking away some snaps in practice last week to fire up the quarterback, it was more of the same old Sanchez. That is, until the final drive.