When Jets quarterback Chad Pennington shook hands with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after Sunday’s game, Brady’s uniform was dirtier than Pennington’s. It had been a physical game on a muddy field, and for Pennington the handshake was a rare opportunity to see the opposing quarterback had taken more punishment than he had.

The Patriots sacked Pennington just once during the Jets’ 17–14 win, providing a nice respite for the quarterback who had been sacked 19 times prior to Sunday’s game. Pennington’s 2006 total of 20 sacks puts him on pace to be sacked 36 times by the end of this season, which would top his previous career high of 25 sacks in 2003. A career high in sacks is a bad sign for a quarterback who has always had trouble staying healthy, and it’s also a bad sign for a team that had two first-round draft picks and spent both of them on offensive linemen, as the Jets did this year.

But there are positive signs the Jets’ pass protection schemes are improving. After a rough couple of months for Pennington starting the year, Sunday marked the second straight game in which the Jets’ offensive line showed an improved ability to protect Pennington. In the Jets’ previous game, against the Cleveland Browns, Pennington was also sacked only once. And New England’s only sack on Sunday was the fault of rookie running back Leon Washington, not any member of the offensive line. On that sack, Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin blitzed, and Washington failed to slow Colvin down before Colvin drilled Pennington for a seven-yard loss. Although the failed blitz pickup was costly (it took the Jets from second-and-goal at the 8-yard line to third-and-goal at the 15-yard line, forcing them to settle for a field goal on the next play), it’s a lot better for the Jets to have a rookie running back miss a block than a rookie lineman.

Sunday was the second time this year the Jets played New England, and the quality of the offensive line in Sunday’s victory contrasts sharply with the way it played in the Jets’ Week 2 loss to the Patriots. In the previous game, Pennington was sacked four times, and the Patriots’ pass rush came from all directions — three New England defensive linemen and three linebackers shared the four sacks. One of those defensive linemen was nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who dominated rookie center Nick Mangold and frequently pressured Pennington during their first meeting.

Mangold made the most of his rematch with Wilfork on Sunday. Wilfork — who is listed as weighing 25 pounds more than Mangold but probably outweighs him by closer to 50 pounds — was badly outplayed by Mangold. He never sacked Pennington or even came close, and Mangold’s block on Wilfork was the key to running back Kevan Barlow’s two-yard touchdown plunge through the middle of the line in the second quarter. The Jets’ offensive line coach, Tony Wise, deserves a lot of credit for Mangold’s development. As the center, Mangold calls out the assignments to the other offensive linemen and on Sunday the Jets’ linemen always seemed to know what was coming, even against a Patriots defense that is designed to confuse its opponent.

The most important (and highest paid) member of the Jets’ offensive line is the other rookie lineman, left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. When they take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Jets need Ferguson to earn the $18 million he was guaranteed as the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. Unlike the Patriots, who use blitzing linebackers to rush the quarterback, the Bears get almost all of their sacks from the defensive line (22 of the Bears’ 23 sacks this season were recorded by defensive linemen). They’re the best defense in the league in large part because they can pressure opposing quarterbacks while still leaving their linebackers back in pass coverage.

As the tackle protecting Pennington’s blind side, Ferguson will have his hands full with the Bears’ right defensive end, Alex Brown. When the Bears beat the Giants Sunday night, Brown twice sacked Giants quarterback Eli Manning, and stripped him of the ball. Both of those sacks came after the Giants left tackle, Luke Petitgout, was injured and replaced with backup Bob Whitfield. If Ferguson can handle Brown as well as Petitgout did early in the game, Pennington will have time to pass and the Jets will have a good chance at an upset. If Ferguson struggles as much as Whitfield did, the Jets can’t beat the Bears and Pennington might not make it through the game.

Continuity is important to any offensive line, and the Jets have been lucky with injuries this year. Four of the five starters — Mangold, Ferguson, right tackle Anthony Clement, and guard Brandon Moore — have been healthy for all nine games. The other starter, guard Pete Kendall, missed two games in September but has played since then. For the Jets to stay in the playoff race, they need the offensive line to stay healthy — because that’s the best way to keep Pennington healthy.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.