Jets 7, Cardinals 6
Greg McElroy replaced an ineffective Mark Sanchez and led host New York to its only touchdown and the victory in his NFL debut.
McElroy (5-of-7, 29 yards) tossed a 1-yard scoring pass to tight end Jeff Cumberland with 14:55 left in the game after coming on late in the third quarter for Sanchez, who was intercepted three times and threw for only 97 yards.
The second-year quarterback from Alabama was cheered loudly when he took over for Sanchez with 4:48 left in the third and promptly directly a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive. The Jets (5-7) also finished the game by eating up the final 7:55 on the clock.
New York's defense limited the Cardinals (4-8) to 137 total yards, including 22 in the second half, to send Arizona to its eighth consecutive defeat following a 4-0 start to the season.
Rookie Ryan Lindley had a miserable performance for the Cardinals, completing 10 of 31 passes for 72 yards and an interception. Arizona had 81 yards rushing, 40 of which came on a fake punt, and went 0-for-15 on third-down conversions.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jets backup QB Tim Tebow was inactive for Sunday's game due to a rib injury, elevating McElroy to the backup slot. ... Cardinals S Kerry Rhodes had two interceptions and forced a fumble against his former team. ... Jets starting TE Dustin Keller was hurt in the first half with what appeared to be a foot injury.