Photo Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
The Jets showed that through thick and thin, there were no excuses for them not to come out of Empower Stadium at Mile High, Denver, with a victory against the Denver Broncos 16-9.
Today’s win improves the Jets’ record to 5-2 of the seasons; the last time they started 5-2 was in 2010, the final season they went to the playoffs. This game had all the excuses for the Jets to lose; whether it was the injuries or the Broncos’ pass rush, they still managed to fly home with a victory.
The Jets came into today’s game feeling like they would be the team upset if they’d lose, as they think of themselves as more than just underdogs. Their fourth straight win was their first four-game win streak since the 2015 season. Before Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos, the Jets were dealing with some off-the-field issues, with second-year wideout Elijah Moore requesting a trade from the team after feeling frustrated with his role and usage within the Jets’ offense.
Moore was only targeted once in the win over the Packers last week, but a penalty waved off that play. It was decided that Moore wouldn’t travel to Denver with the team, leaving 2020 second-round draft pick Denzel Mims to make his season debut. Robert Saleh and the coaching staff had thought that they were preparing for “Broncos Country, Let’s Ride” quarterback Russell Wilson, but Russ was ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Jets with a hamstring injury, leaving Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien to start in place of Russell Wilson.
The Broncos were hoping that Brett Rypien would operate Nathaniel Hackett’s offense as it is designed compared to how Russell Wilson was running it. Rypien came into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2019. His only start in the league came ironically against the Jets on October 1st, 2020, on Thursday Night Football, which was his only career win. He fought hard in camp against quarterback Josh Johnson for the number two spot on the Broncos Quarterback depth chart. His uncle is Mark Rypien, who won a super bowl with Washington.
The Jets’ offense looked shaky in the first Drive of the game as Zach Wilson was throwing bullet passes passing by the WRs and almost got an intentional grounding call; the Drive resulted in a three-and-out.
As the Jets offense was trying to move the ball downfield throughout the first quarter, rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson got a holding call that erased a Breece Hall first down, drive ended in a three and out.
On defense, players like DJ Reed kept making plays as he laid out Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy that had the trainers walk him off the field; he later ended up back in the game for the Broncos. Reed read the play well as he was playing as a hard corner on the outside, where he saw the wide receiver screen coming and was able to make a play.
The Broncos should’ve audibled the play due to Reed’s smart football IQ to know the proper play pre-snap.
Midway through the first quarter, sensational rookie running back Breece Hall, or as Ian Eagle called him “Breece Lightening,” ran on an outside toss for Hall to score on a 62-yard touchdown run to give the Jets on the board with a 7-0 lead.
The Broncos would then answer back with a 13-play drive filled with penalties on the Jets side of the ball, to result in a Latavious Murray rushing touchdown, only making the score 7-6 due to a Brandon McManus missed extra point.
The Broncos came into today’s matchup as the number three total defense in the league. When the Jets had a ball, they struggled to extend the chains on the Drive as the Broncos’ pass rush was almost too much for a banged-up Jets offensive line. One play that had people scratching their heads was when Zach Wilson almost gave the Broncos a touchdown, as it looked like he fumbled the ball. The Broncos tried to argue that Wilson wasn’t down by contact, and instead of throwing the ball away, he fumbled, but the call stood, and the Jets contained possession.
The Jets secondary played shut down as they prevented the Broncos from crossing the endzone. Sauce Gardner prevented Jerry Jeudy from scoring, getting away with a no-call for pass interference. Brandon Echols was almost called for pass interference, but the call was picked up because Echols was not pushing or grabbing onto the receiver.
After a nice Braden Mann punt to force the Broncos to start at the one-yard line, they drove the ball down the field for a McManus field goal. Next Drive, when the Jets got the ball back, running back Breece Hall ended up hurt after the play with an undisclosed injury that was later revealed to now look like an ACL injury. Coach Saleh said that Hall would have more testing done to confirm the damage to the running back who was having an offensive rookie of the year season.
After the Breece Hall injury, the Jets would end the half on a Greg Zuerlein 45-field goal to give the Jets the lead at 10-9
Throughout the game, the Jets were plagued by injuries as second-year offensive lineman Alijah-Vera Tucker left the game with an elbow injury and wide receiver Corey Davis with a shoulder injury; he will have more tests done on him tomorrow.
Almost midway through the third quarter, Vinny Curry was called for a roughing the passer call keeping the Broncos on the field, but Carl Lawson ended the Drive with a Carl Lawson sack to force the Broncos to punt. With almost two minutes left in the third quarter, Lamarcus Joyner would come up clutch with an interception to give the Jets the ball in good field position at the Denver 37. The interception set the Jets up for another Zuerlein field goal extending the lead 13-6.
Now with the lead at 16-9, the Jets look to close out the game on fourth down, which they do on a Sauce Gardner pass deflection on a fourth and 10
After the Jets let the Broncos waste all their timeouts, they got the ball back, looking to send the game into overtime.
Rypien almost threw an interception that DJ Reed tipped into the arms of CJ Mosley, but the play was later overturned, only to not convert on fourth down, giving the Jets possession to seal the win and head back to New York with a 5-2 record.
Looking back on the Broncos’ final play on offense, it looked like Rypien could’ve run for the first down instead of throwing it down where Sauce Gardner was on coverage, but then again, they had no timeouts left.
Sauce Gardner looked like the Shutdown corner that the Jets thought they’d get when drafting him at number four overall, as he only allowed three receptions for 8 yards on nine targets over his 47 coverage snaps. The sauce also added ten tackles with three pass deflections. Sauce described the Jets’ defense as “Electric.”
Zach Wilson is still leaving a question mark on his back on whether he is the quarterback to lead the Jets in the right direction. So far, he is undefeated as the starter with the Jets at 4-0. Still, the fact that the offense hasn’t been efficient on the passing side of the ball doesn’t look good on Wilson’s part, especially now that Hall is likely out for the year; the Jets need to find ways to keep the offensive rhythm going with the players that they have.
Wilson needs to improve his ability to avoid the rush and make the right plays when escaping the pocket.
Coach Salah said on Zach Wilson’s game, “Was it the cleanest game? No.” But Saleh adds that Denver’s defense is
“Ridiculous” and that ZW’s performance isn’t something to “sound the alarm on.”
Wilson showed leadership when trying to rally his teammates amid the team’s injuries. Wilson recalled saying to his teammates, “Listen, take advantage of this opportunity.
Step up, Grow a Pair”
The Breece Hall news is devasting because it is likely an ACL injury, but Michael Carter is capable of taking over the running back duties, as he started 11 games for the Jets last year before having to share the backfield with Breece Hall. Ty Johnson is also efficient enough to back up Carter.
The Jets’ next test in their surprising start to the 2022 season will come against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots next Sunday, October 30th, at MetLife Stadium, with kickoff at around 1 pm.
