The Denver Broncos took on the New York Jets in an international affair across the pond in London. After four quarters, the Broncos were able to reign victorious and defeat the Jets 13-11 to earn their
fourth win of the season. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but it was good enough to get the job done. Here are some instant reactions and miscellaneous thoughts from today’s game.
The Broncos won, but let’s talk about all the big issues from today’s game
Today’s game was emblematic of a problem the Broncos have had since the beginning of the season. While the defense has mostly been superb, they have struggled to be consistent on offense and on special teams. Whether it is penalties or turnovers, the offense just can’t seem to get out of their own way and continue to limit their ability due to self-inflicted wounds. We saw that today with Troy Franklin’s fumble to begin the game and various holding and pre-snap penalties that took first drives off the board.
Speaking of “What in the heck?” moments during the game. What was Head Coach Sean Payton doing on 3rd and 10 in the third quarter calling a draw play to fullback Adam Prentice? I’ve been on the other side of most arguments relative to Payton’s game plans and play calling early on in the season defending him, but that was just an egregiously bad decision.
On top of that, the Broncos weren’t able to establish the run. The Jets did what five other teams hadn’t thus far—stack the box—and limited Denver’s ability to control the game on the ground. Unfortunately, after a decent first quarter outing, Bo Nix and the passing offense struggled to hit their stride for the remainder of the game. Nix didn’t even have a single passing yard in the third quarter. Keep in mind, this was Jets defense that was allowing over 30 points to opposing teams in their first five games. All Denver could manage to do was score a whopping 13 points.
Are we concerned about special teams enough yet? Darren Rizzi’s kickoff and punt coverages units haven’t been great to start the season. That was evident again in today’s game with the Jets starting their drives at the 40-yard line. The Jets had over 200 return yards in today’s gridiron affair. It’s a good thing the Jets’ offense is terrible and that the Broncos’ defense stepped on again to limit New York to just field goals on their shortened fields. I also thought Marvin Mims Jr. made some questionable decisions on a returner. Multiple fair catches with ample room ahead of him. Tough outing in that regard for the All-Pro returner.
Long story short, the Broncos have a lot of work to do in order to be a complete team. They can’t keep relying on the defense to always bail them out. But with that said, let’s talk about how awesome the defense was.
The Jets had no answers for Denver’s great defensive game plan and pass rush
One of the key aspects of the game I discussed earlier in the week was how the Jets would hold up against Denver’s pass rush. The Jets came into the game surrendering sixteen sacks through five games. After the first half, the Broncos were able to secure four more. By games end, Justin Fields was dropped a total of 9 times. In case you missed it, the Fields only had nine completions the whole game.
Make no mistake, Denver’s defense came to play. They are the reason the Broncos were able to come away with a victory. That has been the story for most of the season. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph had a sound gameplan to limit their offense. The Jets only had 85 net yards and eight first downs for the entire game. Hats off to Joseph and Denver’s defenders on a job well done. They most certainly deserve the game ball in this one.
Other thoughts and musings:
- With left guard Ben Powers is sidelined for quite some time with a bicep’s injury, it was Matt Peart who was the next man up. The longtime veteran struggled and was routinely giving up interior pressure in the passing game. He also had a handful of penalties that wiped out third down conversions in the first half. Those issues continued into the second half as well. The Broncos simply have to find a different answer moving forward at the position. It’s clear even through one game he is not the answer.
- I’m still a bit puzzled as to how Troy Franklin’s fumble early on in the game was called as a clear turnover by the refs, whilst Garrett Wilson’s (in quite a similar fashion) halfway through the third quarter wasn’t. It still seems beyond this game, league-wide, officiating still is struggling to determine what a catch and football move thereafter is.
- One thing I did like on offense was finally seeing Evan Engram getting a decent amount of volume his way. He had 5 catches for 42 yards and had a couple of really nice first down grabs. More of that moving forward, please.
