A win is a win. It is difficult to win in the National Football League, but some wins are more difficult than others. The Denver Broncos’ 10-9 victory over the New York Jets was not easy; it was not pretty, but it was effective. The Denver Broncos will gladly board a jet back to the “Mile High City” with an improbable two-game winning streak on board.
Keys to Victory
Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton was asked what the key to stopping Aaron Rodgers was: “I thought we defended the run real well today. And then, conversely, I thought we ran it.” Stopping the run and running the ball are the two elements that Payton has been preaching all offseason. To support a rookie quarterback, the defense must be outstanding, and the running game must be effective. They accomplished both of those goals today.
The Denver Broncos gave up only 64 total yards on the ground on 23 carries (2.8 per carry), and the combination of Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Bo Nix rushed for 126 yards on 31 carries (4.1 per carry). The group was solid despite losing last week’s breakout performer, Tyler Badie, to a back injury earlier in the game.
Defense Dominates
Not only did the Denver Broncos’ defense stall a solid New York running game, but they also made future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers look average at best. Rodgers passed for 184 yards and was 24-of-42 on the afternoon. The Denver Broncos’ defense frustrated the Jets all afternoon and recorded another five sacks. They have 12 sacks in the last two weeks.
A week after only giving up seven points to a very good Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, the Bronco’s Defense put up an even more impressive performance against the Jets. Last week, on the first series of the game, the Broncos offense got a huge play. This week, it was the defense’s turn. In the first series of the game, the Broncos forced a fumble and gave the ball to the offense in good field position. The offense was unable to capitalize on the turnover, but the defense set the tone, which was a factor throughout the game.
Offense Struggles
The rainy weather did not cooperate with rookie quarterback Bo Nix in a brutal first half. Although he played his college football in the northwest at the University of Oregon, Nix struggled to find any rhythm. He repeatedly threw wobbly and inaccurate passes. The rain relented a bit in the second half, when Nix was much more comfortable, and the offense found a bit of traction on the wet field. It was a day that Nix will need to log as a learning experience rather than a commanding performance.
Nix, however, did record his first NFL touchdown in the third quarter, finding Courtland Sutton wide-open in the back of the endzone to give the Broncos the go-ahead score that proved to be the game-winner. Nix ended the day with 60 total yards on 12-of-25 attempts. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty, but the Denver Broncos were victorious. In the NFL – that is all that matters.
