Why Broncos-Jets matchup in London could be one of the more intriguing international games

The NFL still loves scheduling the Denver Broncos against the New York Jets. 

On Tuesday, the NFL announced its international slate of games. The full schedule will drop on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network and ESPN.  

The Broncos and Jets will play on Oct. 12 at 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network/NFL+ at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. 

The Broncos played the Jets in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and those matchups featured notable storylines.

Before the 2023 season, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said then-Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett's one season as Denver HC "might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL," via USA Today's Jarrett Bell. During the 2022 season, Hackett went 4-11, and Denver fired him after Week 16.

That comment came back to bite Payton. In 2023, the Jets beat the Broncos 31-21 in a Week 5 road game without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury that season. 

Payton and Co. got their revenge in 2024, beating the Jets 10-9 in a rainy, defensive slugfest on the road in Week 4.

The Jets moved on from Hackett and Rodgers this offseason, but this season's matchup should still feature plenty of intrigue.

New Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, a former defensive back, played for Payton in his final season with the New Orleans Saints in 2008. He was also a DBs coach under Payton from 2016-20. When New York hired the former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator in January, Payton congratulated him on his X account. 

New Jets general manager Darren Mougey spent 13 seasons in Denver as a scout and assistant GM.

The connections between both teams could make it one of the more interesting international matchups. Fans should consider circling the date when they play.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.