Bo Nix, the Broncos are resilient as the Jets suffer a rainy shootout loss: Key takeaways

By Nick Kosmider, Zack Rosenblatt and Cale Clinton

A sloppy afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey, ended in misery for New York Jets fans who, despite the rain, watched as Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a game-winning 50-yard field goal. The Denver Broncos walked away with a 10-9 victory over New York, their second straight win of the season.

For Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix, the afternoon started off as bad as it could have been. Nix’s minus-7 passing yards on 15 attempts in the first half were the fewest passing yards in a half by a Denver quarterback since 2000.

However, in the second half, a resilient Nix came out of the locker room and erased that deficit with a 23-yard connection to Courtland Sutton. On the next series, Nix found Sutton again for the rookie’s first passing touchdown as a pro.

Nix finished the game with 60 yards. According to ESPN Stats & Info, this marks the fewest total pass yards for a winning quarterback (at least 20 pass attempts) since 2007.

For the Jets, the addition of Aaron Rodgers didn’t help make this loss look more like the same New York formula. An impressive defensive performance by a Jets defense that held its opponent to less than 200 yards was thwarted by offensive deficiencies, poor offensive line performance and excessive penalties.

Breece Hall recorded a career-low four rushing yards on 10 attempts. Rodgers was sacked five times and hit 14 times. New York was penalized 13 times for a total of 90 yards.

Nothing overcomes the nightmare in the first half

Nix had a historically bad first half on Sunday, but a big shot helped turn the game around. Trailing 6-0, the Broncos faced a third-and-11 at their own 24-yard line. Nix remained in the pocket as Sutton opened up wide over the middle and hit the veteran receiver for a 29-yard gain.

It was the first sign of life for Denver and tied the score five plays later when Nix hit Sutton for an 8-yard touchdown.

Nix was surprisingly ineffective in the first half. After his best game of the season, Nix took two big steps back. He attempted 15 passes in the first half. All seven of his completions came on throws behind the line of scrimmage, totaling minus-7 yards. Still, the Broncos defense played well enough to stay in the game.

And after a nightmarish first half, Nix made the shot he needed to make to give his team a jump start. – Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer

Better running balance in the second half

Sean Payton didn’t exactly do his rookie quarterbacks a huge favor in the first half. Nix fell behind 15 times and Denver ran the ball just 10 times despite being within three points in the first half. In the second half it was a different story.

Running back Javonte Williams had his best performance of the season and fought his way to the second level with 77 yards on 16 carries. The Broncos had 17 runs against nine pass attempts in the second half before their final drive.

Payton will have to find a way to find that balance throughout the game as his rookie quarterback continues to develop. — Kosmider

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The Broncos’ defensive mastery is rewarded

After team captain and leading tackler Alex Singleton went on the injured reserve list this week with a torn ACL, veteran Justin Strnad started for the first time since 2021. On the first play of the game, Strnad blitzed inside and beat Rodgers for his first career sack.

It was a sign of things to come for the Denver defense, which sacked Rodgers five times. John Franklin-Myers got a sack in his first game against his former team and fellow defensive tackle Zach Allen was constantly in the backfield, throwing off the veteran quarterback’s timing.

The Broncos appeared to seal the game when PJ Locke came screaming off the edge with a bullseye on fourth-and-10, dropping Rodgers for a turnover on downs. Denver took over with 1:48 left and needed a first down to seal the game. Instead, they settled for a 50-yard field goal attempt by Wil Lutz, which missed for the first time this season.

That gave the Jets the ball at their own 40-yard line with 1:27 left, enough to put Zuerlein in range for his own 50-yard attempt. That also went wrong and the defense gave a worthy celebration. — Kosmider

The Jets’ defense, however, did not

New York lost a game in which it limited the opposing quarterback to negative pass yards in the first half.

That about sums up the afternoon for the Jets – the defense mostly did its part and the offense failed. It felt more like the New York of the Zach Wilson era than the version the Jets were supposed to be with Rodgers, the version they showed in the last two games against the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.

Rodgers showed some flashes but stayed out of sync with star wide receiver Garrett Wilson and failed to complete passes to him on two consecutive attempts on a crucial fourth-quarter drive. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets senior writer

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The biggest culprits in Sunday’s stinker’s offense: Hall and the offensive line. Rodgers was sacked five times, including once on fourth down on a drive late in the fourth quarter where New York needed to score. Rodgers completed 24 of 42 passes for 225 yards and no touchdowns. – Rosenblatt

Penalties buried jets

Another big problem – something that was already a problem last season – was discipline. The Jets are among the most penalized teams in the NFL, sitting in fourth place after Sunday’s first games. – Rosenblatt

Required reading

(Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)