Denver defense makes key stops in fourth quarter, leads Broncos to win over Aaron Rodgers, Jets

The Broncos’ defensive heroics weren’t reserved for the final moments, however. While Denver’s offense struggled in the first half, the Broncos’ defense kept the team in the game. In a particularly critical sequence, cornerback Riley Moss was whistled for pass interference in the end zone after a deep shot by Rodgers on third-and-11. The Jets got a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line and had a chance to take a 7-0 lead against a Broncos team that had yet to record a first down. Instead, Denver earned three straight stops to force the Jets to a fourth-down decision. While New York initially lined up to attempt a conversion, a false start pushed the Jets back and led to a field goal.

When the Jets scored another field goal late in the first half, that goal-line score left the Broncos facing a six-point deficit instead of two or more points.

“Big stop,” Payton said. “There are a number of those (moments) – probably five of them – that we will look back on and say they were important to the final result. That was certainly one of them.”

Added cornerback Pat Surtain II: “(When) our backs are against the wall, we rise to the occasion.”

Overall, the Broncos’ defense held the Jets to 4 of 17 on third downs and 64 rushing yards, and the unit didn’t give up a first down without a penalty until 12:34 into the first half. After the game, Allen praised defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for a varied rush plan that caused problems for the New York offense.

“It’s all VJ,” Allen said. “VJ did a hell of a job of kind of mixing it up and giving it a different look. I also think we’re really confident upfront about our four-man rush and we’re really proud of that. “I think today was just another day where we kind of proved that the guys are up to it will win across the board if they deliver duels. This group is a lot of fun to play with and hopefully we can continue to play team defense.”

Six different players recorded at least half a sack, and Denver also recorded eight tackles for a loss and 14 quarterback hits.

Joseph’s unit was deployed for the first month of the season and enters Sunday’s game with the third-ranked overall defense and a top-10 scoring defense. After the win in Week 4, those numbers should only improve. Denver has allowed one touchdown in the last two weeks and fewer than 10 points per game in the last three contests.

Surtain, who held Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson targetless for most of the game, expects Denver’s defensive standard to continue.

“We’re just going to keep building (and) keep performing,” Surtain said.

On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the performance of Surtain and Co. led directly to a Denver win.

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