The Jets are stunned by the Broncos as Aaron Rodgers, the offense fails to score a touchdown

The Jets decided to pay tribute to Zach Wilson in his return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday with the Broncos. They looked as lazy on offense as they did in the bad old days when Wilson was their quarterback.

The Broncos defeated the Jets 10-9 on a day in which the Jets failed to reach the end zone for the first time this season.

The Jets lost 2-2 and now face a difficult stretch of their schedule.

The final gasp came with 51 seconds left when Greg Zuerlein missed a 50-yard field goal that would have given the Jets the lead.

Days like these should be over for the Jets’ offense, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and Wilson now the No. 3 quarterback in Denver.

Instead, they seemed out of sync throughout the day and were never able to find the rhythm they showed against the Patriots a week ago.

The Jets committed a whopping 13 penalties in this game, which needs to be addressed if they want to do anything this season. They had five false start penalties, two from running back Breece Hall, who was having a terrible day.

They kept stopping trips with penalties. Something was going on early in the fourth quarter, but wide receiver Allen Lazard drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he celebrated a catch by imitating weapons with his fingers.

The penalty moved the ball from the Broncos’ 18-yard line to the 33-yard line. They managed another first down, but the momentum was gone and the Jets had to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Zuerlein to give them a 9-7 lead.

The Broncos responded with a field goal drive of their own as the Jets’ defense struggled to stop Denver running back Javonte Williams on the drive. Wil Lutz hit a 47-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 10-9 lead.

The Jets had a chance for a game-winning drive with 2:33 left after the defense forced a three-pointer from the Broncos. They moved the ball from the 33 to their own 45-yard line, but the drive then ended with two Rodgers incompletions intended for Wilson and an incompletion intended for Xavier Gipson. On both second and third downs, Wilson and Gipson looked unready for the pass and never turned their heads. On fourth-and-10, Broncos safety PJ Locke caught and sacked Rodgers to end the drive.

Denver got the ball back and Lutz missed a 50-yard field goal.

The Jets took over at their own 40 with 1:27 left and no timeouts. Rodgers threw a 9-yard completion to Hall, then Broncos cornerback Riley Moss gave the Jets a gift with a pass interference penalty for the ball to carry the 36 from Denver. They got four more yards but couldn’t get any closer, setting up a 50-yard field goal that Zuerlein missed on the right edge.

The first half was painful to watch. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix somehow completed seven passes and had -7 yards. The Broncos had 46 total yards in the first half. The Jets were only slightly better with 101 yards.

The Jets’ offense can be summed up in a drive that bridges the first and second quarters. The Jets defense forced a turnover with Quincy Williams drilling running back Tyler Badie and forcing a fumble that Michael Carter II recovered. The Jets then got help from the Broncos when defensive back Riley Moss was called for pass interference in the end zone on Lazard, giving the Jets the ball at the 1-yard line. But the jets were full. Hall rushed twice without success, then Rodgers had an incompletion. On a fourth-and-goal from the 1, guard John Simpson committed a false start, pushed the Jets back to the 6 and got Zuerlein to make a field goal.

For some reason, the Jets didn’t allow rookie Braelon Allen to tackle the goal line, even though he was built for short-yardage situations.

The Jets scored a field goal just before halftime to make it 6-0.

The Broncos took the lead for the first time with 3:08 left in the third quarter when Nix threw the first touchdown of his career, an 8-yard completion to a wide-open Courtland Sutton.

The Jets are now facing a difficult phase in their schedule. They face the Vikings in London next week before playing the Bills at home on a Monday night, then travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on “Sunday Night Football.”