Heading into their Week 4 matchup, neither the Denver Broncos nor the New York Jets were enjoying where their seasons were headed. The former has been ravaged with injuries that left them fielding a shell of the team they were optimistic about entering 2020, and the Jets were, well, still the Jets. The level of disappointment within Gang Green as both a team and an organization has head coach Adam Gase on the hottest possible seat -- possibly coaching for his very job tonight.
And after losing 37-28 at home to the Broncos to fall to 0-4, there will be no ice water thrown his way this week.
Things got off to a roaring start for the Jets when Sam Darnold did his best Lamar Jackson impression and juked defenders en route to a 46-yard touchdown run, but got immediately dark when he went to the locker room after being slammed to the turf on a sack. He would return to abbreviate the stay of Joe Flacco, but his protection is quite shaky as both Mekhi Becton and Chuma Edoga sat injured, and the Broncos capitalized. Rookie first-round pick Jerry Jeudy did his best Randy Moss impression to get the Broncos on the board first.
From there, Brett Rypien put on a show, until he didn't -- tossing three interceptions on the night and gifting Pierre Desir (who struggled mightily outside of those takeaways) and another to cornerback Brian Poole. One of Desir's interceptions added a touchdown to the scoreboard for the Jets, swinging momentum in a big way at the time. All in all, it was both a scrappy and a sloppy affair by two 0-3 teams, but one is winless no more.
Catch all the highlights and action from you might've missed in the live blog below, and check back shortly for key takeaways analysis from this primetime AFC battle.
Why the Broncos won
In the battle of two bad teams, the one who made fewer mistakes is now 1-3.
It was a good showing by Rypien for much of the game, but the wheels fell off in the second half to the tune of three interceptions. The giveaways had to be overcome by great defensive play that could also be viewed as downright abysmal errors by the Jets, but potato potahto. The fact is the Broncos made the plays they needed to make when they most needed to make them, and that included a game-deciding sack by Bradley Chubb late in the fourth quarter followed by a walk-off touchdown by Melvin Gordon to seal New York's (and Adam Gase's?) fate in Week 4.
Why the Jets lost
Good grief, Charlie Brown.
It wasn't that the Broncos played fantastic ball because they didn't. This game was lost by the Jets due to poor execution and effort on far too many plays, including the final touchdown at the hands of Gordon and in how the protection for Darnold simply didn't hold up in crunch time. Darnold did himself no favors either after blasting off for an impressive 46-yard rushing touchdown to start the game, later going on to stumble and essentially sack himself at one point while also taking a sack on fourth-and-3 -- at the hands of Chubb -- to give the ball back to the Broncos with great field position, and Gordon took care of the rest.
Turning Point
In a back-and-forth contest, the final turning point came with just over two minutes left to play. Sure, Gordon was the one who finally grounded the Jets, but if not for this sack by Chubb, the Broncos might be the ones going home with an 0-4 start to the season.
Play of the Game
There can be only one coronation here, and it belongs to rookie first-round pick Jerry Jeudy. Randy Moss will have something pleasant to say about this on Friday morning.
No QB controversy in Denver
"The Brett Rypien Hall of Fame bust has been placed on hold." - Pro Football Talk
What's next
The Broncos will now face a more daunting task when they visit the New England Patriots, while the Jets sit tight at home to host the dangerous Arizona Cardinals.