Broncos struggle on offense but defense has 9 sacks in 13-11 win over hapless Jets
LONDON — The New York Jets’ final play from scrimmage Sunday looked about the same as eight earlier ones. Quarterback Justin Fields took the snap and seconds later saw a mountain of men in orange, blue and white charging at him.
Fields was sacked an incredible nine times in the Jets’ 13-11 loss to the Broncos at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That tied Denver’s team record for most in a game and eight players were involved in the sack parade, with outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper leading the way with two.
“I feel it’s a real brotherhood on this defense,’’ Cooper said. “When we stay together and get after it and we play our game, those results happen. … As long as we go out there and take care of business … no team should be scoring points on us, honestly.”
If it wasn’t for all the help given by the Broncos’ offense and special teams, the winless Jets (0-6) might indeed have scored no points. The Jets got field goals after a fumble by the Broncos (4-2) and after a 72-yard kickoff return by Kene Nwangwu. They got a safety when guard Quinn Meinerz was called for holding in the end zone.
“It was an ugly win and we’re going to learn from this but I think we’re just resilient,’’ Meinerz said.
The London fans didn’t seem to mind about it being not the priettest of matches. On hand were a bunch of Broncos supporters and more Jets fans than expected. But most of the fans were those who simply wanted to see any NFL game and showed up wearing a jersey of some other team.
“I love it here, but I’m ready to go home,’’ said defensive end Zach Allen, whose Broncos arrived last Monday, a day after a 21-17 upset win at Philadelphia.
Allen played a role in the defensive destruction of Fields, being in on two shared sacks. Fields completed a meager 9 of 17 passes for 45 yards.
Sacks of Fields totaled 55 yards, which are considered part of team passing yards. So that means the Jets finished with minus-10 passing yards, the least given up by the Broncos in team history and second least allowed by any NFL team since 1990. The Jets had a meager 82 yards of total offense.
“In my career, I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of anything like this,’’ said nose tackle D.J. Jones, who is in his fourth Denver season after playing five years with San Francisco. “More sacks than passing yards. I don’t think I’ve been part of anything like that.”
Still, the Jets actually had a good chance to win the game down the stretch. They led 11-10 until Wil Lutz kicked a 27-yard field goal with 5:06 remaining in regulation for a 13-11 Denver lead.
The Jets then drove to the Broncos’ 44 and faced fourth-and-8. Cooper and safety Brandon Jones then barreled in to sack Fields for a 12-yard loss with 1:09 left and that was it.
“It wasn’t good enough and it starts with me,’’ Fields said. “I got to get the ball out. They got a good ‘D-line.’ They got to the backfield fast.”
While Fields struggled throughout the game, at least Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had a good first half, completing 15 of 20 passes for 125 yards in a touchdown. But he mostly struggled in the second half and finished 19 of 30 for 174 yards.
With the Broncos trailing 11-10, Nix did hit Marvin Mims Jr. for a pivotal 26-yard pass down the left side on third-and-8 at the Denver 40 with 8:15 left. That led to Lutz’s go-ahead field goal.
“We get speed in space, that’s what we wanted,’’ Nix said. “Made my job easy. … Explosive play that led to the points.”
Before then, Nix had played a half in which didn’t complete a pass until hitting tight end Evan Engram for 12 yards with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Broncos managed just 246 yards of total offense, including just 71 in the second half. They had just 78 yards on the ground as J.K. Dobbins, who came in averaging 80.4 yards per game, was held to 40.
“Abysmal,’’ Meinerz said of the Broncos’ offense. “We did not do enough. I think we played relatively well in the first half.”
Meinerz was called for his safety for holding onto Michael Clemons in the end zone when Denver was faced with first-and-10 at its 3 with 5:02 left in the third quarter. That gave the Jets an 11-10 lead with 4:56 remaining.
“I took a set,’’ Meinerz said. “I got a head straight down to my chest (from Clemons). According to the rule book, that is illegal. But I just got my butt whooped. I fell down. I still had my hands attached to him. When you fall down and your hands still attached, they’re going to see the jersey tug and throw the flag for holding. I got to be better.”
At least Meinerz had acknowledged the offense being relatively decent in the first half. In the first quarter, after Folk kicked a 52-yard field goal following a lost fumble by Troy Franklin on Denver’s first possession, Lutz tied the score 3-3 on a 57-yard boot, his longest field goal in three seasons with the team.
After Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal later in the first quarter, following Nwangwu’s kickoff return, Nix threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Nate Adkins for a 10-6 lead on the last play of the quarter. That remained the score at halftime.
The only points of the second half came on 38-yard field goal by Folk early in the third quarter, the safety and the final boot by Lutz.
“A gritty performance by our defense, it goes without saying,’’ said Broncos coach Sean Payton. “We’ll look at the film and there will be a number of things in the kicking game and offensively we want to clean up. Nonetheless, it was great to get the win.”
Payton was disappointed with the Broncos’ running game, saying he “thought coming in we were going to be able to run the ball pretty well.” He was unhappy with Denver’s six penalties for 37 yards.
Half were penalties by left guard Matt Peart, who replaced Ben Powers, out until at least December due to a biceps injury suffered against the Eagles. Peart had two holding calls and one false start.
But Payton did say that a win “doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing.”
The defense, though, was beautiful. The Broncos tied the team record for sacks that had been set against the Jets on Sept. 1, 1996, and against Chicago on Dec. 5, 1971. Sacks didn’t become an official statistic until 1982, but Broncos started counting them in earlier seasons.
Payton was even more pleased that that the nine sacks came against a supposedly mobile quarterback in Fields.
“Our defense was outstanding,’’ Payton said. “For the most part, we kept them in that spot we want them.’’
Fans watching the game on television must have thought at times they were seeing a replay. For the Broncos, it was sack, rinse and repeat.
