LONDON (AP) — The Jets extended a drive with a fake punt against the Broncos. Then their hurry-up offense slowed down — on purpose.
Winless and desperate for a spark, New York played it safe by letting the clock run out at the end of the first half instead at least heaving the ball into the end zone while trailing 10-6.
Well, they're still winless, 0-6 in fact. Denver eked out a 13-11 victory over a Jets team that hit some lows offensively.
Justin Fields was sacked nine times and threw for just 45 yards, completing nine of 17 passes. Eli Manning at least had the rain and mud to blame for his 59-yard performance in the NFL's first regular-season game in London, back in 2007.
“It wasn’t good enough and it starts with me. I got to get the ball out,” Fields said.
The Jets finished with minus-10 net yards passing, the fewest in franchise history — also the fewest allowed by the Broncos in their history. It was also the fewest in any NFL game since the Chargers had minus-19 against the Kansas City Chiefs in Ryan Leaf’s third career start in 1998.
New York will also now have to see about the status of star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who coach Aaron Glenn was dealing with a hip injury — but Wilson said it wasn't to his hip but would be having tests, declining to provide details. The Athletic and ESPN reported Wilson is dealing with a knee injury.
Still, thanks to a safety, the Jets led 11-10 in the third quarter. But they couldn't hold on again.
According to Sportradar, the Jets — the NFL's lone winless squad — are the fourth team in NFL history to start a season 0-6 despite leading at least three games in the fourth quarter.
“As a player, I’m tired of those quiet locker room moments after the game," cornerback Sauce Gardner said. "I don’t like losing at all.”
Decisions, decisions
The Jets had a fourth-and-1 from their own 47 with about 30 seconds left in the second quarter and no timeouts.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn said he didn't want to risk running a play and giving the Broncos a chance to get the ball back. Plus, the Jets were set to receive the ball to start the second half.
“I do not want to give this offense the ball back at the 49 with a timeout, with time on the clock," he said. "I don’t think that’s smart. I think what we did, knowing we’re going to get the ball back at second half, let’s keep it.”
Broncos coach Sean Payton, who had Glenn on his coaching staff in New Orleans from 2016 through 2020, was surprised.
“We were waiting for either a Hail Mary or something. And then the clock ran out, so that was a little surprising. It’s unusual,” Payton said.
Wilson, who had three catches for 13 yards, appeared agitated as he spoke to Glenn as the team walked to the locker room at halftime.
“I just didn’t know exactly what the plan was,” Wilson said. “Once I figured it out, I was disappointed. I’ll just say that.”
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Glenn said he appreciates Wilson's intensity.
“He’s a competitive person,” Glenn said. “I mean, who wouldn’t be pissed when things are not going right on the offensive side of the ball? ... I like that about him.”
Glenn supportive of Fields
Despite Fields' struggles, Glenn balked at a reporter's question about whether he'd make a change at quarterback. Tyrod Taylor is Fields' backup.
“Come on, man, what kind of question is that?” Glenn said. "Sometimes this league is like there’s guys that have bad games. That doesn’t mean you just bench them. ...
“It’s not just Justin. I understand where you guys are trying to take this. ... I don’t want to sit there and pin this all on Justin.”
Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto said his team's defense is hard for any quarterback to handle, but added that Fields held the ball too long “at times.”
“With the defense we run, it’s a lot being thrown at a quarterback,” Bonitto said. “So it’s going to be difficult to just be able to just sit there and be like, ‘I’m going to get the ball out’ when you don’t know who’s coming and who’s dropping and doing all these different things.”
Six points with no first downs
The Jets had great field position on their first two drives, but — continuing a trend this season — settled for field goals.
The field position, in fact, was good enough that they were still able to score six points despite failing to get a first down.
The defense produced a takeaway — their first this season — on Denver’s first drive when cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. poked the ball out of receiver Troy Franklin’s hands and Andre Cisco recovered at the Denver 37.
The Jets offense could only advance 3 yards, though, and settled for Nick Folk’s 52-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
After Denver tied it at 3, Kene Nwangwu returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards to Denver’s 24.
That was wasted, though, when the Jets again failed to pick up a first down. Folk kicked a 41-yarder for a 6-3 Jets lead.
They picked up their first first down with 2:32 left in the first half. The converted fake punt was their second.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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