Jets fall to 0-6 as offense fails miserably in London loss to Broncos

LONDON — The Jets are a bloody mess. They’re now winless on two continents.

Aaron Glenn’s team couldn’t   overcome a poor performance by the offense and some head-scratching coaching decisions in a 13-11 loss  to the Broncos on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

This game was there for the Jets (0-6) to win if their offense had done anything at all. It didn’t.

Justin Fields was sacked nine times, including the Jets’ last offensive snap. They had minus-10 net passing yards and totaled only 82 yards of offense.

“Unbelievable,” Garrett Wilson said.  “Unacceptable.”

The Jets’ underperforming defense, which held a players-only meeting before the trip to London, played its best game of the season. The Jets registered their first takeaway of the year and also caused a safety that gave them an 11-10 lead in the third quarter.

Special teams also played well, giving the Jets good field position several times, but the offense killed any chance they had of pulling out the win.

Some of Glenn’s decision-making didn’t help.

Stunningly, he chose not to run a play on fourth-and-1 from his own 47 with the Jets trailing 10-6 and about 20 seconds left in the first half. He let the clock run out.

Glenn said he didn’t know whether the Jets got a first down on the previous play. They were out of timeouts. He said he didn’t want to risk giving Denver the ball back at the end of the half.

“I’m not about to sit there and try to get a play off,” Glenn said. “They get the ball back, I think they had a timeout left, give them a chance to kick a field goal. That’s not the smartest thing to do.”

Earlier on the drive, the Jets ran a fake punt on fourth-and-1 and converted it at their 38, but they then went conservative. That didn’t sit well with Wilson, who walked off the field, went over and had an animated conversation with Glenn.

“I just didn’t know exactly what the plan was,” Wilson said. “Once I figured it out, I was disappointed. I would just say that.”

Will Lutz’s 27-yard field goal with 5:06 left proved to be the difference, but despite all of the Jets’ troubles, they still had a chance for a game-winning drive.

With the ball at their own 43, 2:23 remaining and no timeouts, they botched the snap on first down, but Breece Hall picked up the ball and ran 7 yards. He ran 4 yards for a first down on the next play.

After Fields was sacked, Wilson made a 7-yard catch to Denver’s 44. On third down, Wilson had the ball knocked out of his hands right at the first-down marker. He was hit hard on that play, suffered a knee injury and wasn’t on the field for the fourth-down play. He underwent X-rays afterward and could miss time.

On fourth down, Fields was — what else? — sacked for the ninth time. Denver got the ball back and knelt to run out the clock.

“Disappointing game,” Glenn said.

Glenn said he didn’t consider having Nick Folk, who made three field goals, attempt a kick from the Broncos’ 44, which would have made it about a 62-yard try. Folk kicked a career-best 58-yarder last week.

“We were trying to get ourselves in the position where we can get to that 35, 40,” Glenn said. “Get a chance to get us a field goal in that situation.”

Fields completed 9 of 17 passes for 45 yards. Some of the sacks were on the offensive line, but some were on the quarterback. He had open receivers but didn’t pull the trigger.

“It wasn’t good enough and it starts with me,” Fields said. “I got to get the ball out.”

The Jets haven’t gotten in the end zone in the first half for five straight weeks, but Glenn said he’s not considering a quarterback change.

“There’s a number of guys that have to pick their game up, too,” he said. “I don’t want to sit there and pin this all on Justin.”

The offensive linemen shouldered the blame for this performance.

“I feel like that’s on us as a unit,” left guard John Simpson said. “You can’t let that happen.”

Hall rushed for 59 yards on 22 carries. Wilson had a quiet day, catching three passes for 13 yards with Patrick Surtain, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, covering him.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix was 19-for-30 for 174 yards and a touchdown on a 16-yard pass to Nate Adkins as time ran out in the first quarter.

After Lutz’s go-ahead field goal, the Jets did nothing with their possession. Fields missed Wilson on second down and was sacked on third down. Their last chance ended with a sack, sending the Jets back across the Atlantic Ocean still looking for their first win.

“As a player, I’m tired of those quiet locker room moments after the game,” Sauce Gardner said. “Flying all the way out here, getting here at the beginning of the week, experiencing London — like so many positives, and then to have a quiet locker room afterward. Now we got to have a quiet flight, long flight. That’s never good at all.”

Neither are the bloody Jets.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.