Jets grades vs. Broncos: Breece Hall is the main standout on offense
Jets running back Breece Hall runs against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL game Sunday in Denver. Credit: AP/Jack Dempsey
OFFENSE: C
Breece Hall is really the only name you need to know. He carried 22 times for 177 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown on the Jets’ first snap of the second half. Zach Wilson managed to play relatively mistake-free (he did have two fumbles, both recovered by the Jets) until his interception with 2:14 remaining gave the Broncos the ball with a three-point deficit. Prior to that, he had made several good throws when he needed to (a clutch 37-yarder to Tyler Conklin on third-and-4 with 3:33 left stands out). They settled for far too many field goals against the worst scoring defense in the league.
DEFENSE: B
When a big play needed to be made, it was the Jets who did it. None were more important than the sack by Quincy Williams on Russell Wilson that forced a fumble recovered by Bryce Hall and returned 39 yards for a touchdown with 29 seconds remaining. Prior to that, the Jets had allowed several big gains and had a few missed tackles, and allowing a Broncos TD and two-point conversion with 4:44 made it a three-point game and made for some tenuous Jets moments. The other Jets takeaway was a fumble recovery by Quinton Jefferson on a busted gadget play by the Broncos. The secondary allowed only two passes of 20 or more yards and held Denver to 308 total yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-PLUS
The unit had an indirect hand in the first five Jets points. Irvin Charles forced a muffed punt on the opening drive that was recovered by Zaire Barnes at the 20 to set up a field goal for a 3-0 lead. Thomas Morestead put a later first-quarter punt out of bounds at the 6 and on the next play the Jets scored a safety on intentional grounding in the end zone. Xavier Gipson coughed up a fumble on a third-quarter punt return that Will McDonald recovered; no such luck when he muffed his next try to give the Broncos the ball. Greg Zuerlein was 5-for-5 on FGs with a long of 49.
COACHING: D
As if the six penalties for 45 yards in the first half — including one for too many men on the field — weren’t bad enough, the Jets completely botched the final seconds of the second quarter when they had a chance to score points. Wilson hit C.J. Uzomah for a gain of 5 with approximately 10 seconds left and no timeouts. Uzomah ran the ball to the middle of the field and handed it to center Connor McGovern, who had to hand it to the official to be spotted. The Jets still seemed to have time to spike it but Wilson showed little urgency and the Jets couldn’t stop the clock to attempt a field goal.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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