For a change, the New York Jets sit in an advantageous situation heading into their Week 4 home game versus the Denver Broncos. There are a lot of positives about this 2-1 Jets' team right now with multiple players performing at a high level, but by no means is their matchup this week going to be a walk in the park.
The Broncos are coming off a surprising blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a mediocre first two games of their season. Now with a 1-2 record, they will look to build off a fantastic win and come into MetLife as a touchdown underdog.
There hasn't been much to write home about when it comes to the Broncos' offense over the first three games of the season. This doesn't mean the Jets should discount what they have to offer as rookie first-round QB Bo Nix provided a glimpse this past Sunday of what he can do on the field. His box score numbers may not jump out with only 216 yards passing and no touchdown passes thrown but going down to Tampa Bay and winning 26-7 is no easy task.
Nix finished with an 85.0 QB rating which was by far the highest of his early NFL career and it's because of his lack of turnovers and efficiency in the run game. He ran nine times for 47 yards and a touchdown on Sunday so if you're head coach Robert Saleh and the Jets defense they have to make sure they contain the run. The former Oregon QB has proved he makes head-scratching decisions as a thrower and his 0-4 touchdown to interception ratio proves this so far.
Nevertheless, Sean Payton is still an offensive genius, and putting up 26 points against a great defensive-minded head coach such as Todd Bowles is impressive. Weapons such as RB Javonte Williams and WR Cortland Sutton pose a threat as well which the Jets will most certainly take into serious consideration. Keeping those two at bay is going to be a key to winning this game defensively.
The fortunate aspect to this game for the Jets defense is that they have top players to matchup with the Broncos' star players. Superstar Sauce Gardner can follow Sutton or if Saleh wants to play a zone even D.J. Reed on the other side can play Sutton well. The Jets haven't been great in stopping the run this season, but if they come out like they did versus the New England Patriots having held Rhamondre Stevenson to just 23 yards on six carries then the outcome of these two games should be similar.
On the offensive end for the Jets, they are going to have to start fast like they did against New England. Similar to the Patriots the Broncos have a shutdown corner themselves in Patrick Surtain who is considered by many to be the best CB in football. Not only can Surtain take away a team's best receiver like he did last week against Bucs' WR Mike Evans, but he can play in the slot as well which limits what opponents can do schematically.
Jets' QB Aaron Rodgers sang high praise for the newly paid CB in yesterday's mid-week press conference.
Aaron Rodgers says that the Jets would like to get the ball to Garrett Wilson early on Sunday
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) September 25, 2024
He says Patrick Surtain II will make that a challenge since he is a "phenomenal player" pic.twitter.com/zdXMWBAf7D
Surtain isn't the only player the Jets players will be familiar with nonetheless as former Jets DE John-Franklin Meyers will be returning home to MetLife. Franklin-Meyers has been quiet in his 2024 campaign so far but he is still a force against the run.
In order for the Jets to execute against this Broncos defense, Rodgers will have to spread the ball to various receivers like he did versus New England last Thursday. It's imperative that with star WR Garrett Wilson being covered predominantly by Surtain, other players get involved especially early in the game. They're also catching a break with Broncos linebacker and captain Alex Singleton unfortunately out for the year with a torn ACL. The middle of the field should be more open for guys like TE's Tyler Conklin and Jeremy Ruckert to rack up a bunch of chunk plays.
The Jets should have themselves another great game come Sunday and go into their London game next week at 3-1. That being said the NFL has been extremely difficult to read this year with multiple upsets already so the Jets cannot take them lightly and handle business.
More New York Jets News:
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• Jets' Joe Tippmann has luxury unafforded to many NFL centers
• Vikings proving how badly Jets failed their former franchise quarterback
• Jets' rookie RB forces Robert Saleh's hand and Aaron Rodgers agrees
• Most promising sign from Aaron Rodgers's first home win for Jets
