Broncos Survive Jets With 31-17

The Broncos were able to finally finish off the Jets at Metlife Stadium on Sunday 31-17 with the help of a late Aqib Talib pick-six to get the win and stand at 4-1. It wasn't easy at times, and the Broncos almost blew a 24-7 lead in the second half, but they were able to close out the Jets, and as every fan will say "A win is a win," and the Broncos are now 4-1 as they host San Francisco next Sunday night. I broke down the game on film with a little more depth than usual, and here are my extended thoughts and observations on the game....

First Quarter:
-The Broncos hit a big play to from Peyton Manning to Demaryius Thomas to start the game, but the drive stalled and Denver settled for a field goal and an early 3-0 lead. Not a bad start on the road.
-Denver's defense was all over the Jets run game on the first drive and for the entire game. Too much speed on their defense for the Jets.
-Jace Amaro killed Denver on the Jets second possession. Three big catches and a touchdown reception from Geno Smith put the Jets up 7-3 early.
-Broncos offense was awful on second drive of the quarter. Bad snap and miscommunication by Manny Ramirez and Manning got sacked by Muhammad Wilkerson. Just a bad series by the offense.

Second Quarter:
-Manning getting flushed out of the pocket again leads to a shaky throw and another punt. Also, bad holding call on Ramirez, and another sack of Manning leads to another punt. Awful series by the Broncos once again.
-After a Jets fumble on a punt return, Denver squanders the opportunity with another holding call and an awful screen setup from Manning to Ronnie Hillman.
-Denver's defense once again swallows up the Jets offense and forces a key 3 and out.
-Denver gets it going on the next drive with a sweet Manning to Emmanuel Sanders hookup on 3rd and 9. Play of day by Manning so far in the game. Good running by Hillman, who had over 100 yards on the day, sets up a sweet Manning to Demaryius Thomas 2-yard touchdown on a 3rd and Goal. Denver takes a 10-7 lead.
-A huge sack by Demarcus Ware and a great play by Bradley Roby on 3rd down force another Jets punt. The Broncos defense was locked in early on the Jets offense.
- With 3 minutes left in the half, Manning found Sanders on skinny post for a huge pass play. What a throw by Manning to thread the needle. Manning hits Demaryius for another first down, and then finds Julius Thomas on a great touchdown hookup on a skinny post to give Denver a 17-7 lead and all the momentum going into halftime.

Third Quarter:
-Another 3 and out forced by the Broncos defense, and Manning takes advantage. A big run by Hillman was aided by the Broncos recovering his fumble in Jet territory. Demaryius Thomas makes a huge catch on 3rd and 7, and that sets up an easy Manning to Julius Thomas touchdown on a quick slant to make it 24-7. The Broncos are rolling at this point.
-A big sack by Von Miller and Bradley Roby force another Jets punt.
-From here, the Broncos start to play sloppy. A false start, illegal motion penalty and a bad throw by Manning force a quick Broncos punt. They seem to lack the killer instinct in these spots so far this season.
-The Broncos got a ton of pressure on the Geno Smith all game long, but big catches by Amaro and Eric Decker keep the Jets drive alive and a field goal makes it 24-10. A great breakup by Roby forces the field goal attempt there.
-Lamin Barrow gets ejected for throwing a punch on the ensuing kick return and the Broncos start with bad field position.

Fourth Quarter:

-The Barrow penalty gives Denver bad field position, and the Broncos don’t get much on this drive as a result. A curious decision by Manning to dump it off to Juwan Thompson leads on 3^rd and 3 leads to a punt. Weird series by the Broncos offense.

-Geno Smith gets a big first down with a huge scramble that sets up a Smith pass to Greg Salas, who breaks a long run on a 3^rd and 4. Now, the momentum has shifted into the Jets favor, and the Jets cap off the drive with a Smith to Decker touchdown pass to cut the lead to 24-17. Decker’s touchdown came off a pick play that the Broncos made famous in the redzone with Decker last year. At 24-17, the crowd finally gets into the game for the first time, and the Broncos are now in a dog fight.

-Andrew Caldwell tries to take the ball out of the endzone on the ensuing kick and gets dropped at the five yard line with 7:50 left in the game. What the hell was he thinking? What an awful decision, and now the Broncos are in trouble.

-A false start by Orlando Franklin backs up them further, but Manning bails them out with a ridiculous throw to Demaryius on the sideline to set up a 3^rd and 1. It was an amazing throw and an even better catch by DT.

-On 3^rd and 1, the Broncos get stuffed as Hillman gets knocked back. Awful job by the offensive line in that spot, but give the Jets defense credit for getting off the field.

-The Broncos defense needs to come up big again this season, and they do on the Jets next possession. Good pressure forces a Geno Smith throw away on 1^st down. More pressure forces Smith to throw underneath to Kerley on 2^nd down, and on 3^rd and 6 Aqib Talib makes the play of the game when he breaks up a pass intended for Decker. The Broncos defense has made key stops late in games all year long.

-With 5:10 left, the Broncos take over and a key Manning to Hillman dumpoff produces a huge first down on a 3^rd and 6. On the next 3^rd and 6, Manning throws a bullet to Wes Welker for a huge first down at the two minute warning. Welker had been held without a catch all day, but he saved his only catch for the biggest moment.

-With 1:13 left and no timeouts for the Jets, the Broncos try to end the game with a pass. The problem I have with this is the decision by Manning. Why try to fit in a skinny post to Emmanuel Sanders and risk the incompletion? That is what exactly happens, and it stops the clock. Looking at the game a few more times on replay, you could see Welker open in the flat, and even if he doesn’t get the first down, at least he catches it stays in bounds and runs more time off the clock. As a result of the misfire, the Broncos have to punt, but Britton Colquitt bails them out by pinning the Jets at their own five with 1:06 left.

-The Broncos defense then turned it up on the Jets to finish off the game. They get great pressure once again and knock down a pass on 1^st down. On 2^nd down, they get a sack by pressure from Ware, Miller, and Derek Wolfe. On 3^rd down, Geno Smith forces a throw and Talib picks it off and returns it for the game-clinching touchdown and the 31-17 win. There is nothing sweeter than a pick-six to end a game, and Talib put the finishing touches on this one.

-It was a weird game, and one that the Broncos slept through at times. Once again, they were sloppy at times on offense. Too many penalties and too many mistakes led to some really bad series. Their defense completely shut down the Jets for the most part, but once again they slowly let the Jets get back into the game once they were ahead 24-7. The Broncos traveled across to the East coast, played a really bad team, and had to deal with an early start. They didn’t look great at times, but they did enough to win the game and get to 4-1. Next week, the 49ers come to town and it will be one of the biggest tests of the season.