Ten days later, the Jets offense was unrecognizable from the unit that had scored three touchdowns in each of its first three games: no running game to speak of, a passing attack that was at best inconsistent and an offensive line that couldn’t protect the quarterback.
It felt like the Zach Wilson-led offense that had held the Jets back in recent years, particularly since the defense performed well for the most part in limiting the Broncos to 10 points.
“I think we were kind of killing ourselves,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I can’t say I had a spectacular game. I missed some throws. The weather sucked, but so did some of my throws. So, we had some chances, but way too many mental mistakes, too many poor throws, and then we just missed some easy stuff, some protection stuff that should have been easy, some route adjustment stuff that should have been easy.
“… Our focus just wasn’t as sharp as it has been the first three weeks.”
Now, it should be noted that the Broncos defense may wind up being an elite unit.
They were coming off a dominant performance in a win over the 3-1 Buccaneers and are allowing only 13.3 points per game, the third-fewest in the league.
But the Jets were shaky all afternoon in producing only 248 yards of offense and failing to score a touchdown for the first time this year.
Penalties were a major issue.
Of the 13 called against the Jets, eight were committed by the offense.
There were five pre-snap penalties.
New left guard John Simpson’s false start on fourth-and-goal from the Denver 1 was a killer.
Running back Breece Hall, who managed just 18 yards on 12 touches, had two pre-snap penalties.
“It’s a different feeling when you lose because someone’s better than you, compared to when you lose because you shoot yourself in the foot a million times,” Hall said.
He added: “We got to be better at the end of the day.”
It went beyond the self-inflicted mistakes, however.
They seemed off from the opening kickoff.
Rodgers was sacked five times and hit 14 times.
The offensive line had played better of late, but it took a step back on Sunday.
Simply put, the group was overpowered up front.
“To be honest, it would make you sick if he was a 20-year-old quarterback, so you want your quarterback feeling comfy back there, and he definitely wasn’t comfortable,” coach Robert Saleh said. “And give those guys credit. They’re a legit top five, top three, legit top defense, and they’re going to give a lot of teams a lot of headaches.”
There was hope that Rodgers’ presence and an upgraded offensive line would lead to a better running game.
But so far, the Jets are 27th in the league at 91.5 yards per game on the ground.
Hall is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry.
Up next is a Vikings defense that is second against the run, allowing only 75 yards a contest.
Get the insider’s view on Gang Green
Sign up for Inside the Jets by Brian Costello, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.
Thank you
“It starts with us up front. We got to be able to sit down and tell him, we got his back,” center Joe Tippmann said. “There were definitely areas where we needed to be better yesterday. Being able to watch that film really helped us to open our eyes moving forward with our run game and keep moving forward with Breece and the other backs.
“We know the areas we need to clean up and we’re going to fix those issues.”
With the Vikings, Bills and Steelers up next, the Jets offense doesn’t have a lot of time to get in gear.
