EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Bo Nix finally threw his first NFL touchdown pass in his fourth pro start — and it came at a great time for the Denver Broncos.
Nix and the offense overcame a miserable first half and the Broncos held on to beat a banged-up Aaron Rodgers and the sloppy New York Jets 10-9 in a defensive standoff on a rainy Sunday.
“Usually these weather games turn into run-the-football games, and that’s what we did in the second half,” Nix said. “It worked in our favour and we didn’t turn the ball over.”
Nix was 7 of 15 for minus-7 yards in the first two quarters, and finished with just 60 yards on 12-of-25 passing — but the Broncos (2-2) ran for 126 yards and controlled the momentum in the second half.
And Nix made the big play when he needed with both offences struggling mightily.
With the Broncos trailing 6-0, Nix found a wide-open Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone to give Denver the lead with 3:08 left in the third quarter.
Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in April, tossed a high pass to the back of the end zone where Sutton went up, grabbed the ball and got both feet down for the 8-yard score. It capped what was easily the Broncos’ best drive to that point, with Nix leading Denver 87 yards on 11 plays.
Rodgers came up limping a bit after a sack late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his left leg — the same on which his Achilles tendon was surgically repaired last year — and was looked at on the sideline by trainers.
“Yeah, I’m banged up a little bit, but, yeah, I’m OK,” Rodgers said after the game, adding both legs are dealing with “stuff.”
It appeared Rodgers might have also fumbled on the play, but the Broncos were out of challenges so Sean Payton couldn’t ask officials to review.
Rodgers came back on the Jets’ next possession with 2:31 remaining but couldn’t get anything going. Facing fourth-and-10 on New York’s 45, Rodgers was sacked from behind by a blitzing P.J. Locke to give the Broncos the ball at the 35.
The defence came up big and New York (2-2) used all three of its timeouts, and the Broncos’ drive ended with Wil Lutz pushing a 50-yarder wide left.
That gave Rodgers and the Jets one more chance.
New York got down to the Broncos’ 32 and Greg Zuerlein, who made three earlier kicks, lined up for a potential winning field goal — but his 50-yarder curved to the right. Nix and the Broncos were able to kneel down for their second straight road victory after also topping Tampa Bay last week.
“It was a gritty win,” Payton said. “I’m proud of how we fought. … I don’t know that either team expected the weather to impact the game like it did that much in the first half.”
The Broncos stayed on the East Coast and spent the week preparing for the Jets at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
“It was huge to go on the road and get two tough wins against two tough defences and two tough offences,” Nix said. ”You can’t say enough about our defence on this winning stretch.”
Rodgers was 24 of 42 for 225 yards and was sacked five times. New York also was penalized 13 times.
“I think we were kind of killing ourselves,” 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.”
The Jets bounced right back from Sutton’s touchdown to regain the lead on Zuerlein’s 40-yarder. But the Broncos marched down the field — on seven straight runs — to set up Lutz’s 47-yarder to put Denver back on top 10-9 with 8:55 left.
The Jets had just 15 total yards and the Broncos 6 in the first quarter. New York broke through 9 seconds into the second quarter on Zuerlein’s 23-yard field goal.
SCARY MOMENT
Broncos running back Tyler Badie was placed on a back board and carted from the sideline with a back injury. He caught a pass from Nix on a third-down play shortly before the end of the opening quarter and was immediately hit by Quincy Williams for a 4-yard loss and fumbled the ball. Michael Carter II recovered for the Jets.
Badie was seen on his back on the sideline a few minutes later, with trainers working on him before he was taken from the field.
Payton said he had “no update” on Badie’s condition after the game, and wouldn’t say whether the running back would travel home with the team.
COSTLY CELEBRATION
New York’s Allen Lazard was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he caught a 13-yard pass from Rodgers for a first down in the third quarter. He celebrated by signalling for a first down with what officials deemed was a gun-like gesture with both hands.
The NFL has warned players to not make “violent gestures.” Atlanta wide receiver Drake London was fined $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct/violent gesture for a gun-like celebration in a recent game. Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was also recently fined $28,128 for two “gun-like” celebrations.
UP NEXT
Broncos: Host the AFC West-rival Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday.
Jets: Head to London to play Minnesota next Sunday morning at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
