Broncos beat Jets in physical fashion

Running game looks to be back on track

Early on the Broncos running game benefited from a three man front and 8 in coverage. As the game progressed however, the offensive line found a mean streak and was able to open up some holes for Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson to run through. Hillman's vision was good and his cuts were decisive, something that Montee Ball has failed to bring to the table thus far. Let's give credit where it is due though, from the planning phase through to execution the Broncos were resolved to resurrect their running attack and today's game could very well mark a turning point on the season.

Final Statline:

Ronnie Hillman 24 carries, 100 yards

Juwan Thompson 8 carries, 38 yards

Overall 138 yards, 4.3 yards per carry

Give credit to the Jets

The Bronco offense took a while to get settled in. The goal? Jam the receivers at the LOS with their OLB's, overload blitz and make Manning throw on the run. Other times rush three and drop 8 into coverage. Rex Ryan called a pretty good game defensively and it took a while before the Broncos offense got on track. One can argue that the offense despite racking up a lot of yards never quite found a rhythm on the day as evidenced by Britton Colquitt's 8 punts.

Defense feasts again

It is exciting that we can rely on the defense to make big plays when the offense is faltering. The defense once again is the biggest reason why the Broncos leave New Jersey with a victory.  Von Miller had two sacks and got a ton of pressure on Geno Smith. DeMarcus Ware added another sack, as did rookie Bradley Roby who also had a beautiful pass break up on Jace Amaro deep in the redzone.

The player of the game though was Aqib Talib. Talib made several nice pass break-ups including one on Eric Decker late in the game before picking off Geno Smith and cruising to the endzone Prime Time style to seal the victory. There was a brief period in the game when Talib had to leave due to de-hydration, but his presence was felt all game.

Too Easy

Julius Thomas added two more touchdown receptions to his impressive 5 game total. He now holds on to the all time record for most TD receptions by a TE through 5 games with 9.  He's on pace for about 30 folks.  He may not be the best blocker yet but he is a red-zone machine. In the 3rd quarter he beat rookie S Calvin Pryor on a quick slant and screamed "this is too easy." It is too easy in the redzone Orange Julius just work on the blocking now bro.

Welker sighting

Welker was a non-factor until late in the game when the Broncos needed a first down. As he's done so many times in his illustrious career, Welker made a clutch play when the sticks needed to be moved. He will be less of a factor as the Broncos continue to use an extra tackle or their two-TE set to help the running game, but just like so many weapons on the Broncos offense, he is always there waiting to be deployed.

Demaryius feasts again

Ten catches, many of them tough athletic grabs, for 124 yards and a touchdown. I dare say that the best receiver in the league now resides in the Mile High City. No offense to Megatron or whoever else is in the conversation.

Trevathan out and it didn't look good

Danny looked like he reinjured the same leg that kept him out of action the first three games of the season. The kind of injury and extent is unknown at this time, but with a defense now poised to run with him back in the lineup, this is a setback for a club who had a hard time covering the TE in his absence. Jace Amaro caught 10 balls for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Decker has a nice game, team loses

For his part Eric Decker played a decent game. He caught 6 balls for 54 yards and a touchdown and should have had another one-handed grab on the sideline had the officials made the right call. Decker is a good receiver, but he also witnessed first hand what he is missing out on, mainly winning.

Offensive line commits too many penalties

The Broncos committed 11 penalties as a team, the majority came along the offensive line. At one point during the game the running joke was that if Ronnie Hillman had a run longer than 3 yards, it was because the line was holding.

Damned if you do damned if you don't

I'm fine with trying to pick up the 1st down passing on that final sequence on offense. That's what Manning is here for. He just made a bad throw. Where they went a bit conservative was with a two score lead earlier in the game where they insisted on pounding the ball as opposed to testing the porous Jet secondary. This game probably should have been over earlier than it was--Foxball be damned.

Strength vs. Strength

The Jets needed to run the ball to take some pressure off of Geno. The Broncos defense would have none of it however and they held the Jets rushing attack to just 31 yards on 15 rushes. This run defense is for real. So is the pass rush and secondary. Pick your poison.

Manny Ramirez, Lamin Barrow Goats of the game

Manny had a terrible sequence early when he snapped the ball when Manning didn't want it, allowed a sack untouched by Sheldon Richardson, and committed a holding penalty to negate a nice Hillman run. My patience with the Man Ram is wearing thin. The problem is there's only someone worse behind him.

Lamin Barrow ended up getting ejected after throwing a punch on special teams. Can't do that rookie, you cost your team a body and 15 yards.

17 points or less

The Broncos moved to 15-0 under Peyton Manning when the defense holds the opponent to 17 points or less. Mr. Manning is now a stellar 100-3 in his career when the defense provides that kind of support.

This was a good win on the road and the Broncos showed a lot of grit and toughness. They are a physical team filled with playmakers--an identity that is becoming clearer week by week.

GO BRONCOS!!!