3 Takeaways From The Broncos' Win Over The Jets In Nfl London Game

3 takeaways from the Broncos' win over the Jets in NFL London game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The European swing of the NFL season is rolling on.

For the third straight week, fans in the U.S. were treated to an early-morning game across the pond. This time it was another game in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Denver Broncos defeating the New York Jets 13-11 to kick off Sunday’s Week 6 action.

The Broncos held on for the close victory after a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-2, while the Jets dropped to 0-6 as the NFL’s only winless team.

Here are three takeaways from the Broncos-Jets game:

1. Broncos play down to their opponent

It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win.

A week after upsetting the defending champion Eagles, the Broncos were trailing for much of the second half against the winless Jets. Bo Nix didn’t have any passing yards in the third quarter and finished the game just 19 of 30 for 174 yards and a touchdown.

While the Broncos are now 4-2 and firmly in the AFC West fight, it wasn’t the most encouraging performance. Denver handled its business in the end, but this type of play won’t be effective against basically any other team. Next week, the Broncos head home to face Jaxson Dart and the Giants.

2. Jets’ defense shows some improvement

The Broncos’ offensive struggles were shocking because of how ineffective the Jets’ defense has been this season.

The script was flipped in London, with New York finally showing some resistence. Entering Week 6, the Jets allowed 31.4 points per game — second-most in the NFL. They proceeded to surrender 10 first-quarter points on Sunday before buckling down, with a safety forced and four 3-and-outs in the second half.

But as the defense stepped up, the offense stepped back. Justin Fields was sacked nine times and had only 45 yards on 9 for 17 passing. Breece Hall averaged 2.7 yards per carry. It all amounted to just 82 total yards of offense with three field goals and a safety accounting for all the points.

3. Coaching is a problem for the Jets

It’s a completely new staff, but some of what’s happening with the Jets is inexcusable.

With the team trailing 10-6 in the final minutes of the first half, New York had a prime opportunity to get some points. Instead, here’s what happened on the 10-play, 31-yard drive that took up over three minutes:

• Two runs plays (four yards total gained, Broncos call first timeout on third down).
• First down on an 8-yard pass, followed by a 6-yard run, 2-yard pass (Broncos call second timeout) and 1-yard run to bring up fourth-and-1 (Jets call first timeout)
• Successful fake punt for the first down (Jets call second timeout, one minute to play, Jets still at their own 38-yard line).
• 5-yard run then a sack (Jets call final timeout, 37 seconds to play, Jets still at their own 41-yard line).
• 6-yard pass to bring up third-and-7, both teams let the clock run out. No Hail Mary attempt, no attempt to draw the Broncos offsides, just the offense standing there for 30-plus seconds — not even lined up.

It’s a sequence you had to see to believe. From the timeout mismanagement to the play-calling and the baffling satisfaction with running out the clock, it was coaching malpractice. First-year head coach Aaron Glenn likely isn’t on the hot seat, but this is about as bad of a start as you can have. Things could seriously unravel if the Jets don’t win one of their two games before the bye — home for the Panthers and at the Bengals.