The cupcakes are taken care of, and the Broncos are ready for the main course.
Denver dominated the New York Jets, 26-0, on Sunday in its home opener at Empower Field, moving to 3-0 for the first time since 2016. It marked three double-digit wins to open 2021, following road wins over the Giants and Jaguars, who, like the Jets, are also winless.
The Broncos were in control from start to finish in front of a rocking crowd of 71,985, with the offense controlling the football while the defense limited New York to just over 100 yards. Judging by their play Sunday, the Broncos appear ready for the schedule to stiffen up, starting with a home game against Baltimore next week.
However, the victory didn’t come without a cost, as three Broncos starters were knocked out of the game due to injury. Wideout KJ Hamler (knee) exited in the second quarter, and offensive lineman Graham Glasgow (knee) and Dalton Risner (foot) left in the third.
Rookie Javonte Williams got Denver on the board first with his first NFL touchdown to make it 7-0 late in the first quarter. Williams’ one-yard scoring rush concluded an 11-play, 75-yard drive that featured a key third down conversion on Hamler’s 22-yard reception.
The Broncos dominated time of possession in the opening quarter (11:11 to 3:49) and limited frazzled rookie quarterback Zach Wilson and the Jets to six yards and one first down.
A Brandon McManus 45-yard field goal made it 10-0 early in the second quarter as the Denver defense continued to dominate. Later in the period the Broncos’ Von Miller sacked Wilson for an eight-yard loss on third down. It marked Miller’s fourth sack of the year, and the 54th quarterback he’s sacked in his career.
But two plays after Miller’s sack, the air went out from the stadium for a moment after Hamler went down. Hamler came down awkwardly trying to catch a first-down pass from Teddy Bridgewater, and left the game with the assistance of trainers.
The Broncos eventually scored on the drive, with a pass interference call drawn by Courtland Sutton setting up Melvin Gordon’s one-yard TD run putting the home team in control 17-0. Gordon made Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley miss at the goal line, after Mosley blasted Gordon in an identical situation in the first quarter to prevent him from scoring.
With a three-score lead in the second half, the Broncos forced a three-and-out to start the third period. On Denver’s next possession, Glasgow and Risner exited with injuries, but the offense kept humming en route to a McManus’ 47-yard field goal to make it 20-0.
McManus added two late field goals, from 21 and 36 yards, as he’s off to a 9-for-9 start this season.
