It almost felt like a lock heading into Sunday’s Week 4 matchup against the Denver Broncos that the New York Jets were going to move to 3-1 for the first time since 2015.
They came off a dominating effort against the New England Patriots; Aaron Rodgers looked like his vintage self, while Braelon Allen and Breece Hall looked like a two-headed monster in the making in the backfield.
But then the rain came to New Jersey and they actually had to play the game. In just a few hours, those good feelings suddenly had quite the damper put on them in a surprising 10-9 loss to Bo Nix and the Broncos.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
3 takeaways from the Jets’ Week 4 loss to the Broncos
Penalties, penalties, penalties: Rodgers’ pre-snap cadence resulted in four false-start penalties by the Jets on a day in which they were flagged 15 times — 13 of them accepted.
The biggest one came in the second quarter, with the Jets lining up for a 4th-&-1 attempt at the Broncos’ 1-yard line. Instead, offensive lineman John Simpson was thrown off by Rodgers’ cadence and jumped, moving the Jets back and forcing them to settle for one of three field goals.
“We’ve got to figure it out, whether or not we’re good enough or ready to handle all the cadence,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said. “Cadence had not been an issue all [training] camp. It felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously, today it took a major step back.”
While he suggested potential changes, Rodgers bristled at the notion.
“That’s one way to do it,” he began. “The other way is to hold them accountable.”
Empty Hall: Entering the season as the Jets’ No. 1 running back and primed for a 1,000-yard season, Hall was a non-factor on Sunday against the Broncos’ defense.
He rushed for just four yards on 10 carries while catching just two passes.
Through four games this season, he has rushed for 174 yards while averaging just 3.1 yards per attempt.
He has been the Jets’ second-most productive running back behind Allen, who is averaging nearly five yards per carry this season and fared much better against Denver in Week 4.
O-Line woes: After a fairly easy Week 3, the Jets’ offensive line folded against an aggressive Broncos defense, allowing Rodgers to get sacked five times and getting hit 14 times in total.
“It would make you sick if he were a 20-year-old quarterback,” Saleh said. “You want your quarterback feeling comfy back there and he definitely wasn’t comfortable. Give those guys credit. They’re a legit top defense, and they’re going to give a lot of teams a lot of headaches. Last week, they beat up Tampa, and Tampa just dropped 33 [points in Week 4]. It’s a good defense, give them a lot of credit.”
The Broncos had seven sacks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a week earlier and have 16 on the season, which ranks second-most in the NFL. They have built that number by blitzing on nearly 30% of snaps this season.
It obviously worked against the Jets and provides a clear blueprint to future opponents for approaching a matchup against Rodgers.
