The New York Jets might have won against the Denver Broncos 16-9, but it sure didn’t feel good when word came down afterwards that superstar rookie running back Breece Hall tore the ACL in his left knee and would be lost of the season.
Hall’s injury came shortly after the rookie gashed the Broncos on a 62-yard scamper down the sideline that proved to be the Jets only touchdown of the day, and gave New York a 7-0 lead.
THERE GOES THAT MAN.@BreeceH 62 yards to the crib!!#NYJvsDEN on CBS pic.twitter.com/CbTJxGpRch
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 23, 2022
In that respect it was a bitter sweet afternoon for the Jets.
Sweet because the Jets won their fourth straight game to improve to 5-2 on the season. Sweet because the Jets defense was once again brilliant on a day when they had to be.
Even though Denver out-gained the Jets 324-260, the Jets held them to 4.3 yards per play. Denver struggled to run the ball, and back-up quarterback Brett Rypien struggled against the Jets secondary, particularly against Sauce Gardner who had a huge game.
The three biggest stops for the Jets came in the second half. First LaMarcus Joyner picked off Rypien at the Jets 36-yard line late in the third quarter that helped set up a Jets field goal to make it 13-9.
Later with Denver driving deep into Jets territory to try to tie the game at 16, the defense stood firm on a fourth and three at the Jets’ 25-yard line when Gardner deflected a pass intended for Corey Sutton.
Finally in the waning seconds the Jets thought they had stopped Denver when C.J.Mosley picked off a deflection, but the pick was ruled incomplete as the ball touched the ground. Rypien tried once more to test the Jets secondary, but his fourth down pass was incomplete.
The Jets effort defensively also bailed out Zach Wilson, who turned in a rather mediocre effort under center. Wilson struggled against Denver’s defense, completing 16-of-26 for 121 yards. He was sacked three times, and missed easy reads numerous times throughout the day.