A battle of the 0-3 teams will take place Thursday night as the Denver Broncos and New York Jets will meet in the Meadowlands. This one could get ugly, as the Broncos are about to start their third quarterback in the last four games while Drew Lock continues to sit with his injury. Meanwhile, the Jets have the worst offense in the NFL, ranking last in yards per game and points per game.
The Jets are one-and-a-half point favorites, with the over/under set at 40.5. Kickoff is at 8:20 PM Eastern on NFL Network.
Bronco Breakthrough
With Lock injured and backup Jeff Driskel failing to impress, the Broncos will hand the reins to Brett Rypien, who had a strong finish last week completing eight of nine passes. His sole incompletion came on an interception, as Mike Edwards hauled in the pass with one hand on the goal line to end the Denver drive.
He is the son of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien.
Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is out for the season with a knee injury, but rookie Jerry Jeudy already looks prepared for a more prominent role in the offense. Denver has been without running back Phillip Lindsay, making their offseason signing of Melvin Gordon a crucial one to keep things moving.
Denver struggled against Tampa Bay last week but put together a solid effort against the Steelers in Week 2. Vic Fangio and his staff will need to improve pretty rapidly if they’re looking to make an impact this season.
The Broncos are out of sorts in various areas, and the injury to Von Miller right before the year further complicated matters.
When Will the Jets Take Off?
The Jets, on the other hand, have not had a single thing go right for them. Like Denver, injuries have hit New York hard, but unlike the Broncos, the remaining Jets have not played well enough.
Rumors are circling that many within the organization do not trust head coach Adam Gase. Gase’s presence led to the Jamal Adams trade when Adams said he did not want to play for Gase (who may well be coaching for his job Thursday).
You can only make excuses for so long, but it seems that Sam Darnold may not even be their long-term answer at quarterback. Darnold has completed a less-than-stellar 61.5% of his passes this year, with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Things went from bad to worse after the Le’Veon Bell injury made the Jets offense one-dimensional (though Bell may be back in Week 5).
The Jets are averaging just 12 points per game. It is hard when most of your top receivers and your starting RB aren’t playing, but it is worse than that. There is no continuity and no form of effective playcalling.
They are allowing 31 points per game as well, so not much is happening defensively either. All of the turnovers are leading to fast, easy scores for the opposition. There isn’t a quick-fix to the problems the Jets are having.
They will be facing another struggling offense with a first-time starting QB, so they will need the pass-rush to pounce from the get-go.
Broncos Beat the Jets
If you enjoy sloppy football, this is the game for you. Anemic offense on one side, a third-string quarterback who is making his first NFL start on the other. Both teams are fighting through injuries. What could go wrong?
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