Jets offense comes alive in win over Broncos
New York Jets Andre Roberts (19) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Despite cloudy skies most of the day, inclement weather never came.
But Sam Darnold made it rain.
The 21-year-old threw two perfect deep balls to Robby Anderson for touchdowns of 76 and 35 yards, Isaiah Crowell had a 77-yard touchdown run and the Jets (2-3) held the Broncos scoreless in the second half until garbage time en route to a 34-16 win.
"It was awesome, an awesome feeling," said Darnold, who finished with three touchdown passes. "I'm starting to feel the rhythm of Robby's timing and how fast he gets downfield. It's awesome."
When the sun finally popped out late in the afternoon, it was the many fans in orange Broncos jerseys heading for the exits early.
"We usually are a pretty stout defense," Broncos linebacker Von Miller said. "Today, we weren't. We got gashed over the top two or three times today. It was a rough one."
Crowell set a Jets record for rushing yards in a game with 219, surpassing Thomas Jones, who had 210 in a 16-13 loss to the Bills on Oct. 18, 2009.
"It means a lot to me," Crowell said about setting the record. "Really, I just wanted to congratulate my O-line because without them, I wouldn't be able to do that. They were opening up holes all game, and I felt like JB (Jeremy Bates) basically committed to the run and I feel like our O-line did their thing. "
Denver (2-3) scored on rookie Courtland Sutton's first-career touchdown reception to open the scoring. The Broncos' only other points until Demaryius Thomas' 42-yard touchdown reception with 3:18 remaining were Brandon McManus' 30-yard field goal to make it 14-10 Jets with 4:01 to play in the first half.
Thomas led the Broncos with 105 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions to post his 36th career 100-yard receiving game, the most in franchise history. Quarterback Case Keenum established career single-game highs in completions (35) and passing yards (377), while connecting on two touchdown passes.
Jason Myers, who missed a 30-yard chip shot early in the game, tacked on two second half field goals for the Jets.
Sunday was the first time the Jets had multiple touchdown plays of 75-plus yards since Rich Caster caught TD passes of 79 and 80 yards from Joe Namath in the fourth quarter of the Jets' 44-34 win over the Baltimore Colts on Sept. 24, 1972.
"It's awesome to be able to get a win," Darnold said. "Any win, we'll take it. I feel like every week in the league is a different challenge and it's a hard challenge, but again, we're capable of winning a lot of games. Every single week we're going to come out looking to win and have that fiery passion that we had today early on and just, again, continue to ride this wave."
Recent Stories
Rams hard at work despite earning bye
The Los Angeles Rams will continue to stay hard at work despite earning a bye through the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.
Players will continue to visit the ...
Packers' lost season includes losing Rodgers to concussion
Green Bay's 6-9-1 season ended with Aaron Rodgers getting knocked out of Sunday's 31-0 loss to the Detroit Lions with a concussion. That was dubious and fitting ...
49ers will retain defensive coordinator Saleh
The San Francisco 49ers gave up a lot of points and did not force many turnovers, but Robert Saleh will return for his third season as the 49ers' defensive coordinator, ...
GM Licht says Winston is Bucs' quarterback
Dirk Koetter was fired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coach on Sunday, but his quarterback will be staying.
General manager Jason Licht, who will lead the search ...
Chargers get another chance against Ravens
The Los Angeles Chargers didn't have to wait long for a chance to avenge their Week 16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Los Angeles was shut down by Baltimore's stout ...
Latest Player Notes
How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...
Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...
How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects
By Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...
Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team
Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...
College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond
The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...
Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback
San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...
Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall
Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...
Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather
CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...
Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense
Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...
Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game
With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...