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| KC at OAK | MIA at STL | NO at TB | NYG at WAS | PIT at NE | SEA at DAL | SF at BUF | TEN at DET |
Week 13 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 34, New York Jets 17
What you need to know
| Denver Broncos |
Jay Cutler had a strong showing, throwing for 357 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Cutler seemed able to find open receivers with ease all game, picking up big chunks of yardage through the air at will. In the first quarter, Cutler found WR Eddie Royal down the sideline for a 59 yard touchdown, and threw his second touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game away for the Broncos when he connected with WR Brandon Stokley for a 36 yard score. His lone interception came in the red zone, as he made an ill advised throw that the Jets were able to pick off.
Peyton Hillis was the only running back to take carries for the Broncos, and he looked great the whole game. Hillis was often tough to bring down, and he had multiple runs of more than five yards. Hillis added a touchdown in the second quarter when he took a goal line carry into the end zone, and ended the game with 129 yards and a touchdown.
Brandon Marshall was again the most targeted Broncos receiver, having the ball thrown his way 11 times. However, the coverage on Marshall was often very tight, and he was only able to bring in five catches for 55 yards. TE Tony Scheffler ended the day with the most receiving yardage for the Broncos, bringing in all seven of his targets and gaining 90 yards.
| New York Jets |
Brett Favre struggled against the Denver defense, throwing for 247 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Despite throwing no touchdowns, he sure had his chances. The Jets had two drives stall in the red zone, one resulting in a field goal and the other no points at all. Favre's interception came on a deep attempt to Coles, but he overthrew him and the Denver defender came up with the interception.
Thomas Jones and Leon Washington both had productive days, but Jones much more so. Jones took 16 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Washington did most of his damage in the return and receiving game, racking up 90 return yards and 60 receiving yards. Jones' touchdowns came on two long runs, one a 59 yard score where he found a hole and had half the field open to run down, and the second where he appeared tackled but rolled off the back of a defender without his elbow or shoulder touching the ground, finishing his run for a 29 yard score.
Jericho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles both had pretty quiet days, as Cotchery had 40 yards receiving and Coles had just two yards. Cotchery also lost a fumble on an attempted end around, but he dropped the pitch and was unable to get control of the ball back, resulting in a Denver touchdown.
What you ought to know
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 27 - 43 - 357 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - -2 - 0 |
Cutler had a strong game, gashing the Jets' pass defense for 357 yards and two touchdowns. Cutler's lone blemish came when he threw an interception in the red zone in the third quarter, making an ill advised throw that kept the Bronco's from being able to attempt a field goal to make it a three possession game. His two touchdowns were on longer passes, as he found Eddie Royal down the sideline, and Royal broke a tackle to make the touchdown possible. Later, Cutler hit a wide open Brandon Stokley for his second touchdown.
| RB Peyton Hillis, Rush: 22 - 129 - 1 (2 targets) |
Hillis looked great in the first quarter, breaking off a pair of 19 yards run and making the Jets look helpless. Hillis again impressed in the second quarter, taking a handoff and spinning out of tackles for a six yard gain and a first down. Later in the quarter, Hillis had his third 19 yard run of the day when he ran into a wall at the line, cut it back, and picked up some nice yardage. Near the end of the quarter, Hillis took a goal line carry and had a good second effort to get across the line for the touchdown. In the third quarter, Hillis had a potential second touchdown called back due to a holding penalty. Hillis finished with two touchdowns and 129 rushing yards.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 5 - 55 - 0 (11 targets) |
Marshall caught a short pass late in the second quarter, but made a great move cutting back and changing direction, turning his short reception into a 16 yard gain. At the end of the second quarter, Marshall made a nice leaping catch for a 20 yard gain to put the Broncos in field goal range. Marshall finished the game with five receptions for 55 yards.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 5 - 84 - 1 (5 targets) |
Royal caught a pass slanting towards the right sideline, and when he caught it he broke a tackle, kept both feet inbounds, and raced down the sideline for a 59 yard touchdown. This was just the highlight of a great day for Royal, as he caught all five of his targets and finished the game with 84 yards and a score.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 2 - 44 - 1 (4 targets) |
Stokley made a catch in double coverage at the end of the second quarter, gaining eight yards on the play. In the fourth quarter, Stokley got open deep when the Jets were playing to stop the short route. Stokley was wide open for the 36 yard score, just about ending any hope for a Jets win. Stokley finished with 44 yards and a touchdown.
| WR Chad Jackson, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jackson caught a short pass in the first quarter and benefited from great blocking, running downfield and picking up 19 yards before being tackled out of bounds. It was his only catch of the game.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 7 - 90 - 0 (7 targets) |
Scheffler caught a 22 yard pass late in the second quarter, taking the ball right down to the goal line before being tackled, narrowly missing the touchdown. Late in the third quarter, Scheffler managed to get open and Cutler found him in between a couple Jets defenders for a 24 yard gain. Scheffler finished the game with 90 yards receiving on seven receptions.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 6 - 59 - 0 (7 targets) |
Graham had a nine yard reception in the second quarter, breaking a tackle and picking up extra yards for a first down. Late in the second quarter, Graham got wide open and caught a pass for a 12 yard gain. In the third quarter, Graham found himself wide open again and caught a pass for a 20 yard gain. Graham finished the afternoon with six receptions for 59 yards.
| PK Matt Prater 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points |
Prater made all of his kicking attempts despite the tough conditions.
| DEN Rush Defense |
The Denver rush defense struggled to contain Thomas Jones, but did not have to worry much about him in the second quarter as the Jets were forced to abandon the run. However, the troubling trend of running backs having big games against Denver did continue as Jones managed two rushing touchdowns and 159 total yards.
| DEN Pass Defense |
The Denver defense did a great job of shutting down Brett Favre, who had been leading one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Favre was completely shut down by the Broncos' defense, as he only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt, totaling 247 yards and an interception.
| QB Brett Favre, Pass: 23 - 43 - 247 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Favre had a game he'd probably like to put behind him, throwing no touchdowns and an interception. The interception came in the second quarter on a deep ball attempt to Laveranues Coles. Coles didn't have position, and Favre overthrew the ball. He often struggled to find open men, and could not convert on either of his two red zone opportunities. He also seemed to struggle with gripping the slick ball, often throwing a wobbly ball and struggling with his accuracy.
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 16 - 138 - 2, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) |
In the second quarter, Jones exploded through a hole on the right side, breaking down the wide open right side of the field for a 59 yard touchdown. In a bizarre play in the second quarter, Jones took a carry up the middle and got tripped up by a defender. However, Jones rolled over the back of the defender without his elbow or shoulder touching, and jumped back up and finished the run for a 29 yard score. Concluding the third quarter, Jones displayed his toughness and speed, breaking tackles on two consecutive runs for 13 and 14 yards. Jones finished with 159 total yards and two touchdowns, another great game for the Jets' running back.
| RB Leon Washington, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0, Rec: 3 - 60 - 0 (6 targets) |
Washington did not get many carries, and did most of his damage receiving the ball, all in one drive. Late in the third quarter, Washington caught a screen pass and made the most of his good blocking, using a couple of good cutting moves to pick up 34 yards on the play. The next two plays, Washington was again thrown to on screen passes, taking each for 14 and 12 yard gains. He finished with 60 yards receiving.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 4 - 40 - 0 (9 targets) |
In the first quarter Cotchery had the ball pitched to him on an end around, but he couldn't catch it, resulting in a fumble and a Denver touchdown. In the second quarter, Cotchery caught a pass on the line and made a nice move to shed his defender, making an 11 yard gain out of nothing. In the fourth, Cotchery got open deep down the sideline, but dropped the ball despite a perfect throw by Favre. Cotchery finished the game with five receptions for 55 yards.
| WR Chansi Stuckey, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (4 targets) |
Stuckey caught a pass in the fourth quarter for a key first down conversion, cutting across the middle to get open and gaining 16 yards on the play. He finished the day with three receptions for 30 yards.
| WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 2 - 2 - 0 (7 targets) |
Coles did not have his first reception until the fourth quarter, which was just a short catch for four yards. His second and final reception resulted in a loss of two yards, bringing his final total to two receptions for two yards. Most of his targets came in the fourth quarter, most of which were not catchable.
| WR Brad Smith, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Smith hauled in a ten yard reception late in the fourth quarter as the Jets were attempting to come back. It was his only catch of the game.
| TE Dustin Keller, Rec: 7 - 77 - 0 (11 targets) |
Keller hauled in a 14 yard catch near the end of the first quarter slanting across the middle of the field. Keller had some big receptions in the fourth quarter as well, hauling in receptions for 10, 13, and 20 yards all in the same drive. Keller finished the game as Favre's favorite target, bringing in seven receptions for 77 yards.
| PK Jay Feely 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Feely made all of his kicks.
| NYJ Rush Defense |
The Jets' rush defense struggled to contain Peyton Hillis, as he exploded for his first 100 yard game and also managed a goal line touchdown. Hillis consistently made the Jets look bad; as he broke off multiple long runs and could be counted on to get the Broncos yards when they needed them.
| NYJ Pass Defense |
The Jets' pass defense also struggled in this game, allowing Cutler to explode for 357 yards and two touchdowns. The Jets showed poor tackling all game, often allowing Denver's plays to go for twice as many yards as they should. In one instance, the poor tackling resulted in a long touchdown reception by Eddie Royal as he was able to break a tackle and take it all the way for a long touchdown.
