The Denver Broncos fell for the fourth time in five games to open the 2023 season on Sunday, losing at home to the New York Jets by the score of 31-21.
Denver yielded 23 second-half points after taking a 13-8 lead into the half. The defense struggled, giving up a 72-yard touchdown run to Breece Hall and three field goals. Meanwhile, a Russell Wilson fumble in the fourth quarter led directly to New York scoring a touchdown and putting this away.
With the Broncos’ season already very much on the brink, head coach Sean Payton took credit for Sunday’s disastrous home loss to the Jets.
“I’ve got to do a better job. It starts with me,” Payton told reporters. “The part that I’m frustrated with myself is that we became one-dimensional, and I know better. So I have to be more patient relative to how we run the ball.”
Denver ran the ball 22 times for 139 yards, including rookie undrafted free agent Jaleel McLaughlin going for 68 yards on nine attempts.
Despite this, the Broncos abandoned the run in the second half. That included five called runs compared to 23 pass attempts from Russell Wilson. The lack of balance also led to Wilson being sacked four times in the final 30 minutes.
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Denver Broncos season on the brink as Sean Payton is shaded
Immediately after Sunday’s game, Payton was on the receiving end of a troll job from the Jets. It came after preseason comments from Payton about how poorly Nathaniel Hackett served as the Broncos’ head coach last offseason. As you likely already know, Hackett is now the Jets’ offensive coordinator. The burn job was not subtle.
As for the Broncos, they are now 1-4 on the season. Since 1978, only seven teams have earned a playoff spot after losing four of their first five games.
In his first season as Denver’s head coach, Payton has overseen some pretty stunning humiliations. Sunday’s home loss to a previously one-win Jets team adds another layer to that. It comes just a couple weeks after Denver yielded 70 points in a blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins.
“This one hurts. We didn’t play well,” Payton said Sunday evening. “We didn’t play well enough.”
Too often, that’s been the case this season for Payton and the Broncos.