The Jets hope to provide even more sunshine for themselves and their fans under an expected overcast North Jersey sky when they take on the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in their fourth game of the season (1:02 p.m. ET kickoff).
The Green & White have picked up steam the past two weeks with their 24-17 road win at Tennessee and the 24-3 victory over New England in their home opener 10 days ago. On Sunday, at 2-1, they face the 1-2 Broncos, a familiar non-division foe that they will be facing for the fifth consecutive season.
They lost the first two of those games in 2020-21, then defeated the Orange Crush in Denver the past two Octobers. A win Sunday would give the Jets their first three-game winning streak in this original American Football League rivalry since they took three in a row from 1965-67.
Most important, though, is advancing to 3-1 for the first time in nine years. Getting to .750 would mark the 17th time in franchise history that they were at least 3-1 after four games. Three of the last four times — 2004 (4-0), '09 (3-1) and '10 (3-1) — they went on to the playoffs, and most recently, in 2015 (3-1), they were eliminated from the postseason with their loss at Buffalo in the final week of the regular season.
The Jets will attempt to climb onto this newest plateau while missing two of their starters. On defense, MLB and captain C.J. Mosley, who didn't practice all week and was listed as doubtful for this game, will sit out his second straight contest with a toe injury. Offensively, RT Morgan Moses, who suffered a sprained knee late in the Patriots game, is on Injured Reserve for at least the next four games.
See the Jets arrive at MetLife Stadium for Sunday afternoon's game against the Denver Broncos.
But the Jets have able replacements ready to roll. Fourth-year LB Jamien Sherwood will make his 10th pro start and his second straight for Mosley in the middle. Last week Sherwood helped guide the defense to its best showing of the young campaign as the Jets held the Pats to season lows of 139 yards, 11 first downs, no touchdowns and three points.
The Aaron Rodgers-led offense, which continued its upward climb with 400 yards, 27 first downs and a 10-for-15 showing on third down that moved the Jets into the NFL's No. 1 spot in that category, also has an answer for Moses' absence with first-round rookie Olu Fashanu. The 11th overall selection of the draft, Fashanu came in as a left tackle but worked hard through the predraft, offseason and training camp periods to acclimate on the right side, and played the last 14 plays there vs. New England. He's set to get his first pro start.
Here is the Jets' list of seven inactives for this game:
- RB Izzy Abanikanda
- CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse
- LB C.J. Mosley
- T Carter Warren
- T Morgan Moses
- EDGE Braiden McGregor
- DL Leonard Taylor
Denver, similar to the Jets, will be missing their productive MLB, captain and "green dot" playcaller. Alex Singleton, tied for ninth in the NFL with 31 tackles, played all the way in the Broncos' eye-opening first win of the year at Tampa Bay a week ago, but he then discovered that he had torn his ACL during the game and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. HC Sean Payton declined to detail exactly how Denver would replace Singleton, but Cody Barton, listed as an ILB starter next to Singleton, didn't start vs. the Buccaneers but played 31 defensive snaps and is a possibility.
These are the Broncos' seven inactives, including former Jets first-round starting QB Zach Wilson
- QB Zach Wilson
- WR Devaughn Vele
- RB Blake Watson
- CB Kris Abrams-Draine
- S J.L. Skinner
- TE Lucas Krull
- DL Eyioma Uwazurike
