Denver (1-2) at New York Jets (2-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.
BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 7 1/2.
Series record: Broncos lead 21-18-1.
Against the spread: Broncos 2-1, Jets 2-1.
Last meeting: Jets beat Broncos 31-21 on Oct. 8. 2023, in Denver.
Last week: Broncos beat Tampa Bay 26-7; Jets beat New England 24-3.
Broncos offense: overall (23), rush (22), pass (19), scoring (23).
Broncos defense: overall (3), rush (21), pass (2), scoring (6).
Jets offense: overall (18), rush (21), pass (13), scoring (14).
Jets defense: overall (7), rush (22), pass (4), scoring (8).
Turnover differential: Broncos minus-2; Jets plus-1.
Broncos player to watch
RB Tyler Badie. He was promoted to the 53-man roster Wednesday when ILB Alex Singleton went on IR with a torn ACL. Badie was a weekend practice squad call-up each of the previous two weeks and outshined both RB1 Javonte Williams and RB2 Jaleel McLaughlin in both games. Against Pittsburgh, he ran one time for 16 yards, but never saw another handoff while Williams and McLaughlin combined for 23 yards on 14 carries. Coach Sean Payton realized he’d better break from the script and last week Badie reeled off a 43-yard gain against the Bucs on his way to a team-best 70 yards on just nine carries (Williams and McLaughlin combined for just 19 yards on 10 carries).
Jets player to watch
RT Olu Fashanu. The No. 11 overall pick in the draft in April will make his first NFL start in place of the injured Morgan Moses, who’ll be sidelined a few games with a knee injury. Fashanu was exclusively a left tackle at Penn State and is expected to someday take over for Tyron Smith. But Fashanu worked at both tackle spots during the summer and will get a major test Sunday while facing the NFL’s No. 3 overall defense.
Key matchup
Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II vs. Jets WR Garrett Wilson. In a game that features perhaps the NFL’s top two cornerbacks with Surtain on one side and the Jets’ Sauce Gardner on the other, the Surtain vs. Wilson showdown is a key storyline to watch. Surtain has been terrific to start the season, shutting down teams’ top receivers in consecutive weeks: Seattle’s DK Metcalf (29 yards receiving in Week 1), Pittsburgh’s George Pickens (1 catch, 16 yards in Week 2) and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans (1 catch, 8 yards last Sunday).
Key injuries
Singleton is the ninth Broncos player to go on IR this year and his absence probably hurts the most. He was the team’s leading tackler with 31 stops this season after leading Denver in tackles each of the past two seasons. … Special teams ace JL Skinner (ankle) missed Wednesday’s installation day. … The Jets won’t place Moses on injured reserve, meaning he is expected to miss three games or fewer — avoiding what initially appeared to be an even more serious injury. … LB C.J. Mosley could be a game-time decision after missing the game vs. New England with a toe injury.
Series notes
The teams are playing for the fifth straight season, with the Jets having won the past two meetings. … It’s the first time since 2020 that New York is playing at home against Denver. … The teams have met once in the playoffs: in the AFC championship game in January 1999, when Terrell Davis ran for 167 yards and a TD to help John Elway and the Broncos advance to the Super Bowl with a 23-10 victory.
Stats and stuff
Rookie Bo Nix last week became the third Broncos QB with 200 yards passing and 40 yards rushing in a game. He joined Tim Tebow (2010) and Marlon Briscoe (twice in 1968). … Nix has rushed 18 times for 107 yards (5.9 avg.) with two scores. His rushing total and two TDs on the ground are the most by a Broncos QB through three career NFL games. … K Wil Lutz went 4 for 4 on field goal tries in Week 3, earning AFC special teams player of the week honors. … The Broncos’ seven sacks of Baker Mayfield in Week 3 were their most since 2019, when Denver also had seven against the Titans. … OLB Dondrea Tillman had a pair of sacks in his NFL debut last week. Tillman played three years for the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions and signed with the Broncos over the summer. … S Brandon Jones had a pair of takeaways with an INT and fumble recovery last week. He’s the first Broncos player since CB Ja’Quan McMillian in 2023 vs. Minnesota with an INT and fumble recovery in the same game. … The Jets are looking for their first 3-1 start since 2015, when they went 10-6 and missed the playoffs under Todd Bowles. … Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was fired as the Broncos’ head coach after just 15 games — going 4-11 — during the 2022 season. … QB Aaron Rodgers is 321 yards passing from becoming the ninth player in NFL history to throw for 60,000. … Rodgers has gone 25 straight regular-season games — 26 counting the postseason — without throwing for 300 or more yards. It’s the longest such drought of his career. … New York is first in the league in third down situations after converting 21 of 37 opportunities (56.8%) in the first three games. … The Jets went 10 of 15 on third down against the Patriots, the first time they had at least 10 conversions in a game since 2017. … New York has scored three TDs on offense for three straight games to start the season, the fourth time in franchise history it has done that and first since 1989. … The Jets had a first down on every drive against the Patriots, the first time they accomplished that since Week 3 against the Chargers in 2008. … The Jets have scored on all eight of their red zone possessions, including six touchdowns. … RB Breece Hall has scored a touchdown in six straight games, going back to last season. It’s tied for the fifth-longest streak in Jets history. New York is 13-3 when Hall scores. … Edge rusher Will McDonald has a career-high five sacks, second most in the NFL behind Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson (6 1/2). … New York has 14 sacks overall, the most by the team through its first three games since 1982.
Fantasy tip
Jets TE Tyler Conklin had just two catches for 16 yards in the first two games, but broke out last week with five receptions for a career-high 93 yards. Rodgers likes involving his tight ends, so Conklin should be on the radar as a strong sleeper option this week.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
