Jets vs. Broncos Thursday Night Football: Live Reaction, News and Analysis
By on November 17, 2011
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The New York Jets (5-4) travel to Sports Authority Field at Mile High to take on the Denver Broncos (4-5) in an AFC showdown that is sure to have an impact on the playoff race tonight.
This matchup features two teams who are battling to gain position in each of their respective divisions.
The Jets enter this game after a 37-16 blowout loss on Sunday Night Football to the New England Patriots. They entered the matchup on a three-game winning streak, including much needed wins over division rivals the Dolphins and Bills.
Meanwhile, the Broncos are on a two-game winning streak, both of which were on the road. Denver defeated the Raiders in Oakland for an upset victory and just recently completed a dominating 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead.
Both teams aren't great teams and they're not going to win in the flashiest of ways, but they do get the job done.
The Jets aren't as intimidating as they were in the previous two seasons, but they're still one of the better teams in the AFC. The Jets rank 16th in points allowed, after having ranked sixth in 2010 and first in 2009 in that very same category. That's a major area of concern for New York.
Another area of concern is the running game. New York ranks 24th in rushing yards and 29th in yards per attempt. They were fourth in 2010 and first in 2009 in rushing yards. This is another reason why the Jets have been vulnerable this season.
The Broncos, on the other hand, have been winning with their rushing game. Over the last five weeks, beginning with Tebow's insertion into the lineup, Denver has been the best rushing team in the NFL.
Expect the Broncos to utilize their read-option attack heavily on Thursday night.
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Tim Tebow is a game-winner. His style may not be pretty, he's not a Tom Brady or an Aaron Rodgers, but he finds ways to win football games.
And he did just that on Thursday Night Football.
With 6:01 remaining in tonight's game, Tebow started a drive from his own 5-yard line, down 13-10. The Jets defense had been stout in the second half up until that point, forcing four three-and-outs and coming up big.
But on this drive, he would not be denied.
After missing a lot of throws throughout the game, Tebow seemed to get a surge of momentum, and all of a sudden was in a rhythm. He made plays with his feet, hit open receivers in the open field, and put his team in a position to win with a balanced offense.
With a long, clock-killing drive, the Broncos faced a 3rd-and-4 situation ont he Jets 20-yard line with one minute remaining. It seemed he was going to set up for the field goal.
But he didn't.
Tebow, operating out of the option, took the snap and bounced it outside. S Eric Smith was supposed to seal the edge, but over-pursued, and Tebow ran right by him for the touchdown.
Game, set, match, Tebow. Watch the video to see how it all went down.
He may have completed only nine of 20 passes tonight, but numbers don't lie, and he's now 4-1 on the season.
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Wow.
Are there even words to describe what just happened?
Tim Tebow has done it yet again. This time, with the Broncos down 13-10 with a little over five minutes remaining at their own 5-yard line, Tebow drove the Broncos down the field 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 58 seconds remaining.
Whatever "it" Tebow has, that "it" is simply magical.
Yeah, Tebow went 9-20 for a 45% completion rate. Yes, Tebow missed open receivers yet again.
And in the end, it doesn't matter. Just like it always hasn't up to this point in time. Tim Tebow simply has that "it" factor that always keeps his team alive no matter how ugly it looks.
The Broncos' offense had looked terrible since the opening drive. Since the Broncos kicked a field goal on their second drive of the game, Denver had either punted or turned the ball over on every single one of their offensive drives.
That was before Tebow-mania took over.
In a drive largely led by Tebow's improvisational ability, Tebow ran the ball six times for a total of 57 yards, including the game-winning 20 yard touchdown run.
The Broncos now stand at 5-5, in the thick of the AFC playoff race and just a half-game outside of the AFC West lead.
If there is one thing that is a certainty about Tim Tebow, it's that no game is out of reach with him involved.
The New York Jets found that out first hand on Thursday night.
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If you're tuning in for an offensive slugfest, you tuned into the wrong game.
In a game that has been heavily dictated by field position, the game has seen a total of five three and outs.
At halftime, the score stands at 3-3.
The Broncos started off hot with their read option attack, moving the ball 59 yards downfield on their first drive, before turning the ball over on downs on a 4th and 1.
The Broncos have run the ball 17 times for a collective total of 35 yards.
The Jets haven't fared any better, rushing for 32 yards.
The Broncos have had the ball offensively past midfield on four different occasions and only have a field goal to show for it. They've turned the ball over on downs and have punted it on two other occasions as the read option attack has been shut down.
The Jets' lone field goal at the halfway point was created from a Willis McGahee fumble that Bart Scott recovered to put New York in field goal range.
And what do you know? As I'm typing this, the Jets have fumbled the football at the 1-yard line and Guard Matt Slausen has recovered for the game-leading touchdown.
How would you have it any other way in a game full of offesnvie ineptitude?
Jets vs. Broncos Thursday Night Football: Denver Continues to Run Teams to Death with Tebow, McGahee
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
It was expected entering this game that the Jets would be the first team to slown down the read-option attack.
Through one quarter thus far that hasn't been the case.
The Broncos have gotten into scoring position on two of their three offensive drives so far as they enter the second quarter with a 3-0 lead.
With their vaunted read-option attack, the Broncos promptly marched down the field on their first drive of the game on 10 plays for 59 yards.
Highlights of the drive included a beautiful 28 yard pass along the left sidelines to Demaryius Thomas on the first play, which had to have caught the Jets defense by surprise.
Another play was a shovel pass to Lance Ball for a first down as the Broncos operated out of the shotgun on an option play.
After a terrible punt by Jets punter TJ Conley that resulted in great field position for the Broncos at the NYJ 34, the Broncos were able to move the ball on an Eddie Royal end around before a Matt Prater field goal made it 3-0.
Although the score currently stands at 3-3 midway through the second quarter there is no doubt the Broncos' rushing attack is and will have an impact on tonight's game.
The Broncos have lined up in a variety of formations tonight, including the wishbone which features three running backs in the backfield with the quarterback.
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
The AFC showdown between the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos is almost here and with that is the injury report.
No real shocks here, as LaDainian Tomlinson is out due to his knee injury. In his place, RB Bilal Powell will make his Jets debut. The Jets will have three running backs healthy and active. Those three running backs will be Shonn Greene, Joe McKnight and Powell.
McKnight is expected to take LT's role as the Jets' third-down back.
For the Broncos, Willis McGahee is active and will be playing.
The only notable inactive for the Broncos is WR Quan Cosby, who had been handling return duties in recent weeks.
New York Jets Inactives:
RB LaDainian Tomlinson (knee)
WR Jeremy Kerley (knee)
S Brodney Pool (knee)
QB Kevin O'Connell
CB Ellis Lankster
TE Shawn Nelson (illness)
NT Martin Tevaseu
Denver Broncos Inactives:
WR Quan Cosby
S Rafael Bush
FB Quinn Johnson
G Manny Ramirez
T Tony Hills
TE Julius Thomas
DE Derrick Harvey
http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2011/11/rb_bilal_powell_wr_eron_riley.html
Stay tuned for more updates throughout the night!
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It's evident that since Tim Tebow stepped in as quarterback of the Denver Broncos, the Broncos have seen a change in philosophy from the Kyle Orton era.
During Orton's tenure as the starting quarterback for the Broncos, Denver was a vertical team to say the least.
In 2009, the Broncos ranked ninth in pass attempts. In 2010, Denver ranked seventh in the same category.
In 2011 thus far, the Broncos rank 30th in pass attempts.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the Broncos have completely revamped their offensive game plan to suit Tebow's strengths.
In doing so, the Broncos have incorporated a new type of offense into their attack and that is the read-option attack.
By utilizing this attack, the Broncos utilize the shotgun offense rather frequently, putting Tebow in a position where he's comfortable scanning the defense, in comparison to lining up under center where he's not comfortable in the least.
The results have been positive.
Since the Broncos started 6-0 in 2009 under Orton's lead, the Broncos had an NFL-worst 8-24 record over their past 32 games.
It took the Broncos seven games to win four games with Tebow as their starter; the Broncos were 4-14 in Orton's last 18 starts.
Under Orton's lead in 2010, the Broncos were 25th in time of possession.
Under Tebow in their last three games? The Broncos rank eighth.
The rushing attack is obviously a lot better with Tebow compared to Orton. The Broncos have the best rushing attack in the NFL since Tebow was inserted into the lineup vs. San Diego five games ago. They are averaging 250 rushing yards per game.
Under Orton's direction in 2010, the Broncos were 31st in rushing yards per game and 29th in yards per attempt. The differences are staggering.
What is the point in all of these statistics?
Orton is a better passer than Tebow. That much is certain.
What also is certain is that Tebow is a better rusher than Orton.
The Broncos are not a very talented team. Despite the return of Elvis Dumervil and drafting of Von Miller, the Broncos still aren't a very good defensive team.
However, because of the rushing abilities of Tim Tebow, the Broncos are able to control the line of scrimmage, which means they are able to run the football and control the clock.
In doing so, the Broncos keep their average defense off of the field and gain them an advantage as far as stamina is concerned. This makes the defense look slightly better than they really are.
The conclusion is that although Broncos do suffer a huge loss in their vertical passing from Orton to Tebow, they gain a huge advantage in rushing, and therefore gain a huge advantage in taking care of the football and controlling the clock. This enables the defense to stay on the sidelines and to limit their work on the field.
You add in the presence of an impact player such as Von Miller along with the coaching of John Fox and it really isn't a mystery as to why the Broncos are a better team under a run-heavy offense with Tebow, in comparison to their vertical-heavy attack with Orton under center.
Denver Broncos: Like this team?
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