New York Jets Show Renewed Signs of Life in Loss to Broncos

It is an accepted adage that there are no moral victories in professional football, but the New York Jets will take just about any victory they can get.

Now at 1-5, the season outlook has never been much worse for Rex Ryan in terms of playoff seeding. It will take a small miracle to even be relevant in the playoff picture in a couple months, starting with an upset win over the New England Patriots in four days. 

However, despite the loss, the feeling around the Jets is exponentially warmer than it was a week ago at this time.

After getting shut out by the San Diego Chargers, the house of cards the Jets are built on began to fall apart, with starting quarterbacks missing meetings and general manager and head coaching jobs coming into the crosshairs within a matter of hours—all while trying to prepare for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. 

The Broncos won Sunday's game—heck, they even covered the spread, per Odds Shark—but Ryan's Jets should leave MetLife Stadium with their heads held high. 

Even with cornerback Dee Milliner leaving the game early in the first quarter, Ryan's defense was able to contain Manning and Co. to just 24 points (seven of their 31 points were scored on a defensive touchdown on the final drive), even while spotting the Broncos an extra possession after muffing a punt.

Journeyman cornerback Phillip Adams held his own in his first start at cornerback, suggesting that the Jets just may be able to survive the loss of Milliner after all. 

With receiver Eric Decker back in the lineup, the Jets offense was at least able to exhibit a pulse. Rookie tight end Jace Amaro started to give the Jets a return on their second-round investment, catching 10 passes for 68 yards, including a touchdown. 

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Most importantly, quarterback Geno Smith had a bounce-back game of sorts, throwing two touchdowns and not throwing an interception until a desperate late-game situation when forcing the ball down the field. 

Opponent	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
Detroit Lions	209	1	1	68.9
San Diego Chargers	27	0	1	7.6
Denver Bronos	190	2	1	70.9

Jace Amaro will not catch 10 passes every week, just like Phillip Adams will get burned for a long pass at some point—but performances like these give the Jets something to build on, creating the feeling that the team is headed in the right direction. 

After losing four straight games in embarrassing fashion, the Jets were a lot closer to implosion than they ever were to rebuilding. This "quality loss" just may have stopped the Jets from entering a snowball effect of disarray no one, not even general manager John Idzik, would have survived. 

Ryan would never admit it, but this game was as much about the Jets showing they have not yet given up on the season as much as it was about winning the game. Had the Jets laid another egg in yet another non-competitive performance, owner Woody Johnson may have started to warm up to the once-ridiculous notion that Ryan (or Idzik) would be fired before the season ended. 

It was no secret that the Jets were severely undermatched in this game from a talent standpoint (especially at quarterback), enough so to make a win seem impossible. 

After reports emerged, via ESPN New York's Rich Cimini, that the Jets were not preparing and practicing at an acceptable level (by the admission of their own players), it became plausible to question whether the Jets were a pro football team or a group of clock punchers who were merely collecting paychecks. 

Ryan's teams have never been the most talented, but they were never short on character and effort. To see a Ryan-coached team act so out of character may have signaled that his message was finally starting to wear thin in his sixth season as head coach. Ryan is a quality coach, but even the greatest teachers can see their influence waver over time.

After a flawed yet inspired performance against the heavily favored Broncos, it is obvious that Ryan's Jets still have some fight left and respect their coach's message, even if their goals for the season have been dramatically lowered. 

It took a 38-0 blowout and a series of embarrassing leaks to the media, but the Jets traded blows with a Super Bowl favorite, proving to themselves that they will at least have a chance to win each and every week—as long as preparation and time-zone confusion does not become a recurring theme. 

A good chunk of the Jets' problems on both sides of the ball cannot be solved without a full offseason of roster moves. At the very least, the Jets showed they are willing and capable to improve on the areas they can fix in the immediate future, no matter how bleak things may seem at the time. 

With five loses on their record, the Jets will not be playing for much outside of personal pride and compiling a resume of game film for potential employers. The weeks following this loss will show us the true character of this 2014 Jets team now that we know it is not just lacking in talent.