EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Bo Nix threw his first NFL touchdown and the Denver Broncos overcame a miserable first half on offense and held on to beat a banged-up Aaron Rodgers and the sloppy New York Jets 10-9 in a defensive standoff on a rainy Sunday.
Rodgers came up limping a bit after a sack late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his left leg — the same on which his Achilles tendon was surgically repaired last year — and was looked at on the sideline by trainers.
It appeared Rodgers might have also fumbled on the play, but the Broncos were out of challenges so Sean Payton couldn’t ask officials to review.
Rodgers came back on the Jets’ next possession with 2:31 remaining but couldn’t get anything going. Facing fourth-and-10 on New York’s 45, Rodgers was sacked from behind by a blitzing P.J. Locke to give the Broncos the ball at the 35.
The defense came up big and New York (2-2) used all three of its timeouts, and the Broncos’ drive ended with Wil Lutz pushing a 50-yarder wide left.
That gave Rodgers and the Jets one more chance.
New York got down to the Broncos 32 and after an incompletion from Rodgers to Mike Williams with 51 seconds left, Greg Zuerlein lined up for a potential winning kick — but his 50-yarder curved to the right and Nix and the Broncos (2-2) were able to kneel down for the victory.
Rodgers was 24 of 42 for 225 yards and was sacked five times. New York also was penalized 13 times.
Nix was 7 of 15 for minus-7 yards in the first two quarters, and finished with just 60 yards on 12-of-25 passing — but had no turnovers and made the big play when he needed.
Nix’s first NFL TD pass came with 3:08 left in the third quarter when he found a wide-open Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone to give Denver a 7-6 lead.
Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in April, tossed a high pass to the back of the end zone where Sutton went up, grabbed the ball and got both feet down for the score. It capped what was easily the Broncos’ best drive to that point, with Nix leading Denver 87 yards on 11 plays.
After Zuerlein’s 40-yarder gave the Jets the lead back, the Broncos marched down the field — on seven straight runs — to set up Lutz’s 47-yarder to put Denver back on top 10-9 with 8:55 left.
A defensive struggle in the first quarter had the Jets with 15 total yards and the Broncos just 6.
New York finally broke through 9 seconds into the second quarter on Zuerlein’s 23-yard field goal that came shortly after a scary moment.
Broncos running back Tyler Badie was placed on a back board and carted from the sideline with a back injury. He caught a pass from Nix on a third-down play shortly before the end of the opening quarter and was immediately hit by Quincy Williams for a 4-yard loss and fumbled the ball. Michael Carter II recovered for the Jets.
Badie was seen on his back on the sideline a few minutes later, with trainers working on him before he was taken from the field.
Zuerlein’s 35-yarder to end the first half gave the Jets a 6-0 lead.
New York’s Allen Lazard was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he caught a 13-yard pass from Rodgers for a first down in the third quarter. He celebrated by signaling for a first down with what officials deemed was a gun-like gesture with both hands.
The NFL has warned players to not make “violent gestures.” Atlanta wide receiver Drake London was fined $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct/violent gesture for a gun-like celebration in a recent game. Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was also recently find $28,128 for two different “gun-like” celebrations.
Broncos: Host the AFC West-rival Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday.
Jets: Head to London to play Minnesota next Sunday morning at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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