Jets stunned by Broncos as Aaron Rodgers, putrid offense fail to find end zone

The Jets decided to pay tribute to Zach Wilson in his return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday with the Broncos.

They looked putrid on offense, just like the bad old days when Wilson was their quarterback.

The Broncos stunned the Jets, 10-9, at a soggy MetLife Stadium on a day when the Jets failed to reach the end zone for the first time this season.

The Jets fell to 2-2 and now head into a tough stretch of their schedule.

“Obviously, it was sloppy,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “They’re already a good defense and we made it easier for them with just a lack of execution.”

The Jets delivered this dud after having nine days to prepare following their Thursday night win over the Patriots. Instead of looking fresh and ready, they looked like they were sleepwalking against a Broncos team that is also now 2-2.

Aaron Rodgers had his dreaded ‘Welcome to the Jets’ moment with offense out of sync

Days like this were supposed to be over with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Instead, the Jets committed five false starts and Rodgers was under siege, getting sacked five times and hit 14 times. He completed 24 of 42 passes for 225 yards. It was just the third time in his career that he played a full game and his team did not score an offensive touchdown, according to ESPN.

“I think we were kind of killing ourselves,” Rodgers said. “I can’t say I had a spectacular game. I missed some throws. The weather sucked, but so did some of my throws. So, we had some chances, but way too many mental mistakes, too many poor throws, and then we just missed some easy stuff, some protection stuff that should have been easy, some route adjustment stuff that should have been easy. We were just, I don’t know, our focus just wasn’t as sharp as it has been the first three weeks.”

Despite the sloppy play, the Jets still had a chance to win the game twice in the final minutes.

The Jets got the ball back with 2:31 remaining at their own 33 and trailing, 10-9. They made it to the 45 before Rodgers threw three straight incompletions. On the last two, neither Garrett Wilson nor Xavier Gipson appeared to be ready for the pass. Rodgers was sacked by Broncos safety P.J. Locke on fourth down.

“Very frustrated,’’ Wilson said. “We played terrible and when you play terrible, you deserve to lose, and we lost. It feels terrible, but we’ve got to move on and get ready for next week.’’

The Jets got one final chance after the defense forced a three-and-out. They took over with 1:27 remaining at their own 40. A pass interference penalty on the Broncos moved them to the Denver 36. They then picked up an additional 4 yards to set up a 50-yard field-goal attempt from Greg Zuerlein, who made three other field goals in the game. This one sailed wide right, though, and the Jets were handed a terrible loss.

“This is a tough loss, obviously,” cornerback D.J. Reed said. “This was definitely a game that we were supposed to win.”

Jets have Aaron Rodgers cadence dilemma as issues add to brutal day of penalties

The defense held Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix to 60 yards passing, but he was able to throw the first touchdown pass of his career and that was enough for the Broncos. Incredibly, Nix had minus-7 yards passing on seven completions in the first half.

It did not really matter what the Broncos did on offense, though. The story was the Jets stumbling all over themselves.

They had five false start penalties in the game, which Saleh seemed to attribute to issues with the team getting used to Rodgers’ cadences.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Saleh said. “Whether or not we’re good enough to handle or are ready to handle all the cadences.”

Rodgers is known for pulling defenders offside with his variety of cadences. On Sunday, it appeared he got his own team. Rodgers bristled when told that Saleh suggested the Jets should dial it back with the cadences.

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“That’s one way to do it,” Rodgers said. “The other way is to hold them accountable.”

The Jets’ best chance at a touchdown came after a pass interference penalty on the Broncos in the end zone gave the Jets the ball at the 1-yard line at the end of the first quarter. The Jets ran Breece Hall twice for no gain and then an incomplete pass. Guard John Simpson committed a false start that turned fourth-and-goal from the 1 into fourth-and-goal from the 6, leading the Jets to kick a field goal instead of going for the touchdown.

“You’ve got to get seven in this league to win,” Rodgers said. “We had multiple opportunities to go up two scores, and we didn’t do it, and that’s why we lost.”

Hall had a terrible day with just four rushing yards on 10 carries, two penalties and a dropped pass.

“It’s very frustrating,” Hall said. “It’s hard. I know we’re all trying to do right, to do our 1/11th, and unfortunately, we just didn’t get the job done today.”

The Jets now enter a tough stretch on their schedule. They face the Vikings in London next week before the Bills at home on a Monday night and then travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on “Sunday Night Football.”

The Jets have to regroup after this ugly loss.

“The rain didn’t help,” Wilson said, “and we were a little off and they popped us.”

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