An inside look at Sunday’s Jets-Broncos NFL Week 4 matchup at MetLife Stadium:
Marquee matchup
Jets WR Garrett Wilson vs. Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II
Another week, another top cornerback for Wilson to face.
The Jets expect Surtain to shadow Wilson in this game just like L’Jarius Sneed did for the Titans two weeks ago and Christian Gonzalez did last week for the Patriots.
Wilson said he embraces the challenge.
“I love it,” Wilson said. “As long as don’t crown them before the game and we still take some chances at them, I love it.”
Wilson has not put up his typical statistics this season in part because of the coverage he has seen.
He has 15 catches for 150 yards and one touchdown.
Beyond just seeing the opponent’s top cornerback, teams have been rolling safeties Wilson’s way to help.
“Whenever they give that look, it can be frustrating,” Wilson said. “I have to trust that we’re going to have the answer on the other side. That’s what we’ve been finding. It’s definitely frustrating. I pride myself on making plays and doing what I do. If they want to give me that look, we have to handle it the best way we can handle it.”
Surtain followed Wilson last year on 20 of 29 passing snaps and held Wilson to one catch for 12 yards.
That was with Zach Wilson at quarterback.
The expectation is that Wilson will have a much better performance this week and this year with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball.
Costello’s call
The Jets took care of business against the Patriots, and there is no reason to believe they won’t again against a Broncos team finding its way with a young quarterback.
The offense won’t move the ball as easily against Denver, and this could be a close game in the second half, but the Jets pull away late.
Jets 20, Broncos 10
Four downs
Rolling Rodgers: Aaron Rodgers said he felt like his old self last week against the Patriots, and he looked like it. Rodgers was in total control in the 24-3 win.
He picked apart the New England defense and was highly efficient.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing was his mobility.
For the first time this season (and since his surgery), he was forced out of the pocket several times.
Rodgers ran for 18 yards on three carries and made some throws on the run.
“It’s a process,” Rodgers said. “I feel better Week 1 to Week 2, Week 2 to Week 3, and then we got a nice little gift there with the long weekend, so I felt better. I mean, I said after Week 1, I felt like I was going to progress and be able to move around a little bit more. I did that maybe a little bit against Tennessee and then obviously moved around a lot more effectively in Week 3.”
BREEEEEECE: The Jets and Broncos are playing for the fourth straight year in a scheduling oddity for non-division opponents.
That means the players have plenty of familiarity with teach other.
For Jets running back Breece Hall, a low point came against the Broncos in 2022 when he tore his ACL against them.
But Hall also has had plenty of success against Denver.
He has 249 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in two games against the Broncos.
He had a 62-yard touchdown in 2022 before his injury, and last year he ran all over them for 177 yards on 22 carries and a 72-yard touchdown.
Bo knows: The Jets face their first rookie starting quarterback of the season this week with Bo Nix making his fourth NFL start for the Broncos.
Nix has yet to throw a touchdown pass, but he has rushed for two and has shown progress.
Last week, he helped the Broncos upset the Buccaneers.
He completed 69 percent of his passes and had no turnovers.
He was not sacked in the game.
Nix has four interceptions this season and has struggled against pressure.
The Jets surely will try to heat him up in this game.
They blitzed more last week (40 percent of dropbacks) against the Patriots than they usually do, and they could do it again this week.
Where there’s a Will: Second-year defensive end Will McDonald is off to a hot start.
McDonald has five sacks in his past two games and is developing into the player the Jets expected when they took him No. 15 overall in 2023.
“This season has been a 180 flip,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said of McDonald. “It’s not necessarily that it was bad last year, it’s just he was a rookie and he was young. He was finding his way, and he was learning how to operate in this league and be successful in this league. I just felt like maybe comfort in the scheme, just comfort in knowing what’s coming and not being so new to him.”