DENVER (AP) Nathaniel Hackett, for once, savored Russell Wilson’s mistakes and savored the boos raining down from the stands in Denver.
The former Broncos head coach and current Jets offensive coordinator was showered with hugs and handshakes from New York’s players and staff on Sunday after defeating the Broncos 31-21 in his highly anticipated return.
They won behind Breece Hall’s 72-yard touchdown run and Bryce Hall’s 39-yard game-winning scoop-and-score after Quincy Williams’ second sack of the day, but it was Hackett who was handed a game ball afterward.
“You know, it feels good to win against anyone in the league,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “But it was of course a special game for Hack to be here a year ago. We covered over 400 yards with them and scored 31 points.”
Hackett’s return felt like a grudge match after Payton criticized him and his staff for the work they did in Denver last year, where he went 4-11 and was fired, particularly for the way he Wilson during the QB’s dismal 2022 season.
“It was good, to be honest. “I wasn’t too worried about myself today, especially because of Coach Hackett,” said Breece Hall, whose long touchdown run on the Jets’ second snap of the second half gave them the lead for good. “He stayed calm, he stayed humble and respectful. That’s why we wanted to get a win for him today and that’s what we did.”
“Better coach, better team, won.”
The Jets (2-3) overcame a sloppy, choppy first half to snap a three-game skid and hand the Broncos (1-4) their third home loss in three tries under Payton, who drew widespread criticism for leaving Hackett upset and also threw shade at the Jets in an interview with USA Today in July.
Payton repeatedly fended off questions about the upset throughout the week in his terse postgame press conference.
“It’s a fair question, but I think we addressed it the next day. “All right, thanks guys,” Payton said just before leaving the podium.
After the game, the Jets practiced in a post.
Although Wilson has mostly returned to form under Payton’s tutelage, many of the same problems that Payton blasted Hackett for plague the Broncos, and in the second half the Boobirds got louder than at any time last year.
The Broncos went three times out of bounds on four of their first five drives after halftime, and the other possession resulted in a lost fumble on the second snap.
Then Wilson led the Broncos to a touchdown and a 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, making the score 24-21. Patrick Surtain II’s interception of Zach Wilson’s pass to Garrett Wilson gave the Broncos the ball back with 2:14 left.
“Great players have to make great plays,” Surtain said, adding he felt the Broncos “had tremendous momentum on that drive.”
The Broncos were closing in on field goal range when Williams picked up his second sack. The ball flew off to the Jets sideline and Bryce Hall left the receiver he was covering, picked up the bouncing ball and sealed it with his touchdown return.
A frustrated Payton, watching his offense suffer a net loss of 18 yards on the first five drives of the second half, angrily turned to his quarterback as Wilson retreated to the sideline after going 20 of 31 for 196 yards and had scored two touchdowns with four sacks.
Russell Wilson is now 5-14 as Denver’s starting quarterback after posting a 104-53-1 record in Seattle.
Hall ran for 177 yards on 22 carries on Sunday, a whopping 8 yards per carry. It was almost a year ago that Breece Hall’s promising rookie season in this stadium ended when he injured his left knee after a 62-yard score.
Zach Wilson, making his fourth straight start in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers, was 19 of 26 for 199 yards and the interception.
He was also most happy for Hackett.
“You could see the emotion on his face a little bit,” Wilson said. “He tried not to show it, but we all gave him a big hug. We told him we loved him and were grateful to have him. Obviously things had been tough for him over the last year. So you know it means a lot.”
INJURIES
Jets: RT Alijah Vera-Tucker left in the second half with a calf injury. “It’s definitely a cause for concern,” Saleh said. When asked if it was an Achilles tendon injury, Saleh said the Jets would have to wait for the results of the exam. Vera-Tucker lost the season in Denver last year when he tore his triceps.
Broncos: NT DJ Jones injured his knee in the second quarter.
NEXT
Jets: Play the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.
Broncos: Visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
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