The 31:21 win against the Broncos in Denver had a special meaning for the players and coaches of the New York Jets on Sunday evening.
This game has been on the schedule for a long time since Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s disparaging comments were made in July. The latter took the liberty of harshly criticizing the work of current Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett at the helm of the Colorado team in 2022.
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“It’s probably the worst job a coach has done in the history of the NFL,” Payton said.
Hackett was the Broncos’ pilot through the first 15 games of Goodell’s final season, posting a 4-11 record.
“When someone speaks badly about one of us, one of our coaches or anyone in our organization, we want to defend their honor. That one was for ‘Hack,'” said Jets tight end CJ Uzomah, whose comments were reported by the ESPN network after the win against the Broncos.
“Even if he didn’t tell us, ‘This is personal to me,’ we could see how he conducted himself all week,” Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner said of Hackett. He had this look on his face, he really wanted this win. So it meant a lot to him to win the game.”
Jets head coach Robert Saleh gave Hackett the game ball after the win.