East Rutherford, NJ (Best E Casino) - Jay Cutler threw for 357 yards and two touchdowns, leading the
Denver Broncos to an important 34-17 road victory over the
New York Jets in the rainy and windy Meadowlands.
Cutler completed 27-of-43 passes and threw an interception for the Broncos (7-5), who, with San Diego's 22-16 loss to Atlanta, sit a comfortable three games ahead of the Chargers in the AFC West with four games to play. Denver will be able to clinch a division title next week with a win over Kansas City coupled with a San Diego loss to Oakland.
"We're very proud of our football team to come in here in this type of environment and find a way to win against an excellent football team," Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan said. "It shows a lot about our guys. They fought for 60 minutes (and) found a way to get it done."
Peyton Hillis ran for 129 yards and a score on 22 carries, while Eddie Royal caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Tony Scheffler added 90 yards on seven catches for Denver.
"We came up today and showed what we can do when we play consistent for four quarters in all three phases of the game," Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. "We've been pretty good on the road this year, with our backs against the wall."
Thomas Jones ran for 138 yards and two scores for the Jets (8-4), who had a a five-game winning streak snapped and sit one game ahead of both New England and Miami in the competitive AFC East after the Patriots lost to Pittsburgh and the Dolphins beat St. Louis on Sunday. The Bills are two games behind the Jets after losing to San Francisco.
"We established a certain identity, and it was nothing close to that today," Jets head coach Eric Mangini said. "I don't think we played well in any of the three phases, we didn't coach very well, and when you have that this is what you get. We need to come back, work the way that we have been working, perform the way we have been performing, and the outcome will be different."
Brett Favre was unimpressive, going 23-of-43 for 247 yards and an interception, while Dustin Keller caught seven passes for 77 yards. Leon Washington had 64 total rushing and receiving yards in the loss.
"We have four games left. We didn't win this football game, we got outplayed." Favre said. "We had plenty of opportunities. It wasn't like we played our best football and just lost. We were first going into this game, (and) we're still first. There are a lot of things that need to be corrected. The season's not over yet. We don't know when it will be over, we can control that."
The Broncos got the first score of the game on defense. On a Jets reverse attempt, Brad Smith's pitch attempt was off the mark. Jerricho Cotchery appeared to be on top of the ball, but Vernon Fox recovered the fumble for Denver and returned it 23 yards for the touchdown.
But on the first play of the Jets' next offensive series, Jones plowed through for a 59-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Denver responded with a long touchdown of its own, as Royal made a spectacular grab on the right sideline and raced to the end zone from 59 yards out to restore a seven-point lead. Matt Prater added a 25-yard field goal before the first quarter ended to make it 17-7.
On the Jets' next drive, the Broncos thought a play was dead as Jones appeared to be knocked to the ground on a rushing attempt. But replays showed that Jones rolled on top of defensive tackle Kenny Peterson, got up and ran to the end zone for the 29-yard score early in the second.
Denver went back up by 10 on Hillis' one-yard touchdown run that was set up by a Cutler-to-Scheffler 22-yard pass on the prior play. Prater added a 35-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the half to put Denver up 27-14 at the break.
Jay Feely accounted for the only points of the third quarter, pulling the Jets to within 10 on a 30-yard field goal.
The Jets had a chance to get closer on a drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters, but Favre's deep pass to Cotchery on 4th-and-3 from Denver's 39 went through the receiver's hands, handing the ball back to the Broncos.
Denver wasted no time, and Cutler's 36-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley put the visitors up by 17 with just under 9 1/2 minutes to play.
New York had one last chance to get back into the game, having 1st-and-goal on the Denver two with 3 1/2 minutes left. But Favre's only completion was for negative two yards, and his fourth down pass to Laveranues Coles was incomplete. The Broncos took over on downs and ran the clock down to secure the victory.
Game Notes
The Jets travel to San Francisco next Sunday...The Broncos have won three of the last four meetings with New York...In Denver's wins, Cutler has thrown 15 touchdowns to only four interceptions, while he has thrown six touchdowns to nine interceptions in the team's losses...Cutler reached the 50 touchdown pass mark in 33 career games, faster than any other Denver quarterback in franchise history, topping Brian Griese and Jake Plummer's shared mark of 34 games...Jones has scored a touchdown in six straight games...Denver linebacker Nate Webster (knee) and running back Selvin Young (groin) were both inactive for the game.
