For the first time since Week 4, the Denver Broncos took a lead into the locker room at halftime. A pair of turnovers forced by the Denver defense and a solid first half from Trevor Siemian had the Broncos ahead of the Jets 13-0 at the midway point of their Week 14 matchup in Denver.
Siemian ended the half 11-of-18 passing for 112 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, plus nine yards rushing. As a team, Denver had 146 yards of total offense and was 5-for-10 on third and fourth downs.
Brandon Marshall forced a fumble and Darian Stewart picked off Josh McCown to give Denver a 2-0 advantage in turnover margin at the intermission. The Denver defense held New York to just 40 yards of offense in the half.
Denver opened the game with a solid 62-yard drive after receiving the opening kickoff. The Jets helped out early in the drive with a neutral zone infraction that set up a manageable third-and-one in the first series. The biggest play of the drive came when Cody Latimer climbed up his defender and pulled down a 27-yard reception down the near sideline and into the red zone. The drive stalled out at the 13, however, and Denver had to settle for a 31-yard Brandon McManus field goal. Denver still has not produced a touchdown on their first drive of a game since Week 2 against Dallas.
The defense gave the offense an early break when Marshall hit McCown and forced a fumble at the Jets’ 20-yard line on third-and-11 to open the drive. Adam Gotsis recovered the fumble.
Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave went straight for the knockdown on the resulting possession. First, Siemian targeted Emmanuel Sanders in the end zone, overthrowing the receiver. On the very next play Siemian connected with Demaryius Thomas, also in the end zone, and the Broncos were quickly up 10-0.
The defense continued to apply pressure on the very first play of the next Jets drive, with Shelby Harris registering Denver’s second sack in as many plays. The end result was a quick three-and-out for New York.
Thomas was again Siemian’s target on a critical play on the next drive and the big receiver came up with a big third-down catch, elevating and getting hit as he came down with the ball in Jets territory. A false start on Garett Bolles on Denver’s next third down backed them up to third-and-eight, where Siemian took matters into his own hands. Siemian scrambled down the near side and dove headfirst to pick up a first down and keep the drive alive. Siemian implored Musgrave to go for a fourth-and-three at the New York 11-yard line as the first quarter came to a close. The quarterback looked the wiser when McManus pulled a 29-yard field goal try wide left.
McCown and the Jets used that momentum to put together their best drive of the half, although the 38-year-old was shaken up converting a third-and-four scramble up the middle. Bryce Petty took over at the Broncos’ 41 and gave the Jets a first down before McCown returned and immediately had his second giveaway on the day. Stewart came flying across the field on a pass intended for Robby Anderson, picking off McCown and returning the ball 24 yards.
Denver quickly went three-and-out, but Riley Dixon boomed a punt into the end zone to give the Jets a long field to traverse with 8:52 remaining. The Jets volleyed with a three-and-out of their own.
Thomas drew a pass interference penalty on third down on the ensuing possession to avoid a second consecutive three-and-out for the Broncos, but Siemian was sacked on the very next play. C.J. Anderson churned some important yards on third-and-13 to set up a gutsy fourth-and-one attempt inside their own territory, which Siemian and Thomas converted on a short out on the near sideline. That got Denver just close enough for McManus to earn some redemption a few plays later. The kicker was true from 53 yards, extending Denver’s lead to 13-0 with 0:37 remaining.
The last time Denver took a lead into the locker room, Week 4 against Oakland, they went on to win their third game of the season. Entering Sunday’s game, it was also their last.
