The Denver Broncos somehow managed to finish off their long road trip with a London win against the New York Jets, as the offense finally woke up from its second half struggles in time to drive for the winning field goal and come away with a 13-11 win. 

Both teams will likely want to burn the offensive tape from this one. Jets quarterback Justin Fields finished with just 45 yards passing on 9 for 17 for the game, while QB Bo Nix ended up with less than 50 yards in the air in the second half. 

The Broncos seemingly took control of the game as the first half unfolded, with Nix throwing for the lone touchdown of the game to tight end Nate Adkins after a series of early field goals by both teams. Denver led 10-6 at the half, and it looked like the Jets were going to quietly fade and end up 0-6 the easy way for the Broncos. 

But Denver’s offense did nothing in the third quarter, and the Jets started to have some success on the ground. A 38-yard field goal by Jets kicker Nick Folk brought the Jets to within a point at 10-9, and after that the Broncos made the big mistake that nearly cost them the game. A holding call while Nix was passing from his own end zone resulted in a safety, and New York took an 11-10 lead. 

The level of urgency increased for Denver in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos offense continued to struggle until a 12-play, 65 yard drive allowed kicker Will Lutz to knock home the winning field goal from 27 yards out with 5:06 left in the game. 

The key to the win was the Denver defense, as they sacked Fields nine times for a total of 55 yards. The linebackers were the stars of the sack show, with Jonathan Cooper getting a pair while Justin Strnad ended up with 1.5 and Nik Bonitto padded his league lead with his eighth sack. 

Nix struggled mightily all day, and the  running game didn’t do much, either. J.K. Dobbins finished with just 40 yards and a 2.9 yards per carry average, and replacement guard Matt Peart had an especially rough day with three penalties. The Denver offensive line didn’t look anything like the same unit that dominated the Philadelphia Eagles last week, so there’s plenty of work to do there going forward. 

The Broncos face the suddenly-feisty New York Giants at home next Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how the quarterback battle between Nix and Giants QB Jaxson Dart plays out. The Jets stymied Nix by putting a man in his face every time he rolled out, and Denver can expect to see plenty of that strategy again going forward.