Broncos look to rebound from loss to Raiders vs. surging Jet

Broncos look to rebound from loss to Raiders vs. surging Jets

Associated Press


The New York Jets and Denver Broncos are both leading their respective divisions, but they are heading in different directions.
The AFC East-leading Jets look to build off a victory over the NFL's last unbeaten team and win their sixth straight game for the first time in a decade on Sunday when they host the AFC West-leading Broncos, who are trying to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to one of the worst teams in the league.



New York (8-3) opened this season with two losses in its first three games, but has won seven of eight since. It has outscored its opponents by an average of 16.2 points during its five-game winning streak, and has not won six consecutive games in a single season since Nov. 22-Dec. 27, 1998.
"We're probably better than what people gave us a chance to be at this point," Brett Favre said. "What that means for the future remains to be seen. It definitely puts us in a good position at this point."
After beating New England 34-31 in overtime on Nov. 13 to take over sole possession of first place in the AFC East, the Jets defeated previously unbeaten Tennessee 34-13 last Sunday to pull within two games of the Titans in the race for home-field advantage through the playoffs.
"It's one big win piggybacked with another big win," Favre said.
Favre completed 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against Tennessee, while Thomas Jones rushed for 96 yards and Leon Washington ran for 82 yards and two scores. New York held the ball for more than 40 minutes, racked up 409 yards of offense and put up 34 points -- all season highs allowed by a Titans unit that came into the contest allowing a league-low 13.1 points per game.
"We are a very confident team anyway, but coming in here and doing this and getting it done, that can only help us," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said.
Considering New York had little trouble moving the ball last week, it should be able to do it again this Sunday against a Broncos team that is 28th in both total defense (390.8 yards per game) and scoring defense (27.5 ppg).
Denver (6-5) was unable to slow down Oakland last Sunday, as the Raiders, who hadn't scored an offensive touchdown in 15 quarters, handed the Broncos a 31-10 home loss.

New York has scored a franchise-record 115 points in its last three games, as Favre is completing 77.4 percent of his passes for 649 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in those contests.
Favre completed 21 of 27 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay's 19-13 win over the Broncos on Oct. 29, 2007. He has passed for 1,082 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions in five career games versus Denver.
Unlike the Jets, Denver got off to a fast start to the season by winning its first three games, but it has won just three of eight since.
Despite their struggles, the Broncos have a two-game lead over stumbling San Diego and are on pace to do something they've never done in their history: maintain sole possession of their division from wire to wire.
"You just have to keep on fighting and you play your best football once you get to the playoffs," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "Hopefully, we can keep improving and get there."
One area where the Broncos need to improve is protecting the football.
Jay Cutler threw an interception and fumbled last week, as Denver is 30th in the league in turnovers (22) and 31st in turnover differential (minus-12).

"You can't turn the football over, which we've talked about," Shanahan said. "Anytime you're 31st in the league in turnovers, you're lucky to be 6-5."
Denver is down to its fifth starting tailback -- the most in the 14-year Shanahan era -- but has received a big boost from Peyton Hillis. The rookie has run for 118 yards and three scores in his last two games.
Hillis may have trouble running the ball this week, though, as the Jets are third in the league against the run (78.0 ypg), and haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. They limited the Titans to 45 yards on 11 carries last week.
The Broncos and Jets haven't met since Denver's 27-0 win on Nov. 20, 2005. The Broncos went 13-3 and advanced to the conference championship game that season -- their last playoff appearance.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press