The Denver Broncos will be hosting the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets for their week five matchup. It will be Denver's first home game since week two against the Washington Commanders.
Earlier on Friday, two days ahead of the game, head coach Robert Saleh announced that the Jets will be without one of their two starting cornerbacks, and will be without their number three cornerback. To be specific, they will be without DJ Reed (cornerback 2) and Brandin Echols (cornerback 3).
DJ Reed will not play on Sunday
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 6, 2023
Robert Saleh on the Jets' secondary without Reed: "We have a plan" pic.twitter.com/i6cYNYMOob
DJ Reed has not cleared the concussion protocol, and Brandin Echols has a hamstring injury. With these two players being ruled out, the Jets only have four active cornerbacks. These are Ahmad Gardner, Bryce Hall, Michael Carter II, and Justin Hardee.
Reed has the third-most tackles (28) among the New York defensive players. A huge loss for the Jets.
With that being said, Sean Payton should take advantage of the opponent's injuries, and prioritize Russell Wilson's deep passes for his offense. Wilson leads the NFL with five passes of 40+ yards. Rookie Marvin Mims Jr has caught three, Jerry Jeudy caught one, and Brandon Johnson the other one.
This game is a very important game for the Denver Broncos, as they face their former head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who struggled during his time in Denver, and now he is the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
This game became a very spicy one after the actual Broncos head coach Sean Payton talked about how bad the coaching was during the 2022-23 season for Denver under Nathaniel Hackett. It is Hackett's first game back in Denver, obviously not as a Bronco, but it will be his first time back since he was fired. Hackett's play calling has not looked improved despite the team change, as the Jets have one of the worst offenses in the league statistically, to be specific they rank 30th in total offense.
It will hopefully be a game to prove doubters about Russell Wilson being the problem for the Broncos instead of Hackett.
Will the Broncos win their second game of the season? Can they really take advantage of DJ Reed and Brandin Echols being ruled out?