Winners and losers for Broncos in "gritty" Week 4 win vs. Jets

The Denver Broncos gutted out what head coach Sean Payton called a "gritty" win in Week 4 against the New York Jets, a 10-9 affair in the rainy conditions at MetLife Stadium which saw the Broncos emerge with a 2-2 record heading into Week 5.

As you can imagine based on the final score alone, it wasn't the prettiest football game for all parties involved, but winning ugly is better than the alternative of losing ugly. The Broncos have plenty to work on going forward but as the offense finds its footing, the defense is playing as well as any unit in the NFL right now, and maybe better than everyone else.

Who stood out -- for better or worse -- in Denver's Week 4 win against the Jets?

Javonte Williams tops Broncos winners vs. Jets in Week 4

Winner: Javonte Williams, RB

You've got to give credit where credit is due, right? We've been extremely harsh on Javonte Williams in recent weeks, and I would say even justifiably so. Williams has not looked like the "same" guy he was before his torn ACL near the beginning of the 2022 season, and although he played all throughout last year, it just felt like the Broncos were living with a new version of Williams as opposed to the dynamic, tackle-breaking star they drafted in 2021.

For the first time in quite some time, it felt like that guy was back against the New York Jets. Williams had 77 rushing yards on 16 total carries, his first game averaging over four yards per carry in a long time. In fact, Williams had gone 13 straight games leading up to this one averaging less than four yards per carry.

It was a much-needed big game from him and an encouraging sign.

Loser: Greg Dulcich, TE

It's been a month to start this young 2024 season, so you've got to wonder at what point the Denver Broncos decide to finally do something about the ineffective and inefficient play of Greg Dulcich.

Dulcich, who has struggled in his NFL career so far with injuries, has been absolutely awful this season. There may be times when Dulcich is creating opportunities for others by running routes and clearing out space, but he had a couple of blocking jobs for the Broncos against the Jets and couldn't complete relatively simple tasks for an NFL player in his position.

Dulcich missed multiple blocks that led to negative plays for the Broncos against the Jets and had no receptions on just one target. If Dulcich isn't effective in the passing game, it's probably fair to wonder what value he's truly bringing to this team. The Broncos may need to activate Lucas Krull and demote Dulcich to see if something can stick.

Winner: Defensive front

The Broncos' defensive front is just absolutely ridiculous. It's hard to sit here and just pick one guy who stood out from this unit, because so many players contributed to a dominating effort on Sunday afternoon.

Jets running back Breece Hall was limited to just four yards on 10 overall carries in this game, and the Broncos notched 14 total quarterback hits against Aaron Rodgers with eight different players getting at least one QB hit.

The Broncos were driving the Jets' offensive line back all game long, and winning at the line of scrimmage. They really dictated the game and it's great that they get to celebrate this one as a win, because they were the most dominant unit on the field on Sunday.

Loser: Josh Reynolds, WR

This one is a bit of a surprise because Josh Reynolds has been solid so far for the Broncos this season. In fact, he led the team in receiving yards through the first three weeks of the year. He's been a fine addition to the roster, but Reynolds had zero receptions on two targets on Sunday against the Jets, and he should have had at least one first-down catch.

Bo Nix put a ball out there for Reynolds late in the game, and Reynolds had to win a one-on-one matchup on a slant route. The ball was there, and Reynolds couldn't make the play to help his young quarterback out. The ball fell incomplete, and the Broncos had to punt the ball away.

It's not just Reynolds that should be in this category, either. The Broncos' receiver group lets far too many passes hit the ground as a whole, and that would include the tight ends. How do the Broncos deal with it moving forward? It'll be interesting to find out but they just can't keep going to the well and hoping things change when they're not. These guys need to make plays.

Winner: Justin Strnad, LB

I think we need to close out this post by talking a little bit about Justin Strnad, who was filling in as the primary off-ball linebacker besides Cody Barton. The Broncos lost Alex Singleton to a season-ending knee injury last week, and there was really no clear replacement for him. No one else has played significant snaps.

It ended up being 2020 5th-round pick Justin Strnad, a player whose career has been relegated to mostly special teams after he had to make a comeback from injury back in his rookie season. Strnad had a great preseason for the Broncos and when given an opportunity here against the Jets, he took advantage.

He had a sack on the first play of the game on Aaron Rodgers, and finished with four total tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a QB hit, and a nice play in coverage on Breece Hall.