NY Jets offensive grades for Week 5 win over the Broncos

It was an impressive offensive showing in Week 5 as the NY Jets beat the Denver Broncos by a final score of 31-21 to move to 2-3 on the season.

The offense topped 400 yards for the first time in any Zach Wilson start and truly moved the ball at will for the entire second half. Despite some serious red-zone struggles, they still found a way to produce points.

Of the 31 points scored, nine were produced by the defense via a safety and a fumble return touchdown, but the offense still did put up 22 points, their highest of the season so far.

Below are grades for some of the key Jets offensive performances, starting with the career day for Breece Hall.

Breece Hall, RB, NY Jets

I predicted that Breece Hall was going to have a massive breakout game against Denver in my fantasy football weekly article last week. Everything was set up perfectly for Hall as he was removed from his snap count restriction, Dalvin Cook’s role had been further reduced, and the Denver defense ranked 32nd against the run through four weeks.

And boy did Hall break out. 

He tallied his highest workload of the year, running 22 times for a career-high 177 yards, and also added three catches for 17 yards. All in all, Hall finished with 25 touches for 194 yards from scrimmage. 

The highlight of the day for the offense came on their first play from scrimmage of the second half. After forcing a quick three and out, the Jets offense handed the ball to Hall, who broke through the right side of the line untouched for a 72-yard score. It changed the momentum of the game.

The only downside to Hall’s performance was the overall lack of an offensive push in the red zone. The Jets should have put up 40 points in this one but settled for two short-field goals late in the game that easily could have been touchdown scores. 

Nonetheless, it was a career day for Hall, who showed just how good he is when fully healthy and getting the ball consistently.

Grade: A+

Zach Wilson, QB, NY Jets

This was exactly the type of “game-managing” performance that the coaches and fans have always wanted out of Zach Wilson. When he performs like this, the defense is good enough to win games on their own.

Wilson finished 19-of-26 for 173 yards and one late interception. The 73% completion percentage was the highest of his career when attempting at least 25 passes, narrowly edging out the 72% from last week. 

The interception thrown late was a bad break for Wilson, who was targeting Garrett Wilson down the field. Had it been completed, the game would have been over. Instead, the ball was poorly located and slipped through the hands of Garrett Wilson and was caught by Patrick Surtain II between his legs for the pick. 

However, earlier that drive, Wilson made a critical third down play to Tyler Conklin that really proved how much better Wilson has played the last two weeks. On that play, Wilson read the field well, stepped up in the pocket, and delivered a strike to Conklin down the middle for 35 yards. 

Coach Saleh was praising Wilson earlier this year for games where he took care of the ball and made the easy plays, such as the Buffalo or New England games. However, in those efforts, Wilson finished just 14-of-21 for 140 yards and 18-of-36 for 157 yards.

His effort against Denver, although not nearly as efficient or flashy as the Kansas City game, does display his growth this year. The Jets can legitimately win games with the version of Wilson. With slightly better red-zone performances, this team can score points and keep defenses honest.

Grade: B

Joe Tippmann, RG, NY Jets

Joe Tippmann continues to improve every week and shows why the Jets trusted him with a high draft pick this past year. 

After a disappointing start to training camp that saw Tippmann working with the third-team offense, he quickly developed as the season approached to being the backup interior lineman. Thrust into action following injuries, Tippmann has played as the NFL’s best rookie lineman for three consecutive weeks. 

On Breece Hall’s long touchdown run, Tippmann crushed down the nose guard so well that the hole opened up wide enough for a “truck to roll through,” as Zach Wilson stated.

Finally, the ball still seems to move extraordinarily well on the right side of the line, where Tippmann and Alijah Vera-Tucker call home. Hall always finds the most running room that way and very little pressure ever seems to come frontside on quarterback Zach Wilson.

The one major ding against Tippmann this week was allowing a team-high four pressures, doubling his total allowed in his first two starts. This doesn’t appear to be too much of a problem based on previous games and look for Tippmann to improve his pass blocking moving forward. 

Tippmann needs to continue to play well, as superstar teammate Alijah Vera-Tucker was just announced to be done for the year with a torn Achilles. Tippmann needs to be an anchor at right guard to help along expected fill-in Max Mitchell.

Grade: B

Garrett Wilson, WR, NY Jets

It was a slightly disappointing day for Garrett Wilson, who finished with just three catches for 54 yards. Although Patrick Surtain II was shadowing him often, Wilson still fell well short of expectations against a far inferior defense.

He was targeted a team-high seven times still but brought in less than 50% of his targets, including the untimely interception on the final drive of the game. Although it was a poorly thrown ball, Wilson would agree he could have caught it.

Wilson seemed to find his groove last week when he caught nine passes for 60 yards on 14 targets. However, this was a step back for him.

Wilson is one of the top talents at his position around the league, and the Jets need to find more ways to get him the ball consistently. For him to only have 24 catches for 279 yards through five games is simply not enough.

One easy way to change this is for Wilson to have more easy opportunities on short-yardage throws instead of just consistent one-on-one fades down the field. He has only caught 24 of his first 43 targets. Getting him involved early and often will be key next week.

Grade: B