Broncos cruise past Jets for 3-0 start, but now comes the tough stuff — good teams

And present comes the pugnacious stuff, the hard stuff, the challenging stuff.

The Broncos completed the brushed underbelly of their docket with Sunday’s 26-0 pasting of the New York Jets. They are 3-0 for the archetypal clip successful 5 years.

But erstwhile they conscionable Monday morning, a look into the teeth of the AFC volition begin.

Week 4: Quarterback/make-something-out-of-nothing maestro Lamar Jackson leads Baltimore (2-1) into town.

Week 5: Another travel eastbound to Pittsburgh (1-2), which volition beryllium playing with heightened urgency aft 2 location losses.

Week 6: Las Vegas (3-0), which has 2 overtime wins sandwiching an awesome triumph astatine the Steelers, visits for possibly a spot atop the AFC West.

Week 7: Back eastbound for a Thursday nighttime crippled astatine Cleveland (2-1), which has 9 sacks.

The stench of starting the past 2 years 0-4 and 0-3 has agelong been extinguished, a effect of the schedule, but besides a motion to a roster built amended than the 2019-20 editions.

The Broncos and Raiders are tied for the part lead, followed by the Los Angeles Chargers (2-1) and Kansas City (1-2).

“It’s a large radical of dudes and arsenic (outside linebacker) Von (Miller) says, we instrumentality 1 play astatine a time, 1 time astatine a time,” near tackle Garett Bolles said. “We person to proceed to person that aforesaid mindset. We weren’t perfect, but I consciousness similar wherever we’re at, we’re a hard squad to beat.”

Yes, they played the Giants, Jaguars and Jets (combined grounds of 0-9), but they won each by double-digits and their plus-50 constituent differential is tied with Buffalo for the NFL lead.

Yes, they person sustained injuries to astatine slightest 7 starters, but the Broncos inactive person a clump of dudes to pb the way, led by Miller, Simmons, Bolles, receiver Courtland Sutton and backmost Teddy Bridgewater, conscionable to sanction five.

And yes, they person taken vantage of playing a third-year, giveaway-prone passer (the Giants’ Daniel Jones) and 2 rookies (Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and the Jets’ Zach Wilson), but … well, nary let’s not spell there. This Broncos defence is lights out.

If the Broncos are the benignant of bully they judge they are, winning by 14, 10 and 26 points should beryllium expected.

“I deliberation we’ve got a bully squad and erstwhile I say, ‘good team,’ I mean the ambiance and the content each and each 1 of america has successful everybody,” manager Vic Fangio said. “I deliberation we person a resilient radical and a radical that likes playing together.”

Resiliency deed against the Giants erstwhile the Broncos had a red-zone turnover and mislaid receiver Jerry Jeudy (ankle) and cornerback Ronald Darby (hamstring).

It slapped the Broncos successful the face-mask against Jacksonville erstwhile wrong linebacker Josey Jewell (pectoral, retired for the season) and extracurricular linebacker Bradley Chubb (ankle, retired 5-7 much weeks) departed.

And during the Jets game, it punched them successful the gut erstwhile receiver KJ Hamler (knee), close defender Graham Glasgow (knee) and near defender Dalton Risner (foot) were incapable to finish. No matter, the disposable Broncos went to enactment and stayed astatine it.

The discourtesy rushed 37 times, got touchdowns from moving backs Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams and much turnover-free play from Bridgewater (19 of 25).

The defence enactment the Jets successful a vice grip. Wilson was sacked 5 times and intercepted doubly and the Jets didn’t transverse 100 yards discourtesy until precocious successful the 3rd quarter.

The shutout was the 20th successful Broncos past and archetypal since beating Tennessee successful 2019.

Through 3 games, opposing quarterbacks person a 57.9 standing with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The Broncos person allowed lone 2 non-garbage clip touchdowns.

“We conscionable played bully football, which is what we similar to do,” Fangio said. “We’re doing it the close mode and person 11 guys playing unneurotic and past you request to marque immoderate large idiosyncratic plays.”

The Jets had 5 archetypal downs successful their archetypal six possessions and matched Jacksonville past week successful not moving a play successful the reddish zone.

The Broncos’ discourtesy marched 75 yards implicit 11 plays to instrumentality a 7-0 pb connected Williams’ 1-yard touchdown. Gordon matched that to marque it 17-0 with 56 seconds near successful the archetypal half. Way excessively insurmountable for the Jets.

“We had to enactment for everything offensively,” Fangio said. “They’re a bully defence — they person a batch of bully players and they made it hard connected us, but we were capable to get capable drives unneurotic and marque capable plays to enactment immoderate points connected the board.”

What to marque of this discourtesy entering October? A antagonistic is some of their turnovers person travel wrong the opponents’ 10-yard line. And if Hamler is mislaid for an extended play of time, it takes distant an over-the-top-of-the-defense threat. The Broncos volition beryllium tested by the champion of the AFC North and the resurgent Raiders’ defense.

But arsenic anybody wrong the Broncos should say, nit-picks are manageable astatine 3-0.

“We’ve been beauteous (darn) coagulated for 3 weeks, some offensively and defensively,” Fangio said. “It feels good, but the lone absorption is trying to get to 4-0.”