Broncos fall to 2-4 after 24-20 loss to Jets

Missed opportunities.

That's what lost the Broncos the game. After recovering an onside kick, the offense failed to produce any points and punted the ball away. A Matt Prater missed field goal added to the pain of a previous bad snap earlier in the game that took away what would have been a chip-shot field goal for Prater. The four three-and-outs didn't help either. With 1:13 left in the game and three timeouts left the Broncos got one last chance. Kyle Orton--who has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season when it comes to two minute offenses--led the Broncos down to the Jets 44 yard line with 42 seconds and one timeout left. A bad snap by rookie J.D. Walton that was recovered by the Jets put the final touches to a killed opportunities afternoon for the Broncos.

The Broncos defense was solid in the first half, forcing Mark Sanchez to throw two interceptions -his first, and second, interceptions of the season. The Broncos also out-rushed the Jets in the first half, with Tim Tebow contributing with 23 rushing yards on 6 carries and one score. The Broncos rushing game as a whole looked much better, with Moreno averaging 4.0 yards a carry (which is much better than his former 2.8 season average), but as the game went on, the Jets run game got better, and the Broncos offense didn't take advantage of opportunities.

For nine years, LaDainian Tomlinson embarrassed the Broncos defense, then he moved on to New York. Late in the game, Tomlinson was back to his old ways, rushing 16 times for 55 yards and two scores, including a one yard TD run that put the Jets up 24-20 with less than two minuets left in the game.

The Broncos will return home next week to face the 2-4 Oakland Raiders.

Photos used in this post were used courtesy of Getty Images.