Getty Image / Justin Edmonds
Few would argue that last year’s Denver Broncos season under then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett was an absolute disaster. But, after new head coach Sean Payton publicly trashed the now-Jets offensive coordinator for his coaching job last year, Hackett got revenge when the Jets beat the Broncos on Sunday, 31-21.
And, for getting sweet revenge, Nathaniel Hackett was given a game ball by his team.
Nathaniel Hackett received a game ball after the win against the Broncos according to Robert Saleh
— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) October 8, 2023
It’s not as if the Jets offense was that impressive on Sunday. But, with 407 total yards and a few good drives, it looked far better than the Denver Broncos offense that Sean Payton swore up and down he would fix and insinuated that it was his fault. The Broncos had 308 yards and 3 turnovers, despite all the investment into that offense.
All of this stems from comments made back in the offseason where Payton called Hackett’s coaching last year “One of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.” He also said that whatever the Broncos did in their 5-12 season, they were going to do the opposite.
That’s aging pretty poorly, and it seems like Jets players took that pretty personal. Take a look at this scene before the game. Warning, NSFW language.
Jets TE CJ Uzomah pregame:
“Their coach made this personal, well f—k him and f—k them, let’s go win this s—t for Nathaniel Hackett” 💯
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) October 8, 2023
A for Sean Payton, the comments he made were incredibly immature. It was totally unbecoming of his status in the league as someone who could possibly go in the Hall of Fame. And, most importantly, to his team, it gave them bulletin board material. That’s a crucial mistake in the NFL. The margins are so small that giving an opponent any extra motivation can be the difference on game day. And, it probably was on Sunday.
The Broncos drop to 1-4 while the Jets stay in the hunt at 2-3.