Jets Winning Streak Grounded By Broncos

Jay Cutler passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Peyton Hillis ran for 129 yards and a score in the Broncos' 34-17 victory over the Jets in a wild, wet and windy Meadowlands on Sunday.

The first 30 minutes of the game had enough logic-defying football to fill a season. From Jerricho Cotchery's fumble-that-really-wasn't that led to a Denver touchdown, to Eddie Royal's amazing catch-and-run for six, to Thomas Jones' he-looked-down-but-apparently-he-wasn't touchdown run, the only thing more absurd than the play on the field was the officiating.

That's not to blame the blown calls for the Jets' play -- they deserved to lose -- just to point out that in a year where the officials have come under fire, today might've been one of their worst efforts.

But the criticism is also justified for New York. The surprise leader in the AFC East, the Jets had a great opportunity to put some distance between the second-place Patriots, who were in the process of getting blown out at home. Instead, the Broncos hung 34 points on a stout Jets defense, led by Cutler, who joked before the game that he had a stronger arm than Brett Favre.

Hillis, a converted fullback, became the first running back to run for more than 75 yards in a game against the Jets defense. Amazingly, New York, who some media members considered one of the best teams in football after beating Tennessee last week, is 1-3 against the AFC West, easily the worst division in the conference, and the second-worst division in the NFL.

The reality is that the Jets are much improved from last year, but there is still plenty of work to do. Cliched, for sure, but also true. The good news is that they're 8-4, and still lead the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins by a game in the East.

New York will travel to San Francisco next week to play the 49ers, and while this is a win on paper, the Broncos showed today that that doesn't mean much.

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