EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Peyton Manning did the pitching, Julius Thomas the catching. A quick pass, a wide-open Thomas and ... boom. Another touchdown for the Denver Broncos, who beat the New York Jets, 31-17, Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
"It's so f---ing easy!" Thomas screamed in the end zone, his words carried on TV because of a nearby mic. "It's so easy!"
The Jets claim they didn't hear Thomas, whose 4-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter gave the Broncos a 17-point lead. Nevertheless, it was an in-your-face moment for the Jets, who dropped their fifth straight.
"If we knew that was being said, we'd probably try to get in his face," safety Dawan Landry said.
Linebacker Jason Babin said of Thomas, "That's his opinion. I'm sure he'll feel the wrath with that one -- from the league" -- meaning a fine.
Probably not, though. It wasn't Thomas's fault that he got excited and decided to talk trash near an open mic.
Thomas' touchdown, his second, was the lowpoint for the Jets. You can't tell by the final score, but the defense played reasonably well, considering the opponent. Manning threw three touchdowns (the 504th, 505th and 506th of his career), but he was unsettled at times by the Jets, who confused him with coverage-based schemes.
Rex Ryan used three- and four-man rushes, dropping seven or eight into coverage. They played more zone than usual, forcing Manning to hold the ball. He still completed 22 of 33 for 237 yards, but he wasn't particularly sharp.
"They did a couple of unorthodox things," Manning said.
One of those things was using outside linebackers Quinton Coples and Calvin Pace in pass coverage, splitting them wide and having them jam the wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. Manning, whom Ryan described as a Bobby Fischer-like chess master, checked to running plays when he saw that look.
"When you take your two linebackers and walk them both out on your two receivers, they're basically kind of laughing at your running game," Manning said, delivering a rare tweak of an opponent.
But he's right. The Jets dared them to run, and they got gashed by Ronnie Hillman (24 carries for 100 yards), who started for the injured Montee Ball. The Jets have allowed 100-yard games to backup running backs in consecutive weeks. Last week it was Branden Oliver of the San Diego Chargers.
Overall, Ryan said the Manning game plan was "fairly effective." He apparently forgot about Thomas' two touchdowns (he beat Calvin Pryor and Darrin Walls) and Demaryius Thomas' monster day, 10 catches for 124 yards. The Jets also allowed an 80-yard touchdown drive before halftime, tarnishing a solid first-half effort.
"Anytime we made a mistake, he capitalized," Babin said. "He's not Peyton Manning for no reason."
