The Broncos arrived at work Wednesday, fighting the chilly morning air and the impending lure of a time-tested NFL danger zone: The trap game. If this wasn’t a 20-foot gaping hole of a trap, nothing is.
The Broncos were coming off a dominant road win at AFC West rival Oakland and coming up on a Thanksgiving game at Dallas. A huge victory behind them and a major test coming for the 7-2, division-leading Broncos.
But sandwiched between the Raiders and the Cowboys were the 2-7 New York Jets, who were just beaten by 27 points at Carolina. They were the most battered team in the NFL, a team using its fourth starting quarterback of the season.
The Broncos heard all week from media, family members and friends just how much better they were than the Jets. Denver coach Mike Shana- han, with the convenient evidence of the week before backing him up, knew this and as soon as the players arrived Wednesday, they knew it, too. As the players entered the meeting room at their Dove Valley headquarters, they quickly were reminded they had better pay attention the rest of the week.
On the big screen were the scores of games hosted by Atlanta and the New York Giants from three days earlier. The Falcons lost to the struggling Packers and the soaring Giants were embarrassed by the sagging Vikings.
Wake up, boys.
“We knew it right away,” safety John Lynch said. “The coaches reminded us anybody can beat anybody in this league. We saw it last week and we didn’t want it to be us.”
Shanahan reminded his team, and the media, that the Jets were a playoff team last season and probably would be one this year if it weren’t for a load of injuries. He reminded his team about the Jets’ strong pass defense, ranked seventh in the NFL entering Sunday’s game in Denver, and about the Jets’ stout front seven.
Shanahan wanted his team to know the Jets, just like any other NFL team on a good day, could come in and embarrass the Broncos if they weren’t careful.
“We heard it constantly,” tight end Stephen Alexander said.
Added defensive end Marco Coleman: “All week, it never stopped. We couldn’t forget it.”
Getting their brain saturated with the dangers of the trap apparently worked as Denver systematically destroyed the Jets 27-0. It was the Broncos’ first shutout in eight years and first at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The Jets never were in the game as Denver took advantage of five New York turnovers – the most Denver accumulated in a game since 2001. The Broncos kept the ball a remarkable 42 minutes, 28 seconds.
The Broncos (8-2) did what they were supposed to do against the injury-riddled Jets (2-8). They controlled the game and never were in danger of losing. There was nothing flat about Denver’s performance.
The trap was avoided.
“It was very satisfying getting this type of win right now,” defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban said. “We knew all about the trap and did what it took to take care of business. You try to take care of business every week, but it’s never easy. This week, we knew what was ahead, but took care of what we needed to do.”
In each of the past three years, Denver lost trap games. Last year, with the AFC West title in sight, Denver lost a late November home game to struggling Oakland. In 2003, the Broncos were shocked by Chicago at home and in 2002 they couldn’t hold on against Miami. All three games altered those seasons.
A loss to the Jets would have tightened the AFC West race and put a sour taste in Denver’s mouth heading into the Dallas game on a short week. But a 27-0 victory prevented that.
“We’re a veteran group,” Alexander said. “We all knew what could happen, but we’re determined here. The coaches did their best to keep us on our toes, and it worked. We didn’t want to fall in a trap today and we did our best not to. It worked out well.”
Trap door closed
The Broncos have lost home games to teams that didn’t advance to the playoffs. A look at the differences between those games and Sunday’s 27-0 win over the Jets.
Oct. 13, 2002: Miami 24, Denver 22
The Broncos couldn’t control a wild game that was won in the final moments and ended up being a pivotal loss in a nonplayoff season.
Nov. 23, 2003: Chicago 19, Denver 10
The Bears outscored Denver 10-0 in the fourth quarter and won despite being outgained 365 yards to 217. The loss dropped Denver to 6-5 and put a crimp in the season.
Nov. 28, 2004: Oakland, 25, Denver 24
The Broncos couldn’t take advantage of a driving snowstorm and a 24-13 fourth-quarter lead. Many observers believed the Broncos’ season ended that night.
Nov. 20, 2005: Denver 27, New York Jets 0
The Broncos never gave the Jets a chance to steal this game. Denver controlled every aspect of the game, and easily dominated a game it should have won.
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
