Jets make Nathaniel Hackett a winner in Broncos revenge game - ESPN

DENVER — Facing the team that fired him and the coach who maligned him in print, New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett enjoyed a day of sweet revenge as his unit racked up 407 total yards Sunday in a 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field.

Hackett was presented a game ball in a raucous winning locker room, where he was cheered and mobbed by players. He spoke briefly to the team, refusing to gloat or accept any credit. The players did that for him, describing how they badly they wanted to make him a winner.

«If someone talks s--- about one of us or one of our coaches or anybody in the building, we want to have their back,» tight end C.J. Uzomah said. «So this one was for Hack.»

Hackett was called out in training camp by Broncos coach Sean Payton, who told USA Today that the 2022 Broncos were undermined by «one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.» Hackett was fired with a 4-11 record in his first season.

He didn't mention the Payton comments during the run-up to the game, players said, but it was on their minds. Before the game, Uzomah gathered his offensive teammates in the end zone and delivered a fiery, profanity-laced pep talk, taking direct aim at Payton.

In his brief speech — caught on video and posted on social media — Uzomah accused Payton of making the game «personal.» After dropping a couple of expletives, he implored his teammates, «Let's go win this b---- for Hackett!»

Hackett wasn't available to the media after the win, which snapped a three-game losing streak for the Jets (2-3), but it had to be enormously satisfying. It wasn't an artistic offensive performance — the Jets were 0-for-5 in the red zone — but they pounded away at Denver's soft run defense.

Sparke