But Johnson made his presence felt the rest of the way with five tackles, including the sack that forced one last Denver 3-and-out punt — and one last Jets chance to retake the lead for good with 2:23 to play.
That was the only sack of Nix, but other plays and players kept the hot young QB and dangerous Broncos offense in check most of the way.
■ Backup LG Matt Peart, getting the start due to injury, was flagged three times in the first half, twice for holds, the second hold coming against Johnson and wiping out a 24-yard completion to the Jets 19 and forcing a punt.
■ RG Quinn Meinerz grabbed Micheal Clemons' jersey on a pass rush in the end zone, resulting in a safety and the 11-10 lead the Jets soon after took into the fourth quarter.
■ Nix and his offense became increasingly stifled by the Jets' gritty defense. After a 175-yard first half, the "visitors" in this game were limited to 9 third-quarter yards — Jets opponents' second-fewest in a third frame since 2014 — and 71 second-half yards.
■ A big reason for the Denver downturn in the final 30 minutes was Nix going from 15-of-20 first-half passing to 4-of-10 in the second half. And a big reason for that was Sauce Gardner's blanket coverage on leading Broncos WR Courtland Sutton, held to one catch for 17 yards. "I'm happy to have Sauce on my team," Sherwood said. "It's just a blessing to play alongside him."
The problem for the Jets defense, though, was that lack of an equally effective game from the offense, something that head coach Aaron Glenn and QB Justin Fields among others acknowledged.
"I thought our defense played well, probably our best game. We got us a takeaway. I think we were on the better end of the penalties, which was a positive on both ends," Glenn said of the Jets' two penalties for 15 yards — neither flag on the D. "But the offense ... they [Denver] gave it to us and we all saw that."