Denver scores early, often

Jets must stop Broncos' quick strikes at Mile High

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Posted: Wednesday January 13, 1999 08:12 PM

Truly TD: Davis led the NFL with 21 rushing touchdowns AP

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- Unless they stop Denver's quick strikes, the New York Jets could be quickly out of the AFC championship game.

They understand that. Dealing with it is another matter entirely.

Not only did the Broncos lead the AFC in scoring with 501 points (the Jets scored 416), they outscored opponents 144-54 in the first quarter and 156-87 in the second. By halftime, the Broncos were in control nearly every week, leading each home game but one -- they were 21-21 with Kansas City -- and averaging a 23-8 edge.

Ominous numbers.

"We have to be ready to jump in with both feet," receiver Wayne Crehebt said of Sunday's trip to Mile High Stadium, where Denver has won 18 straight. "We have to take advantage of our opportunities and try to keep their offense off the field.

"The most important thing is for our offense to not get caught up in the emotions of the game. Even if we do not strike the first time with the ball, we have to keep executing. We want to take their team out of their game. Heck, they're usually ahead by a couple of touchdowns at the end of the first quarter."

The Jets aren't nearly as impressive on the road in the first half, outscoring opponents only 80-75 in eight games, five wins. And 40 of those points came in losses.

They are much stronger in the second half, but the second half might not matter Sunday if they can't stay close to the Broncos for 30 minutes.

Parcells' defense has yielded the second-fewest points, 266, one more than the Dolphins AP

"We wanted to go into Denver with more momentum and a lot more fire," linebacker Pepper Johnson said.

"We know we can't make mistakes," added quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who is 0-2 in his career vs. Denver. "We've played in hostile environments -- Miami on Sunday night, New England on Monday night, Buffalo in December -- and won. We played well in those environments, stayed focused and won."

The Broncos strike in so many ways on opening drives. They have a 54-9 edge on first possessions, with six touchdowns and four field goals. Against Miami in last weekend's playoff game, Denver went 92 yards on 14 plays to Terrell Davis' 1-yard TD run on the first series.

"We play for 60 minutes and don't hold anything back at any time, from the first play to the last we're always on attack," John Elway said. "We hit the ground running to start the game and go full speed ahead from the first play to the last."

The Jets are no slouches when they have the ball, and their defense yielded the second-fewest points, 266, one more than the Dolphins. That defense will be severely tested early, and it's ability to survive the opening moments could be pivotal.

"Denver is a a team that if they are able to get a good lead on you, then their defense becomes more and more effective, as most team's defenses do when you become more one-dimensional," Jets coach Bill Parcells said. "They keep attacking on offense and try to separate themselves from a team, and then they allow the defense to pressure. I don't want to use the word gamble because it's a selective type of pressure.

"That's their formula and it has been successful."

The Broncos are battle-hardened. If they don't succeed early, they hang in and get to an opponent late.

"The Broncos have won so many games in the last few years," Parcells said. "I don't think anything happens on the field is going to damage their mentality."

 

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