The Denver Broncos will have to work hard to get their second win of the season on the road against the Jets from New York. The Jets have a strong defense and an offense that is doing well so far this season.

To help the Broncos win, there are two crucial matchups to attack. Let’s investigate.

The Broncos can’t be afraid of Jets cornerback Sauce Garnder. Now Gardner has played tight cover, allowing an average of 2.1 meters of distance as a boundary corner, but finishing has been an issue.

In that boundary alignment, Gardner is allowing the sixth-highest coverage EPA and catching 72.7% of his targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. He struggles at the catch point, but teams are afraid to target him, with 11 goals in three games.

To highlight these issues, Gardner’s allowed catch rate is 17.4% higher than expected. This illustrates his coverage and which targets are expected to be caught, and he factors in a catch rate of 17.4% above what is expected.

This means that Gardner’s coverage is tight and he is present during the catch window, but he doesn’t force the expected incompletions. That’s in contrast to DJ Reed and Brandin Echols, who force more incompletions than expected.

Of these three Jets corners, Gardner is targeted the most, with a target percentage of 15.3, compared to 10% for Reed and 9.4% for Echols.

The Broncos’ receivers have struggled to separate, with Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds’ average separation well below league average. That shouldn’t stop Bo Nix from targeting Garnder, but the Broncos’ offensive line and Nix need to do well with their pre-snap readings to determine pressure.

But here’s the thing; you can’t throw an errant pass in Gardner’s direction; otherwise he will make you pay for it.

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don’t miss news and analysis! Take a moment, sign up for our free newsletter and get the latest Broncos news delivered to your inbox every day!

Broncos cornerback trio Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian will face plenty of pressure on defense. They will face Jets wideouts Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard and Mike Williams.

Wilson has struggled this season, with 15 catches on 26 targets for 150 yards and a single touchdown, but a negative receiving EPA of 8.3. The question for the Broncos is which corner to go against which receiver most of the time.

Surtain has had a brutal onslaught of receivers and has handled them all, but they were types that better suited his style of play. Matching him with Wilson could lead to problems, although Surtain finished Wilson with two catches for 22 yards on six targets last year, breaking up an interception and pass. Surtain can handle it, but can Moss and McMillian handle Lazard and Williams?

Both receivers have a positive receiving EPA, with Lazard at 11.8 and Williams at 3.7. Their size and playing style could work against Moss and McMillian. The Jets are running Lazard and Wilson at almost the same rate, 38.9% for Lazard and 38.7% for Wilson.

This puts pressure on McMillian as Lazard has a significant size advantage and Wilson would be one of the toughest matches the young nickel corner has faced in his career. Last year, McMillian was tasked with facing Randall Cobb for most of the match, so this year the match will be very different.

The main matchup here is McMillian versus Lazard or Wilson in the slot. However, with the way the Jets move Wilson and Lazard, it comes down to what Vance Joseph has planned for the Broncos’ cornerback trio.

The Broncos will go a long way toward a win if they can keep Wilson and Lazard limited no matter where they line up or who they face.

Follow up on Mile High Huddle X And Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos livestream podcasts!