SIMMONS, CARTER UNABLE TO FINISH GAME BECAUSE OF INJURIES
The Broncos got a needed victory and their first shutout win in more than 12 years. But they may have briefly lost their starting safety.
Justin Simmons left the game in the first quarter because of an ankle injury and didn’t return. Xrays showed no fractures, but he left the stadium wearing a boot on his left foot and he will undergo an MRI on Monday.
“I should be all right,” he said. “I don’t know 100 percent, really. We do the MRI tomorrow, but I’m being a little optimistic. Hopefully I’ll be all right for Thursday. I think it’s just a bad ankle roll. I don’t even know.
“Tough break. It’s almost like a freak accident, but I’m going to be completely optimistic. Walking around in this boot, even putting pressure on it before the boot, it wasn’t terrible. It was tolerable. I bet tomorrow is going to be worse, but if I can get the swelling down and the pain down … like I said, I’m trying to be optimistic. I want to play Thursday.”
Rookie safety Jamal Carter also left the game early with a shoulder injury and didn’t return.
Despite the thin safety corps, the Broncos’ secondary held the Jets to 41 net yards passing.
Quick turnaround.
The Broncos have only three days of practice and recovery before facing the Colts in Indianapolis on Thursday night.
“You have to be a pro and do everything your body is telling you to do,” linebacker Shane Ray said. “Everybody is different. It might be cold tub. It might be massage. It might be chiropractor.
“It’s whatever you need to do to get your body feeling good for a Thursday game. You have to get ready.
“It’s a quick turnaround, but if you look at how the game was played today, our defense wasn’t even on the field much. We feel good. The offense eased a little stress for us.”
But for a 4-9 team that just got a win after losing eight straight, the thought of getting another victory only four days later is enticing.
“I think you hear a lot of guys upset about the Thursday games, but in our case this is perfect,” quarterback Trevor Siemian said. “Our first win — it feels like 100 years and we get to hopefully carry some momentum going into Thursday. I think it sets up pretty nicely for us.”
Inactive players.
The Broncos were without two starters on their offensive and defensive lines Sunday. Guard Ron Leary was ruled out with a back injury and nose tackle Domata Peko missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained knee.
Quarterback Paxton Lynch (ankle sprain), wide receiver and returner Isaiah McKenzie, rookie running back De’Angelo Henderson, offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio and cornerback Brendan Langley filled out the inactive list for Denver.
Footnotes.
Cornerback Chris Harris, the Broncos’ 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year, was the Broncos’ game-day captain Sunday . ... Linebacker Brandon Marshall posted a sack and a forced fumble in the first quarter; his sack was his third of the year to give him a season career high . ... Siemian improved to 9-3 all time as a starter at home (4-1 in 2017).