Isaiah Crowell ran all over the Denver Broncos’ suddenly leaky defense — and kept his touchdown celebration low-key this time around.
The New York running back ran for a franchise-record 219 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown , and Sam Darnold threw two TD passes to Robby Anderson, including a 76-yarder, to help the big-play Jets snap a three-game losing streak with a 34-16 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
“It means a lot to me,” Crowell said. “I’ve got to give all the credit to my O-line. I can’t really take the credit. Really, it was all them. I mean, the holes were open. Anybody could’ve run through them. It just happened to be me.
“They really set the record.”
Crowell needed just 15 carries to break the team record of 210 yards rushing set by Thomas Jones in 2009 against Buffalo. His 14.6 yards per carry set an NFL record for a player with at least 15 attempts, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Bilal Powell added 99 yards rushing, and New York finished with 323 yards on the ground — second-most in team history — and 512 overall yards.
After an ugly 20-yard punt early in the second quarter by Colby Wadman, who replaced the injured Marquette King, the Jets (2-3) took advantage immediately. Crowell took the handoff, scooted to the left sideline and zipped into the end zone — getting some nice blocks from receivers Anderson, Pryor and Jermaine Kearse along the way — for a 77-yard yard touchdown that tied the game.
Crowell was fined $13,369 by the NFL and given a stern lecture from coach Todd Bowles for his crude TD celebration two weeks ago in Cleveland when he wiped his rear end with the football. This time, Crowell simply tossed the ball to the turf in the end zone.
“I didn’t want to do anything that would cost my team a penalty,” Crowell said.
The Jets were just getting started with big plays.
On their next possession, Darnold found Anderson streaking down the field uncovered and connected for a 76-yard touchdown that put New York ahead 14-7 with 10:46 left in the half. It was the longest TD catch of Anderson’s career.
According to the Jets, it was the first time they have had multiple TDs on offense of 75 yards or more in the same game since Sept. 24, 1972, against the Baltimore Colts. Joe Namath tossed TD passes of 79 and 80 yards to Rich Caster in that one. It was the first time the Jets had a TD catch and a TD run of at least 75 yards.
“Every single week, we can do that,” Darnold said. “I’m just really excited for next week.”
Darnold also had a TD toss to Terrelle Pryor that sealed the game late in the fourth quarter for the Jets. The rookie quarterback finished 10 of 22 for 198 yards and the three scores with an interception to help New York to its first win since the season opener.
“It was really a team effort,” Darnold said, “and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Jets’ defense came up big, too, while playing without coordinator Kacy Rodgers, who is dealing with what Bowles has called a “serious” illness. Bowles ran the defense against the Broncos and the Jets kept the pressure on Keenum all game, sacking him four times — including two by Leonard Williams.
“We had our brother down and that was our message that we wanted to play for him,” safety Jamal Adams said of Rodgers. “I know he’s smiling right now.”
They nearly had one more big play when Marcus Maye intercepted Keenum’s final pass and returned it 104 yards — the longest in team history — before being taken down by Courtland Sutton at the 1 to end the game.
It was also the longest non-touchdown on an INT return, according to Elias.
Keenum finished 35 of 51 for 377 yards with touchdown passes to Sutton and Demaryius Thomas for the Broncos (2-3).
“We usually are a pretty stout defense,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller said. “Today, we weren’t. We got gashed over the top two or three times today. It was a rough one.”
UP NEXT
Broncos: home vs. Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
Jets: home vs. Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.
NFL SUNDAY – WEEK 5
–The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams remain unbeaten through five NFL games. The Chiefs turned five Blake Bortles turnovers into a 30-14 romp over the Jaguars. Chris Jones gave Kansas City a 20-0 lead by returning an interception 20 yards for a TD with 1:49 remaining in the first half. Patrick Mahomes threw his first two interceptions of the season, but he also passed for 313 yards and opened the scoring with a four-yard run in the first quarter.
The Jaguars rolled up 502 total yards after netting over 500 against the Jets last weekend, but Bortles’ four interceptions and one lost fumble were deadly as Jacksonville dropped to 3-2. Bortles ran for the game’s final TD and was 33 of 61 passing for 430 yards and a score.
–In Seattle, Todd Gurley rushed for three touchdowns and Jared Goff threw for 321 yards and another score as the Rams topped the Seahawks, 33-31. Cairo Santos atoned for his missed extra point in the fourth quarter by nailing a 39-yard field goal with 6:05 remaining to give the Rams a 33-31 lead, capping a 61-yard drive that took 4 ½ minutes. Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns and Seattle had a running back top 100 yards rushing for a third straight game as Chris Carson rumbled for 116 yards. But the Seahawks dropped to 2-3.
— The Super Bowl champs dropped to 2-3 as Kirk Cousins threw for 301 yards and one touchdown in the Vikings’ 23-21 win at Philadelphia. Linval Joseph returned a fumble 64 yards for a score while Minnesota was building a 20-3 lead in a rematch of last season’s NFC title game. Carson Wentz was 24 of 35 for 311 yards and a couple of fourth-quarter TDs. The Vikes are 2-2-1.
— The Bengals improved to 4-1 by rallying from a 17-point deficit in a 27-17 victory over the Dolphins. Andy Dalton ignited the comeback with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon, Michael Johnson returned an interception 22 yards for the tying score and Sam Hubbard brought back a fumble 19 yards for the clinching TD. Mixon also ran for 93 yards and Dalton completed 20 of his 30 passes for 248 yards and one interception. Ryan Tannehill threw for a TD but was picked off twice as the Dolphins dropped their second straight since a 3-0 start.
— The Browns are a .500 team at 2-2-1 after rookie Greg Joseph’s 37-yard field goal barely cleared the crossbar with two seconds left in overtime to give Cleveland a 12-9 win against Baltimore. Baker Mayfield passed for 342 yards and threw a 19-yard TD pass in his first home start. The 3-2 Ravens had plenty of chances to win in regulation, but Joe Flacco threw a costly interception in the first half and the Browns blocked one of Justin Tucker’s field goal tries.
— The Texans also went into overtime before Ka’imi Fairbairn drilled a 36-yard field goal to send Houston past the Cowboys, 19-16. DeAndre Hopkins had 151 yards receiving, including a 49-yard catch and run that set up the game-winning kick. Deshaun Watson threw for 375 yards with a touchdown for the Texans, who are 2-3 after winning in overtime for the second straight week. Dak Prescott had 208 yards passing and a touchdown but threw two interceptions for the 2-3 Cowboys.
— Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown connected on a pair second-half touchdowns to help the Steelers pull away in a 41-17 romp over the Falcons. Roethlisberger finished 19 of 29 for 250 yards and three scores in all, including a 9-yard strike to Brown in the third quarter and a 47-yard dart to the All-Pro wide receiver early in the fourth. Matt Ryan passed for 285 yards and a touchdown but was also sacked six times and spent the final minutes of Atlanta’s third straight loss on the sideline with the game out of reach. Pittsburgh moved to 2-2-1 and dropped the Falcons to 1-4.
— The Panthers won a thriller as Graham Gano nailed a 63-yard field goal with one second remaining in a 33-31 triumph over the Giants. Cam Newton threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns for Carolina, which blew a 17-3 lead and trailed by one after rookie Saquon Barkley grabbed a 15-yard TD pass from Eli Manning with 1:08 remaining. Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. caught his first TD pass of the season and also hit Barkley for a 57-yard score that began New York’s comeback. The 3-1 Panthers dropped the Giants to 1-4.
— The Lions were 31-23 winners against the Packers as Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and LeGarrette Blount ran for two scores. Stafford was 14 of 26 for 183 yards with two TDs and no turnovers. Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby missed a career-high four field goals and an extra point to boot. The Lions improved to 2-3, while the Packers fell to 2-2-1.
— Philip Rivers threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Chargers to a 26-10 victory over the Raiders. Rivers completed 22 of 27 passes in his eighth 300-yard passing game against Oakland and the 39th of his career. Melvin Gordon had 120 yards from scrimmage and scored on a one-yard run for the 3-2 Chargers. Derek Carr was 24 of 38 for 268 yards for the 1-4 Raiders, who didn’t reach the end zone until the final period.
— The Bills improved to 2-3 by beating the Titans, 13-12 on Stephen Haushcka’s 46-yard field goal as time expired. Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers and LeSean McCoy gained a season-best 85 yards rushing as the Bills dropped the Titans to 3-2. Rookie quarterback Josh Allen scored on a 14-yard touchdown run but was held in check as a passer, finishing 10 of 19 for 82 yards and an interception. Ryan Succup scored all of Tennessee’s points with four field goals, including a 50-yarder that put the Titans up 12-10 with 4:43 remaining.
— Josh Rosen threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Christian Kirk on Arizona’s first play from scrimmage before the Cardinals completed their first win of the year, 28-18 over the 49ers. Rosen got the win in his second start of the season despite completing just 10 of 25 passes for 170 yards. Arizona’s only other scores coming on Josh Bynes’ fumble return for a TD and David Johnson touchdown runs on two short drives after turnovers.