The New York Jets were victorious on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. The win clearly meant more to Nathaniel Hackett than most.
The CBS broadcast showed Hackett looking ecstatic during the closing seconds of the 31-21 Jets win at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.
Jets players and staffers, lining up to dap up Nathaniel Hackett for beating the Broncos and the head coach who trashed him this offseason pic.twitter.com/DquVsTUOqc
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 8, 2023
The field was familiar territory for Hackett, who coached the Broncos to a 4-11 record last year before being fired late in the season.
Hackett’s miserable NFL head coaching debut drew some pointed remarks from his successor Sean Payton before the 2023 season began. It even led to Aaron Rodgers going full Will-Smith-at-the-Oscars toward Payton, demanding that the Broncos coach keep mum about Hackett.
The heavily-anticipated clash between the Broncos and Jets lost some of its luster heading into Week 5. Rodgers remained out due to his Achilles injury, and both teams seem like long shots to make the playoffs at this point in the season.
However, the result still appeared to mean the world to Hackett — and the Jets players knew it too. They used Payton’s preseason trash talk as motivation, which helped fuel the 10-point win.
Hackett also received the game ball after the game ended.
How sweet is this?
After practice on Fridays, the #Jets always announce their fourth captain. This week, it was OC Nathaniel Hackett. When Coach Robert Saleh called it out, players went crazy.
And today, after beating his old team the #Broncos, Hackett got the game ball. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/JEQBB50V8e
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 9, 2023
The Jets rise to 2-3 in the standings. They face a formidable foe in the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.
