The Denver Broncos leaned on their standout defense as they survived a scare to scrape past the New York Jets in a 13-11 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
A bizarre upset had been on the cards when the stuttering Jets (0-6) snatched an 11-10 lead thanks to a safety in the third quarter.
Aaron Glenn's still-winless team managed just 32 net yards and two first downs in a disjointed first half, but remarkably remained in touching distance after Nate Adkins put Denver (4-2) on top with the only touchdown of the game.
The Jets had posted eight scoreless drives, seven of which ended in punts alongside a sloppy empty possession at the end of the first half, until the Broncos finally punished with a game-winning 27-yard field goal by Wil Lutz in the fourth quarter.
New York finished with -10 passing yards as quarterback Justin Fields was sacked nine times by eight different Broncos players.
Among them were Defensive Player of the Year contender and NFL sack leader Nik Bonitto, as well as two from Jonathan Cooper. Bo Nix finished 19 of 30 passing for 174 yards and a touchdown, while Fields was nine of 17 for 45 yards.
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Stats leaders:
Denver Broncos
Passing: Bo Nix, 19/30, 174 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: J.K. Dobbins, 14 carries, 40 yards
Receiving: Evan Engram, 5 catches, 42 yards
New York Jets
Passing: Justin Fields, 9/17, 45 yards
Rushing: Breece Hall, 22 carries, 59 yards
Receiving: Josh Reynolds, 3 catches, 25 yards
The Jets offense had been a hobbling, toothless non-factor in the first half, a sack for a loss of nine yards on Fields with eight minutes left leaving them with just one total yard.
And yet, somehow, someway, they would find themselves with an unlikely 11-10 lead with five minutes left in the third after a holding penalty on Quinn Meinerz in the end zone gifted them a safety after Kene Nwangwu had downed Austin McNamara's 42-yard punt.
Garrett Wilson had a lost fumble scratched off three drives later, breathing a sigh of relief having seen the ball come loose under pressure from Pat Surtain II before seeing the play ruled an incomplete pass after review. Cooper and Justin Strnad vented their frustration in the form of a split sack to derail the Jets drive on third-and-six seconds later.
Nix finally appeared to ignite Denver's offense when he connected with Marvin Mims on a catch-and-run of 26 at the sideline to move the chains on third-and-eight. It would pave the way for Lutz's 27-yard field goal at the end of a 12-play 65-yard drive lasting five minutes.
Strnad kick-started the derailing of one last Jets push with a sack for a loss of five, before a combined effort from Cooper and Brandon Jones to haul down Fields sealed the game.
Adkins proved an unlikely first touchdown scorer when he hauled in Nix's 16-yard strike on the final play of the opening quarter. It capped an expertly-designed concept, Mims' peel into the flat drawing a bite from linebacker Jamien Sherwood to leave Adkins wide open.
The Jets' woes were typified by a horrendous two-minute drill in which they ran the ball four times - including Breece Hall's direct snap fake punt conversion on fourth-and-one - while surrendering a sack before eventually allowing the clock to run out.
New York thought they had set an early marker when Jason Brownlee knocked the ball loose from the hands of Troy Franklin, with Andre Cisco recovering for a takeaway three plays into the first drive of the game.
Nick Folk subsequently kicked a 52-yard field goal to open the scoring on the ensuing drive, one of his three on the day.
Denver levelled the score through Lutz's 57-yard field goal before the Jets failed to take advantages of Nwangwu's 72-yard kickoff return as a three-and-out culminated in Folk's 41-yard kick.