Denver Broncos

Ownership of the Broncos will transfer to the Walton-Penner family ownership group, headed by Walmart heir Rob Walton.

It sets a new benchmark for the price of professional sports franchises in the United States, clearing the purchase of the New York Mets ($2.4billion) by nearly $2billion, and going for more than double the price of the Carolina Panthers ($2.27billion).

The Panthers were the last NFL franchise to change hands in 2018.

The figure is similar to that recently paid by a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly for the purchase of Premier League side Chelsea ($5.2billion).

In a statement after the agreement was announced, Walton said: "We are thrilled to be selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos.

"[We] are inspired by the opportunity to steward this great organisation in a vibrant community full of opportunity and passionate fans.

"Having lived and worked in Colorado, we've always admired the Broncos. Our enthusiasm has only grown as we've learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months."

The sale is expected to take between 60 and 90 days to finalise, but that is just a formality, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As they prepare for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Broncos will hold virtual meetings while operating under the league's coronavirus protocols amid the health pandemic.

Denver also confirmed that the individual who tested positive is now in self-isolation, as are two other players deemed to have been close contacts.

"We were informed early this morning that a Broncos player has tested positive for COVID-19," a statement from the team read.

"The player is at home in self-isolation along with two other players who were determined to be close contacts. Our organisation, which has been operating under the league's intensive protocols, is in consultation with the NFL and taking guidance from medical experts.

"As a precaution, we have made the decision to postpone today's practice and conduct virtual meetings in preparation for Sunday's game against the Chargers. The team is scheduled to return to UCHealth Training Center for practice tomorrow.

"The health and safety of the players, coaches and staff will continue to be of the highest priority."

According to an ESPN report citing an unnamed source, a player from the Minnesota Vikings roster has also returned a positive test result for the virus. 

The Vikings travel to face divisional rivals Green Bay in Week 8 of the regular season.

Fangio – who had been in position for the last three seasons – achieved a 19-30 record during his time with the franchise, failing to reach the playoffs throughout his tenure.

Denver started this campaign in promising fashion, winning their first three games, and after victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 14, they had a record of 7-6 and were very much in playoff contention.

However, four defeats in a row saw their campaign come off the rails, culminating in Saturday's final game against the Kansas City Chiefs on home soil, which they lost 28-24.

In a statement, Fangio said he was an "honor and privilege" to coach the Broncos and added: "the foundation is in place for this team to achieve great things."

President and CEO Joe Ellis confirmed on Sunday that general manager George Paton will lead the process to find Fangio's replacement.

"This morning, George and I informed Vic of the decision to part ways with him as head coach of the Denver Broncos," Ellis said in a statement. "For the last three seasons, Vic put his heart and soul into coaching the Broncos. I want to thank Coach Fangio for giving his maximum effort to our organization since the day he was hired.

"George will have full authority to select the next head coach of the Broncos. This is his decision and his program. I have complete confidence in George's ability to lead an exhaustive and successful head coaching search."

Paton also stated his gratitude for the work Fangio had done with the Broncos, saying: "I have tremendous respect for Vic and all he's accomplished in the NFL.

"Over the past year, I appreciate his partnership, friendship and the tireless work ethic he demonstrated as our head coach.

"Vic will continue to have great success in this league, and I thank him for everything he did for the Broncos as well as me personally."

The Broncos had not posted a winning record since Fangio was appointed, achieving 7-9 in 2019 and 5-11 in 2020, and have not reached the playoffs since they won Super Bowl 50.

Tests on Monday revealed the severity of the injury for Williams, who was carted off the field following the first play of the third quarter on Sunday after being tackled by Maxx Crosby for a one-yard loss.

It’s a significant loss for a Denver team off to a sputtering start to the season offensively that will now have to rely more on Melvin Gordon.

Williams and Gordon have been sharing the workload in Denver's backfield, but Williams has been outperforming his counterpart.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, the 22-year-old Williams has rushed for 204 yards on 47 attempts for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Gordon, who is in his eighth pro season, has run for 139 yards on 37 carries for an average of 3.8 yards per attempt.

Gordon has also had trouble holding onto the ball, fumbling for the fourth time on Sunday.

He has twice as many fumbles than any other running back in the NFL and his fumble rate of 8.7 fumbles per touch is the worst in the league among the 92 running backs with at least 10 carries.

Off to a 2-2 start, the Broncos have a short week with a Thursday game against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Broncos parted company with previous head coach Vic Fangio at the end of the 2021 NFL regular season, in which the team had a 7-10 record.

Fangio – who had been in position for the last three seasons – achieved a 19-30 record during his time with the franchise, failing to reach the playoffs throughout his tenure.

According to ESPN, Hackett was scheduled to have an interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday until Denver made a move to complete a deal.

Other figures interviewed by the Broncos for the role were Eric Bieniemy from the Kansas City Chiefs, Brian Callahan from the Cincinnati Bengals, Jonathan Gannon from the Philadelphia Eagles, Luke Getsy from the Packers, Aaron Glenn from the Detroit Lions, Jerod Mayo from the New England Patriots, Kevin O'Connell of the Los Angeles Rams, and Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys.

Hackett, who is the son of former NFL coach Paul Hackett, has been offensive coordinator at the Packers for the past three seasons. Green Bay's offense ranked first in the league in scoring and fifth in yards in the 2020 season, although they regressed to 10th in both categories this year.

Hackett is also a former playcaller for both the Buffalo Bills and the Jaguars.

The news will likely increase speculation that the Broncos could make a sensational play to bring superstar Green Bay duo Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to Denver.

Still searching for the solution at quarterback, an uneven season for Drew Lock did not provide satisfactory answers about their second-round pick from 2019.

Denver endured a 5-11 season with Lock in and out of the line-up as Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to another Super Bowl appearance, Justin Herbert surged to Offensive Rookie of the Year honours with the Los Angeles Chargers and Derek Carr made strides for the Las Vegas Raiders.

This offseason will therefore be defined by what the Broncos decide to do at quarterback, with the heat set to turn up on head coach Vic Fangio as he heads into year three after two successive seasons without a playoff berth.

Using Stats Perform data we look back at another year of disappointment in Denver and assess what they can do this offseason to ensure a five-season exile from the postseason comes to an end in 2021.

Offense

A switch at offensive coordinator from Rich Scangarello to Pat Shurmur did not yield the desired results for the Broncos, who ran one of the least efficient offenses in football.

Denver averaged 5.21 yards per play, putting the Broncos 25th in the NFL. The Broncos' paltry 5.87 yards per pass play illustrated the lack of progress made by Lock, who missed three games last season, with Denver also ranking 25th in that metric.

For a player who came out of college with a reputation for having an elite arm, Lock's tally of 38 completions of 20 yards or more was disappointing. He ranked 19th in that regard but his average distance on such completions of 32.9 yards was ninth among quarterbacks to have completed at least 10.

More worrying for Denver were Lock's numbers on throws of at least 21 air yards. He completed 15 of 63 such attempts for 597 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions for a passer rating of 49.4 that ranked second last among quarterbacks with at least 25 attempts of 21 air yards or more.

Lock did not provide the downfield upside some expected of him when he was drafted in 2019 and a tendency to commit turnovers that was all too evident in college has remained in the NFL. His 15 interceptions in 2020 were tied for the most in the NFL.

The absence of Courtland Sutton, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 1, did not help Lock's cause, with first-round rookie Jerry Jeudy committing the second-most drops (nine) in the NFL.

However, 23 incomplete targets thrown Jeudy's way were deemed poor throws - only three receivers were on the end of more - that number pointing to below-par play under center as the primary reason for Denver's passing game struggles.

Denver's running game fared slightly better, finishing the year tied-14th for rushes of 10 yards or more with 51. The Broncos were tied for sixth with 13 runs of at least 20 yards.

Melvin Gordon proved a useful addition as he contributed 26 rushes of at least 10 yards. Philip Lindsay had 13, with six of those going for 20 yards or more.

Defense

The Broncos' talent on defense paired with Fangio's acumen on that side of the ball should have theoretically produced a strong season on defense.

However, Denver finished the year a disappointing 20th in the NFL with 5.64 yards per play allowed.

They were 13th against the pass (6.25) but 29th against the run (4.79), with their efforts in stopping opposing attacks not helped by Lock's propensity for turnovers.

A freak injury to Von Miller before the season robbed Denver of one of the most dominant pass rushers of his generation, but the Broncos still finished tied-10th in sacks (39) and 10th in total negative pass plays forced (50).

By contrast, they only forced 83 negative run plays, that total putting them 23rd in the NFL.

The pressure the Broncos created last season did not translate to takeaways, with just three teams producing fewer than Denver's 16.

A lack of a settled line-up at cornerback was a significant reason for their struggles stopping the pass and taking away the football.

Kareem Jackson and Michael Ojemudia were the only Broncos cornerbacks to play in all 16 games, with the latter enduring a difficult rookie year.

Ojemudia had a burn percentage of 63 in 2020. A burn occurs when the receiver is open for a number of yards that take up a certain percentage of yards to go for a first down, depending on the down, with the defender credited with giving up burn yardage regardless of whether the ball is caught.

No Denver cornerback allowed more yards per burn than Ojemudia's 18.1, with corner featuring prominently on a long list of offseason issues the Broncos must fix.

Offseason

New general manager George Paton has a lot of significant decisions to make to try to inspire a turnaround in fortunes.

The Broncos' future at quarterback casts a large shadow over their plans for the rest of the roster. Picking ninth in the draft, they are in a decent spot to land one of Justin Fields, Zach Wilson or Trey Lance, the three quarterbacks seen as the cream of the crop after presumptive number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence.

Denver must decide whether to stick with Lock or cut him loose in favour of one of that trio, with a possible trade for Deshaun Watson appearing unlikely at this point.

There is a similarly significant decision to make concerning Miller, who will be 32 come the 2021 season and has a contract option the Broncos could decline, eschewing a salary cap hit of $22.25million and making him a free agent.

The Broncos are projected to have $48m in cap space, assuming a cap of $185m, even with Miller on the roster, and a large portion of that may go towards re-signing Pro Bowl free safety Justin Simmons, who played on the franchise tag in 2020.

If they can keep hold of Simmons and find dependable reinforcements at corner, the Broncos defense will be well-placed to make a return to the top half of the league in 2021.

Yet the fate of next season's Broncos likely rests on Paton's ability to succeed where predecessor John Elway consistently failed, and come to a definitive and correct answer under center.

The sides can finalise the deal on Wednesday when the NFL's free agency period begins. Monday marked the beginning of the league's legal negotiating period.

Bridgewater, 29, is a South Florida native who had a decorated career at Miami Northwestern Senior High School and has returned to his alma mater frequently to watch Friday night games.

While Tagovailoa is expected to remain the Dolphins' starter, he has dealt with several injuries in his first two pro seasons, making the acquisition of a reliable quarterback a priority for Miami.

The 32nd overall pick in 2014 out of Louisville, Bridgewater will once again be relegated to a backup role after starting 29 games over the last two seasons for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos.

In 14 games last season, he threw for a career-high 18 touchdown passes for the 7-10 Broncos, who revamped the position last week by agreeing to a blockbuster deal with the Seattle Seahawks to acquire Russell Wilson.

With Bridgewater set to be signed and Mitchell Trubisky agreeing to a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the offseason quarterback carousel is beginning to settle, with Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota remaining the top two available free agents.

The elephant in the room for teams acquiring quarterbacks remains the status of Deshaun Watson, who has requested a trade from the Houston Texans despite having 22 civil lawsuits against him for allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which he denies. A grand jury deemed there insufficient evidence for criminal proceedings last week.

The Dolphins and Texans were deep into conversations about sending Watson to Miami before last year's trade deadline, but no deal was made.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Miami parted with the 2023 first-round pick they received from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade that facilitated the Niners moving up in the 2021 draft to select quarterback Trey Lance third overall.

In addition, the Dolphins sent a 2024 fourth-round pick and running back Chase Edmonds in exchange for Chubb and a 2025 fifth-round pick.

The Dolphins will hope Chubb can provide a significant boost to a defense that has allowed 5.89 yards per play, the seventh-most in the NFL, and tallied 14 sacks for negative yardage, only good enough for a five-way tie for 20th.

Their pressure rate of 39.6 per cent is above the NFL average, but Chubb will be tasked with improving Miami's ability to convert those pressures.

This season the 2018 first-round pick has registered 5.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits, four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles for a stellar Denver defense, the efforts of which have been wasted by continued poor performances on offense.

Denver beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last Sunday to improve to 3-5, still a hugely disappointing record for a team that had hoped to make the leap after sending five picks, including two first-rounders, and three players to the Seattle Seahawks for nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson.

But the struggles of the Wilson-led attack created talk of them being sellers at the trade deadline. No team will be able to make trades after 16:00 EST on Tuesday.

Such speculation proved accurate, with the 5-3 Dolphins landing a pass rusher who is tied 10th in adjusted sack rate among players with at least 50 edge snaps, according to Stats Perform data.

Chubb figures to form an imposing duo with second-year edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, whose pressure rate of 27.6 per cent is the fifth-best in the NFL for edge rushers (minimum 50 snaps).

The Dolphins face the Chicago Bears in Week 9 at Soldier Field, where Chubb could make his debut.

Following the move for Chubb, the Dolphins also struck a deal with the 49ers for running back Jeff Wilson Jr, sending a fifth-round pick to San Francisco.

The Jets moved to 0-4 with a 37-28 reverse on Thursday, piling further pressure on Gase.

The coach wore a pained expression throughout his post-game news conference and was asked directly if he had a message for those fans who want to see him fired.

"We're working to get this thing right," Gase said. "I'm not happy about this. I know we can play way better than this, I know we cannot beat ourselves and do the things we're doing."

He added: "This is what I do for a living and this is what this coaching staff does. It's the adversity of the NFL."

Gase was hamstrung by his team's ill-discipline, with the Jets committing six personal fouls on defense - including Quinnen Williams' face mask on the Broncos' Brett Rypien in the final five minutes that extended Denver's game-winning drive.

"We had multiple chances to get off the field. We hurt ourselves," an exasperated Gase explained. "The penalties were just brutal.

"We made them punt one time. We just couldn't do the right stuff. We're hitting them too late, getting personal fouls, it's ridiculous.

"When you look at it, there's 11 penalties for 118 yards. We hurt ourselves, we hurt ourselves.

"We need to get this corrected and we need to figure out what guys are going to do the right things at the right time. This is not the way that we're going to play."

The Jets' offense was little better, with Sam Darnold taking six sacks and Gase criticising the team's "one-dimensional" running game. They were also zero-for-three in the red zone.

"We had a couple of opportunities that really we missed," the coach said. "They've been a good red zone team - since Vic [Fangio] got there, they've always been a good red zone team.

"We had like one down on each attempt where we had to make that play, because that's how we're going to get in, and we didn't make that play."

Gase was not helped by a first-quarter hit on Darnold, which left his quarterback nursing a sore shoulder, although he returned to finish the game.

"The way he got thrown down, I was trying to blueprint out how the rest of the game was going to go with Joe, trying to make sure to call it right and not put him in harm's way," the coach said.

Darnold, who scored a 46-yard rushing touchdown, added: "It's fine. I'll take it day by day at this point, see what they say tomorrow [Friday]."

The Broncos were humbled 31-3 by the Saints in the absence of starting quarterback Drew Lock and backups Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles on Sunday after the trio were deemed closed contacts of signal-caller Jeff Driskel, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Makeshift quarterback Kendall Hinton completed just one of nine passes for 13 yards and two interceptions.

Denver became the first team with one or fewer completions and fewer than 20 passing yards in a game since the San Diego Charges in 1998 – Ryan Leaf completed one of 15 passes for four yards in that game.

"I was disappointed on several levels, that our QBs put us in that position, that our QBs put the league in that position," Fangio said.

"We count on them to be the leaders of our team, the leaders of our offense, and those guys made a mistake."

Fangio added: "They got lax with their masks, I guess, and they got lax with their distancing, I guess.

"I haven't done a good enough job of selling the protocols to them when they're on their own. That's on me."

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Hinton came off the practice squad, had zero practice reps and competed in his first NFL game as the Broncos' quarterback in an unprecedented situation.

"When I got the call, it was pure excitement. Of course, there was nerves and disbelief,'' Hinton said. "Coming in, I knew I had no idea of what the speed of the game was like.... We knew it would be a tough situation, for sure.''

Broncos safety Kareem Jackson said: "I feel like maybe [the game] could have been moved, but at the same time, maybe the league was making an example of us as far as maybe not doing the things we needed to do in that particular room, that quarterback room.

"Obviously, the guys didn't follow their protocols, and for [the NFL] to see that, I guess they felt like they had to make an example, so at the end of [the] day, it is what it is.

"... Obviously, it's our guys' fault for not wearing their masks, but at least maybe move the game to the next day or whenever so we're given a fighting chance,'' Jackson added. "[It's] obviously disappointing. I'm not sure why it wasn't moved. I have no clue... as a competitor, [it is] definitely frustrating.''

Flores is suing the league along with teams at whose hands he alleges he has personally experienced racism, naming the Dolphins along with the New York Giants and Denver Broncos as defendants, together with "John Doe Teams 1 through 29".

The suit, filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, demands a jury trial. The NFL said Flores' claims "are without merit", saying it would put up a defence. The three teams named by Flores also rejected his allegations.

Flores claims he inadvertently learned he had failed to get the Giants head coach job last week, even before his interview took place.

The suit contains screen grabs of an alleged text message conversation between New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Flores, in which Belichick congratulates Flores on what he believes is an impending appointment, only to realise he was messaging the wrong person, having intended to contact Brian Daboll, who got the Giants job.

During the text exchange, Flores questioned whether Belichick had messaged the correct person, with the Patriots coach having indicated he had inside knowledge on who would land the job. According to the lawsuit's contents, Belichick at this point realised his error and apologised to Flores, who worked for him for 10 years with the Patriots.

The NFL has a 'Rooney Rule' in place. It requires all teams seeking a new head coach "to interview at least one or more diverse candidates", and the lawsuit alleges on this occasion the Giants interview was "a sham" that "humiliated" Flores.

A spokesman for the Giants, Pat Hanlon, was quoted by the New York Times on Tuesday as saying the team was "confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll", adding that Flores was "in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour".

It is also alleged in the lawsuit that Flores "was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule" by the Broncos in 2019 and was never intended to be "a legitimate candidate", while also criticising the interview board.

The Broncos have described the various claims against the franchise as "blatantly false" and "baseless and disparaging claims".

A number of allegations are made in the suit about Flores' time with the Dolphins, which came to an end only last month.

The Dolphins responded by saying they "vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organisation".

The class action alleges: "The NFL remains rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of black head coaches, coordinators and general managers. Over the years, the NFL and its 32-member organisations have been given every chance to do the right thing.

"Rules have been implemented, promises made – but nothing has changed. In fact, the racial discrimination has only been made worse by the NFL's disingenuous commitment to social equity."

It also contains a series of allegations that it points to as evidence the NFL as a whole has a racism problem when it comes to the hiring of black individuals, alleging it is "racially segregated and is managed much like a plantation".

In response, the NFL said: ​"The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organisations.

"Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit."

Flores alleged in the suit that the NFL is rife with racism and has a "disingenuous commitment to social equity".

He is suing the league along with teams at whose hands he claims he experienced racism, naming the Dolphins along with the New York Giants and Denver Broncos as defendants, together with "John Doe Teams 1 through 29".

Amid the allegations made by Flores is that he inadvertently learned he had failed to get the Giants head coach job last week before his interview, which the lawsuit claims was "a sham" that "humiliated" him. 

The NFL has a 'Rooney Rule' in place. It requires all teams seeking a new head coach "to interview at least one or more diverse candidates".

The suit also alleged that Flores "was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule" by the Broncos in 2019 and was never intended to be "a legitimate candidate".

In addition, it claims Flores was offered $100,000 for every Dolphins loss in 2019 by owner Stephen Ross, who was said to be angered by the team's competitiveness compromising their draft position. Miami fired Flores at the end of the 2021 season despite the team finishing with a winning record in successive seasons.

The NFL said Flores' claims "are without merit", saying it would put up a defence. The three teams named by Flores also rejected his allegations.

Speaking alongside his attorneys on CBS Mornings, Flores said: "I love coaching, I'm gifted to coach and I want to coach. This is bigger than coaching, this is much bigger than coaching.

"We filed the lawsuit so that we could create some change. I think we're at a fork in the road right now, we're either going to keep it the way it is, or we're going to go in another direction and actually make some real change where we're actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, et cetera."

Asked about the claims he made against the Dolphins and owner Ross, Flores replied: "This game's done a lot for me. I didn't grow up with a lot, this game changed my life.

"To attack the integrity of the game, that's what I felt was happening in that instance and I wouldn't stand for it.

"I think it hurt my standing within the organisation and ultimately was why I was let go."

The suit contains screen grabs of an alleged text message conversation between New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Flores, in which Belichick congratulates Flores on what he believes is an impending appointment, only to realise he was messaging the wrong person, having intended to contact Brian Daboll, who got the Giants job.

During the text exchange, Flores questioned whether Belichick had messaged the correct person, with the Patriots coach having indicated he had inside knowledge on who would land the job. According to the lawsuit's contents, Belichick at this point realised his error and apologised to Flores, who worked for him for 10 years with the Patriots.

"It was a range of emotions, humiliation, disbelief, anger," Flores said of that episode. 

"I have worked so hard to get where I am in football to become a head coach. Put 18 years in this league, and it was, to go on what was going to be a, what felt like and was a sham interview, I was hurt.

"The Rooney Rule is intended to give minorities an opportunity to sit down in front of ownership, but I think what it's turned into is an instance where guys are checking the box.

"I've been on some interviews in the past where I've had that feeling. There's always no way to know for sure, but you know. I know I'm not alone."

The NFL on Wednesday published its response to the suit, which read: ​"The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organisations.

"Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit."

A spokesman for the Giants, Pat Hanlon, was quoted by the New York Times on Tuesday as saying the team was "confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll", adding that Flores was "in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour".

The Broncos have described the various claims against the franchise as "blatantly false" and "baseless and disparaging claims".

Several allegations are made in the suit about Flores' time with the Dolphins, which came to an end only last month.

The Dolphins responded by saying they "vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organisation".

The experienced 43-year-old, who previously worked with Jets head coach Robert Saleh at the Jacksonville Jaguars, struggled in his maiden year in Colorado.

That saw him relieved of his duties before the close of the campaign.

Now though, Hackett will head back to New York, where he will reunite with Saleh after the Jets limped to a miserable end in his sophomore season.

The Jets went 5-2 across their first seven games of 2022, but then lost all but one of their final eight to post a 7-10 losing record for the campaign.

Hackett will bring him a storied career that has seen him help lead teams to three Conference Championship games in his role as an offensive coordinator (Jaguars in 2017, Green Bay Packers in 2019 and 2020).

The move also sees him follow in the footsteps of his father Paul, who spent a stint between 2001 and 2004 with the Jets under Herm Edwards.

Under Hackett's watch as OC, the Packers led the NFL in scoring in 2020 with a 31.8 points per game average, while his 2017 Jaguars offense led for rushing yards per game at 141.

His arrival comes alongside the announcement that Keith Carter will also join the Jets as their offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Hillman led the Broncos in rushing with 863 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2015 season as the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, in what was Peyton Manning's final game before retiring.

Having been drafted by the Broncos out of San Diego State in the 2012 draft, Hillman went on to play for the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, racking up 1,976 career yards.

Hillman was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer in August 2022, and it was revealed he had entered hospice care this week before passing away on Wednesday.

A statement was posted to his Instagram account, saying: "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved son, brother and father, Ronnie K Hillman Jr.

"Ronnie quietly and peacefully transitioned today in the company of his family and close friends."

Hillman tragically becomes the second member of the Broncos' 2015 championship team to pass away, after receiving leader Demaryius Thomas' death from a seizure in 2021.

Gostkowski's 25-yard field goal with 17 seconds left secured a 16-14 win over the Broncos at Sports Authority Field on Monday.

It was otherwise a debut to forget for the four-time Pro Bowler, who became the first kicker to miss four kicks in his first game with a team since Dennis Partee did so for the San Diego Chargers in 1968.

Gostkowski missed from 47 yards in the first quarter, 44 yards before the first half ended and 42 yards in the third, with another attempt blocked by Shelby Harris.

It was the first time he has missed three field goal attempts in a game during a career in which he has gone an entire season missing fewer than four on five separate occasions.

"It's tough. It's a very fickle position. It's definitely an opportunity I didn't deserve but grateful that I got it for the team and the guys that went out there and busted their butt," he said.

"I really put them in a tough spot. You don't always get the chance to redeem yourself. I'm just happy the guys got to celebrate.

"I'm disappointed in myself, embarrassed and frustrated, but at the end of the day, we won, and luckily the guys are happy going home."

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel insisted he had no doubts over Gostkowski lining up for the game-winner even if the Broncos perhaps thought differently.

"Nope, and they did, obviously, because they weren't using the timeouts, they were banking on him missing," he said.

"We've all got to do our job. It's not just on one player. We'll get this stuff fixed. We've got a lot of faith in our players. We're excited to get out of there with a win - it's a tough place to play.

"It's like sitting there and being like, 'Well, it's been red 10 times on roulette, so I'm going to bet black because it's been red 10 times,' and it doesn't work that way.

"I just felt like we were going to be able to make the field goal and that was the right play. That's the proper way to approach it and everybody did their job on the last one."

The Philadelphia Eagles (6-0), Buffalo Bills (5-1) and Minnesota Vikings (5-1) are all on a bye this week, along with the Los Angeles Rams (3-3), which provides an opportunity for the chasing pack to close the gap.

Both New York franchises are on the road as they look to extend their winning records, the Giants in Jacksonville to face the Jaguars while the Jets tussle with the Denver Broncos, and elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs have a stern test in San Francisco against the 49ers.

With all that and more on the cards, Stats Perform has delved into the numbers to preview this weekend's action.

New York Giants (5-1) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4)

The Giants may have season form on their side against the Jaguars but they are the only team to never win a road game in Jacksonville (0-3), who are one of two franchises the Giants have not won against away from home alongside the Baltimore Ravens.

Victory against the Ravens in Week 6, coming on home soil, saw the Giants secure a fifth win of the season and become the first NFL team this term to surpass their win total from last year (four). Their largest wins increase in the Super Bowl era was from one in 1966 to seven in 1967.

Daniel Jones' form has been key to that improvement, completing at least 70 per cent of his passes in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He has the opportunity to become only the second Giants QB in the Super Bowl era to do so in three straight games, alongside Eli Manning in September 2018 (minimum 20 attempts each game).

The Jaguars' 2-4 record does not paint the full picture of their season, though, with a +24 point differential standing as the sixth best in the NFL and the best for a team with a losing record through six games since the 2010 Los Angelese Chargers (+31, 2-4).

In last week's defeat to the Indianapolis Colts, Trevor Lawrence completed 20 of 22 passes (90.9 per cent) to become the youngest player (23 years, 10 days) to ever record 90 per cent accuracy from at least 20 passing attempts in a game.

Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-3)

Kansas City face the 49ers boasting victories in four of the last five matchups, including a 31-20 triumph in Super Bowl LIV, but are 1-5 in San Francisco – with their only win there coming in the teams' first-ever clash in 1971.

The Chiefs have not been strong defensively, allowing at least 20 points in all six games to begin the season and stand as one of four teams who are yet to allow fewer than 20 in any game this season.

That bodes well for the 49ers, who are 2-0 at home this season and have allowed fewer than 10 points in both of those games, though they have never held their opponent to fewer than 10 points in the team's first three home games of any season.

The potential return of Nick Bosa will be of concern for Patrick Mahomes, after he missed last week due to a groin injury, as the 49ers are pressuring quarterbacks in 48.4 per cent of passing plays with Bosa on the field (122 plays) compared to 34.9 per cent without him (86 plays).

New York Jets (4-2) @ Denver Broncos (2-4)

The Denver Broncos are in need of a major improvement in performance and hosting the Jets will provide encouragement, having shut them out in two straight home games, including 26-0 last year.

The Jets have reason to be optimistic themselves, however, with last week's 27-10 victory against the Green Bay Packers securing their first three-game winning streak since 2019 and their first three-game road winning streak in a single season since 2010.

Meanwhile, the Broncos fell to a 19-16 overtime defeat to the Chargers in Week 6 and suffered their second straight overtime loss, with no team ever having played three straight overtime games in NFL history.

Russell Wilson found himself under scrutiny again last week, completing only 15 of his 28 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 53.6. In total this season, he has a 58.6 completion percentage, having entered the year with a lowest single-season completion percentage of 61.3 in 2017.

Elsewhere…

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their first six road games as a franchise against the Miami Dolphins but head to Florida in Week 7 with a 6-3 record in the past nine meetings. However, they have not had a quarterback start at the Dolphins other than Ben Roethlisberger since Kordell Stewart in 1998.

Each of the last 11 games between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chargers have been decided by a single-digit margin, with the only longer streak in NFL history being a 14-game stretch between the Colts and Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020.

Aaron Rodgers stands 0-3 in road games against the Washington Commanders, with the Green Bay Packers 2-8 in their last 10 games in Washington – their victories coming in 1968 and 2004.

Tom Brady faces the Carolina Panthers with 15 completions in each of his last 39 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tying Brady's career-best streak with 39 straight games for the New England Patriots from 2011 to 2013.

The Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs in their final game of the 2021 season on Saturday sitting at 7-9, certain to miss the postseason and end up with a losing record.

They lost 34-13 to the Los Angeles Chargers last week, part of a three-game streak which also contained losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders, scuppering their hopes of reaching the playoffs.

Gordon will be a free agent at the end of the season, with head coach Vic Fangio also facing an uncertain future, and the running back cannot believe how the season is ending.

"You sit back and get frustrated because we are so much better than what our record shows," Gordon said to SI.com. 

"It's frustrating. It's frustrating as a player, as coaches, as an organization. It's frustrating. 

"We're such a good football team. So talented across the board it is ridiculous. For us to be sitting here and not having a chance for the playoffs, all that work you put into the offseason, it's tough to say the least.

"After the Raiders game, I was so mad, just because I was thinking about from the D-line, from the secondary, from our receivers, tight ends, the linemen we have – young but yet a lot of moxie.

"Running backs, even the ones, the twos, the threes, even the guys that don't get as much love, the linebackers – it was so frustrating because it's such a well-built team. It's a Super Bowl team."

Gordon has formed a strong rushing attack with rookie Javonte Williams – both players rank in the top 13 in the NFL for rushes of 10+ yards – while the team's defense has only allowed 268 offensive points in 16 games, good for second in the NFL behind only the New England Patriots (250).

But the quarterback position and passing attack has again proved problematic for the Broncos.

After Drew Lock's struggles in 2020, this year's starting QB Teddy Bridgewater's yards per attempt rate of 7.16 ranks in the bottom half (17th) of the league and Courtland Sutton is the team's top receiver with just 763 yards.

The Chiefs (11-5), meanwhile, will go into Saturday's game still in with a chance of being the number one seeds in the AFC.

They must beat the Broncos and will then be reliant on the Tennessee Titans dropping their game at the Houston Texans one day later.

Knapp, 58, had joined the New York Jets as a passing game specialist in January after spending years as a quarterback guru and play-caller around the league. 

He previously was a quarterbacks coach or an offensive coordinator for an NFL team every year except one between 1998 and 2020, working for the 49ers, Falcons (twice), Raiders (twice), Seahawks, Texans and Broncos. 

Before joining the 49ers staff as an offensive quality control coach in 1997, Knapp spent nine years on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Sacramento State. 

"Greg had such an inner peace about him that people always seemed to gravitate towards," Jets head coach Robert Saleh told the team's website.

"He lived life in a loving way that helped him connect with people from all walks of life in a unique way. In his short time here, I believe the people in this organisation had a chance to experience that connection."

The Jets had entrusted Knapp with preparing the second overall pick in this spring's NFL Draft, Zach Wilson, for life in the NFL. 

Knapp previously had worked with numerous star quarterbacks including Steve Young, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick and Matt Ryan. 

During the Jets' minicamp last month, Knapp had told reporters he found it "invigorating" to work with a young talent like Wilson. 

"It is really cool," Knapp said then. "Both my parents are teachers. It's like, here's the canvas, start teaching them what you know without overteaching them too quickly. So that's the challenge, but it's really exciting."

Knapp is survived by his wife Charlotte and daughters Jordan, Natalie and Camille. 

Gruden and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton were each pictured not wearing masks during the Raiders' 34-24 victory on Monday.

NFL Network reported that San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and Denver Broncos boss Vic Fangio had all been handed fines for violating rules regarding wearing face masks during Sunday's action.

Each coach has been fined $100,000, with their respective teams docked $250,000.

It appears a similar punishment awaits both Gruden and Payton but the Raiders head coach appears willing to pay the price. 

"I'm doing my best. You know, I've had the virus, okay. I'm doing my best," Gruden said in a media conference. "I'm very sensitive about it, but I'm calling plays.

"I just want to communicate in these situations and I apologise and if I get fined, I will have to pay the fine, but I'm very sensitive about all of that and I apologise."

The Raiders were rocked last week when Gruden stepped down after an investigation revealed numerous offensive emails he sent while working as a television analyst.

Gruden apologised for any hurt caused by the messages, which are alleged to have contained racist, homophobic and sexist content.

A tumultuous week for the Raiders ended on a positive note, though, thanks to a 34-24 win over the Broncos on Sunday as they snapped a two-game losing run and improved to 4-2. 

Carr starred in Rich Bisaccia's first game as interim head coach, throwing 341 yards and two touchdowns in completing 18 of 27 passes.

The 30-year-old's passer rating of 134.4 was his highest in almost three years and came at the perfect time for his side. 

"We needed a win bad this week," he said. "Sometimes when you get punched in the gut, it's hard to bounce back. But we were able to do it.

"If anything, what's happened the this heightened our intensity, it heightened our focus. 

"More now than ever, we had to step up and be a voice. There will be a time for all the emotions, but now is not the time. 

"It sucks not hugging 'Gru' after a game like that. Some of the plays we ran, he would have been so fired up, but it is what it is and we need to move forward. 

"For those three hours, it's definitely easier to just focus on football."

Carr's fourth 300-plus passing yard game of the season is the second-most ever of any Raiders player after six games after Rich Gannon, who had five at this stage in 2002.

The Raiders forced four turnovers in defense and committed zero turnovers of their own – the first time that has happened since the 1988 season against the Kansas City Chiefs.

For Bisaccia, it marked a first win in what was his first game as a head coach at any level.

"The best part for me was to be able to get on the grass," he said after the triumph at Empower Field at Mile High. "The worst part for me was figuring out the headset! 

"Once you get on the field and the game goes, a lot of my responsibilities were the same. It's emotional for everybody, right? 

"I think they did a good job. It's a bunch of grown men, handling their emotions throughout the week, putting them in perspective when it was time to go play the game. 

"It's a job for all of us. They seemed to do a really good job with it. We'll see what goes on."