He tried to downplay the story all week, but Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has to be feeling extra special following Sunday’s 31-21 win over the Denver Broncos and head coach Sean Payton.
Payton was of course the one who said Hackett performed one of the “worst coaching jobs” in the history of the NFL during his stint of less than a year as head coach of the Broncos, finishing with a 4-11 record and being fired the day after a 51-14 thumping by the Rams on Christmas Day.
Hackett let his work on the field do the talking and it turned into over 400 yards of offense and a 31-21 win to send Payton and the Broncos to 1-4. Hackett was 2-3 at this point last year with Denver.
Head coach Robert Saleh told the media after the game that Hackett received a game ball following the game. He was also the Jets’ fourth captain Sunday.
“I got one game ball…Hack!!” pic.twitter.com/ugW4xjXgms
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 9, 2023
Jets players showed their support for Hackett following the game, hugging him on the field and proving that they were behind him following Payton’s comments over the summer.
“I’m glad he’s here with us,” said quarterback Zach Wilson, who threw for 199 yards on 19 of 26 passing.
“When someone talks (expletive) about one of us, we have to have their back,” said tight end C.J. Uzomah, who had two catches for 12 yards. “So yeah, this one was for Hack.”
Uzomah also led a pregame speech that further showed the Jets were playing this one for Hackett.
C.J. Uzomah: “Let’s win this bitch for Hackett.”
Broncos-Jets today 📍 pic.twitter.com/XuLCH2Lan9
— Nikki Edwards (@nikkiedwardsss) October 8, 2023
Hackett gets the last laugh, as well as the game ball, and now the Jets are back on track at 2-3 and will now look to pull the upset of the 5-0 Philadelphia Eagles at home next week with Hack helping lead the charge.