Nathaniel Hackett was fired up after Jets beat Broncos

The field was familiar territory for Hackett, who coached the Broncos to a 4-11 record last year before being fired midway through 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 final buzzer sounded.

The Jets rise to 2-3 in the standings. They face a formidable foe in the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.