Brett Favre struggled in the sloppy conditions, finishing 23-of-43 for 247 yards and an interception.

"We got outplayed," Favre said. "We had plenty of opportunities. It wasn't like we played our best football and we just lost. I thought Denver played outstanding."

Broncos safety Vernon Fox gave the Broncos an early lead when he returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown on a controversial play midway through the opening period.

Wide receiver Brad Smith took a direct snap and tried to hand off to Jerricho Cotchery, but the ball squirted away. Cotchery jumped on top of it and was immediately hit, the ball coming loose. Fox picked it up and returned it for a touchdown.

Mangini wanted to challenge the call, but the officials ruled Cotchery had never gained possession so it was still a fumble, and not a reviewable play.

"I felt like Jerricho had possession," Mangini said. "They felt he didn't."

Jones got the Jets right back in it with a 59-yard touchdown run on the opening play of New York's next possession. But Denver came right back four plays later when Royal, showing no signs of the toe injury that limited him in practice, scored on a 59-yard touchdown pass with 6:44 left.

Jones scored his second touchdown early in the second quarter on an athletic, heads-up play to put the Jets within three at 17-14. He took the handoff and went down, but his body rolled over the Broncos' Kenny Peterson without touching the ground. Jones bounced up and zipped into the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.

"I felt when he had tried to spin me around, I landed on top of him and I didn't feel the ground, so when I rolled back over, I just tried to stay on my feet," Jones said.

The Broncos had players injured — Spencer Larson, Ebenezer Ekuban and Dre Bly — on consecutive catch-and-runs by Leon Washington on one scoring drive, and a few others also went down during other drives. The fans booed, apparently thinking Denver was purposely trying to stop New York's momentum.

"We took it personal," Marshall said. "If not for the fans, the outcome might have been different. We thank the Jets fans for booing when our guys were down."

Sunday's NFL scores

Miami 16, St. Louis 12

Carolina 35, Green Bay 31

N.Y. Giants 23, Washington 7

San Francisco 10, Buffalo 3

Baltimore 34, Cincinnati 3

Indianapolis 10, Cleveland 6

Tampa Bay 23, New Orleans 20

Atlanta 22, San Diego 16

Denver 34, N.Y. Jets 17

Kansas City 20, Oakland 13

Pittsburgh 33, New England 10

Minnesota 34, Chicago 14