Welcome back to Earth, Jets fans.

The Broncos delivered a heavy helping of “humble pie” as Leon Washignton referred to it with a 34-17 defeat of the Jets yesterday.

As we make our way through the wreckage, here are a few things that stand out: 1. You just knew that at some point the Jets secondary was going to cost this team. Matt Cassel threw for 400 yards two weeks ago but the Jets managed to escape with a victory because the offense played so well and they scored a special teams touchdown.

The fact is beyond Darrelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes, the Jets defensive backs are not reliable. Ty Law is a nice story but he’d be a better fit as a nickelback, not the starting corner. Dwight Lowery had a pick yesterday but he has a long way to go. And Abram Elam has made some big plays for this team, but he was abysmal in coverage yesterday.

2. Is it possible for a 360-pound man to hide? Kris Jenkins was a non-factor yesterday. Peyton Hillis (Peyton Hillis!) ran all over the Jets defense. Hillis was the first 100-yard rusher the Jets have allowed this season.

3. Eric Mangini and Brian Schottenheimer outsmarted themselves. Passing on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1? I’ll give you the first attempt but on fourth down, just give Thomas Jones the ball. Denver could not stop him.

4. You think teams might throw to the tight end against the Jets? Cutler continually went to Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham and had success. It’s clear the Jets linebackers can’t cover, Mangini and Bob Sutton better get creative.

5. Take a deep breath. The Jets are still in first place. They have two terrible teams left on the schedule, one mediocre team and once decent team. This is the NFL. They weren’t going on a 10-game winning streak to end the regular season. The division is still likely and a first-round bye still possible.