DENVER — The Jets won their fourth straight game on Sunday, defeating the Broncos 16-9 in a game dominated by defense. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:

1. The win Sunday sets up the next two weeks for the Jets. They now have two home games against the Patriots and Bills before the bye week. If I would have told you in August the Jets could be 5-4 at the bye, you would have signed up for it. But now they feel capable of so much more and these are two huge games.

The Patriots are up first and these clearly are not the Patriots of old, but Bill Belichick is still there and they have been playing better (entering Monday’s game against the Bears). But here’s the thing about this game: the low point of last season was the 54-13 butt-kicking the Patriots laid on the Jets in Foxborough. At halftime of that game, Patriots great Richard Seymour was honored and he referred to the Jets as the “homecoming” game. It summed up the state of the Jets at that time and coach Robert Saleh looked shell-shocked after that game.

The Jets have not forgotten that game, and you can bet it will be discussed this week.

“We’ve got a good memory,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said after Sunday’s game. “It wasn’t that long ago. We’re aware of it. At the end of the day, they’re the next team on the schedule. It’s a division team. Nothing would be greater than starting off 2-0 in the division.”

I was asked a lot in the offseason what a successful season would look like for the Jets. One of the things I said and wrote is they can no longer be the homecoming opponent, referencing that game. The Jets have clearly accomplished that. They are a tough team to play now and are playing great defense. The next step in this season is to slay the Patriots dragon. New England has owned the Jets for years. The Patriots have won the last 12 games against the Jets, dating back to 2016. A win over the Patriots would be huge for this team.

And then it will be all about the Bills, which we’ll hit on a little bit lower.

2. The happiness over the win in Denver was obviously muted postgame by the injury news around rookie running back Breece Hall, who is believed to have a torn ACL. This is a crushing blow for the Jets any way you slice it. Hall has been the best player on offense and maybe the best player on the team. The offense was running through him.

Now, what do the Jets do?

I think they stick with what they have. Michael Carter has a lot of talent and he showed that last season. He is a good runner and receiver. Ty Johnson can be a speedy sub for him. They don’t have anyone as explosive as Hall, but neither do most teams. They can bring rookie Zonovan “Bam” Knight up off the practice squad to be the third back. Knight had some really good moments in training camp. He was a player who consistently made plays in training camp and made you say, “who is that?”

The Jets will need to rely on all three to combine for Hall’s production.

There will be calls for general manager Joe Douglas to trade for a running back, but I would be hesitant to send away draft picks for a rental running back. I suppose if it was a sixth- or seventh-round pick, you’d have to consider it, but I would be careful.

Another route Douglas can take is raiding someone else’s practice squad for a running back, but I would give Knight a shot first. If the coaches don’t feel he’s ready, then maybe you start looking around the league at players on practice squads.

3. The Jets defense is legit and has only given up 19 total points in the last two games. It is hard to identify a weak spot on the defense right now. The defensive line has been dominant. The linebackers are all over the field delivering big tackles. The cornerbacks have been impossible to throw on. The safeties are also making plays.

Here’s the thing, though. They have done it against some struggling offenses. The Steelers, Dolphins, Packers and Broncos were all scuffling when they played the Jets. Pittsburgh switched quarterbacks at halftime. The Dolphins had their third-string quarterback. The Packers look lost, even with Aaron Rodgers. The Broncos had a backup quarterback playing Sunday.

That is not to take away from the Jets’ wins. You play who is on the schedule in the NFL and wacky things happen (P.J. Walker beat the Buccaneers on Sunday).

But when we are talking about how good this defense is, we need to see them get a true test. That comes in two weeks when the Bills come to MetLife Stadium. Josh Allen and Co. are the best offense in the NFL. If the Jets defense shuts them down, now we start talking about whether the Jets defense is one of the best in the NFL.

4. One of the big sidebars of the week is going to be what happens next with disgruntled wide receiver Elijah Moore. Moore was in New Jersey watching the Jets play in Denver. The Jets have made it clear they do not plan on honoring his trade request, so how do they now get him back in the fold?

Saleh and Douglas need to sit down with Moore on Monday and work through his issues with the team. They could be without Corey Davis for a bit after Davis injured his knee on Sunday. There are going to be targets for Moore coming up. You have to hope Moore has cooled off over the last few days and realizes there are 10 games left in the season. If the Jets passing offense gets rolling, he’ll be a big part of that. Moore also needs to realize that none of the Jets receivers are having big games right now because the passing game is scuffling. With Hall gone and Davis possibly missing time, Saleh needs to find a way to get Moore back in the fold.

The Jets have won three straight games without throwing a touchdown pass.

Kwon Alexander played 51 snaps (65 percent), which was more than Quincy Williams, who played 41. You have to wonder if Williams’ ankle was bothering him.

Sauce Gardner is the real deal. He was all over the field Sunday and made a huge pass breakup on fourth down in the fourth quarter. He had three pass breakups in the game and led the team with 10 tackles. Gardner is making his case to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year.