DENVER - Over 33 painstaking plays and 19 mind-numbing minutes, Mike Anderson and Jake Plummer toyed with the New York defense in a cruelly effective examination of all the things the Jets couldn't do.

The Broncos got a touchdown and a field goal out of those early drives to more than set the tone for their 27-0 victory Sunday, a win that bolstered Denver's drive toward the playoffs and did little to prove the Jets to be anything more than bottom feeders in the NFL.

“We're struggling on offense, and it's very difficult to win in this league if you can't score,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said.

Impossible, of course, and in part because the Denver offense stayed on the field for nearly 42.5 minutes, the defense was able to enjoy its first shutout since 1997, the year the Broncos (8-2) won their first Super Bowl.

Plummer threw for 225 yards and again went without an interception. Anderson ran for 113 yards and three scores.

The highlight, though, was the shutout, paced by four sacks, five turnovers and a thorough dismantling of all three New York quarterbacks: Brooks Bollinger, Vinny Testaverde and Kliff Kingsbury.

“It feels good,” linebacker Al Wilson said. “Anytime you get it, I think it says a lot about the character of the defense.”

New York (2-8) lost its fifth straight, sustained its first shutout since 1995 and went without a touchdown for the third time this season and the second time in two weeks. Last week, after a 30-3 loss to Carolina, Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas accused the Jets of quitting at the end.

That couldn't be said this time. Sadly, though, that's about the best thing that could be said about the Jets.

“I can't ask for more than what they have,” Edwards said. “They're giving everything they have at this point.”

Bollinger probably won't remember much of this debacle after being knocked out early with a concussion that left him vomiting on the sideline.

Testaverde replaced him and finished with 152 yards, including a few second-half drives in which the Jets' offense looked decent.

But he lost a fumble on the second snap he took and four of his first five drives ended in turnovers.

The 42-year-old warhorse hurt his ankle late and gave way to Kingsbury, who Edwards said, “if we had to play tomorrow,” would probably be New York's starter.

“The quarterback situation is in shambles,” Edwards said.

Denver held the venerable Curtis Martin to 7 yards on four carries, his worst output since a 5-yard game early in 2002 when he was hurting and didn't play much.

The Broncos did what good teams do to bad ones; they put them away early and added on late.