New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is back in the spotlight this week after a bombshell report accused the former ambassador of passing on a trade for Cleveland Browns star receiver Jerry Juedy because of his Madden NFL rating. 

A report from The Athletic published Thursday morning painted a picture of dysfunction for the organization, which missed out on the playoffs for the 14th straight year, the longest active streak in the NFL.

At the heart of that dysfunction, according to the report, is Johnson. 

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An example detailed in the report was the Jets’ decision to kill a trade with the Denver Broncos involving former first round pick Jerry Jeudy. Sources told The Athletic that despite the negotiations of former general manager Joe Douglas and the interest of his counterpart, George Paton, the deal was called off because Johnson was influenced by the player’s rating in Madden NFL.

"Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in ‘Madden NFL,’ the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources," the report read. Jeudy was instead traded to the Cleveland Browns.

The video game’s rating also influenced other football decisions, per the report, including Johnson pushing back on signing guard John Simpson. 

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Perhaps more concerning, however, was sources' claims that Johnson’s two teenage sons had an influence in the decision-making. 

"When we’re discussing things, you’ll hear Woody cite something that Brick or Jack read online that’s being weighed equally against whatever opinion someone else in the department has," a current team executive told the outlet. 

A spokesperson dismissed this claim in a statement to The Athletic. 

"It is used as a reference point; it is not determinative," they said of the opinion of Johnson’s children. "It’s really sad that an adult would use a misleading anecdote about teenagers to make their father look bad. It’s ridiculous, quite honestly, the idea that this was used to influence the opinion of experienced executives."

The spokesperson added that they have "no role" in the organization, calling it "completely ridiculous" to imply otherwise. 

After firing both head coach and general manager and demoting their offensive coordinator, the Jets’ offseason will again feature more turnover and, hopefully, fewer leaks. 

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The Denver Broncos picked up a huge win for their playoff chances, taking down the Cleveland Browns, 41-32, in a back-and-forth thriller on "Monday Night Football."

This game was a shootout much like Jameis Winston’s previous nationally televised bout, which ended in victory for the Browns this past Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But Bo Nix, not Russell Wilson, was Winston’s opposing quarterback this time, and he continued to show why he’s an Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner as he picked apart the Browns’ defense. 

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On the team’s second drive, Nix was methodical as he dissected the defense, finding fellow rookie DeVaughn Vele for a 16-yard gain that landed the Broncos at the one-yard line. A few plays later, running back Javonte Williams scored the game’s first touchdown to get the home team on the board first. 

But leave it to Winston to immediately respond, launching one to Elijah Moore for a 44-yard gain four plays into the next drive to get into the red zone. Then, David Njoku went upstairs to haul in his first of two touchdowns on the night for Cleveland to tie things up 7-7. 

The Browns’ offense, though, definitely ran through Jerry Jeudy, who went into this contest against his former team saying he wanted to "whip their a--."

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He lived up to those words with 235 yards on nine catches, including a 70-yard touchdown that came immediately after Nix had thrown a dot to Marvin Mims Jr. on third-and-11 for a 93-yard touchdown in the third quarter. 

After the Broncos kicked a field goal to make it a 31-26 game, Winston was back under center again, this time looking to take the lead for the first time in this game with a touchdown.

That’s exactly what happened, as Nick Chubb was uncovered on his route for a five-yard score. 

However, Nix, who has been calm under pressure throughout this season, continued his good performance by getting his team into the red zone once more and Wil Lutz buried a short field goal to retake the lead, 34-32. 

Winston had a chance to respond once more, but he threw his second pick-six of the game, as Ja’Quan McMillan stepped into the out route and wasn’t touched after falling to the turf. He walked right into the end zone to pull away late in the fourth quarter. 

That was the victory seal for Denver, as Winston and the Browns didn’t have any magic in them to pull spoiler yet again. 

Looking at the stat sheet, Nix was 18-for-35 for 294 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, with Mims (3 catches, 105 yards) and Courtland Sutton (6 catches, 102 yards) leading the team. 

On the ground, Jaleel McLaughlin had 84 yards on 14 carries for the Broncos. 

For the Browns, Winston had a whopping 497 yards passing on 34-of-58 with Moore also tallying 11 yards on eight catches. Njoku finished with nine receptions for 52 yards and his two scores. 

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