The Denver Broncos looked absolutely dreadful in their Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Whether it was on offense or defense, nothing seemed to click or go right for them. This weekend, they host the Jacksonville Jaguars who are 1-0 to start the season after beating the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. In order for the Broncos to have a shot at defeating the Jaguars, these three players have to perform at a high level.
J.K. Dobbins — Running Back
Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb opted with the bold strategy of barely running
the ball on the road at Arrowhead on Monday Night Football. That put an immense amount of pressure on Bo Nix, who wound up struggling and having one of his worst games of his career. This Sunday, establishing the run has to be a focal point of their offensive plans.
The Jaguars boast a strong defensive line that is extremely good stopping the run. However, the Broncos have to try and get their ground game going if they want any chance at winning on Sunday. J.K. Dobbins was out due to injury in last year’s loss against Jacksonville.
Denver spent all offseason trying to revitalize and improve their rushing attack—let’s see them try and enforce that. If RJ Harvey is dinged up and not available to go due to a hamstring issue, rookie running back Jonah Coleman should see his first carries of the regular season.
Courtland Sutton — Wide Receiver
Last week against the Chiefs, I noted Jaylen Waddle as a player that needed to have a huge game. Unfortunately, Denver’s prized trade acquisition had one catch for two yards. That’s simply unacceptable. Courtland Sutton also failed to make an impact and had just two catches for 11 yards.
This week, Sutton has to rise to the occasion and make an impact in the Broncos’ passing game. In last year’s matchup, Sutton led the Broncos with six receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. He will have to be at his best to give Denver a chance to win.
Whether it’s a touchdown catch or reverting back to form and being a chain-moving machine, the receiver corps elder statesman has to play at a high level. Of course, that also means Bo Nix has to do a better job at quarterback. The Broncos’ aerial attack can’t be flat for the second game in a row. Enough of the slow starts.
Alex Singleton — Linebacker
Truth be told, you could insert almost any player on defense as someone to watch and hope they improve drastically after what happened against the Chiefs. The defensive line was overmatched, the edge rushers failed to get adequate pressure, and several members of the Broncos’ secondary had a rough outing.
For Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, I’m choosing inside linebacker Alex Singleton. His agent went to social media to blast fans and writers for criticizing the team. After the game, Singleton’s comments rubbed a lot of folks across Broncos Country the wrong way. I expect team captains to be more accountable than that.
Liam Coen loves to diversify his personnel groupings, work in a lot of motion, and do whatever it’s necessary to try and confuse opposing defenses pre-snap. He also likes to utilize running backs in the passing game. I think that will pose a challenge for Singleton who has struggled with the latter on more than one occasion.
Will he rise up to the challenge and play better on Sunday? You’ll just have to tune in and find out.
