The Denver Broncos hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. After a bad loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, it was a must-win game for the Broncos. They started off slow but showed some moxie and guts in the second half in order to reel off an impressive comeback victory. Here are several instant reactions from this afternoon’s performance.
After struggling early on, Broncos’ offense wakes up in second half
Like most games, the Broncos struggle to start off fast. They won the coin toss and opted to receive the kick but proceeded to go three-and-out.
That was just a sign of things to come. Early on in the game, Denver’s offense had two big blunders in the redzone.
After a 49-yard Bo Nix to Jaylen Waddle connection, Denver stalled out at the one-yard line and had to settle for a field goal. Right before the two-minute warning in the second quarter, an ill-advised backfoot throw by Nix to Courtland Sutton was intercepted by Jourdan Lewis keeping points off the board.
Settling for just three points with the potential of fourteen is absolutely maddening. Most teams wouldn’t be able to overcome that, but this afternoon—the Broncos did.
One of the lowlights in Denver’s loss to Kansas City was the lack of impact from wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. However, he and Nix had quite the connection today. Waddle made a handful of catches over the middle of the field that moved the chains for the Broncos. He was the team’s top performer at the position and finished the game with 8 receptions for 138 yards.
The Broncos didn’t have much success running the ball. The Jaguars’ defense is one of the best in the league at stopping it. However, rookie running back Jonah Coleman came on strong late in the game when the team needed him. Coleman grinded out some tough yards and got the go-ahead touchdown for the Broncos in the fourth quarter.
Also, a tip of the cap to Nix. He played much better in the second half and finished the game going 22-of-31 for 288 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Hopefully, we can see him continue to improve and make sound decisions with the football moving forward.
Broncos’ defense does great limiting the impact of Trevor Lawrence
Limiting the impact of Trevor Lawrence was one of my big keys to the game. Under the tutelage and playcalling of Liam Coen, Lawrence has made the jump to arguably a Top 5 signal caller in the NFL. It was a big test for Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and his players, but this afternoon they rose to the occasion.
Outside of several long completions, Lawrence struggled to get things done through the air. He was 17-of-29 for 189 yards with 1 interception. Denver’s trio of cornerbacks in Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, and Ja’Quan McMillian all made great plays on the ball in key third down situations to stop opposing drives.
I’m really proud of what the defense was able to accomplish. They gave up some big plays but played lights out when it mattered most and really dominated the second half. Way to go, defense!
Those penalties have got to stop
There aren’t many big things to gripe about in the game, but the Broncos’ penchant for penalties is one of them. Somehow, someway, they were able to win 14 games last season despite being tops in the league in penalties. Today they had ten more, a lot of them being pre-snap penalties.
This is something that has to be corrected moving forward. Denver gutted out an impressive victory today, but they can’t continue to hamper themselves with penalties. This team has too many good coaches for this to keep happening. Hopefully this is fixed sooner than later.
