When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The Denver Broncos started off slow but eventually found their groove on offense in the second half. That coupled with a terrific defensive performance helped them topple the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-13 on Sunday afternoon to move to 1-1 on the season.
After the game, Head Coach Sean Payton called the matchup ‘a tale of two halves’ and was pleased with how the offense responded after several missed opportunities in the redzone early in the game. He also
acknowledged the defense’s impressive turnaround being a huge factor in achieving victory.
“That’s a really good offense. When you looked at last year’s game, I thought they were outstanding. They were going to make their plays, but it was a much different game than a year ago. We had our hands on a few others, but we got off the field on third down. That was good,” stated Payton.
Denver’s defense slowed down Trevor Lawrence and the high-powered Jaguars aerial attack. Last December, Lawrence was able to scorch the Broncos with four touchdowns. He also had a penchant for extending drives on third down. This time around, Lawrence threw for less than 200 yards, converted just 5-of-12 third down attempts, and had zero touchdowns.
Outside a few plays, the Broncos performed at a high level in pass coverage. Just three big plays accounted for most of Lawrence’s total yards through the air. Nickelback Ja’Quan McMillian, who had several key pass breakups, noted the team worked hard all week to respond the right way. Moreover, the execution being emblematic of their resilience.
“It’s always been the standard. We didn’t do that last week. We responded the right way. We had a great week of practice on a short week. Just went out there and kept fighting and got the ‘W’,” stated McMillian.
“It’s just the work that we put in. We know this is an imperfect game. It’s not going to always be exactly how we want it to be scripted when all we have to do is just keep fighting and do our job.”
With the backs against their wall being down two scores in the third quarter, Denver’s confidence never wavered. They dug deep, gave it everything they had, and the result was a gutsy win against a top AFC team. It’s exactly what the Broncos needed after struggling mightily against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1.
As I wrote earlier in the week, a sign of a great team is being able to rebound after adversity. The Broncos showed that on Sunday. There’s no doubt the team has toughness and determination. They also have the right mindset and approach to overcome future obstacles and challenges that will occur during the rest of the season.
“When you get punched in the face, you’ve got to respond and we have a really tough team. We played with great grit today, and we responded really well and at the end of the day that’s the most important thing,” remarked Nix after the victory.
Speaking about responding—how about the impact of Jaylen Waddle? After being limited to just one catch for two yards in his regular season debut with Denver, he was arguably the player of the game. He reeled in eight catches for 138 receiving yards.
When the Broncos needed a big play, it was Waddle who consistently answered the call. His playmaking skills netted the offense several key first downs and put them in scoring position on multiple occasions. After last week’s outing, this is the type of performance fans across Broncos Country were hoping to see.
Next on the docket for Week 3? The Los Angeles Rams in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The Rams also weren’t at their best in their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. However, they’ll get a chance to get back on track against the New York Giants tonight on Monday Night Football.
They’ll be hungry to another tough opponent for the Broncos. Though if Denver can pick up where they left off on offense and string together another tenacious defensive effort, they’ll have a good shot at being 2-1.
