Good morning, Broncos Country!
Well, that game was soooo much more fun to watch. A week after getting shredded by the Chiefs, the Broncos defense looked like themselves again, holding the high-powered Jaguars offense to just 13 points.
After a record-setting performance in Week 1 for yards given up due to missed tackles, the defense did not wantn to repeat their abysmal play. And Zach Allen noted that no one on defense expected anything less than a bounce-back game this week.
“We’ve kind of proven that for the past three years now,”
Allen said of the team’s ability to rebound from a bad game. “So it’s kind of funny how everyone was freaking out after one game. It’s been like four straight years of slow starts. So luckily we got back on track today.”
The Broncos’ offense couldn’t find the end zone in the first half, despite two trips to the red zone. Following a massive 49-yard catch by Jaylen Waddle at the one, the offense sputtered for three downs and settled for a field goal. Then a Bo Nix interception in the end zone prevented another score and gave the Jaguars a chance to score just before the half.
But Denver’s defense kept the score tight, allowing only field goals the rest of the game after giving up one touchdown at the start of the second quarter.
And that gave the offense time to find some rhythm and put together three second-half scoring drives, including two touchdowns, to finally gain the advantage in the fourth quarter.
Riley Moss’s interception in the third quarter was a big part of keeping the Jaguars from getting too far ahead before the offense could catch up. After the game, Sean Payton noted the takeaway, along with getting off the field on third downs, as keys to holding back Jacksonville.
“That’s a really good offense,” Payton said. “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.”
Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian said the response came from how the group practiced during a short week between games.
“It’s always been the standard,” McMillian said. “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.'”
Allen credited better fundamentals for containing Jacksonville’s run game after a rough showing a week earlier.
“Last week wasn’t our standard by any means, but again, guys were like for the most part in the right spots,” he said. “So I think we just tackled a little bit better, swarmed better. Just proud of the group and just got to continue to build off of it. There’s still a lot of things to improve on, and we got a lot of tough games coming up.”
Payton also saw the win as evidence his team has built the mental toughness to handle adversity in close games, pointing to the confidence the team has built from being tested in games like this before.
“I also think there’s a confidence level in a team that because they’ve won before, they’ve been behind before and then how do they respond?” Payton said. “So I think on the positive side, it’s that confidence having been here before, and then from a coaching perspective, ‘Hey, how do we find a way to not be in as many one-score games or behind in one-score games going forward?’ There are some specific areas that we outlined.”
Denver won’t have much time to enjoy the improvement. The Broncos host the Rams on Sunday Night Football this week, who come in after a statement win of their own in Week 2 following an embarrassing Week 1 loss. On Monday Night Football, Matthew Stafford threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, two to Davante Adams, while the duo rushing attack from Kyren Williams and Blake Corum combined for 164 yards in the Rams 28-6 pummeling of the Giants.
But Allen promises the Broncos aren’t looking past this week’s win and every player knows the tough games coming up.
“We’ve got a really tough opponent this upcoming week,” he said. “So can’t afford any slow starts or lapses, so just got to get going.”
