The Denver Broncos are still trying to shake off the effects of one of the more lopsided defeats in recent team history against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, but having a short-term memory will be essential as they must turn the page and focus their attention on the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday.
The Jaguars smacked the Cleveland Browns around in Week 2 and while the Browns look like one of the league's more inferior teams, the Broncos are well aware of how good this Jacksonville team is, as it came into Empower Field last December and ended Denver's 11-game winning streak.
In order to be more competitive against Jacksonville than they were against Kansas City, the Broncos will have to fix a number of things — from being better tackling
to slowing down the rushing attack — and coach Sean Payton and his staff need to work a couple of the team's newest players into the action much more than we saw on Monday night.
Two players Broncos must get more involved in Week 2
1. WR Jaylen Waddle
This one should be obvious, as Jaylen Waddle was almost non-existent against Kansas City.
The Broncos paid a pretty penny to trade for Waddle this offseason and for him to be targeted only three times against the Chiefs, catching one pass for two yards, is totally unacceptable. On one of the targets, Waddle dropped a pass, which was a key moment in the game as the Broncos desperately needed the play to change up the momentum.
The Broncos didn't give up a first and third-round pick to throw the ball to their new receiver three times, so against Jacksonville, it should be a focus to feed him the ball. Things were rough in Kansas City, but that has to be the exception rather than the rule.
When asked about the difficulty of getting Waddle involved in Week 1, Payton had this to say: “Yeah, I mean, look, sometimes you have an opener and sometimes they go well, and other times you have to regroup. So, we will have a chance to evaluate all of that.”
2. RB Jonah Coleman
The Broncos were never able to settle in on offense and build a rushing attack in Week 1, calling just 11 run plays in the game. But not one of those went to rookie fourth-round pick Jonah Coleman.
J.K. Dobbins had eight carries and RJ Harvey was given three. Coleman was on the field for only three offensive snaps, though he did get a shot as a kick returner, bringing one back for 27 yards. The Broncos should work on establishing Coleman in Week 2 and maybe give him some work in short yardage and goal-line situations.
In the second quarter against Kansas City, with the score still tied 7-7, the Broncos faced a 3rd-and-1 from their own 32-yard line. Not only did they not run the ball, but they went with an empty backfield before throwing an incomplete pass. Coincidentally, that was one of Waddle's three targets on the night.
That brought on the punting unit and the Chiefs went on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown just before halftime, and it was all downhill from there. This would have been a great situation to see if Coleman could have moved the chains and gotten a fresh set of downs.
Small things like that can lead to a completely different game.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 2 players the Broncos must get more involved in Week 2
