Jaguars’ Offense Stalls as Broncos Rally Late for Win
When two of last season’s premier defensive teams meet, no one expects a shootout.
But after the first quarter ended with neither the Jaguars nor Broncos on the board, it became clear whichever team could find its footing on offense would secure the Week 2 win. And while Jacksonville managed to get its attack going first, Denver started firing at the right time.
Behind a late-game surge by the home squad, the Jaguars (1-1) fell to the Broncos (1-1) 20-13 in their first road test of the season Sunday evening at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Broncos — down 13-6 heading into the fourth quarter — scored 17 unanswered points to take a 20-13 lead with 7:24 to go in the contest. Kicker Wil Lutz knocked one through the uprights, and scores from both tight end Nate Adkins and running back Jonah Coleman saw the Jaguars suddenly playing catch-up.
And it was a bounce back they couldn’t pull off.
The Jaguars’ offensive showing was a stark contrast to their season opener, when the crew put up 14 points in the first quarter and closed out the half with another 10. Finishing with just one touchdown, they did not reach nearly the same offensive heights Sunday.
“When you needed a drive, you needed a stop, you needed a catch, you needed a play, we just didn’t do it,” coach Liam Coen said. “We got to make some plays.”
The wide receivers didn’t have much success, as the offense was plagued with the kind of drops that were elusive against the Browns. Wideout Parker Washington and Trevor Lawrence struggled to connect, with one of Lawrence’s passes intended for the receiver getting picked off and another coming close.
However, Washington led with seven receptions on 12 targets for 98 yards.
Brian Thomas Jr. also struggled with drops. He grabbed just three of his eight targets for 40 yards. After a standout freshman campaign, the third-year wideout has failed to get back to a similar stature.
“Those are all critical plays,” Coen said about the drops. “It just felt like we were a little out of sync in the second half.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence struggled in the pocket in a much less comfortable setting than the one he faced in Week 1. Against the Browns, Lawrence was under duress on just four of 24 dropbacks, per ESPN research, but the Broncos posed quite a different challenge to the Jaguars’ offensive line and quarterback.
Lawrence was sacked twice, and the Broncos defense logged seven quarterback hits on the evening to Jacksonville’s three. In the first half alone, he was pressured on eight of 19 dropbacks (42%), per ESPN research.
Lawrence completed 17 of his 29 passes for 189 yards, zero touchdowns, an interception and a 63.7 rating. Riley Moss intercepted a pass that came in Jacksonville’s last drive of the third quarter.
“It was tough sledding for us on offense the entire game,” Lawrence said. “We just didn’t make enough plays in the back half of the second half.”
On the ground, Bhayshul Tuten once again got the bulk of the snaps, and he excelled in the backfield as one of the bright spots of the evening. He opened the scoring with a touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation and finished with 13 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown in a solid night for the starter.
While the offense experienced the ups and downs that accompanied the season’s first test against a premier defense, the Jaguars defense held it down for the first part of the afternoon despite struggling to get to Nix.
The red zone defense was suffocating to start, with its most crucial effort coming halfway through the second quarter. Broncos receiver Jaylen Waddle grabbed a 49-yard pass in tight coverage to put Denver at the 1-yard line. But Jacksonville’s defense didn’t waver through three plays at the goal line, forcing the home team to settle for a field goal and maintaining the Jaguars’ lead.
The defense shined again in the following drive, with back-to-back 27-yard plays from Tyler Badie and Troy Franklin placing the Broncos at the 9-yard line with a fresh set of downs. But after stopping the first three attempts, the Jaguars wouldn’t allow another field goal, and cornerback Jourdan Lewis intercepted Nix’s pass intended for Courtland Sutton in the end zone.
The defense start sparked the Jaguars’ initial offensive breakthrough in the second quarter.
“[We] played really well off the momentum that our defense was creating and some big red zone stuff they got, and I thought we took advantage of some of those,” Lawrence said.
However, the defense slipped late as the Broncos mounted their comeback. The pass rush struggled, as Nix had plenty of time in the pocket to make the big-time plays that put the Broncos ahead.
The defense gave up 392 total offensive yards (288 passing and 104 rushing) and 22 total first downs. All but seven of them came in the second half as the defense failed to keep up with Denver’s sudden offensive spark.
Headlining the efforts, though, linebackers Foyesade Oluokun and Ventrell Miller had solid outings. After his team-leading, 10-tackle outing, Miller led the Jaguars again — tying with his linebacker counterpart with seven tackles.
Linebacker Dennis Gardeck also found success getting to the quarterback. While the defense failed to sack Nix, he logged two of the team’s three quarterback hurries.
Making up six of the team’s 13 points, Cam Little was called upon three times throughout the contest. He drilled a 44-yarder to give the Jaguars a 10-3 advantage heading into halftime, and he added their next score on a 23-yard attempt. However, with the score at 13-13, he missed from 54 yards out with 9:42 to play.
The Jaguars look to rebound when they return to EverBank Stadium to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Category: Feature Sports News, Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL
