Broncos overcome shaky start to defeat Jaguars

The Broncos and Jaguars entered this contest on the back of completely different opening week results. Jacksonville took care of the Browns at home with ease, as Trevor Lawrence looked like a quarterback ready to start an MVP campaign.

Meanwhile, it was a long night at Arrowhead Stadium for Denver, falling by 21 points on Monday Night Football and in need of a bounce back at home.

What was expected to be a cagey affair begun like so, with both offenses struggling to gain momentum, until Lawrence finally led his side down the field, as Bhayshul Tuten reaped the rewards in the form of a short-yardage touchdown.

After a quiet debut, Jaylen Waddle made his presence felt on a deep-ball catch as Denver finally got going offensively. Though 1st and goal from the 1-yard line was still not enough to produce a touchdown, settling for 3 points as the Jaguars made a strong stand.

Things appeared to be heading down the same route as the previous week for the Broncos, as Bo Nix threw a red zone interception, allowing the Jaguars to open up a 7-point halftime lead, which they maintained deep into the 3rd quarter as Denver seemed uninspired and searching for offensive answers, as the home crowd began to voice their displeasure.

But it was a defensive play that gave the home team the spark they needed, with Riley Moss stepping in to pick off Lawrence close to midfield, giving the offense the field position they needed to tie the scores at 13 apiece, with Nix finding tight end Nate Adkins for a touchdown.

Despite seemingly being in control for most of the game, the Jaguars suddenly found themselves up against it on the road, and weren’t able to cope with the raucous crowd, as a few drops and a missed field goal signified a complete momentum shift.

Another short field allowed Nix to work his way down the field, with rookie Jonah Coleman’s first career touchdown giving the Broncos the lead with 7 minutes to play.

Jacksonville were simply unable to regain the momentum, as their final offensive possession ended in a punt, before Denver chewed the remaining 5 minutes of game time with a decisive drive to capture a much-needed 20-13 win.

The Jaguars didn’t do much wrong this afternoon, but in the end were beaten by a hungrier Broncos team, who were desperate to avoid falling to 0-2. Lawrence will rue the costly interception that saw the game change, but will look to make amends in a much-anticipated contest against the New England Patriots next week.

With Denver’s brutal schedule to begin their campaign, a win today was imperative. They’ll build on this as they head to Los Angeles to take on the Rams next Sunday night.

Touchdowns
Jacksonville: Tuten
Denver: Adkins, Coleman

Top Performers
Jacksonville: Tuten, Washington, Lewis
Denver: Nix, Waddle, Moss, Roach

Injuries
Jacksonville: N/A
Denver: Dobbins (leg)

Crowd: TBC