Sometimes you need to be humbled.
It wasn’t the way the Jacksonville Jaguars wanted to exit Mile High. Winners of nine regular-season games, Jacksonville entered Mile High with a sense of confidence after being the only team to defeat the Denver Broncos at home in the regular season last year, snapping their 11-game win streak. This time, Jacksonville got a taste of what it feels like to see a winning streak come to an end.
Here are my two takeaways from the 20-13 defeat:
It was a rough day at the office for Brian Thomas Jr. What was thought to be fixed in the offseason recurred in Denver: the drops. Thomas was tied for second in the NFL with 10 drops last season, and those issues resurfaced against Denver. He recorded three receptions for 40 yards on eight targets. He had a huge dropped pass in the fourth quarter as the Jaguars were driving to answer the Broncos’ touchdown, which resulted in a punt.
An interception and a missed field goal were the two major plays that turned Sunday’s game.
Jacksonville led Denver 13-3 after an opening third-quarter field goal. Trevor Lawrence’s interception with the score 13-6 and 1:36 remaining in the third quarter helped kick-start a Broncos drive that resulted in a touchdown. Then, a missed 54-yard field goal attempt by Cam Little in the fourth quarter with 9:42 left would have given the Jaguars a 16-13 lead.
The Jaguars had 153 yards of total offense in the first half and 115 in the second. Lawrence completed 12 of 17 passes for 138 yards and a 94.7 passer rating in the first. His production dipped in the second half when he completed 5 of 12 passes for 51 yards and an interception with a 33.7 passer rating.
Denver would score 17 points unanswered in the second half as Jacksonville struggled on both sides of the ball.
“In all three phases in the second half, specially in the fourth quarter, we just did not win,” Coen said. “We didn’t coach it good enough, we didn’t play it good enough and we did not finish.”
Sunday’s loss doesn’t change my view of Jacksonville. I still view the Jaguars as one of the premier teams in the AFC. They just allowed a Denver Broncos team to hang around, failed to keep their foot on the gas, and let a game slip through their fingers.
Though the season is still young, I believe Jacksonville will look back on this game and learn from it. Last season, Jacksonville blew a 19-point second-half lead to the Houston Texans in Week 10, then went on to win its next eight consecutive regular-season games.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier, as last season’s AFC representative in the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots, travel to Jacksonville for a key AFC battle. New England is coming off a much-needed win against the Pittsburgh Steelers to even its record at 1-1.
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
