Winners and Losers from the Denver Broncos’ 20-13 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars

After a rough week coming off a blowout loss in Week 1 to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos bounced back in a big way in Week 2 vs. the Jaguars. They started slow and had some pretty bad red zone moments; however, they came alive in the second half and put together another 4th quarter comeback victory.

At one point in this game, we had a lot of negative talking points, and we still have to touch on them, but the Broncos really turned it around in the second half and had some big performances from key players. Redemption for Bo Nix, Davis Webb, Vance Joseph, Jaylen Waddle, and the rest of the Broncos team.

Here are your winners and losers from the Broncos’ big comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After playing arguably the worst game of his career on Monday Night, Nix bounced back and had a really good game today. The stat line should be better and include more than one touchdown, but he moved the ball up-and-down the field vs. the Jags and led yet another 4th-quarter comeback victory.

Nix finished the game going 22 of 31 for 288 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. However, he had a deep ball to Jaylen Waddle go down at the one-yard line and would have led multiple touchdown drives if the Broncos could convert inside the red zone. Still, Nix and the offense came alive in the second half, specifically the 4th quarter, and he helped lead the Broncos to yet another comeback victory.

This was a classic Bo Nix performance.

Waddle’s stat line on Monday Night baffled me. They need more from Waddle if they want to achieve their big goals this season, and they got exactly that today from Waddle. He bounced back (the theme of today’s game) and had a HUGE game. He had 8 receptions for 138 yards, which included multiple big plays on 3rd down and in key moments.

This is the type of performance the Broncos expected from Waddle when they made the blockbuster trade for him this offseason. Week 1 was shockingly bad, but today’s performance is what we should expect moving forward from the Broncos’ explosive wide receiver.

The Broncos entered the game already down RJ Harvey, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, and would later lose veteran starter JK Dobbins with another hamstring injury late in the game. That put the spotlight on rookie running back Jonah Coleman, and the rookie did not disappoint.

While the stat line will not blow you away, he helped put this game away late on the final drive and also scored his first career touchdown.

It remains to be seen if Harvey or Dobbins will miss games moving forward, but if they do, or are at least limited, this could be the big opportunity Coleman has been waiting for. The impressive rookie back had a strong offseason and showed off his talent late in this game.

He looks like a future starter, and that future could be starting sooner rather than later.

The Jags had some big plays, specifically to star wide receiver Parker Washington, but overall, the Broncos secondary did an excellent job against this high-powered Jaguars passing offense. Lawrence, who has been playing like an elite quarterback dating back to last season, finished the game with just 189 yards passing and 1 interception.

It felt like Lawrence had a better day than that, but the Broncos’ secondary, specifically corners Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, and Ja’Quan McMillian, played a damn good game. The biggest play of the game, the one that changed the momentum, was a huge interception by corner Riley Moss on a key 3rd down at midfield trailing 13-6 late in the 3rd quarter.

This INT by Moss gave the Broncos life and led to an eventual game-tying touchdown. The momentum would be in the Broncos’ favor for the rest of the game. A huge play by Riley Moss.

Pat Surtain II did PS2 things throughout this one, including a big PBU on the Jags’ final offensive drive to force 4th down and a punt. McMillian was good too and had a near INT in the 4th quarter as well.

Sure, Parker Washington made some plays, but he’s doing that against everyone right now. The Broncos’ secondary locked down a high-powered Jags offense and was a big reason for this victory.

On Tuesday Morning, I wrote “Davis Webb’s OC and play-calling debut was an epic failure”, and it was. It was a rough showing that had fans and media calling for him to give up play-calling. The team had his back all week, and this morning, we had an Adam Schefter report stating the Broncos have faith in Webb’s ability.

Still, the pressure was on Davis Webb today, and it did not start out well. The Broncos had two 1st-and-goal opportunities, including starting at the 1-yard line, and walked away with just 3 points. However, the Broncos were moving the ball well; they just couldn’t capitalize in the red zone.

That all changed in the second half when the Broncos offense came alive, and they went from trailing 13-6 to winning 20-13.

The Broncos had 392 total yards, 288 passing yards, 104 rushing yards, and beat the Jaguars ‘ high-powered offense in all of the offensive yardage stats. It may not have been always pretty and far from perfect, but Webb silenced all doubters today.

While all the heat was on Davis Webb, Vance Joseph’s defense played equally as bad on Monday Night. Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker ran all over the Broncos’ defense, and they allowed over 200 yards rushing while missing 28 or so tackles.

They looked bad, unprepared, and honestly, soft. That had many, myself included, concerned about today’s game. The Jags put a whooping on the Broncos last season when they were playing their best football. Coming off a tough loss, it felt like the worst-case matchup.

Well, they returned to form and shut down the high-powered Jaguars offense.

His defense limited the Jags to just 13 points, under 200 yards passing, 95 rushing yards, and came up big late in the game. The pressure was also getting to Lawrence throughout the game. He’s good at avoiding the rush and making plays with defenders in his face, but the Broncos made him work for it. In the end, Joseph’s defense slowed down a hot Jaguars offense that has been unstoppable dating back to last season.

1st and GOAL at the 1 – ends with a FG

1st and GOAL at the 8 – ends with a Nix INT

This includes a 1st and GOAL at the 5 vs. the Chiefs that ended with a field goal.

The Broncos NEED to convert these into touchdowns moving forward. They did in the second half, which helped fuel their 4th-quarter comeback, but those first-half failures could have cost them this game.

10 flags for 53 yards. A few of those flags were declined, so the yardage isn’t as bad as it could have been. Still, the drive-killing penalties on offense were popping up again in the 1st half. Thankfully, they got better as the game went on, but still, this has been a multi-year issue for the Broncos, and it’s one they NEED to clean up.

• DL Zach Allen – WINNER: He was unblockable at times today and was in on multiple pressures and contributed to a few sacks even though he was not credited with one.

• EDGE Que Robinson – WINNER: Had a sack early in the game and looks like the real deal off the edge as a pass rusher.

• Broncos OL – WINNER: Nix was sacked 4 times last week, and the pressure was getting to him throughout the game. Well, that was not the case today, and Nix finished the game with 0 sacks, which is more like the norm.

• TEs Nate Adkins and Evan Engram – WINNER: Adkins had 3 catches for 32 yards and 1 touchdown, which tied the game up. Engram only had one catch, but it was an incredible one late in the game that kept a drive going.

• WR Troy Franklin – WINNER: He had just one catch, but it was an incredible one-handed catch in tight coverage for 27 yards.

• Broncos run defense – WINNER: Have to give Alex Singleton and the Broncos defense some love. Held the Jags to just 95 yards on the ground and bounced back from a tough showing vs. the Chiefs.

• Broncos Country – WINNER: You guys were LOUD, and it had an impact on the Jaguars’ offense and had them burn a timeout. Mile High salute to you.

DL Zach Allen – WINNER: He was unblockable at times today and was in on multiple pressures and contributed to a few sacks even though he was not credited with one.

EDGE Que Robinson – WINNER: Had a sack early in the game and looks like the real deal off the edge as a pass rusher.

Broncos OL – WINNER: Nix was sacked 4 times last week, and the pressure was getting to him throughout the game. Well, that was not the case today, and Nix finished the game with 0 sacks, which is more like the norm.

TEs Nate Adkins and Evan Engram – WINNER: Adkins had 3 catches for 32 yards and 1 touchdown, which tied the game up. Engram only had one catch, but it was an incredible one late in the game that kept a drive going.

WR Troy Franklin – WINNER: He had just one catch, but it was an incredible one-handed catch in tight coverage for 27 yards.

Broncos run defense – WINNER: Have to give Alex Singleton and the Broncos defense some love. Held the Jags to just 95 yards on the ground and bounced back from a tough showing vs. the Chiefs.

Broncos Country – WINNER: You guys were LOUD, and it had an impact on the Jaguars’ offense and had them burn a timeout. Mile High salute to you.