The Broncos didn’t make it easy on themselves Sunday, but they still walked out of Denver with a 20-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and a much cleaner look than the mess they put on tape in Week 1.
Sean Payton made sure the scoreboard and the message were both clear. He told Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, "I'm coming for you this year," and Denver backed it up by moving to 1-1. That leaves the Broncos in far better position to handle the next six weeks than they would have been after another stumble.
The biggest turnaround came on defense. Vance Joseph’s group looked nothing like the unit that had been exposed with its tackling the week before.
Against Jacksonville, the Broncos were far sharper and far more disciplined in finishing plays. They held a Jaguars offense that has been dangerous to just 268 total yards, and Trevor Lawrence was kept to 189 passing yards while Zach Allen and the pass rush kept heat on him throughout the afternoon.
Denver also did a much better job handling Bhayshul Tuten, who had come out of Week 1 with the second-most broken tackles. At Mile High, the Broncos limited him to 65 rushing yards. Riley Moss delivered the defining defensive play of the day in the third quarter with an interception off pressure from Nik Bonitto, and that moment swung the game hard in Denver’s direction.
Riley Moss picks it off!JAXvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/tefsQpqaZO
That takeaway was the turning point. From there, the Broncos seized control and never really gave it back.
But this wasn’t a clean win by any stretch. Denver was flagged 10 times for 53 yards, and a few of those penalties were brutal.
A defensive holding call on Moss wiped out a Bonitto strip-sack that Alex Singleton recovered on Jacksonville’s opening drive. Later, Patrick Surtain II was hit with the same penalty, erasing a Jonah Elliss sack.
The offense had its own self-inflicted problems, especially before the snap. Those mistakes kept Denver behind the sticks for much of the first three quarters and gave Jacksonville more life than it should have had. The Broncos had opportunities to put the game away earlier, but the penalties and negative plays kept dragging them backward.
Bo Nix’s interception was the ugliest moment of the afternoon. It stalled a drive and gave the Jaguars a chance to stay in control, and the throw came off his back foot. It was a bad decision and a throw Denver cannot afford to repeat.
An INCREDIBLE high-point INT by Jourdan Lewis for the @Jaguars Bo Nix wants that one back pic.twitter.com/AUaz5UxJjx
Still, Nix had a strong day overall. Jacksonville’s defense is a tough one, but he attacked it downfield, and most of his biggest throws went to Jaylen Waddle. The biggest completion of the game was a 49-yard strike to Waddle that set Denver up at the Jaguars’ 1-yard line.
Jaylen Waddle gets his first big play as a Bronco! 🐧JAXvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/FAioYbx0Fs
The Broncos couldn’t finish that possession in the end zone, even with three hard tries from J.K. Dobbins.
Still, offensive coordinator Davis Webb stuck with the run game after the Broncos publicly backed him all week, and that approach paid off. Denver finished with more than 100 rushing yards as a team, and the ground game helped wear Jacksonville down and open things up for Nix in play-action.
Nix ended the day 22-of-31 for 288 yards, one touchdown and a 97.2 rating. Just as important, he was at his best when the game tightened up. He made key throws in the fourth quarter, helped Denver take advantage of Moss’s interception, and delivered enough clutch plays to help close it out.
There was plenty of sloppiness mixed in with the good, the bad, and the ugly. But the Broncos got the win, and after Week 1, that was the part that mattered most.
In Other News...
NFL Punished A Chiefs Starter For What Happened Late Vs Broncos
A late-game penalty against the Chiefs against the Broncos carried a little extra bite this week, with Kansas City guard Trey Smith fined $6,750 for a chop block in the fourth quarter of that matchup. The league announced the discipline the day before the Chiefs were set to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football, another reminder that even routine-looking infractions can draw attention once the NFL reviews them.
For Denver, it is another small footnote in a game that already featured its share of physical moments at the line of scrimmage. The fine fits the leagues broader effort to reinforce player conduct standards, but the timing also keeps the Broncos' latest meeting with their AFC West rivals in the conversation a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Run Game Just Lost A Piece Sean Payton Needed
RJ Harveys availability has become a fresh concern for a Broncos offense trying to lean on its run game early in the season. The rookie back was already coming off a game in which his workload was limited, and missing practices late in the week points to a hamstring issue that now puts him on the sideline for the upcoming matchup with Jacksonville.
J.K. Dobbins is expected to step into the lead role in Harveys absence, giving Sean Payton a more established option to carry the load. For a Denver offense that wants balance and consistency on the ground, losing Harvey removes a piece the staff had hoped to use, and leaves the backfield alignment a little thinner heading into a tough test. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Land In Another Chiefs Flashpoint After Mahomes Hit
A brief NFL review of Nik Bonittos hit on Patrick Mahomes has landed Denver back in one of the leagues most closely watched rivalries, but not with the kind of punishment the Chiefs might have hoped for. The Broncos edge rusher got to Mahomes after a short throw in Kansas City, with the contact appearing to come around the quarterbacks head and neck, yet the league ruled it legal and did not issue a roughing-the-passer penalty or fine.
The game itself still produced its share of discipline, with Chiefs guard Trey Smith and Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton each fined for separate infractions. For Denver, though, the Bonitto ruling keeps alive another familiar Chiefs flashpoint, the kind of moment that tends to linger long after a matchup the Chiefs ultimately won. [Read more 🡒]