For the Jacksonville Jaguars, the biggest swing against the Denver Broncos might not come from a touchdown, a coverage call or a bold fourth-down decision. It could come from the kicking game.
That’s the area Liam Coen is staring at most closely heading into Week 2, because Mile High Stadium changes the math. The trip from Florida is one thing.
The atmosphere is another. But the natural elevation in Denver may be the factor that matters most when the ball goes into the air.
Jacksonville’s special teams, usually one of the cleaner parts of the operation, was not sharp in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. The Jaguars gave up more than 200 yards of kick return yardage, and only 1 of their 7 kickoffs resulted in a touchback.
That said, the league-wide numbers show this isn’t as simple as telling every kicker to boot it through the end zone. Across the NFL this season, there have been only 26 touchbacks on 183 kickoffs.
The last time these teams met, special teams helped shape the game early. Will Lutz missed a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter with the score still tied 0-0, and Jacksonville scored on the next drive on its way to the upset. Cam Little answered for the Jaguars by making both of his field-goal attempts and all of his extra points.
The kickoff battle mattered too. Jacksonville began drives at its own 41 and 33, giving the offense better field position to work with, while Little produced two touchbacks on kickoffs. That kind of hidden yardage can decide a game, and Coen knows he and special teams coordinator Heath Farwell have to be sharp with it after the way last week went.
"The kicking game in general I think is a little bit impacted and affected, especially in that stadium. There's, a little bit of a difference with the success rates on kicks in general field goals, distances, yardages there a little bit as well," Coen said Friday at the Miller Electric Center.
"That's something that we have to take into consideration. And we talked about at game management.
And I think it comes down to, or how are we covering too? How are we covering these things?
Are they getting explosives? Are they getting hidden yards within the game throughout kickoff and kickoff return?"
Coen has other calls to make on Sunday, from how many offensive snaps Travis Hunter will play to how the Jaguars handle Jaylen Waddle and who takes charge of the passing game. But the most important hidden edge may come every time Little and Logan Cooke step onto the field.
Special teams have already helped Jacksonville win games before. In a road game like this, the Jaguars may need that edge again.
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Jaguars Defense Gets An Early Chance To Expose Denvers Biggest Problem
The Broncos left their season opener with plenty to sort through after a 31-10 loss to the Chiefs, and much of the postgame attention centered on how quickly the offense has to steady itself. Bo Nix acknowledged the rough start but framed it as a problem to fix rather than a reason to panic, while Sean Payton took responsibility and pointed to the teams overall shortcomings as the bigger issue.
For Jacksonville, that makes this coming matchup feel like an early measuring stick for a defense looking to take advantage of a team still searching for answers. The Jaguars will get a look at a Denver group that knows it has to play cleaner and more complete football in a hurry, and the pressure is already on Paytons side to show the opener was a stumble, not a sign of a deeper problem. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunter Just Gave Jaguars Fans A Big New Reason To Watch
Travis Hunter is back on the field for Jacksonville after a long recovery from an LCL tear that kept him out for 318 days, and his first game back offered the Jaguars a fresh glimpse of why they were so eager to get him involved again. He worked mostly on defense, mixed in a few snaps on offense and finished with one catch and one carry, a small but meaningful step in reintroducing a player the team plans to use in more than one way.
Hunter and the Jaguars defensive coordinator both sounded encouraged by what they saw, which matters because this is still the start of figuring out how far his workload can go. Special teams could be next on the list, adding another layer to a role that already asks plenty of him and giving Jacksonville even more reason to keep watching how the plan unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Has Extra Motivation For Broncos-Jaguars Showdown
The Broncos and Jaguars head into Week 2 coming off very different openers, and there is a little more edge to this meeting than a standard early-season crossover. Jacksonville coach Liam Coen recently revisited a past exchange with Sean Payton in which the Broncos coach made a smaller-market comment, and Coen said Payton later told him he was "coming for you this year." It adds a personal layer to a game that already has some urgency attached to it, especially with Denver trying to clean up a rough offensive start.
Coen still spoke respectfully about Paytons influence as a coach, which is part of what makes the matchup interesting from Jacksonvilles side. The Jaguars know they are facing a Denver team eager to rebound, and any extra motivation from Payton only sharpens the focus on a game that could tell us a little more about where both clubs are heading early in the season. [Read more 🡒]