The Jaguars’ Week 2 trip to Denver has turned into one of those games that tells you a lot about a team. Jacksonville flattened the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 and suddenly looks like a near-consensus top-10 outfit. Now comes a tougher test, and the league’s prediction crowd is split right down the middle.
That’s the headline: no clear lean, no runaway favorite, just a 12-to-12 divide among the experts surveyed. In Week 1, nearly everybody was on Jacksonville against Cleveland. This time, with the Broncos in the way, the field is much less certain.
Denver’s case is obvious enough. The Broncos were 8-1 at home in 2025, and their only loss there came against Jacksonville in Week 16, a 34-20 Jaguars win that stood out for a few reasons.
It was the most points Denver allowed in any game in 2025, when the Broncos gave up just 18.3 points per game overall, third-best in the NFL. It was also the largest home loss in Denver’s last 40 home games, including the playoffs.
That’s part of why this matchup has drawn such a clean split among national voices. Albert Breer picked the Broncos, while Eva Geitheim, Mitch Goldich, Mike Kadlick, Gilbert Manzano, John Pluym, Pamela Maldonado, Seth Walder, Brooke Cersosimo, Bobby Kownack, Dan Parr, Larry Holder and Chad Graff went with the Jaguars. On the other side, Conor Orr, Matt Verderame, Eric Moody, Jeremy Bergman, Gennaro Filice, Zach Berman, Jon Greenberg, Nick Kosmider, Josh Kendal, Austin Mock and Steven Louis Goldstein sided with Denver.
Trevor Lawrence said this week that the Jaguars are treating last year’s meeting as useful film, not a reason to get carried away.
“I think for the value of watching the game and seeing what they did against us defensively and going back to our plan and what we did and taking information from that. Beyond that, I don't really put too much stock in it.
It's two totally different teams," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said this week. "Even if a lot of the players are the same, every year is so different, and every game, you have to go show up with your best for three hours on Sunday.
It's just looking at the structure of the defense and all those things and taking it for what it is. It's just another game that we can use to watch and just kind of see what they want to do.”
The Jaguars are also trying to keep the right perspective after a strong opener, and Liam Coen is not expected to let that Week 1 win change the temperature inside the building. Jacksonville knows Denver will be aiming to bounce back after its Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Broncos also have last year’s home defeat to the Jaguars sitting in the background.
Still, the pick here is Jacksonville. The Jaguars have the right matchup advantages on both sides, and while Denver should be better than it was a week ago and better than it was a year ago, Jacksonville looks like the stronger team going in. The call: Jaguars 27, Broncos 20.
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Jaguars Loss Just Sparked A Travis Hunter Debate Fans Feared
The Jaguars Week 2 loss to Denver did more than drop Jacksonville to 0-2, it reignited the conversation around Travis Hunters role and how the team is using its most talked-about newcomer. Hunter spent most of the afternoon on defense at cornerback, saw only limited work on offense, and still found himself in the middle of a pivotal moment when a pass interference flag went against him in a game the Jaguars could not afford to let slip away.
Liam Coen moved quickly to defend Hunter after the penalty, while also taking issue with the unsportsmanlike conduct call that followed. For a team still trying to settle its identity early in the season, the debate now is not just about one play, but about how Jacksonville balances Hunters two-way value with the need for cleaner execution in tight games. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Suddenly Have A Defensive Problem They Cant Ignore
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Travis Hunter Conversation Just Got More Personal For Jaguars Fans
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The personal side of Hunters Jaguars journey has become part of the conversation around how he is being used, especially after Leanna Hunter voiced criticism of Liam Coens handling of Travis during the game. For Jacksonville fans, it adds another layer to a storyline that is no longer just about development and play selection, but also about how closely this new chapter is being watched beyond the sideline. [Read more 🡒]