Week 2 brings a heavyweight test for the Jaguars, and the matchup with the Broncos feels like the kind of game that can tell you plenty about where Liam Coen’s team stands right now. Jacksonville gets Denver on the schedule with a chance to make noise around the league, and there are a few clear places where this one could swing.
The most obvious spotlight belongs to Brian Thomas Jr., even if the assignment is about as nasty as it gets. Patrick Surtain II is still the standard at cornerback, and the Broncos are likely to park him on Thomas for most of the afternoon. That was the setup for much of last year’s 34-20 Jaguars win in Denver, when Jacksonville leaned more on Parker Washignton against the rest of Denver’s secondary.
Surtain has picked up right where he left off. NextGenStats said he was targeted once on 32 coverage snaps in Week 1 and gave up just six total yards.
That was his 17th game allowing one reception or fewer, the most among cornerbacks since 2021 among players with at least 30 coverage snaps. Even with that kind of resistance, Thomas still looks capable of landing a punch.
The Jaguars were willing to challenge Denzel Ward a week ago, and Thomas feels like the player most likely to break something open and finish a drive with a touchdown.
The Broncos’ pass rush is another area where Jacksonville may be able to change the script. Denver had only four games in 2025 where it failed to get to more than two sacks, but it managed just two in Week 1 against Kansas City, which leaned on a quick passing game to keep Patrick Mahomes protected in his return at quarterback.
Last year, Denver sacked Trevor Lawrence five times in the matchup with Jacksonville. This time, though, the Jaguars are healthier and more dangerous up front, and their passing game is operating at a higher level.
That makes it easier to see Lawrence staying upright enough to keep Denver from turning this into a sack-heavy night.
Bo Nix is also walking into a defense that looks ready to attack him the same way Kansas City did. The Chiefs made him beat them, and he didn’t handle it well, taking pressure on more than 45% of his snaps while Denver’s offensive line had a rough outing.
The Jaguars got some help last week from Deshaun Watson’s struggles in the pocket, but they may not need that kind of gift to create disruption here. Nix has already shown he can be rattled, and Jacksonville’s front should be able to use that blueprint and apply more talent to it.
On the back end, the Jaguars may keep leaning into the unusual dime looks they showed in Week 1 against the Browns. Jarrian Jones and Antonio Johnson both lined up at linebacker on obvious passing downs, and Jones spent four snaps in the box.
That’s a notable wrinkle for a corner who has mainly worked in the slot and on the outside. Against Denver, there’s a real chance Jones sees even more of that role, especially if the Broncos choose to dial back the run game and put more on Nix.
That could open the door for Jones to snag his first interception of the season from a linebacker alignment.
The ground game may be where Jacksonville has the cleanest edge. The Jaguars are still sorting out which back will take the lead against a better opponent than Cleveland, but the signs point to enough room for both rushers to matter.
NextGenStats noted that Denver allowed 6.3 yards per carry on designed runs in Week 1 against Kansas City, the second-most in the league, and on eight carries against 12 personnel, the Broncos gave up 58 yards. Jacksonville used 12 personnel on 39.3% of its snaps against Cleveland, the highest rate in the league, and 14 of its 27 designed runs came from that grouping.
On those 14 runs, the Jaguars faced a light box only three times and still averaged 4.3 yards per carry.
Put it together, and Jacksonville has a path here. The Broncos’ run defense looks far more vulnerable than their pass defense, and the Jaguars already showed some momentum with Tuten and Rodriguez in Week 1. If that carries over, the backs could be in for a productive day.
In Other News...
Jaguars Fans Wont Love Which Top Target Is Now In Baltimores Orbit
Baltimores receiver room has thinned enough to keep rival front offices watching, with Ja'Kobi Lane now on injured reserve and Zay Flowers also dealing with injuries. That has pushed the Ravens toward the trade market in search of help, and Bleacher Reports Kristopher Knox connected them to Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr., a name that will naturally get attention in Jacksonville whenever another team starts looking for a big-play target.
Still, this is the kind of rumor that feels more logical on paper than in practice. The Jaguars have already brushed aside trade chatter, and Thomas is the sort of player they would be expected to build around rather than move, especially with his contract and standing on the roster. So while Baltimores need is real, the path to an actual deal looks steep, and for Jaguars fans, the better news may be that this is one of those speculative links that is easy to write and much harder to turn into anything concrete. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Still Have Extra Juice For Sean Payton After That Jab
Sean Paytons old smaller market jab at Jacksonville has not been forgotten inside the Jaguars building, and it still hangs around as a little extra fuel whenever these two teams come up. The remark became a rallying point last season, when Jacksonville beat Denver 34-20 in December and snapped the Broncos 11-game winning streak, turning what could have been a routine regular-season win into something the Jaguars clearly enjoyed savoring.
Liam Coen has already acknowledged the comment helped motivate the team, and he said he even discussed it with Payton at league meetings. So while the game itself is long over, the edge from that exchange has not fully gone away, and it adds a little more texture any time Jacksonville crosses paths with Denver or its coach again. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Suddenly Have A New Edge Concern Heading Into Week 2
The Jaguars pass rush took an immediate hit coming out of Week 1, with defensive end B.J. Green II landing on injured reserve after an elbow injury. In a corresponding move, Jacksonville signed B.J. Ojulari to help patch the edge depth as the team turns its attention to Week 2, where the injury report already has the usual early-season clutter with several other players limited in practice but still expected to suit up.
For a defense that needs as many available bodies on the edge as possible, Greens absence changes the calculation a bit, even before the Jaguars get to Sundays game plan. The Broncos are carrying their own concern list, with Harvey and Mims both missing practice because of injuries, and their status will be one more thing to watch as Jacksonville tries to manage its front seven heading into the matchup. [Read more 🡒]