The Jaguars head to Mile High in Week 2 with a clearer picture of what this offense wants to be, and the staff roundtable at Big Cat Country had a pretty consistent read on it: Jacksonville’s identity is starting to show.
Travis Holmes pointed to the opening script from Week 1 as a tell. The Jaguars came out with four straight rushes and then mixed in two play-action passes on their first drive, a setup Holmes saw as a deliberate statement about where this coaching staff wants to go. He said the team is aiming to be a run-first, play-action offense while still leaning on a deep receiving group, and that the Jaguars showed a real commitment to balance by getting 11 of Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez’s 21 combined carries in the first half.
Gus Logue saw another takeaway from the opener: the rookie class is already pulling weight. He highlighted TE Nate Boerkircher’s blocking, LG Emmanuel Pregnon’s early readiness, and WR Josh Cameron’s role in high-leverage spots, including the red zone.
Cameron also caught one of the best touchdowns of Trevor Lawrence’s career in Week 1. Logue’s point was simple: Jacksonville didn’t make flashy offseason moves, but the roster still got better.
Henry Zimmer focused on the passing game, and specifically on Lawrence. In his view, the Jaguars’ offense looked polished, and the wide receivers already seem to have a strong connection with the quarterback. The longer that group has together, Zimmer said, the better it should get.
On the Denver side, the conversation turned to which Jaguars could make the biggest leap from last season’s win at Mile High. Travis Holmes mentioned Dennis Gardeck and Branson Combs, noting that neither had much of a role in that game a year ago.
Gardeck and Combs combined for just one tackle apiece in that matchup, with Combs mostly working as a depth special teams player then. Now, both have a chance to matter more after showing pass-rush juice in Week 1.
Gardeck logged two pressures on nine rushes, a 22.2% pressure rate, while Combs got home on his lone blitz and finished with a quarterback hit and a sack.
That matters because Bo Nix was under heavy fire against the Chiefs. Holmes noted that Nix was pressured on 45.5% of his dropbacks, was sacked four times, and went 2-of-10 for five yards with an interception and two strip-sacks on pressured snaps. Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Arik Armstead will draw the biggest share of attention, but Holmes suggested the supporting cast could be the group that ends up delivering the defining plays.
Gus Logue went in a different direction and circled Travis Hunter, who was on injured reserve before these teams met last season. He said Hunter’s All-22 from last week was encouraging and argued that if the Jaguars are truly a Super Bowl contender, their best players need to show up in big moments. For him, Sunday is a chance for Hunter to grab his first career interception.
Zimmer also looked at the front seven and wondered whether the Jaguars’ pass rush can build on last week. Last season’s matchup produced just one sack of Nix, but Zimmer pointed to how shaky Nix looked against Kansas City and asked whether Walker and Hines-Allen can pile up more disruption this time. If the defensive line wins, he said, it could be a long afternoon for Denver.
As for the individual battles worth watching, Holmes is locked in on Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto against Anton Harrison. Bonitto is coming off a 14-sack 2025 season, while Harrison is only in his second regular-season game at left tackle. Holmes noted that Harrison allowed just one pressure against Jared Verse in the Browns game, but this challenge is a different level.
Logue had his eyes on Bhayshul Tuten against Nick Singleton, who missed five tackles in Denver’s season-opening loss to Kansas City. He called Singleton a weak link for a defense that was the No. 3 scoring unit a season ago and said he expects Liam Coen to attack that side.
Zimmer, meanwhile, wants a second look at the Jaguars receivers against Denver’s secondary. He pointed out that Pat Surtain II is the real deal, but Parker Washington still piled up nearly 150 yards against this defensive backfield last season.
With Jacksonville leaning pass-heavy, Zimmer wants to see how that group handles another test.
The score predictions split a little, but not by much: Gus Logue went with Jaguars 34, Broncos 14, while Henry Zimmer picked Jaguars 24, Broncos 17.
In Other News...
Trevor Lawrence Has A Costly Jaguars Habit They Need To Fix
Trevor Lawrences decision-making has been a point of emphasis for the Jaguars, and not just because of the usual quarterback pressures that come with running an offense. Over his last 18 games, Lawrence has been flagged three times for illegal forward passes, a costly habit that Jacksonville is working to clean up as coach Liam Coen looks for ways to help him avoid the kind of mistake that can erase a drive in an instant.
The broader roster picture has also shifted as Jacksonville prepares for its next stretch, with undrafted rookie Bryan Thomas Jr. expected to get on the field after BJ Greens injury and linebacker Jack Kiser now back on the active roster after working his way back from the knee injury he suffered in training camp. For a team trying to build cleaner habits and steadier depth at the same time, those moving parts matter, even if the quarterback issue remains the one most likely to follow the Jaguars from week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Fans Have One More Reason To Be Invested In Denver Rematch
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Adding to the atmosphere, Tim Tebow will be back at Empower Field as the Broncos Alumni Flag Planter. For Jaguars fans, that gives the rematch another familiar name to track in a game that already carries some early-season context, and it only adds to the sense that this is one of those Sundays with a little more attached to it than the schedule first suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Already Made One Defensive Change After Week 1 Breakdown
The Colts spent part of the week addressing a problem that showed up quickly in their opener, when defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said the unit was caught off guard by the opponents tempo plays. One of the first responses was a change in the secondary, with the green dot coming off DB Cam Bynum as Indianapolis looks to clean up alignment and communication before the next round of AFC South play.
For Jacksonville, the bigger takeaway is how much the Jaguars already saw from Travon Walker in Week 1. Head coach Liam Coen singled out the defensive end for influencing both the pass rush and the run game, a reminder that Jacksonville still has a front-line piece who can tilt a matchup even while the division is already making midstream corrections. [Read more 🡒]