The Jags first opponent – Playing Offense against the Denver Broncos
By Terry OBrien
The Denver Broncos are an important team to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only are the Broncos the first home opening game but they play the Indianapolis Colts in week three and the Tennessee Titans in week four. If Denver gets hot, they can shake up the AFC South real quick. Zoltan and I have done a very very deep dive into the Denver Broncos to see where they are and what our chances are. After the jump, be prepared to spend some time reading. This article is worth 3 credit hours in Jaguar fan preparation.
No team drove their fans more crazy than Denver in 2009. They opened with a 6-0 start beating Cincinnati(with huge luck in the end), New England, Dallas, and San Diego before the bye-week. They were hot and no one saw it coming. After the bye, they went 2-8 to finish 8-8. They lost to Oakland and Kansas City but beat the NY Giants. Against top teams, they played to a high level. Against low teams, they looked pathetic. Then they rolled over for dead against top teams in the second half of the season. So what happened? What team is coming to Jacksonville in September? Are they for real or not. Here is the simple answer.
When Denver won, here are the teams and the yards rushing.
- Cincinnati (86 yards)
- Cleveland (54 yards)
- Oakland (95 yards)
- Dallas (74 yards)
- Patriots (94 yards)
- Chargers (73 yards)
- Giants (57 yards)
- Kansas City (94 yards).
All Denver victories held their opponent under 100 yards rushing.
Let’s look at their losses and yards rushing.
- Baltimore (125 yards)
- Pittsburgh (173 yards)
- Redskins (174 yards)
- San Diego (203 yards)
- Indianapolis (92 yards)
- Oakland (241 yards)
- Eagles (105 yards)
- Kansas City (317 yards)
Indianapolis is the only team that doesn’t need to rush to win.
A defense that held firm against good teams early let Oakland hang 241 yards rushing and then Kansas City hung an incredible 317 yards rushing on them.
The defensive line and linebackers fell completely apart. This is why Denver chose to replace almost their entire front three. More on that later.
To understand what a powerful Denver looks like, let’s look into the win streak.