There’s not much the Jacksonville Jaguars can do about their Week 1 loss to the Houston Texans other than looking at their mistakes and make sure they don’t repeat them when they take on the Denver Broncos in Week 2.
If the Jaguars play up to their potential and avoid shooting themselves on the foot, they will have a legitimate chance to earn their first win of the year. It won’t be easy though, Jacksonville is a 6.0-point underdog ahead of the game, and Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is coming off an efficient performance, scoring two touchdowns with no interceptions. Still, the Jags will be playing at home, which should give them a slight edge.
Here are five bold predictions ahead of the Jaguars’ Week 2 matchup.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars RB James Robinson will total 160 yards.
The Jaguars won’t once again make the mistake of not giving running back James Robinson the ball. In Week 1, they ran the ball just 16 times and the former Redbird racked up11 five carries. It’s true that Jacksonville fell behind early but that doesn’t justify the fact that veteran Carlos Hyde got more carries than Robinson.
Against the Broncos, the Jags will make the second-year running back a big part of their offense. Despite the fact that Denver’s defense allowed just 60 rushing yards against the New York Giants in the season opener, Jacksonville won’t abandon the run. They will keep on pounding the ball and Robinson will break a couple of long-yardage runs. He will finish the game with 30 total touches and 160 yards from scrimmage.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense will get back on track in Week 2.
2. Linebacker Myles Jack will register 10 total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
It’s easy to take linebacker Myles Jack for granted. After all, he’s been one of few bright spots on the Jaguars’ defense over the last couple of years. Year in and year out, he shows up on gameday and performs at a high level. He can certainly improve, head coach Urban Meyer has previously said as much.
The case could be made Jack is already playing well, but you always want to push your best players to give their everything. Against the Texans, the sixth-year linebacker posted nine total tackles. In Week 2, he will make ten tackles but he will also make a couple of big plays. He will sack quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and will also force a fumble. The Jaguars’ defense needs to create more turnovers and Jack will lead the way.
3. Shaquill Griffin will snag his first interception of the season.
The Jaguars’ defense started Week 1’s game with a bang, forcing the Texans’ defense to go three-and-out. Things went south afterwards but at least for a drive, the unit played a high level. On the other hand, cornerback Shaquill Griffin had the chance to make an interception in the second play of the game. Imagine he had come with it, it would’ve given Jacksonville’s offense momentum early in the game, and maybe, just maybe, the final score would have been different.
On Wednesday, Griffin talked about needing to come down with that kind of plays. He will do so in Week 2 and will snag his first interception of the year.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense will play up to its potential.
4. The Jaguars will have two 100-yard receivers, DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault.
The Jaguars have a well-round wide receiver corps. It might not be a top 10 unit but has talent and depth. In Week 1, Jacksonville had three receivers log 50 yards or more. Against the Broncos, that will number go up and both DJ Chark Jr. and Laviska Shenault Jr. will cross the 100-yard mark.
The Broncos have a couple of formidable safeties in Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson but they recently placed cornerback Ronald Darby on the Injured/Reserve list. Darby’s absence will incentivize the Jaguars to test Denver’s secondary and taking a few shots downfield early in the game.
5. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence will throw two touchdowns with NO interceptions.
There are many things to like about Trevor Lawrence’s NFL debut, such as his pocket-awareness and the fact that he threw three touchdown passes. On the other hand, he showed he still has a long way to go. Specifically, he needs to make better decisions, as he also threw three interceptions in Week 1.
After the game, Lawrence told the media he could have made better decisions in retrospect, and he will certainly build upon his Week 1 performance and play better against the Broncos. He will throw one less touchdown but he will cut down on the interceptions. Head coach Urban Meyer committed to getting running back James Robinson more involved and having a more balanced game plan will go a long way towards taking some pressure off the rookie quarterback’s shoulder. This in turn will help him play mistake-free.