Jaguars' nonexistent pass rush suddenly became a concern after loss to Broncos

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a legitimate chance to beat the Denver Broncos in Week 2 despite the fact that the game was at Empower Field at Mile High. They started off strong and were even leading 13-3 at halftime. However, the Broncos didn't fret and went on to mount a comeback to win 20-13.

The Jacksonville offense certainly deserves lots of flak for only managing to score three points after halftime, but the defense left much to be desired as well. In particular, the Jags' pass rush failed to rattle Bo Nix and gave him enough time to sit in the pocket and tear the secondary.

And just like that, an issue that appeared to be in the rearview mirror resurfaced in the disappointing loss to the Broncos.

The Jaguars failed to pressure Bo Nix in the loss to the Broncos

The Jaguars generated 11 total pressures and two sacks in Week 2. Safety Antonio Johnson, linebacker Dennis Gardeck, and defensive end Travon Walker all had two, while Josh Hines-Allen had just one. That's simply not acceptable when you take into account just how stacked their defensive front is.

You could make the case that the Broncos' offensive line was simply better than the Jacksonville defensive line. But if that's the case, the Jags are going to bring in heat throughout the season because they're going to face several talented units.

Head coach Liam Coen, for his part, recognized that the pass rush was an issue, noting that the Broncos did a good job of adjusting up front.

"I thought that they did a nice job of mixing, not really just straight drop back, right? They were play action, moving the launch point, boots, getting them on the move a little bit," Coen told the media after the loss (2:29 mark). "I thought they did a nice job with that, but yeah, we definitely didn't do enough in the rush, specifically in the second half when you needed to play."

Later in the exchange, Coen stated that the Jags may need to make some tweaks to better get after the quarterback moving forward.

"I think we'll have to look at it and just see, like, hey, I mean, that's a damn, that's a good offensive line. I don't want to take too much away from them, but if we're going to beat a team like that, then we're going to have to create some pressure. Something that we all kind of saw Kansas City do in the game on Monday night, and we weren't able to do that," Coen said.

The lack of sacks wouldn't have been an issue if the Jags had consistently brought pressure, but that wasn't the case. Per John Shipley of Sports Illustrated, Jacksonville had an underwhelming pass-rush rate of 19.4 percent.

Related: 5 players whose stock is plummeting after the loss to the Broncos

The Jaguars need more from Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen

Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen give the Jaguars one of the best pass-rush tandems in the whole league. Supposedly, the issue was that they needed a No. 3 to round out their rotation. B.J. Green II ended up getting the nod after a strong offseason. However, he landed on the Injury Reserve after suffering an elbow injury in the season opener.

That said, Green's absence doesn't justify the Jaguars' inability to get after the quarterback in the loss to Denver. While defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile needs to do a better job of scheming and putting his players in a position to succeed, Walker and Josh Hines-Allen also need to step up.

The good news is that the Jaguars have enough time to fix their pass rush. But if they don't, it could come back to haunt them later in the season.

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