The Jacksonville Jaguars were riding high after their win over the Cleveland Browns in the season opener and had a chance to improve to 2-0 when they played the Denver Broncos in Week 2. However, they weren't prepared for the hostile environment that await at Empower Field at Mile High.
While the Jags got off to a strong start on offense, they stalled after halftime. Denver did a good job of pressuring Trevor Lawrence and forcing him to make mistakes. It didn't help that wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. had a few costly drops throughout the game. The offensive line also failed to protect him, but the straw that probably broke the camel's back was No. 16's interception late in the third quarter that stole whatever momentum the
Lawrence ultimately went 17-of-29 for 189 yards with one interception. While the Denver defense deserves plenty of praise for limiting the Jaguars to just 13 points, it's fair to suggest that No. 16 and the offense will need to play much better if they want to bounce back.
The Broncos contained Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars passing game
Trevor Lawrence did a good job of delivering the ball in the middle of the field, but struggled when throwing in the perimeter. For context, he completed 14 of 17 passes for 175 yards between the numbers but went 3-of-11 for 14 yards with an interception outside.
Again, the Broncos did a great job of neutralizing the Jacksonville passing game, but Lawrence made a handful of decisions that played a role in the Week 2 loss. The biggest one might've been the interception that swung the pendulum in Denver's favor. Following the game, the former Clemson Tiger stated that he made a quick decision, adding that he just wanted to take a shot.
In the same exchange with local reporters, Lawrence said that the Jags simply failed to make enough plays after halftime, noting that they weren't able to carry momentum from their strong first half.
"I felt like we played the opposite way in the second half as we did in the first half. We played complementary and played really well off the momentum that our defense was creating, and some big red zone stops that they got," Lawrence told the press corps (3:34 mark). "And I thought we took advantage of some of those. Obviously, it was tough sledding for us on offense the entire game, but it felt like we made more plays in the first half and were able to sustain some drives and get points."
Lawrence continued, "Had the big touchdown drive, and we were able to get a field goal before half. That was really really big, and then we got a field goal right at the beginning of the second half. But even on that one, we got to be able to score a touchdown in the red zone to start the second half, and you look at the end of the game; all those things matter, and we just didn't make enough plays. You know, the back half of the second half."
The silver lining is that despite the Week 2 loss, the Jaguars remain at the top of the AFC South, and they have plenty of time to fix the offense, speaking of...
The Jaguars O-Line and the defense were bigger issues than Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence could have played better but he wasn't the main reason the Jaguars lost. As noted before, the offensive line couldn't protect him, and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. struggled with puzzling drops. On defense, the Jacksonville pass rush was nonexistent (no sacks and only 11 pressures), and the secondary had no answer for Bo Nix and Jaylen Waddle.
Just like Lawrence had a few throws he would like to have back, the Jags didn't help him enough. Think about it, nobody will argue that their quarterback was underwhelming against the Broncos, but what about the rest of the team?
Trevor Lawrence didn't have his best performance against the Broncos, but he didn't have enough time to throw. Similarly, the defense could have saved the day but was instead exposed. All the Jaguars can do is watch the tape and correct all the issues that show up if they don't want to lose another one when they play the New England Patriots in Week 3.
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