Everything was going well for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The were up seven with the ball late in the third quarter. Then, a Trevor Lawrence pass intended for Parker Washington was intercepted by Riley Moss. From that point on, the wheels fell off for the Jaguars in Denver.
The Broncos rattled off 17 unanswered points after Cam Little extended Jacksonville’s lead to 13-3 on the opening drive of the second half. A Denver offense that had struggled through much of the game scored on three straight possessions before running out the clock to secure a 20-13 victory.
The game started slowly, with the first five possessions ending in punts before Jacksonville put together a scoring drive late in the first quarter that resulted in a Bhayshul Tuten touchdown run out of the wildcat early in the second quarter.
The drive was built on Lawrence completing passes to Brenton Strange and Brian Thomas Jr for chunk plays before finding Parker Washington for a 32-yard gain that put the team at the one-yard line.
On Denver’s ensuing possession, the Broncos drove down to the Jaguars’ one-yard line before the Jacksonville defense forced a field goal. Later in the half, Jourdan Lewis intercepted Bo Nix in the end zone to end another Denver goal-to-go drive.
The Jaguars ended the first half and started the second half with a pair of field goals to establish a 13-3 lead. Denver answered with a field goal of its own to cut the deficit to seven, and Lawrence’s interception on Jacksonville’s next possession set up a game-tying touchdown pass from Nix to Nate Adkins early in the fourth quarter.
Denver finished with 392 yards on the day. Newcomer Jaylen Waddle bounced back from a quiet debut with the Broncos, hauling in eight receptions for 138 yards on 10 targets. Bo Nix also got into a rhythm as he completed 22-of-31 passes for 288 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Denver defense also did its job as it held a Jacksonville offense that had been on fire dating back to last season to just three points in the second half. Lawrence struggled after an electrifying start to the season, completing 17-of-29 passes for 189 yards and no touchdowns while throwing the momentum-shifting interception.
After Denver, tied the game at 13, the Jaguars converted a huge third down to get deep into Denver territory, but a familiar problem from last season reemerged as Brian Thomas Jr. dropped a pass from Lawrence that would have given Jacksonville a first down inside the 30-yard line. That was one of two drops for Thomas Jr. on the day and three for the team. LeQuint Allen Jr. also dropped a ball at the one-yard line on a third-and-goal that Coen confirmed after the game would have led to a fourth-down attempt had Allen made the catch.
The Jaguars had to settle for a 54-yard field goal attempt that Cam Little pushed to the left, giving Denver the ball near midfield. The Broncos drove down the field, and rookie running back Jonah Coleman scored from three yards out to take a 20-13 lead with 7:21 remaining. Jacksonville punted on its next possession and didn’t get the ball back after that.
Head coach Liam Coen said that the team “wasn’t in sync enough in the second half.” The loss was reminiscent of the Houston game Jacksonville played last year, when the team blew a multiple-possession lead in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars will hope to recapture the form they found after that Houston loss as they prepare for the New England Patriots next week, followed by matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Houston Texans.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will look to get back on track next Sunday as they host the New England Patriots at EverBank Stadium at 1 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on CBS.
