On the road against the NFL’s hottest team, the Jaguars delivered a message.
Do they have your attention now?
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The Jaguars used another excellent game from red-hot quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a tough defense to beat the Broncos 34-20 at Mile High Stadium to make their statement loud and clear.
These Jaguars are far removed from the mess of the Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke era and are one of the NFL’s best teams. The playoffs aren’t clinched yet, but they’re close and getting closer by the week.
Lawrence continued his torrid second half of the season with another elite afternoon. He threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as Jacksonville ended Denver’s winning streak at 11 games.
The Broncos, who led the NFL in comeback wins this year (11) behind second-year quarterback Bo Nix, had their opportunities late. But Jacksonville’s defense had an interception and then denied Denver on downs to get back home with a win.
The Jaguars have won six straight games and have a path to the No. 1 seed in the AFC, provided they win out. More than anything, it served notice to the rest of the league that Liam Coen’s team is not just a flukish one feasting on bad teams like the Titans and Jets. Going to Denver and beating the Broncos (12-3) in late December at their own game stamps the Jaguars as bona fide contenders.
Coen has seemed to unlock the best version of Lawrence, something he was specifically hired to do after his work in Tampa Bay with Baker Mayfield.
After an inconsistent start this year, Lawrence has been elite during the team’s six-game winning streak. He’s thrown 16 touchdown passes and had just four interceptions in that stretch (three against Arizona) and rushed for another three scores. Lawrence needed to play at that elite tier against the Broncos and their sack-heavy defense for Jacksonville to thrive, and he largely did that.
He had a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to snap a 17-all tie, then tossed a 10-yard touchdown to Travis Etienne three minutes later for a 31-17 lead. After Emmanuel Ogbah recovered a fumble, Lawrence drove Jacksonville to the Denver 7 before the drive stalled and led to a Cam Little field goal and a 17-point lead.
He finished 23 of 36 passing for 279 yards.
Jacksonville didn’t allow Nix to have a big game and beat them.
The pressure didn’t produce a sack, but it forced Nix to try and push it downfield and challenge the secondary. Jacksonville’s defensive backs did well to not give up many big plays. Nix’s touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton covered 15 yards in the second quarter, and Denver’s only other touchdown came on a 38-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half.
Jarrian Jones turned in a huge defensive play for the Jaguars, picking Nix off with just over eight minutes to play, and Denver trying to convert a fourth down. It was Jones’ second interception of the season.
Both of Lawrence’s touchdown throws in the opening half were perfect. His 12-yard throw to Parker Washington on third down was with the defender’s back to the ball and a difficult catch to make. But Washington played the ball as well as possible and hauled in a textbook contested catch. His throw to Brenton Strange was even better, placed just outside to his right and away from the defender. Strange one-handed the pass and brought it in on a diving grab and a 14-10 lead.
Washington’s ascent continues as a receiver. He’s behind Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. on the depth chart, but Washington has thrived as a weapon for Lawrence. His first-half touchdown catch was a thing of beauty, and Washington finished with a career-high in receiving yards (145).