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What we learned from Jacksonville Jaguars' win over Denver Broncos
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- What we learned from Jacksonville Jaguars' win over Denver Broncos
DENVER — Four questions and answers about the Jaguars after their 34-20 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday:
First Down
Question:What was the turning point for the Jaguars ?
Answer:There are plenty of Jaguars plays to choose from, but for the purpose of this exercise, let's go with the defense's first takeaway.
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The Jaguars led 31-17, but the Broncos this season have majored in second-half comebacks. But quarterback Bo Nix botched a zone-read handoff and his fumble was recovered by Jaguars defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.
The Jaguars turned that takeaway into a Cam Little 26-yard field goal to make it a three-possession game (34-17) with 13:36 remaining.
The Jaguars ended the game plus-2 in turnover differential. Later in the fourth quarter, cornerback Jarrian Jones intercepted Nix on a fourth-down play.
Second Down
Question:How well-executed was the Jaguars' final drive of the first half?
Answer:Save for scoring a touchdown, it deserved high marks.
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The Broncos opted to punt on fourth-and-4 from the Jaguars' 46 and coach Sean Payton was clearly interested in pinning the Jaguars back and using his timeouts to get a final possession.
But the Jaguars didn't face a third down in the eight plays from scrimmage. On second-and-6, quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a dart deep middle to receiver Jakobi Meyers (25 yards, his first catch). Two plays later, Meyers made a diving 10-yard catch, followed, two plays later, by a 9-yard catch from receiver Brian Thomas, Jr.
Easily in Little's field goal range (he hit a 73-yarder in warm-ups), the Jaguars made sure Little's 48-yard field goal was the final play of the second quarter. Nine plays in 1:48. Good stuff.
Third Down
Question:The Jaguars' defense allowed their second-most yards of the season (445 by Denver, trailing only 476 by Kansas City). How did they give up only 20 points?
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Answer:Expert work on third and fourth downs.
The Broncos were 5 of 14 on third down (35.7%) and 1 of 3 on fourth down (33.3%).
What was impressive is how the Jaguars responded after giving up an explosive Broncos play.
First quarter — The Broncos used gains of 16, 17 and 14 yards to reach the Jaguars' 30, but settled for a field goal after three plays gained 4 yards.
Second quarter — The Broncos used a 26-yard gain to reach the Jaguars' 34, but a third-down run lost 2 yards. Lutz kicked another field goal.
Fourth quarter — The Broncos used a 48-yard gain to reach the Jaguars' 9, but three plays gained 6 yards. Lutz kicked another field goal.
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Fourth Down
Question:Write some nice words about receiver Parker Washington , will you?
Answer:Sure thing.
Washington had a career day against the Broncos. His previous single-game high for yards was 103 last year against Houston . He had all six of his catches and all of his 145 yards by the end of the third quarter.
(In the first half, he caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring.)
Washington converted a third-and-9 with a 20-yard catch and drew an end-zone penalty for defensive pass interference, helping the Jaguars make it 24-17.
On the next drive, Washington turned a 5-yard pass on third-and-3 into a 63-yard gain, leading to a touchdown and a 31-17 Jaguars lead.
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And on the final play of the third quarter, Washington turned a short pass into a 24-yard gain on third-and-5 (one broken tackle). The Jaguars kicked a field goal for a 34-17 lead.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars win at Denver: What we learned about Super Bowl contenders
