DENVER—A frustrating trend has haunted Brandon Marshall since he was a schoolboy: His best performances always seem to come packaged with a loss.
The second-year Broncos receiver had the most impressive game of his pro career Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, catching seven passes for 133 yards. But his big grabs and jaw-dropping jukes couldn’t help Denver avoid a 23-14 loss.
“It has been the story of my career as far as Little League and on,” Marshall said. “Every time I have a big game, I don’t get the win with it. If I could trade it in for a victory, that would be beautiful.”
Broncos fans have been waiting for Marshall to emerge from the day the Broncos selected the 6-foot-4-inch, 230-pound receiver out of Central Florida in the fourth round of last year’s draft. But injuries, and a slow absorption of coach Mike Shanahan’s system, slowed his development last season.
His biggest contribution was a game-changing 71-yard touchdown catch in Week 11 against Seattle. The Broncos lost that one, 23-20.
But so far this season, it appears Marshall has grown up. On Sunday, there was no doubt he was quarterback Jay Cutler’s top target. Paired against No. 2 Jaguars corner Brian Williams, Marshall not only got open consistently, but a good portion of his yards came after the catch.
“They had good 1-on-1 coverage out there, and we took advantage of it,” Shanahan said. “He had a good game.”
His 133 yards was one more than the rest of the Broncos managed combined.
Marshall’s most impressive play came with the Broncos struggling for momentum down a touchdown in the second quarter. Two plays after catching a 49-yard pass from Cutler to spark the offense, Marshall danced away from four Jaguars’ tackles on a 30-yard catch that set up a Denver touchdown.
“It’s all about body leverage and body control,” Marshall said. “You try to set them up to get the body going the other way. You want to create arm tackles.”
Without Marshall’s moves, the Denver offense didn’t have much. Running back Travis Henry led the Broncos with 35 yards on 11 carries, and No. 1 receiver Javon Walker managed just two catches for 10 yards.
But being the man was buried under the shadow cast by Sunday’s loss.
“There’s more to come,” Marshall said. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not fighting for no job. I want to win.”
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HONORING TD:@ The Broncos welcomed retired running back Terrell Davis into the Ring of Fame at halftime.
Davis holds the franchise record for rushing yards with 7,607 in eight seasons before knee injuries ended his career. He was the MVP of the 1997 Super Bowl and the league MVP in ’98.
The ceremony included a speech by owner Pat Bowlen, who said Davis should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It also featured a video montage of the running back’s career. Fans in the east stands used placards to spell out Davis’ name and No. 30 in blue letters amid an orange background.
When Davis finished his speech, he gave the 76,463 fans one last “Mile High Salute.”
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LYNCH INJURED:@ Already struggling to stop Jacksonville’s methodical running attack Sunday, the Broncos’ task got decidedly more difficult when they lost veteran safety John Lynch in the first half to a groin injury.
Shanahan said he didn’t know the extent of Lynch’s injury, but said he “has to be pretty sore for him not to go back in.”
With Lynch out, the Jaguars focused their attack on the middle of the Broncos defense, which was consistently open. Backup safety Curome Cox finished with two tackles.
“Of course it hurts. He was a captain,” linebacker Ian Gold said of losing Lynch.
The Broncos already were without safety Hamza Abdullah, who’s out for a month with a hip injury, and Domonique Foxworth, who’s still recuperating from a sprained ankle and didn’t play against the Jaguars.
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WASTING TIME:@ The Broncos’ comeback efforts were exacerbated by having spent all three of their timeouts before the fourth quarter even began.
Shanahan used one timeout on a failed challenge to Domenik Hixon’s fumble of the second-half kickoff, and Cutler used the other two after failing to get the play from the sidelines in time on a drive in which he was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the 3. Shanahan blamed the miscommunications on a glitch in their radio systems.
“It went blank on us a few times,” Shanahan said. “We tried to get it fixed, but in the second half it was going in and out on us.”
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BITTERSWEET MEMORY:@ Tight end Nate Jackson scored his first career touchdown on a new wrinkle the Broncos put into the offense.
Jackson, a converted wide receiver, went in motion on the Jacksonville 1 and sprinted toward the right corner of the end zone. Cutler hit him with a perfect pass, just out of reach of a Jaguars defender.
“It felt pretty good—when it happened,” said Jackson, who’s in his fifth year. “But when you score a touchdown and lose, it’s disappointing.”
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham and AP freelancer Bill Wilson contributed to this report.
