Broncos reporter Mike Klis analyzes a key play from Denver’s 24-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars:
The play: On the third play of the second half, Maurice Jones-Drew took a handoff from the I-formation and burst up the middle, following the lead blocks of left guard Uche Nwaneri, who pulled to help take out middle linebacker Nate Webster, and fullback Greg Jones, who rammed into the middle. Despite the congestion, Jones-Drew never was touched through the box, then outran Broncos safety Marlon McCree and Webster for a 46-yard touchdown, giving the Jags a 17-7 lead.
Point/counterpoint: It appeared Jacksonville’s halftime speeches were more inspired than whatever the Broncos delivered. Up 10-7, Jacksonville opened the second half with a 7-yard pass from David Garrard to Matt Jones, a 27-yard completion from Garrard to tight end Marcedes Lewis and the 46-yard touchdown run by Jones-Drew. At his news conference Monday, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said that while a few players in the box missed their gaps, it is incumbent upon the cornerbacks and safeties to stop the play from breaking into a long touchdown run.
Future prospects: Sometimes it’s not how many points you give up, but when. The second-half opening possession put everyone on notice that the Jaguars would be in control the rest of the game. The Broncos would have to play catch-up. Even with the Broncos’ defense playing better the past three weeks, it allowed huge, momentum-swinging plays in their two defeats. Against Kansas City, it was a 65-yard run by Larry Johnson on the game’s second play that gave the heavy underdog Chiefs confidence they were not going to get pushed around.
