The day started with Davis Webb screaming profanities into his headset, Sean Payton kicking unidentifiable objects along the sideline and fans booing the Broncos in their home opener. Alas, this fanbase knows better than most that football is a game of two halves — and one that Denver seems to enjoy most after the break.
The Broncos avoided an 0-2 start with a strong second-half performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon at Empower Field. Denver’s 20-13 win featured breakout games from two new offensive weapons, a return to dominance for Vance Joseph‘s unit, and some troubling signs that persisted from the team’s Week 1 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Here’s the Denver Post’s stock report on the win.
Stock up
Jaylen Waddle: Garrett Bolles succinctly summarized Waddle’s day.
“There’s a reason why we traded a first-round pick for him. For moments like this,” Bolles said.
Bolles is right. Sunday was the first time Broncos’ fans got to see Waddle’s impact on display. After a disappointing Week 1 (two targets, one catch), Waddle posted eight receptions for 138 yards against the Jaguars. He had several big plays, including a game-clinching first down in the fourth quarter. Waddle’s 138 yards were the most receiving yards by a Broncos wideout since Jerry Jeudy’s 154-yard showing in 2022. He was the engine behind Denver’s passing game.
Riley Moss: Moss said it wasn’t his interception that he’d remember the most from Sunday’s game. Instead, it was the interception he dropped — one that could have potentially gone for a pick-six.
“It was nice to come down with one, I’ll be honest with you. It hurt; I dropped probably a touchdown, which I’m going to lose a ton of sleep over tonight,” Moss said. “But it was fun.”
Moss allowed only two receptions on seven targets, according to . Opposite Patrick Surtain II, the Iowa product was frequently targeted by Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. And just like he’s done several times throughout his career, Moss capitalized.
“I was trying to throw a hole shot in Cover-2 and Moss did a good job of kind of carrying (WR) Parker (Washington) up the field,” Lawrence said. “Obviously was just making a quick decision. I saw them go to Cover-2, and I thought we’d have the sideline shot at Parker between the corner and safety. He did a good job, he carried him.”
Jonah Coleman: Within a few plays, the rookie running back endeared himself to Payton and to Broncos’ fans. On one of his first extended bouts of action in the NFL, Coleman displayed the type of physical running Payton loves by plowing through a Jaguars defender. A few plays later, he celebrated his first NFL touchdown with a Mile High Salute.
Coleman could see extended action next week if J.K. Dobbins (who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury) and RJ Harvey (who was ruled out) both can’t play against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. Payton said after the game that the fourth-round pick didn’t look like a rookie. Denver drafted Coleman to add depth to the backfield. The franchise’s strategy could prove prudent earlier than expected.
Malcolm Roach: Denver’s second defensive tackle rarely gets the same praise as his counterpart Zach Allen. And while Allen was excellent Sunday, Roach was also staunch in the middle. A second-quarter sack of Lawrence showed the duo’s potential: Allen’s quick interior pressure flushed Lawrence from the pocket and Roach finished the play by flinging the quarterback to the ground.
Roach played more snaps than Eyioma Uwazurike and D.J. Jones on Sunday. If Denver can continue to get that type of production from Roach, John Franklin-Meyer’s loss will soon become an afterthought.
Stock down
Goal-line offense: The issue with the Broncos’ offense in the first half wasn’t down-to-down consistency. Rather, the Broncos seemed allergic to scoring touchdowns once they reached the red zone. Denver went scoreless on two opportunities from inside the 10-yard line in the first two quarters of Sunday’s game, including an ill-advised interception by Nix. Remember, the Broncos failed to score a touchdown inside the 10 against the Chiefs last week as well.
“It’ll come back to bite us at some point,” tight end Adam Trautman said.
Penalties: Penalties remain a persistent issue under Payton. The Broncos finished last year as one of the most penalized teams in football, and with 17 infractions through the first two games, they’re on pace for a repeat this season.
Denver committed three penalties in the first eight minutes of action Sunday, including an illegal contact penalty on Moss that negated a Nik Bonitto strip-sack. In total, Denver committed 10 penalties for 54 yards; the Jaguars gained four first downs from those penalties, and the Broncos’ offense racked up another delay of game. The penalties didn’t come back to hurt Denver Sunday, or last season for the most part, but they could eventually become a catalyst for a loss.
J.K. Dobbins: At the end of the third quarter, a ho-hum 4-yard carry ended in a worrying fashion for Dobbins. He appeared to point at his groin after the play before gingerly jogging off the field. Dobbins ducked into the medical tent for several plays before emerging with his helmet on along the sideline.
After the game, Payton said Dobbins was dealing with a “little” hamstring injury and that he was “frustrated.” Denver will monitor Dobbins’ workload closely this week due to his extensive injury history and the delicate nature of hamstring injuries.
Jonah Elliss: The outside linebacker has played relatively fine in place of Jonathon Cooper throughout the first two weeks, but he also hasn’t flashed like his fellow edge, Que Robinson. Elliss failed to either wrap up or funnel Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten toward his help on a checkdown pass and failed to set the edge in run defense at some points. He did have a nice batted pass that ended a drive, but Robinson’s pass-rushing skills flashed on a sack of Lawrence. Robinson used his speed-to-power to run over Jaguars offensive tackle Anton Harrison and bring down Lawrence (with the help of Allen).
Elliss had 42 snaps to Robinson’s 19. It’ll be interesting to see if that margin shrinks at all over the next few weeks.
