The Broncos had one goal in mind when they headed to Jacksonville on Sunday: Get a win by any means necessary. Well, the Broncos did just that and their defense stepped up and suffocated the Jaguars 20-10 in Jacksonville on Sunday. The Broncos rebounded after their tough loss to KC the week before, and they had to get a win in Jacksonville with Paxton Lynch starting in place of the injured Trevor Siemian. It wasn't pretty at times-especially on offense- but the Broncos defense was able to impose their will, get a pick-six by Bradley Roby, and put the game away with Von Miller making his impact in a game-changing play. This won't go down as an instant classic for the Broncos, but it was effective enough and the Broncos won a game that they had to win and they should win. It was a good day for the Broncos and they have now positioned themselves to make a run for a playoff spot in the AFC. Here are my thoughts and observations on the game.....
1) Let's start with the defense. They completely dominated the game and the Jaguars offense. Blake Bortles was no threat at all to this Broncos defense. Denver was able to shut down any threat the Jaguars had. Chris Harris had a key interception in Denver territory in the second quarter, and Bradley Roby had a pick-six in the third quarter to make 17-3, and from that point the game was really in Denver's control. I know they gave up a shit drive to the Jags and Bortles scrambled in for a touchdown to cut it to 17-10. Denver's defense also got two big stops the last two drives of the game. Von Miller pushed the offensive tackle back into Blake Bortles, who fumbled the ball, and Shane Ray recovered to give the Broncos the ball with only 1:37 to go in the game. The turnover gave the Broncos the ball in Jax territory and a field goal a few plays later iced the game. The Broncos defense pitched an "A" game, and they are tough to beat when they do that.
2) The offense really struggled under Paxton Lynch. Lynch had trouble with accuracy all game long. He made some really bad throws to an open Demaryius Thomas on a deep route, and Emmanuel Sanders on a post route. Both plays could have been touchdowns, but Lynch's throws were so underthrown that they both fell incomplete. He also missed open receivers underneath and on short throws as well. It was not a good day for Lynch, and I am worried about his accuracy going forward. I'm not calling him a bust or anything like that, but he is not the answer at this point in this season. Clearly, if Trevor Siemian is healthy, he has to start the rest of the year. Lynch needs to continue his "redshirt" season this year.
3) The special teams was better this week. Riley Dixon did a nice job punting and keep the field position game in favor of the Broncos for a majority of the day.
4) The Broncos again struggled to run the ball, but Kapri Bibbs provided a spark on the Broncos lone touchdown drive in the second quarter. After Bibbs broke two good runs, the Broncos punched it in when Devontae Booker barreled in to make it 7-3 Denver on a play where he actually broke a tackle to get into the endzone.
5) The sneaky big sequence of the game was when the Broncos got the ball back right before the half and they benefitted from a late hit on the sideline for an extra 15 yards. The Broncos moved the ball enough to get a field goal and make it 10-3. That was a very interesting sequence.
6) The Broncos won a game in which their offense punted 11 times, went three and out eight times, and mustered only 206 yards on only 54 total plays. Their defense was also on the field for 81 plays. Talk about putting it on your defense.
7) The Broncos did what they had to do and went into Jacksonville and won the game. After going into overtime with KC on Sunday night, then flying across the country to take on the Jags in the early window. The Broncos got the win, but will now have to go on the road to Tennessee to take on the 6-6 Titans next week as we hit the final four games of the season. Lets Go Broncos!!1
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