DENVER - The Jacksonville Jaguars led by double digits in the second half Sunday, then watched the game slip away in a 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos at Empower Field in Mile High, a defeat Head Coach Liam Coen attributed to an offense that never found its footing after halftime.
“The Jaguars never could get in sync in the second half,” Coen said after the game. The loss drops Jacksonville to 1-1 on the season after a nine-game winning streak that carried over from the previous year.
The game was tied 13-13 with a little more than 10 minutes remaining when wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. failed to haul in a catchable pass on first-and-10 from the Broncos 38 - a drop that would have given Jacksonville a first down and a chance to reclaim the lead. Denver controlled the game from that point, outscoring the Jaguars 7-0 the rest of the way.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who had played at an elite level for nine consecutive regular-season games entering Sunday, struggled to generate consistent production against one of the NFL’s top pass rushes. Senior writer John Oehser, who authors the team’s O-Zone column, noted Lawrence likely would have fared better with more time to throw. “I expect he will usually play at a very high level and sometimes not at as a high level moving forward,” Oehser wrote, framing the performance as an outlier rather than a trend.
Rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron drew attention from fans calling for more snaps after Thomas’ drop. Oehser said Cameron would see the field if the coaching staff determined he was the better option. Thomas, a starter, drew pointed criticism from fans during the game but Oehser stopped short of endorsing a benching, saying he did not see hesitation from Thomas and planned to rewatch the game before drawing conclusions.
The Jaguars return home to face their next opponent with a week to respond - something Coen’s team has done before. “The NFL is hard,” Oehser noted. “Nine-game winning streaks can make us forget that.”