JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Jaguars carry a nine-game winning streak and a 34-10 Week 1 demolition of the Cleveland Browns into Denver on Sunday, where they face the 0-1 Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High at 4:05 p.m. in an early test of AFC South staying power.
Head coach Liam Coen said the team’s preparation this week has matched the moment. “I think they (Jaguars players) have handled the week thus far really well,” Coen said Friday. “I thought we had one of our better Wednesday practices that I’ve been around in a while. I thought they came out with the right mindset, the right energy and juice at practice.”
The Jaguars, who have won 10 of their last 11 games dating to last season, enter Sunday as AFC South leaders. Coen said players understood what was at stake heading into one of the NFL’s loudest road environments. “I think they were eager, ready to go, knowing what’s kind of at stake in a lot of ways, and knowing what the opportunity is in front of us,” he said.
Preparing for the noise at Empower Field drove specific adjustments to Jacksonville’s practice routine this week. Coen said the coaching staff blared music during walkthroughs and practice sessions to simulate crowd noise and force players to execute play calls on partial information. “Every play, you’re not going to hear the full [play call],” Coen said. “It’s just not probably possible. You have to be able to know the whole thing so well that maybe you only pick up bits and pieces, but you can go and execute.”
Six Jaguars players appeared on the final injury report Friday but were listed without a game status designation, meaning all six are expected to be available Sunday. Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. (hip), wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (shoulder) and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (thumb) were limited in Friday’s practice. Right tackle Cole Van Lanen (knee), linebacker Foye Oluokun (wrist) and cornerback Christian Braswell (knee) all practiced in full.
Kickoff Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High is set for 4:05 p.m.