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Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 PM ET
Jacksonville Jaguars +3 –110 (2 Units)
The Jaguars return home after their come from behind win over the Bills last Sunday. not only did it give them an unexpected win, it also gave them a ton of confidence heading into this battle against the Broncos. Denver looked great against the Chiefs on Sunday night but that was on their home turf and against a defense nowhere near as good as the one they will face this week.
RB Quentin Griffin looked good in his debut as Denver's primary back, but this week he faces a much stouter Jacksonville run defense. The Jags' reigning No. 2 run defense poses a much bigger challenge for the Broncos. The Jaguars have gone 16 consecutive games without allowing an opposing rusher to reach the 100-yard mark. The defense contained Buffalo’s duo of Travis Henry (75 yards) and Willis McGahee (31 yards) last week. The Broncos' offense starts with the ground attack, which sets up their passing game. "I wasn't satisfied," coach Jack Del Rio asked when asked to assess his team's run defense. "I think we were solid and effective but we can be better. We're going to be better." Not to take anything away from Griffin’s performance but take away two long carries of 25 and 47 yards, and Griffin’s numbers come down a little more respectable 84 yards. Staying conservative and crowding the short-to-intermediate routes puts more pressure on Denver to either pound the ball between the tackles or have Jake Plummer throw into tight spaces. Plummer made some mistakes, getting intercepted twice in the third quarter, which helped Kansas City erase a 17-7 halftime deficit. He is known for mistakes and we expect to see some against the stout stop unit of Jacksonville.
One factor that could work in Jacksonville's favor is second-year quarterback Byron Leftwich going into this game feeling confident after he helped pull off a dramatic comeback win in the opener. As for the running game, Fred Taylor and the Jaguars' offensive line will have success working against a Denver front seven that has had some problems stopping the run. Taylor faced a tough Bills run defense and was held to only 61 yards on 17 carries. An explosive runner, he needs his touches, at least 20 per game. Staying committed to Taylor and the ground game will take some pressure off Leftwich, who will be working against a Denver secondary that gave Kansas City all kinds of problems last week. Denver won't have great depth inside and Taylor should be able to wear the interior front down over the course of the game. It doesn't help the Broncos that DT Luther Elliss missed last week's game with a partially torn pectoral muscle and it's unknown if he'll be able to play in this game or how effective he'll be if he does play.
With both defenses expected to have success stopping the run, whichever quarterback, Leftwich or Plummer, limits his mistakes and executes his respective coach's game plan most efficiently will likely get the victory. Denver is stuck in a divisional sandwich as well with a game vs. San Diego next week. Jacksonville, looking to open 2-0 for the fifth time in seven years, won its last four home games in 2003. The Jaguars are remarkably healthy. Tight end Kyle Brady, who had surgery on the tendon on his middle finger, is the only player who's out. Temperatures for Sunday's game are expected to be in the high 80s to low 90s with high humidity, which worries Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "People don't realize [the intensity of the heat] until they go down there,'' Shanahan said Wednesday from Denver. "We were on the turf in Tampa one time, and it was 120 degrees. The game was over at halftime because our players weren't used to that type of heat."
Jacksonville Jaguars +3 –110 (2 Units)
The Jaguars return home after their come from behind win over the Bills last Sunday. not only did it give them an unexpected win, it also gave them a ton of confidence heading into this battle against the Broncos. Denver looked great against the Chiefs on Sunday night but that was on their home turf and against a defense nowhere near as good as the one they will face this week.
RB Quentin Griffin looked good in his debut as Denver's primary back, but this week he faces a much stouter Jacksonville run defense. The Jags' reigning No. 2 run defense poses a much bigger challenge for the Broncos. The Jaguars have gone 16 consecutive games without allowing an opposing rusher to reach the 100-yard mark. The defense contained Buffalo’s duo of Travis Henry (75 yards) and Willis McGahee (31 yards) last week. The Broncos' offense starts with the ground attack, which sets up their passing game. "I wasn't satisfied," coach Jack Del Rio asked when asked to assess his team's run defense. "I think we were solid and effective but we can be better. We're going to be better." Not to take anything away from Griffin’s performance but take away two long carries of 25 and 47 yards, and Griffin’s numbers come down a little more respectable 84 yards. Staying conservative and crowding the short-to-intermediate routes puts more pressure on Denver to either pound the ball between the tackles or have Jake Plummer throw into tight spaces. Plummer made some mistakes, getting intercepted twice in the third quarter, which helped Kansas City erase a 17-7 halftime deficit. He is known for mistakes and we expect to see some against the stout stop unit of Jacksonville.
One factor that could work in Jacksonville's favor is second-year quarterback Byron Leftwich going into this game feeling confident after he helped pull off a dramatic comeback win in the opener. As for the running game, Fred Taylor and the Jaguars' offensive line will have success working against a Denver front seven that has had some problems stopping the run. Taylor faced a tough Bills run defense and was held to only 61 yards on 17 carries. An explosive runner, he needs his touches, at least 20 per game. Staying committed to Taylor and the ground game will take some pressure off Leftwich, who will be working against a Denver secondary that gave Kansas City all kinds of problems last week. Denver won't have great depth inside and Taylor should be able to wear the interior front down over the course of the game. It doesn't help the Broncos that DT Luther Elliss missed last week's game with a partially torn pectoral muscle and it's unknown if he'll be able to play in this game or how effective he'll be if he does play.
With both defenses expected to have success stopping the run, whichever quarterback, Leftwich or Plummer, limits his mistakes and executes his respective coach's game plan most efficiently will likely get the victory. Denver is stuck in a divisional sandwich as well with a game vs. San Diego next week. Jacksonville, looking to open 2-0 for the fifth time in seven years, won its last four home games in 2003. The Jaguars are remarkably healthy. Tight end Kyle Brady, who had surgery on the tendon on his middle finger, is the only player who's out. Temperatures for Sunday's game are expected to be in the high 80s to low 90s with high humidity, which worries Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "People don't realize [the intensity of the heat] until they go down there,'' Shanahan said Wednesday from Denver. "We were on the turf in Tampa one time, and it was 120 degrees. The game was over at halftime because our players weren't used to that type of heat."