Denver, Colo. - Correspondent John Shipley examines five key plays from the Jaguars’ 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos in a 2026 Week 2 game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., Sunday

1.Lawrence leads. The Jaguars started with punts on each of their first two drives Sunday, but the offense gained momentum on the third drive with a string of big plays in the passing game. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence evaded pressure and navigated the pocket to make three critical plays: A 14-yard pass to tight end Brenton Strange, a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and a 32-yard pass to wide receiver Parker Washington to the Broncos' 1-yard line. Running back Bhayshul Tuten's run around the right side of the line gave the Jaguars a 7-0 lead with 12:13 remaining in the second quarter.

2.The stand. Jaguars coaches and players said all week they expected to take the Broncos' best shot, and Denver gave them that after the Jaguars took the lead. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix connected with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on a 49-yard pass on which Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown was in perfect position, a play that gave the Broncos first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. But defensive end Travon Walker and linebacker Ventrell Miller stopped Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins twice for no gain. On third-and-goal from the 1, the Jaguars' run defense – led by defensive end Josh Hines-Allen – stopped Dobbins for a 1-yard loss to force a 20-yard field goal by kicker Wil Lutz to hold a 7-3 lead. "It was huge," Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said of the series.

3.Lewis goes up. Perhaps the best individual effort of the first half came from Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis. The Broncos late in the second quarter drove into the red zone after several explosive passing plays and faced third-and-goal at the 8-yard line. Nix floated a pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone. But Lewis read the play and made a play on the ball, fighting with the 6-feet-4 Sutton for the ball and – ultimately – the Jaguars' lone takeaway of the game. The Jaguars turned the turnover into points, with kicker Cam Little hitting a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half for a 10-3 lead after an impressive two-minute drive. "It was huge," Coen said after the game. "We went down right before the half and got points. Just kind of eerily similar to the last time we were here where we got a stop and we were able to go down the field to get points."

4.The first mistake. Lawrence played mostly mistake-free in his first 22 pass attempts Sunday, but that changed on attempt No. 23. On 3rd-and-6 from the 50-yard line, Lawrence attempted to fit a pass down the left sideline to Parker Washington, who was covered tightly by Broncos cornerback Riley Moss. Moss intercepted Lawrence and the Broncos got the ball with momentum at their 36-yard line. "We had a kind of a double move going on over there," Coen said. "They played cloud. He (Lawrence) knew it was cloud. He thought that he had a chance to hole shot it to him, and the guy just sunk underneath it. Probably just something that we got to make sure you throw it outside, get it up top and outside if you're going to throw it. If not, come on inside. But I think he was probably trying to force some a little bit. We didn't protect great. I thought it was getting hit way too often, but that's just unfortunate part of it." Said Washington, "They had they had a nice coverage out there for us. They just made a good play. They're professional as well. Coaches made great calls."  The Broncos drove 64 yards on the ensuing possession, with Nix passing seven yards to tight end Nate Adkins to tie the game, 13-13, with 11:47 remaining. "I didn't have a great feeling right when I let it go," Lawrence said of the interception. "I was trying to take a shot there and get one to Parker there on the third down. It didn't go our way and definitely want that one back."

5.Closer. If any Broncos player gave the problems Sunday, it was wide receiver Jaylen Waddle – acquired by Denver in an offseason trade with the Miami Dolphins. Waddle caught eight passes for 138 yards Sunday, including a key play on the game's final pivotal third-down. On third-and-3 from their 27-yard line, the Broncos and Nix went at Waddle once more for a 29-yard reception catch down the right sideline to give the Broncos a first down at the Jaguars' 44. The Broncos then drained the clock with running backs Dobbins and Jonah Coleman. "It all comes down to finish," Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton said. "It's cool that we start off the game right, but we have to finish the game. That's all it is."