JACKSONVILLE – Team reporter Kainani Stevens each week during the 2025 regular season will speak with a media member covering the Jaguars' opponent.
Up this week:
Mile High Sports Broncos beat reporter Cody Roark on the Broncos as they approach Sunday’s game against the Jaguars at Empower Field at Mile High.
Q: The Jags have a 5-game winning streak, and the Broncos are riding an 11-game winning streak. How has Head Coach Sean Payton been able to insert that belief into the Broncos that they can compete with anyone and potentially win a Super Bowl?
A: I think it's about instilling a culture that really doesn't care too much about the outside noise. It's taken a couple of years from where it was when he first came here in 2023 to get to where he is now. That foundation has already been set with this team, so even if people overlook them now, they really don't care. They don't pay too much attention to that. They just focus week to week, as cliche as it may sound. Other Broncos teams that I've covered, the team could look behind them, or they look too far ahead and then lose out on the present. We've seen them slip because of that in the past, but that has not been the case here with Sean Payton in 2025. They are a resilient group of guys, and they never feel like they're down and out in the fourth quarter.
Q: The Broncos won a big game over the contending Green Bay Packers last week, battling back and getting the victory. In Jacksonville we saw the best game of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence's career – and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix's performance against the Packers may have been the best of his career as well. Do you feel like that performance from Nix can bring balance to a very talented defensive team?
A: Complementary football matters so much in today's NFL. I think when you look at the Broncos and the Jaguars, you see a lot of complementary football. The defense is taking care of business and giving the offense opportunities and special teams are making plays. Denver coming out of the bye week, the defense has had some up and down moments, but the offense and special teams are making big plays. The defense isn't always dominating but finding ways to make big plays in clutch situations when it matters most. Down 23-14 last week against the Packers, cornerback Pat Surtain II had an interception that changed the entire game. It allowed Nix to go out there and score points, and then they just kind of ran with away with it from there. A key here with this Broncos team is that they are now playing complementary football at the most important time. Honestly, this game feels a lot like a potential playoff matchup and these two teams very well could end up seeing each other again in the postseason.
Q: The Broncos' defense is first place in a lot of categories. Is there a weakness on the defense from your perspective?
A: They are very aggressive and they love to blitz. They love to send 5 or 6 guys, then they'll drop back guys into coverage. They mix up man and zone coverage effectively here under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's scheme. I'd say if there's any weakness that we have seen is that they've allowed too many explosive plays. There's been a lot of tight ends coming open underneath and over the top wide receivers making plays like the Packers did last week. The Broncos in the first quarter allowed 3 explosive plays at 25-plus yards in the passing game against Green Bay. The Jags' offense has a multitude of playmakers, including wide receivers Tim Patrick and Brian Thomas Jr. – and obviously the addition of wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. You can't allow that to be the trend that continues here coming into this matchup against Lawrence.
Q: Do you have some X-factor players on either side of the ball that you feel like need to have a good game for the Broncos to win?
A: The Broncos will be without safety Brandon Jones. He landed on injured reserve, so P.J. Locke will fill in for him. I think the rookie first-round pick Jahdae Barron – who has this hybrid role in the dime package – has the capability of dropping back and playing some safety. He's going to be my X-factor to keep an eye on here this week. He's done tremendously, especially when covering tight ends. They could deploy him against this very good wide Jaguars' wide receiver corps. On the offensive side of the ball, we're going to go with wide receiver Troy Franklin. He's coming off a big-time performance against the Packers. He has been the guy who has led the team in targets this season because wide receiver Courtland Sutton has seen so much attention. I'd say someone for Jacksonville will need to step up and stop Troy Franklin.
