The Denver Broncos are in desperate need of a jolt. They have lost their last seven games dating back to 2018. They can get on track against Jacksonville.
The Denver Broncos are 0-3. If the season ended right now, they would have the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Broncos are three weeks into a year full of learning, implementing, and hopefully competing sooner than later.
It’s hard to see the forest through the trees right now, but a lot of good things are happening for the Broncos. The problem is, they can’t piece it all together for a ‘complete’ game.
We’ve seen nice stretches of play from the defense despite a lack of pass rush. We’ve seen the offense move the ball effectively and consistently despite red zone issues. And to be honest, even the special teams have been solid so far.
The Broncos don’t look like a bad team all the time, but they are 0-3 and haven’t played well enough to win any of their first three games. Ultimately, the responsibility is their own to win and they have to figure something out or they are going to be 0-4 by the end of the weekend.
They can avoid an 0-4 start and get their first win of 2019 against the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday, and I think the stars have aligned perfectly for this to be the Broncos’ ‘get on the right track’ week.
There are two major reasons for it.
The first is that the Broncos are taking on a Jaguars team which is currently trotting out a rookie sixth-round pick at quarterback, Gardner Minshew.
While Minshew mania has been fun from an outside perspective, the Broncos have a chance to remind the young player what it’s like to be a rookie in the NFL.
The second reason is that the Broncos get this game on their home field. They certainly aren’t quite good enough the last few years just to chalk up all eight home games as obvious ‘winnable’ games, but getting a rookie quarterback at home seems like a pretty good couple of factors in Denver’s favor.
To add to both of those, the Broncos are also ‘due’. What goes around comes around, right?
The Broncos have lost seven straight regular-season games. They may not have the best team in the NFL but they are certainly good enough to match up with what Jacksonville has right now, and especially playing at home against a rookie quarterback.
This also bodes well for the two edge defenders in Denver, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Just like last year against Josh Rosen and the Arizona Cardinals, I think we could see Miller and Chubb absolutely feast on the young signal-caller for Jacksonville.
I’m not out here saying the Broncos are going to kick anyone’s ‘you know what’ like Von Miller said last year, but this home game against Jacksonville has turned into a must-win game for the Broncos where the defense without a forced turnover or sack in three straight games is looking to get on the board.
The Broncos have to go out there and make the plays, but it seems like the opportunity is there for the taking. Even as well as Minshew has played early in the season for the Jaguars, this is a great chance for the Broncos to figure some of their stuff out and flex defensively while also getting in the win column.