Moeller: Jaguars Forget to Finish in Disheartening 20-13 Denver Defeat
The Jaguars’ 20-13 loss in Denver Sunday clearly was a game of two halves.
It also was an early wake-up call and a stiff reminder. As simple as the cliche suns, you have to play for four quarters, or at least until you have it under control.
The Jags thought they had one in the win column in Denver.
In the opening half, they were crisp on offense and aggressive on defense. Trevor Lawrence again looked like he was locked in, as he was in the opener in Cleveland. Lawrence was 12 of 17 for 78 yards, and Parker Washington caught six passes.
Their defense was stellar overall, and impressive in their three-down, goal-line stand before Denver settled for a field goal, their lone scoring in the first two quarters. Jourdan Lewis had a photo-op, leaping interception in the corner of the end zone.
Cam Little banged home a 44-yard field goal just before halftime, and the Jags sprinted to the locker room with a 10-3 lead that appeared to be larger in the big picture.
After two quarters, it was looking very good.
Jacksonville had silenced the vivacious home crowd, which had helped the Broncos win 80 percent of their home opener. The Jaguars looked like they weren’t going to be intimidated.
You had a really good feeling about this team taking a major step forward in winning their increasingly inept division.
The Jags had the ideal situation to place the final dagger into the Broncos on their opening drive of the second half when they maneuvered their way down to the Denver three-yard line.
Face it..many of you began to think about how you could find the money for tickets toward a deep playoff run. A 2-0 start will be a great springboard forward.
Even though the Jags had to settle for a field goal, you still had a good feeling.
But then history repeated itself. The Jags’ hold on the game suddenly slipped away.
Lawrence threw another untimely and bad interception, and Denver head coach Sean Payton’s halftime adjustments quickly surfaced.
Lawrence was 5 -for 12 for 111 yards with the interception in the second half. He was mostly out of sync, missing six of seven passes at one point. His offensive line breakdowns became more obvious after halftime.
The Jags’ effective pass rush was held in check, and Denver quarterback Bo Nix began to find holes in the Jags’ secondary. Denver’s running game that was limited to 30 yards by the Jags’ top rush defense, allowed 74 in the second half.
Denver’s game winning drive was capped by a pass interference call on Montaric Brown and an unsportsmanlike flag on head coach Liam Coen.
Shockingly, Jacksonville left Mile High saddled with an unexpected loss.
They showed all the signs of a playoff football team for 30, but they needed more.
Like any good team, the Jags got a stark reminder about finishing. This will be a game with a circle around it all season.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of football left, and it starts with now a near must-win situation at home against New England Sunday. Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Houston are on the horizon.
For a team with high expectations, you can’t let games slip away.
