The Lead
As the Broncos head to Jacksonville on the heels of a Week 1 win over the Giants, all eyes will be on Teddy Bridgewater and the offense to see if they can replicate their success in New York. According to NFL experts and analysts across the league, Denver should be able to do just that.
"The Jaguars were awful last week, while the Broncos dominated in beating the Giants on the road," CBS Sports' Pete Prisco said. "This is consecutive road games for the Broncos and the heat will be impactful. It won't matter. The Jaguars will have problems moving the ball on the Denver defense, while the Broncos will do enough on offense to pull out a road victory."
The NFL staff of The Athletic chose the Broncos to win almost unanimously, voting 7-1 in favor of Denver moving to 2-0.
"The Broncos may, in fact, have their quarterback," The Athletic's Zachary Pekale said. "Bridgewater had 264 passing yards with a pair of touchdowns and looked particularly impressive when facing pressure. The Broncos have a defense capable of being a top-15 unit when healthy. If the offense can match that, the Broncos have a chance to be competitive this year."
The MMQB staff was also close to unanimous, voting 4-1 that the Broncos would come out on top. ESPN experts were in total agreement, voting 11-0 that the Broncos would move to 2-0 following a win over Jacksonville.
The general consensus seems to be that the defense will give Jaguars rookie QB Trevor Lawrence a hard time, while the offense will find the end zone often enough to come out on top.
Below the Fold
RB Melvin Gordon III put on a show in the Broncos' season opener vs. the Giants. He rushed 11 times for 101 yards and a score, along with three receptions for another 17 yards.
It was enough to earn him a spot on NFL analyst (and former Jaguars RB) Maurice Jones-Drew's list of top fifteen running backs, where Gordon is No. 14.
"Gordon had a strong start to his second season in Denver," Jones-Drew said.
Gordon averaged 9.2 yards per carry in Week 1, thanks in large part to a 70-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He broke through the line and kicked into another gear, reaching a top speed of 21.52 mph, a league-high pace in Week 1.
Gordon was one of only five RBs to break 100 yards in Week 1, despite splitting carries with rookie RB Javonte Williams. As Denver moves on to face the Jaguars in Week 2, Gordon will look to replicate that success in Jacksonville.
"Now he's looking to put up back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for the first time since 2018," Jones-Drew said. "It's definitely in play against a rebuilding Jags squad."
